DescriptionAt the end of Huvishka’s reign Baktria in northern Afghanistan was lost to the Jouan-jouan nomads. The shrunken territory was next ruled by Vasu Deva I. The Kushan realm shrank further, and local rulers emerged.The Kushans started as nomads but became cosmopolitan when they conquered Gandhara in western Pakistan. They controlled their section of the Silk Road trade, and patronized Buddhism.The earliest ancient Indian coins were the “bent bar” punchmarked silvers of the Achaemenid Persians occupying Gandhara in northwest Pakistan. By the 3rd century BC coins were in general use in most of India and Ceylon, and in subsequent centuries struck round coins in gold, silver, and copper came into use throughout the subcontinent and beyond to Southeast Asia and Pacific islands to Java and beyond.
