Kirada (

Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...

''Ki-ra-da'', ruled 335-345 CE), is considered by modern scholarship as the first known ruler of the Kidarite Huns in the area of

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

in northwestern India, possibly at the same time as another Kidarite ruler named Yosada. The name of Kirada name appears on numerous coins at the end of the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...

and the beginning of the rule of the Kidarite Huns in the area of Central and Western

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, in the period circa 340-345 CE. The name Gupta ashoka g

''Ga-ḍa-ha-ra'' (for the region of

) appears vertically as a monogram ( Gadahara monogram

) in the right field of the coins of Kirada, as on some slightly earlier coins signed

Samudragupta Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', ( 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India. A military genius and a patron of arts, he is regarded among the greatest rulers in Indian history. As a son of th ...

, or subsequent coins of other early Kidarite rulers named Yasada, Peroz and

Kidara Kidara I (Late Brahmi script: ''Ki-da-ra'') fl. 350–390 CE) was the first major ruler of the Kidarite Kingdom, which replaced the Indo-Sasanians in northwestern India, in the areas of Kushanshahr, Gandhara, Kashmir and Punjab. Reign Kidara ...

. The appearance of the name Samudragupta may suggest some kind of suzerainty at a time in relation with the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

."Gadahara. The last branch, in course of time, yielded to Samudragupta, as is borne out by certain coins of this branch having the name Samudra. There is a good deal of similarity between the coins of the Gadaharas and the Kidara Kushanas." in The coins of Kirada would have followed those in the name of

in Gandhara, and it is thought that Kirada was succeeded as Kidarite ruler by another Kidarite Peroz and then the famous

. Altogether they form the first coin issues after the reign of the last Kushan ruler

Kipunada Kipunada (Brahmi script: ''Ki-pu-ṇa-dha''), also Kipanadha, was probably the last ruler of the Kushan Empire around 335-350 CE. He is known for his gold coinage. He succeeded Shaka I. Kipunada was probably only a local ruler in the area stre ...

. Kirada also struck in

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

coins in the name of the last

Kushano-Sasanian The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom (or Indo-Sasanians) was a polity established by the Sasanian Empire in Bactria during the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Sasanian Empire captured the provinces of Sogdia, Bactria and Gandhara from the declining Kushan Emp ...

ruler

Varahran I Kushanshah Bahram Kushanshah (also spelled Varahran), was the last Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 330 to 365. He was the successor of Peroz II Kushanshah. Name His theophoric name "Varahran" is the New Persian form of the Middle Persian ...

circa CE 340-345, incorporating the Kidarite which replaced the

nandipada The ''Nandipada'' ("foot of Nandi") is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull's hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi ...

which had been in use before the rise of the Kidarites.

References

{{reflist 4th-century monarchs in Asia Kings of the Kidarites