Gold coin of Vasudeva I.
Obv: Vasudeva in tall helmet, holding a scepter, and making an offering over an altar. Legend in Kushan language and Greek script (with the Kushan letter Ϸ "sh"): ϷΑΟΝΑΝΟϷΑΟ ΒΑΖΟΔΗΟ ΚΟϷΑΝΟ ("Shaonanoshao Bazodeo Koshano"): "King of kings, Vasudeva the Kushan".
Rev: Indian god ΟΗϷΟ (Oesho) probably Shiva, holding a trisula scepter, with the bull Nandi. Monogram ("tamgha") to the left.

His name, Vasudeva, is that of the father of Krishna, the popular Hindu god, and he was the first Kushan king to be named after an Indian mythological character. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Coin of the Kushan king Kanishka II with, on the reverse, a supposed depiction of Shiva and the word Oesho in modified Greek script. ... Shiva (also spelled Siva; Sanskrit ) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. ... Trisula is the Pali word for a Trident. The symbolic weapon of the Hindu god Shiva is a trisula. ... In Hinduism, Nandi is the white bull which Shiva rides, and the leader of the Ganas. ... This article is about the Hindu deity. ... A Hindu ( , Devanagari: हिन्दु), as per modern definition, is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, and the religious, philosophical and cultural system that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ...

Vasudeva I (Kushan: ΒΑΖΟΔΗΟ "Bazodeo", Chinese: 波調 "Bodiao") was the last of the "Great Kushans." Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kanishka's era suggest his reign extended from at least 191 to 225 CE. Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Kanishka (Kushan language: , Ancient Chinese: 迦腻色伽) was a king of the Kushan Empire in South Asia, ruling an empire extending from Northern India to Central Asia in the 2nd century of the common era, famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. ...

The last named inscription of his predecessor, Huvishka, was in the year 60 = 187 CE, and the Chinese evidence suggests he was still ruling as late as 330 CE. He was the last great Kushan emperor, and the end of his rule coincides with the invasion of the Sassanians as far as northwestern India, and the establishment of the Indo-Sassanians or Kushanshahs from around 240 CE. Head of king Shapur II (Sasanian dynasty A.D. 4th century). ... Coin of the Indo-Sassanian king Varahran I (early 4th century). ... Coin of the Indo-Sassanian kushansha Varahran I (early 4th century). ...

Contacts with China

In the Chinese historical chronicle Sanguozhi (三國志), he is recorded to have sent tribute to the Chinese emperor Cao Rui of the Wei in 229 CE (3rd year of Taihe 太和), : The Sānguó Zhì (Chinese 三國志, or 三國誌), variously translated as Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Records of the Three States and Records of the Three Kingdoms was the official and authoritative historical text compiled by Chen Shou during the Chinese Jin Dynasty (265-420... Cao Rui, ch. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... Events Foundation of Jiankang (Nanjing) Sun Quan formally declares himself Emperor of Wu Births Deaths Dio Cassius (approximate date) Categories: 229 ...

"The king of the Da Yuezhi, Bodiao (波調) (Vāsudeva), sent his envoy to present tribute and His Majesty granted him a title of "King of the Da Yuezhi Intimate with Wei (魏)"." (Sanguozhi)

He is the last Kushan king to be mentioned in Chinese sources. His rule corresponds to the retreat of Chinese power from Central Asia, and it is thought that Vasudeva may have filled the power vacuum in that area. The great expansion of the Dharmaguptaka Buddhist group in Central Asia during this period has also been related to this event. The migrations of the Yuezhi through Central Asia, from around 176 to 30 BCE. Yuezhi (Chinese:月氏, also 月支, Wade-Giles: Yüeh-Chih) or Da Yuezhi (Chinese:大月氏, also 大月支, Great Yuezhi) is the Chinese name for an ancient Central Asian people. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... The Sānguó Zhì (Chinese 三國志, or 三國誌), variously translated as Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Records of the Three States and Records of the Three Kingdoms was the official and authoritative historical text compiled by Chen Shou during the Chinese Jin Dynasty (265-420... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen schools of early Buddhism. ...

Christian connection

Vasudeva may have been the Indian king who returned the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas from India in 232 CE, on which occasion his Syriac Acts (the 3rd century Acts of Thomas) were written. The relics were transferred triumphally to the town of Edessa, Mesopotamia. The Indian king is named as "Mazdai" in Syriac sources, "Misdeos" and "Misdeus" in Greek and Latin sources, which has been connected to the "Bazdeo" on the Kushan coinage of Vasudeva, the transition between "M" and "B" being a current one in Classical sources for Indian names. ^[1] The martyrologist Rabban Sliba dedicated a special day to both the Indian king, his family, and St Thomas: Thomas, also called St. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the Heavenly Redeemer, independent of and beyond creation, who can free souls from the darkness of the world. ... The heritage of Roman Edessa survives today in these columns at the site of Urfa Castle, dominating the skyline of the modern city of Şanlı Urfa. ...

"Coronatio Thomae apostoli et Misdeus rex Indiae, Johannes eus filius huiusque mater Tertia" ("Coronation of Thomas the Apostole, and Misdeus king of India, together with his son Johannes (thought to be a Latinization of Vizan) and his mother Tertia") Rabban Sliba ^[2]

References

• Falk, Harry (2001). "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, pp. 121-136.
• Falk, Harry (2004). "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology X , pp. 167-176.
• Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1998). "Further notes on the Bactrian inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kadphises and Vima Taktu in Chinese." Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies Part 1: Old and Middle Iranian Studies. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Wiesbaden. Pp, 79-93.

Notes

1. ^ Mario Bussagli, "L'Art du Gandhara", p255
2. ^ Mario Bussagli, "L'Art du Gandhara", p255

External links

• Coins of Vasudeva
• Coins of late Kushan emperors
• Vasudeva coin