Peroz II Kushanshah

Peroz II Kushanshah
Coin of Peroz II Kushanshah in Kushan style, possible Balkh mint. Peroz II is wearing his characteristic bull-horns crown.[1]
Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom
Reign303–330
PredecessorHormizd II Kushanshah
SuccessorVarahran Kushanshah
Died330
ReligionZoroastrianism

Peroz II Kushanshah (Bactrian script: Πιρωςο Κοϸανο ϸαηο)[2] was the penultimate Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 303 to 330.[3] He was the successor of Hormizd II Kushanshah.

Like his two previous predecessors—Hormizd I Kushanshah and Hormizd II Kushanshah—Peroz II had the same group of coins minted during his reign, with gold dinars and copper drachms provided from the main Kushano-Sasanian base of Tukharistan.[4] However, Peroz II is called "the Great Kushan King" and not the "Kushan King of Kings" on his coins, hence renouncing their claim of kingship over the Sasanian Empire.[4] Since the reign of Hormizd I Kushanshah, copper drachms were minted with the names of two local governors, Meze and Kavad.[4] This was also continued under Peroz II.[4]

In Gandhara, Peroz II issued copper coins with his characteristic "bull horns crown".[5] However, he was the last of the Kushano-Sasanian rulers to issue such coins in Gandhara.[5] After that point, the area was occupied by Shapur II, who issued his own coinage from Kabul.[4][6][5]

Peroz II was succeeded by Varahran Kushanshah in Tukharistan, while the Sasanian King of Kings Shapur II (r. 309–379) incorporated Gandhara and Kabul into his own domains.[4][6][5]

  1. ^ Cribb 2010, pp. 98–99.
  2. ^ Cribb 2010, p. 98.
  3. ^ Cribb & Donovan 2014, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rezakhani 2017, p. 83.
  5. ^ a b c d Cribb 2010, p. 109.
  6. ^ a b Vaissière 2016.