Kadphises I took the title of yabgu or yava (chief) at the beginning of his reign but apparendy after his invasion of Parthia and conquest of Taxila, he took on the title of maharaja.
Kadphises II, who conquered the Indus area assumed the imperial tide of ‘great king of kings’ or ‘king of kings, Saviour’, in Greek on his coins. Kanishka’s imperial title was maharaja rajadhiraja devaputra which was evidently a borrowed one, from the proceeding Shakas and Pahlavas.
Kingship was exalted and the king was bestowed with an almost divine status, with the result that some Kushana kings are depicted on their coins as surrounded by a nimbus or halo and luminous rays or flames.
Very little information is available about the administration of the Kushanas. Kanishka had a number of subordinate rulers under him who were satraps or great satraps, similar to the ones under the Shakas and the Pahlavas.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Presumably, these viceroys were allowed to mint their own coins and also to take on imperial titles. The Kushanas introduced two grades of military or judicial officc, which had the Indian tides of mahadandanayaka and dandanayaka.
An important feature of the Kushana administration was the appointment of foreigners to all the higher offices. The foreigners held tides like strategos (military governor) and meridach (district magistrate) and were posted in the north-west.
The officers of Indian origin were called amatyas and mahasenapatis and were stationed in the interior. The village administration continued as before, with the headmen in charge, whose appointment was usually hereditary.