Text and photos from www.archaeology.org

An inscription carved into a boulder high in the Almosi Gorge of Tajikistan’s Hissar Range has enabled philologists to decipher a writing system known as “the unknown script,” which was used during the centuries when the multiethnic Kushan Empire (ca. A.D. 50–250) held sway over Central Asia. Local shepherd Sanginov Khaitali first spotted the inscriptions in the 1970s, and in July of 2022, he guided a team led by archaeologist Bobomullo Bobomulloev of Tajikistan’s National Academy of Sciences to the site. They found the inscription was written in both the unknown script and Greek letters, which allowed linguists using the team’s photographs to decipher the mysterious writing system. The inscription is dedicated to the Kushan “king of kings” Vema Takhtu (reigned ca. A.D. 80–90). Bobomulloev believes that remains of a stone wall near the inscription may have once belonged to a Kushan royal hunting enclosure. (Credit for all images: Bobomullo Bobomulloev.)

Between the mid-2nd and the mid-1st century BC, the Greek territories in Central Asia, spanning from Sogdiana in the north to the Indus Valley in the south, according to
a vague statement by the Greek geographer Strabon (11.8.2), “had set forth from the territories beyond the Iaxartes,” known today as the Syr-darya. During the first half of the 1st century AD, these diverse nomadic peoples fell under the dominance of a specific group, namely the Yuezhi, whose origins trace back to the easternmost regions, specifically in Kansu. The Yuezhi, led by the Kushan dynasty, effectively unified southern Central Asia with northern India, forming a cohesive state apparatus that endured for nearly two centuries. This administrative structure exhibited various facets, many of which were influenced by Greek precedents.

The Kushans possibly used the Greek language initially for administrative purposes but soon began to use the Bactrian language. They adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of Bactria. They adopted the Greek alphabet to suit their own language (with the additional development of the letter Þ “sh”, as in “Kushan”) and soon began minting coinage on the Greek model. On their coins they used Greek language legends combined with Pali legends (in the Kharoshthi script), until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka. After the middle of Kanishka’s reign, they used Kushan language legends (in an adapted Greek script), combined with legends in Greek (Greek script) and legends in Prakrit (Kharoshthi script).

However, the Kushans remain among the most enigmatic of the major empires due to the scarcity and inconclusiveness of evidence regarding their history. The primary challenge lies in the absence of a substantial body of literature akin to that of other major empires like the Sasanians. This absence is largely attributed to the nomadic pastoral origins of their forebears, which understandably did not prioritize written documentation. Consequently, the limited written records of the Kushans, consisting mainly of coin inscriptions and a handful of inscriptions—some intact, others fragmented—pose a significant obstacle for historians. Nonetheless, these inscriptions, particularly those found at sites such as Surkh Kotal and Rabatak, have played a pivotal role in illuminating Kushan history. Despite the dearth of Kushan written material, neighboring societies have provided valuable insights through their own literature, which often references both the Yuezhi (the tribal confederation from which the Kushans originated) and the Kushans themselves.

Bibliography

F. Grenet, “The Nomadic Element in the Kushan Empire (1st–3rd Century AD)”, Journal of Central Eurasian Studies, 2012, 3, pp.1-22.

D. Hitch, “Kushan Tarim Domination”, Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3/4 (1988), pp. 170-192.

P. Bang (Editor), C.Bayly, W. Scheidel, “The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume Two: The History of Empires”, Oxford University Press, 2020.