https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Peroz_I_KushanshahPeroz I Kushanshah - Revision history2026-11-04T00:38:51ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peroz_I_Kushanshah&diff=525242&oldid=prevAntoniojaw: creating the post needs work2023-06-25T09:23:40Z<p>creating the post needs work</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Ruler of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 245 to 275}}<br />
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{{Infobox royalty<br />
| name = Peroz I Kushanshah<br />
| title =<br />
| image = Extremely rare coin of Peroz I Kushanshah.jpg<br />
| image_size = 300<br />
| caption = Sasanian-style coin of Peroz I Kushanshah, minted at [[Herat]].<br>''Obverse'': King with [[Pahlavi script|Pahlavi]] legend around. "The [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]]-worshipping lord Peroz the Great Kushan Shah".<br>''Reverse'': Peroz standing at left, holding an investiture wreath, facing [[Anahita]] rising from her throne.<br />
| succession = [[Kushanshah]] of the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]]<br />
| reign = 245–275<br />
| coronation = <br />
| full name = <br />
| predecessor = [[Ardashir I Kushanshah]]<br />
| successor = [[Hormizd I Kushanshah]]<br />
| spouse =<br />
| issue =<br />
| royal house =<br />
| dynasty = <br />
| father =<br />
| mother =<br />
| birth_date =<br />
| birth_place = <br />
| death_date = 275<br />
| death_place =<br />
| religion = [[Zoroastrianism]]<br />
| date of burial = <br />
| place of burial = <br />
}}<br />
'''Peroz I Kushanshah''' ([[Bactrian script]]: ''Πιρωςο Κοϸανο ϸαηο''){{sfn|Cribb|2010|p=98}} was [[Kushanshah]] of the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]] from 245 to 275. He was the successor of [[Ardashir I Kushanshah]]. He was an energetic ruler, who minted coins in [[Balkh]], [[Herat]], and [[Gandhara]]. Under him, the Kushano-Sasanians further expanded their domains into the west, pushing the weakened [[Kushan Empire]] to [[Mathura]] in [[North India]].<br />
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Peroz I Kushanshah was succeeded by [[Hormizd I Kushanshah]] in 275.<br />
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== Name ==<br />
"Peroz" is a [[Middle Persian]] name, meaning "victorious".{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=78}} Peroz I Kushanshah was notably the first ruler from the [[House of Sasan|Sasanian family]] to use this name. Centuries later, the name would be used again by the imperial line of the Sasanians, commencing with [[Peroz I]] ({{reign|459|484}}).{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=78}}<br />
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== Reign ==<br />
[[File:Map of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom.svg|thumb|300px|Map of the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]]]]<br />
"Kushano-Sasanian" is a [[Historiography|historiographic]] term used by modern scholars when referring to a dynasty of monarchs who supplanted the [[Kushan Empire]] in the [[Bactria]] region, and ultimately in both [[Kabulistan]] and [[Gandhara]] as well.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=72}} According to the historian [[Khodadad Rezakhani]], the dynasty was seemingly a young branch of the House of Sasan, and perhaps an offspring of one of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] [[King of Kings]].{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=72}} It was founded by [[Ardashir I Kushanshah]] ({{reign|230|245}}) after his appointment by the first Sasanian King of Kings, [[Ardashir I]] ({{reign|224|242}}).{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=72-74, 77}}{{sfn|Wiesehöfer|1986|pp=371–376}} The Kushano-Sasanians, in the same manner as the Kushans, used the title of [[Kushanshah]] ("Kushan King"), thus demonstrating a continuum with their predecessors.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=72}} Peroz became Kushanshah in 245.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=77-78}}<br />
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===Sasanian-style coinage===<br />
Like his predecessor Ardashir I Kushanshah, Peroz is called the "Great Kushan King" and "Mazdean ([[Zoroastrian]]) lord" on his coins.{{sfn|Vaissière|2016}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} In some of the rare coins of Peroz, the "Investiture issue", minted at [[Herat]] (''HLYDY''), the obverse legend reads ''mzdztn bgy pylwcy rb’ kwš’n mdw’'' in [[Pahlavi script|Pahlavi]], "The [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]]-worshipping lord Peroz the Great Kushan Shah".{{sfn|Rypka|Jahn|1968|p=33}}{{efn|A similar reading on a coin of [[Ardashir I Kushanshah]] is given as ''mzdysn bgy arthštr RBA kwšan MLK'' "The [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]]-worshipping lord Ardashir the Great Kushan Shah" in Rezakhani, 2017, p.134 {{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=134}}}}{{efn|Also has been tranliterated as "Mazdesn bage Pérôze vazurg Kūsán Šáh (the Mazda-worshipping lord Péróz Great Kushān King') {{sfn|Sastri|1957|p=246}}}} On the reverse, Peroz is seen standing on the left, facing [[Anahita]] rising from her throne. Peroz is holding an investiture wreath over an altar and raising the left hand in gesture of benediction. Anahita also holds an investiture wreath and a scepter.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}}<br />
