Kujula Kadphises Unifies Yuezhi into the Kushan Empire

Kujula Kadphises, chief of the Guishuang (Kushan) clan, unified the five Yuezhi chiefdoms in Bactria and northern India during the mid-first century CE, establishing the Kushan Empire. According to the Chinese Hou Hanshu chronicle, he conquered Indo-Parthian territories including Kabul, Pushkalavati, and parts of Kashmir. The empire controlled trade routes connecting China, India, and the Roman Mediterranean. Under subsequent rulers, particularly Kanishka I, the Kushans facilitated the spread of Buddhism into Central Asia and China and patronized Gandharan art.