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Alphabetical Order
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Kanishka (?-A.D. 160?), was the greatest ruler of the Kushan Empire, which flourished in what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwest India from about A.D. 50 to the mid-200's. Kushan political power and art reached their peaks under his leadership.
Kanishka created a great council of Buddhist monks, and missionaries spread Buddhism to China during his reign. At his capital, Peshawar, he built a famous towering monument to house relics of Buddha.
Kanishka sponsored the Gandharan school of sculpture, one of the first schools to produce stone images of Buddha. Earlier, sculptors had created things only associated with Buddha, such as his footprints. Kanishka probably adopted the Saka Era, a calendar system still used by the Indian government.
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