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===Kushan-style coinage===<br />
[[File:Peroz I Kushanshah.jpg|thumb|Coinage of Peroz I Kushanshah, imitating [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] coins, minted at [[Balkh]].{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}<br>''Obverse:'' King in armour making an offering at an altar. [[Nandipada]] symbol, [[swastika]] between the legs, [[Brahmi]] letter <sup>[[File:Gupta_ashoka_pi.jpg|12px]]</sup> ''Pi'' to the right. [[Bactrian script|Bactrian]] legend around "Peroz the Great Kushan King"{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}<br>''Reverse:'' Kushan god [[Oesho]], Bactrian legend "The exalted God".{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}]]<br />
Peroz's reign marked a shift in Kushano-Sasanian coinage, which came to closely resemble the coinage of the Kushan emperors.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} He was the first Kushano-Sasanian ruler to issue coins on the Kushan model.{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}} The gold coins of Peroz tended to be [[scyphate]] and to imitate the design of Kushan ruler [[Vasudeva I]].{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}} They were often minted at [[Balkh]], in Bactria, north of the [[Hindu-Kush]].{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}<br />
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The visual aspect of this new coin type was almost identical to those of the Kushans, albeit with specific adjustments.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} The front of Peroz's coins portrays him standing in Kushan armour making an offering at an altar, at the same time holding a spear in his right hand (the armour style is rather described as [[Sasanian dress|Sasanian-style clothing]] by Rezakhani).{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} Several symbols are included in the coin: a trident over the altar, what is often described as a [[Nandipada]] symbol behind the king, and a [[swastika]] between the legs.{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}} A [[Brahmi]] letter <sup>[[File:Gupta_ashoka_pi.jpg|12px]]</sup> ''Pi'' has also been introduced to the right of the ruler, near the ground.{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}{{sfn|Vaissière|2016}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} The obverse has a legend in [[Bactrian script]] all around (starting 14:00 o'clock): ''Πιρωςο οοςορκο Κοϸανο ϸαηο'' "Peroz the Great Kushan King"{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}} In this, like his predecessor Ardashir I Kushanshah, Peroz called himself the "Great Kushan King".{{sfn|Vaissière|2016}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}}<br />
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The reverse has a Kushan-style representation of the Kushan god [[Oesho]] (in Bactrian ''Οηϸο'' on the corresponding Kushan coins), which uses the attributes of the Indian God [[Shiva]], standing in front of the bull [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], and holding a trident and a diadem. This new reverse deity replaced the previous depictions of the Zoroastrian deities [[Mithra]] or Anahita in Kushano-Sasanian coinage.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}} In the Kushan-style coinage of Peroz, although the depiction of the deity is visually similar to that on the Kushan coins, the legend is not the Kushan word Oesho (''Οηϸο'') anymore, but has been replaced by the Bactrian legend ''οορςοανδο ιαςοδο'' or ''BΟPZAΟANΔΟ IAZAΔΟ'' "The exalted God".{{sfn|Cribb|2018|p=98}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=80}}<br />
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Apart from minting coins in the Kushano-Sasanian main base of Bactria, Peroz also had coins minted in Gandhara and [[Begram]], and most likely in [[Peshawar]] as well.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=81}} It was around this time that the Kushano-Sasanians began to expel the Kushans from Gandhara, pushing them to [[Mathura]] in [[North India]], where their power was diminished from that of kings to local princes.{{sfn|Daryaee|Rezakhani|2017|p=204}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=81}} Peroz was thus the first Kushano-Sasanian ruler to issue coins south of the Hindu-Kush, and he is known for several overstrikes over coins of the Kushan ruler [[Kanishka II]].{{sfn|Cribb|2018|pp=20-21}}<br />
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===The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription===<br />
[[File:Naqsh-e rostam.JPG|thumb|The [[Ka'ba-ye Zartosht]], where the [[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht|inscription]] of [[Shapur I]] is engraved]]<br />
It was during Peroz's reign—in {{Circa|262}}—that the Sasanian King of Kings [[Shapur I]] ({{reign|240|270}}) carved the [[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht|Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription]].{{sfn|Rapp|2014|page=28}} On the inscription, Shapur I proclaimed himself as the suzerain of several regions, including that of the Kushano-Sasanians:<br />
