Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/266

 228 THE KUSHAN OR INDO - SCYTHIAN DYNASTY for believing that he was not connected with them. The coins both of Kadphises II and Kanishka frequently display in the field the same four-pronged symbol, and agree accurately in weight and fineness, besides exhib- iting a very close relationship in the obverse devices. The inevitable inference is that the two kings were very near in time to one another in fact, that one immedi- ately followed the other. Now Kadphises II (Yen-kao- ching) was beyond doubt not only the successor, but the son of Kadphises I (Kieu-tsieu-k'io), who died at the age of eighty after a long reign. It is quite impos- sible to bring Kanishka into close association with Kad- phises H, except on the generally admitted assumption that Kanishka was his immediate successor. Without further pursuing in detail a tedious archaeological argu- ment, it will suffice to say here that ample reason can be shown for holding that the great majority of Indi- anists are right in placing the Kanishka group directly after that of the Kadphises kings. Kanishka then may be assumed to have succeeded Kadphises IT, to whom he was presumably related, in or about 120 or 125 A. D. Tradition and the monuments and inscriptions of his time prove that his sway, like that of his predecessor, extended all over Northwestern India, probably as far south as the Vindhyas. His coins are found constantly associated with those of Kadphises H from Kabul to Ghazipur on the Ganges, and their vast number and variety indicate a reign of considerable length. His dominions included Upper Sind, and his high reputation as a conqueror suggests the probability