Vima Kadphises

Coin of Vima Kadphises. Left: Half-length portrait of the ruler on a bed of clouds with a club in his right hand, his monogram over his shoulder. Right: Shiva with a long trident in his right hand, a tiger skin hangs over the left forearm . Left monogram Vima Kadphises, right symbol of the Buddhist three jewels .

Vima Kadphises ( Bactrian language in Greek script ΟΟΗΜΟ ΚΑΔΦΙϹΗϹ, Chinese阎 膏 珍 - Yen-kao-chen) was a king of the kingdom of Kushan who ruled around 90-100.

He was the son of Vima Taktos and the father of his successor Kanischka . Vima Kadphises added parts of Afghanistan and northwest India to the Kushan Empire through conquests . According to Chinese sources, he appointed a general (ch'iang) as head of administration . He was the first Kushan ruler to have gold coins minted. These coins were based on Roman standards and show the image of the ruler on one side and some Buddhist symbols on the other. The minting of gold coins are a sign of the prosperity that the Kushana Empire achieved as a trading center. The gold was obtained from the Roman Empire in exchange for silk, fabrics, and spices that came from China and Central Asia .

On coins he described himself as a great king, king of kings, lord of all worlds, a Mahesvara, Vima Kadphises, the protector . Another title was Devaputra ( Son of the Divine Being ). The title is documented on coins, but also in inscriptions.

Under Vima Kadphise's rule, the new provincial capital Kabul grew , around which Buddhist settlements were founded. The most remarkable individual building near the city was the Buddhist column Minar-i Chakri .

literature

• AK Narain: Indo-Europeans in Inner Asia . In: Denis Sinor (ed.): The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia , Cambridge 1990, ISBN 0-521-24304-1 , pp. 163-164

predecessor	Office	successor
Vima Takto	Ruler of Kushana 90-100	Kanishka