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{{Blockquote|...I, the Mazda-worshipping lord, Shapur, king of kings of Iran and An-Iran… (I) am the Master of the Domain of Iran (Ērānšahr) and possess the territory of Pars, Parthia… Hindestan, the Domain of the Kushan up to the limits of Peshawar and up to Kash, Sogdia, and Chachestan.{{sfn|Daryaee|Rezakhani|2017|p=203}}{{efn|For the full context of the inscription, see [[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht]].}}}}<br />
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Nevertheless, according to Rezakhani, the Kushano-Sasanians appear to have been too strong to have been plainly Sasanian governors, and their existence "may well reflect an early Sasanian continuation of the [[Parthian Empire|Arsacid]] imperial setting, acting as an allied, but autonomous, cadet branch of the Sasanian royal house".{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=73}} According to the historian Richard Payne, "the Kushano–Sasanian sub-kingdom ruled from Balkh on behalf of the Sasanian kings of kings".{{sfn|Payne|2016|p=6}} In 275, Peroz was succeeded by [[Hormizd I Kushanshah]], a son of the King of Kings [[Bahram I]] ({{reign|271|274}}).{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=81-82}}<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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== Sources ==<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Cribb |first1=Joe |author-link=Joe Cribb| editor-last1 = Rienjang | editor-first1 = Wannaporn | editor-last2 = Stewart| editor-first2 = Peter |title=Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017 |isbn=978-1-78491-855-2 |date=2018 |publisher=University of Oxford The Classical Art Research Centre Archaeopress |url=https://archive.org/details/ProblemsOfChronologyInGandharanArt/page/n27}} {{free access}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|editor-last = Alram | editor-first = M. | title=The Kidarites, the numismatic evidence.pdf |journal= Coins, Art and Chronology Ii, Edited by M. Alram et al|date=2010 |pages=91–146|publisher= Coins, Art and Chronology II|url=https://www.academia.edu/38112559|url-access=registration}} <br />
* {{cite book |first1=Touraj |last1=Daryaee|first2=Khodadad|last2=Rezakhani|editor1-last=Daryaee |editor1-first=Touraj |title=King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World (3000 BCE - 651 CE) |date=2017 |publisher=UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies |chapter=The Sasanian Empire|pages=1–236|isbn=978-0-692-86440-1<br />
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unTjswEACAAJ}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Payne|first1=Richard|title=The Making of Turan: The Fall and Transformation of the Iranian East in Late Antiquity |journal=Journal of Late Antiquity |date=2016 |volume=9 |pages=4–41 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press| location = Baltimore|url=https://www.academia.edu/27438947|url-access=registration|doi=10.1353/jla.2016.0011|s2cid=156673274}}<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Rapp|first1=Stephen H.|title=The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature|date=2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.| location = London|isbn=978-1-4724-2552-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8VIBQAAQBAJ&q=rapp+inscription+kartir}}<br />
* {{cite book | title = ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity | year = 2017 | publisher = Edinburgh University Press | last = Rezakhani | first = Khodadad | chapter = East Iran in Late Antiquity| pages = 1–256 | isbn = 978-1-4744-0030-5 | jstor = 10.3366/j.ctt1g04zr8 }} {{registration required}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Rypka |first1=Jan |last2=Jahn |first2=Karl |title=History of Iranian literature |date=1968 |publisher=D. Reidel |isbn=9789401034791 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y_9jAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Sastri|first=Nilakanta|title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Mauryas & Satavahanas |date=1957 |publisher=Orient Longmans |page=246 |isbn=9788170070030 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmDAAAAIAAJ |language=en}}<br />
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = Kushanshahs i. History | last = Vaissière | first = Étienne de La |author-link=Étienne de la Vaissière | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushanshahs-01 | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica | year = 2016 }}<br />
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = Ardašīr I i. History | last = Wiesehöfer | first = Joseph | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ardasir-i | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4 | pages = 371–376 | year = 1986 }}<br />
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{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-reg}}<br />
{{s-bef|before=[[Ardashir I Kushanshah]]}}<br />
{{s-ttl|title=[[Kushanshah]] of the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]]|years=245–275}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=[[Hormizd I Kushanshah]]}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
{{Kushanshahs of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom}}<br />
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[[Category:Kushanshahs]]<br />
[[Category:3rd-century monarchs in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:3rd-century Iranian people]]<br />
[[Category:275 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Monarchs of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]]</div>Antoniojaw