Kidarite–Sasanian war (390)

Kushāna–Sasanian conflicts (390)
	Part of Kushan–Sasanian conflicts and Kidara I's campaigns
	; Portrait of Kidarite king Kidara I, circa 350–386 CE. He wears his characteristic crown with ribbon flying upward. The use of the 3/4 portrait is sometimes attributed to the influence of the coinage of Byzantine ruler Arcadius (377–408 CE).
Date	390 CE
Location	Bactria, Afghanistan, Central Asia
Result	Kidarite victory Bactria captured by Kidara I; Fall of Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom; Sasanians becomes tributaries of Kidarites;
Belligerents
Gupta Empire Kidarites; ;	Sasanian Empire Kushano-Sasanians; ;
Commanders and leaders
Kidara I; Chandragupta II	Bahram IV

The Kidarites rose to power in Central Asia during the late 4th century, taking advantage of the weakening Sassanid Empire. Under Bahram IV, the Sasanians suffered defeats that allowed the Kidarites to occupy Bactria and replace the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom.

Their ruler Kidara I adopted the title “Kidara King of the Kushans” on his coins to claim Kushan heritage. The Sasanians were forced to pay them tribute, which, according to Priscus, continued until Yazdgird II ended the practice and opposed their dominance.

War[edit | edit source]

The alliance between the Sassanid Empire and the Kidarites strained and during the reign of Bahram IV, the Sasanians suffered numerous defeats against the Kidarites^[3]which allowed the Kidarites to settle in Bactria by replacing the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom.^[4] The Kidarite King Kidara proclaimed himself as the "Kidara King of the Kushans" on his coins as because the area was similar as of the western Kushans or Kushanshahr.^[5]^[6] According to Priscus, the Sasanians were forced to pay tributes to the Kidarites until the reign of Yazdgird II who had refrained from paying further tributes.^[5]

Reference[edit | edit source]

↑ CNG Coins
↑ Lerner, Judith A. (210). Observations on the Typology and Style of Seals and Sealings from Bactria and the Indo-Iranian Borderlands, in Coins, Art and Chronology II. The First Millennium CE in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands. Vienna: ÖAW. p. 246, note 7.
↑ Kim, Hyun Jin (19 November 2015). The Huns, by Hyun Jin Kim. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-34090-4.
↑ Gyselen, Rika (2007). Sasanian Seals and Sealings in the A. Saeedi Collection. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-1268-7.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Maas, Michael (29 September 2014). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-06085-8.
↑ Kulikowski, Michael (2019-11-19). The Tragedy of Empire: From Constantine to the Destruction of Roman Italy. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-66013-7.

[1] CNG Coins

[2] Lerner, Judith A. (210). Observations on the Typology and Style of Seals and Sealings from Bactria and the Indo-Iranian Borderlands, in Coins, Art and Chronology II. The First Millennium CE in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands. Vienna: ÖAW. p. 246, note 7.

[Huns-3] Kim, Hyun Jin (19 November 2015). The Huns, by Hyun Jin Kim. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-34090-4.

[4] Gyselen, Rika (2007). Sasanian Seals and Sealings in the A. Saeedi Collection. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-1268-7.

[Cambridge-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Maas, Michael (29 September 2014). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-06085-8.

[6] Kulikowski, Michael (2019-11-19). The Tragedy of Empire: From Constantine to the Destruction of Roman Italy. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-66013-7.

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