Kushan ruler Kanishka (flourished ca. 78-ca. 103 A.D.) controlled an empire covering most of India, Iran, and central Asia in the first and second centuries. With his conversion to and official support of Mahayana Buddhism, the religion underwent a period of substantial growth, gaining converts throughout the Kushan realm, including parts of China. This growth was attended by a blossoming of Buddhist iconography, sculpture, and architecture.

Kanishka was the greatest ruler of the Kushan Empire, a realm that covered much of present-day India, Pakistan, Iran and other parts of central Asia and China during the first and second centuries. Under his influence, the developing religious philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism was spread to areas of central Asia and China and gained a prominent following in the areas under his control. A supporter of the arts who embraced ideas from the many peoples of his region, Kanishka also helped bring...