Peak of the Kushan Empire

Timeline

1. 1–100Bactria–Gandhara · Central AsiaKushan kings gradually unified the peoples of Central Asia, extending their power to the Indus Valley and the northern Ganges plain, forming a vast empire spanning the Hindu Kush.
2. 100–200Peshawar · PakistanThe empire controlled key Silk Road passes; Gandhara art flourished, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Hellenistic culture coexisted and blended, and the capital region became a center of Eurasian commerce and cultural exchange.
3. 200–300Northwestern India · IndiaBy the third century the Kushans still controlled large territories in northwestern India, but faced challenges in the east from rising powers such as the Guptas, and signs of the empire's turn from prosperity to decline gradually appeared.