Kanishka

Kanishka (kənĭsh`kə), fl. c.A.D. 120, king of Gandhara. He was the most powerful and renowned ruler of the Kushan dynasty, one of the five tribes of the Yüeh-chih who had divided (1st cent. B.C.) Bactria among them. Earlier Kushan kings had extended their dominion into N India, and Kanishka ruled over an empire that stretched from the Pamirs to Bengal. His capital was at Peshawar. A patron of Buddhism, he built many Buddhist monuments, helped found the Gandharan school of sculpture, and encouraged the spread of Buddhism to central Asia.

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Kaniska

 or Kanishka

(flourished 1st century AD) Greatest king of the Kushan dynasty that ruled over the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and possibly regions north of Kashmir in Central Asia. He is thought to have taken the throne between AD 78 and 144 and to have ruled for 23 years. Kaniska is noted for having convened a Buddhist council that marked the beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism. He was a tolerant king who honoured the Zoroastrian, Greek, and Brahmanic deities as well as Buddha. During his reign, trade with the Roman Empire increased significantly, and contact between him and the Chinese in Central Asia may have inspired the transmission of Buddhism to China.