# Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom Governs Bactria (c. 270–365 CE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/afghanistan/timeline/270-kushano-sasanian-kingdom-governs-bactria
Location: Balkh (Bactra), Balkh Province
Themes: Kushano-Sasanians, Coinage, Bactria

By the later third century Sasanian princes bearing the title Kushanshah, 'king of the Kushans', governed former Kushan territory from Balkh. Coins were struck at Balkh, Kabul, Herat and Merv, with legends in Bactrian, Pahlavi or Brahmi, and Gandhara formed the eastern limit of their rule. Sources date the initial Sasanian takeover of Bactria variously to about 225 or about 230 CE, and historians disagree about whether the Kushano-Sasanian realm was a semi-autonomous sub-kingdom or simply a province. The dynasty is also called Indo-Sasanian, and a rebellion by one prince against the Great King is suspected but poorly attested. The arrangement lasted until roughly 360–370, when the Kidarites took much of the territory and the remainder was absorbed into the empire. Its coins, showing fire altars and the god Shiva with the bull Nandi, preserve a rare mixture of Zoroastrian, Kushan and Indian religious symbols. At this point in the timeline (c. 270 CE), the Kushano-Sasanian kingdom of Bactria was ruled by Peroz I Kushanshah (245 – 275 CE). Other contemporary rulers included Shapur I, Sasanian king (c. 240 – 270 CE), Vasudeva II, Eastern Kushan emperor (c. 270 – 300 CE) and Kanishka III, Eastern Kushan emperor (267 – 270 CE).

## Why it matters
It kept Kushan titles and coin traditions alive under Persian overlords, producing a hybrid culture in Bactria and Kabul that later Hunnic and Turkic rulers inherited.

Ruler at the Time: [Peroz I Kushanshah](https://allhistories.com/afghanistan/rulers/peroz-i-kushanshah)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushano-Sasanian_Kingdom)
- [Wikipedia — Balkh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkh)