Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/264

 226 THE KUSHAN OR INDO - SCYTHIAN DYNASTY kings did not attempt to copy the imperial aurei, which, however, they imported in large quantities, and used for currency purposes, just as English sovereigns now are in many parts of the world. The Indian embassy, which offered its congratula- tions to Trajan after his arrival in Rome in 99 A. D., was probably despatched by Kadphises II to announce his conquest of Northwestern India. The temporary annexation of Mesopotamia by Tra- jan in 116 A. D. brought the Roman frontier within six hundred miles of the western limits of the Yueh-chi empire. Although the province beyond the Euphrates was retroceded by Hadrian the year after its annexa- tion, there can be no doubt that at this period the rulers of Northern and Western India were well acquainted with the fame and power of the great Western empire, and were sensibly influenced by its example. The victorious reign of Kadphises n was undoubt- edly prolonged, and may be supposed to have covered a space of thirty-five or forty years, from about 85 to 120 or 125 A. D., when he was succeeded by Kanishka, who alone among the Kushan kings has left a name cherished by tradition, and famous far beyond the limits of India. His name, it is true, is unknown in Europe, save to a few students of unfamiliar lore, but it lives in the legends of Tibet, China, and Mongolia, and is scarcely less significant to the Buddhists of those lands than that of Asoka himself. Notwithstanding the widespread fame of Kanishka, his authentic history is scanty, and his chronological