Vima Takto or Vima Taktu was a Kushan emperor reigned c. 80–90 CE.

Rule

Vima Takto was long known as "The nameless King", since his coins only showed the legend "The King of Kings, Great Saviour", until the discovery of the Rabatak inscription

Rabatak inscription

The Rabatak inscription is an inscription written on a rock in the Bactrian language and the Greek script, which was found in 1993 at the site of Rabatak, near Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan...

 helped connect his name with the title on the coins.

Vima Takto's empire covered northwestern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Bactria

Bactria

Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...

 towards China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where Kushan presence has been asserted in the Tarim Basin

Tarim Basin

The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...

. Under his reign, embassies were also sent to the Chinese court.

Genealogy

He is mentioned in the Chinese Historical Chronicle of the Hou Hanshu, in relation to his father Kujula Kadphises

Kujula Kadphises

Kujula Kadphises, reigned was a Kushan prince who united the Yuezhi confederation during the 1st century CE, and became the first Kushan emperor...

:

"Qiujiuque (Ch: 丘就卻) [Kujula Kadphises] was more than eighty years old when he died. His son, Yangaozhen (Ch:閻高珍) [probably Vema Tahk(tu) or, possibly, his brother Sadaṣkaṇa], became king in his place. He defeated Tianzhu [North-western India] and installed Generals to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All the kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang [Kushan] king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi."

The connection of Vima Takto with other Kushan rulers is described in the Rabatak inscription

Rabatak inscription

The Rabatak inscription is an inscription written on a rock in the Bactrian language and the Greek script, which was found in 1993 at the site of Rabatak, near Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan...

, which was written by Kanishka

Kanishka

Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...

. Kanishka makes the list of the kings who ruled up to his time: Kujula Kadphises

Kujula Kadphises

Kujula Kadphises, reigned was a Kushan prince who united the Yuezhi confederation during the 1st century CE, and became the first Kushan emperor...

 as his great-grandfather, Vima Takto as his grandfather, Vima Kadphises

Vima Kadphises

Vima Kadphises was a Kushan emperor from around 90–100 CE. As detailed by the Rabatak inscription, he was the son of Vima Takto and the father of Kanishka.-Rule:...

 as his father, and himself Kanishka:

"... for King Kujula Kadphises (his) great grandfather, and for King Vima Taktu (his) grandfather, and for King Vima Kadphises (his) father, and *also for himself, King Kanishka" (Cribb and Sims-Williams 1995/6: 80)

A later inscription found at Vima's sanctuary at Mat, also records that he was the grandfather of Huvishka

Huvishka

Huvishka was a Kushan emperor from the death of Kanishka until the succession of Vasudeva I about forty years later. His rule was a period of retrenchment and consolidation for the Empire...

.

Preceded by: Kujula Kadphises Kujula Kadphises Kujula Kadphises, reigned was a Kushan prince who united the Yuezhi confederation during the 1st century CE, and became the first Kushan emperor...

Kushan Ruler (80–90 CE)

Succeeded by: Vima Kadphises Vima Kadphises Vima Kadphises was a Kushan emperor from around 90–100 CE. As detailed by the Rabatak inscription, he was the son of Vima Takto and the father of Kanishka.-Rule:...

External links

• Coins of Vima Takto
• More coins of Vima Takto
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html