
The Kushan Empire did not long survive Kaniska,
though for centuries Kushan princes continued to rule in various
provinces. Persian Sasanians established control over parts of
Afghanistan, including Bagram, in AD 241. In AD 400 a new wave of Central
Asian nomads under the Hephthalites took control, only to be defeated in AD 565
by a coalition of Sasanians and Western Turks. From the 5th
through the 7th century many Chinese Buddhist pilgrims continued to travel
through Afghanistan. The pilgrim Hsüan-tsang (Xüanzang) wrote an important
account of his travels, and several of the religious centres he visited,
including Hadda, Ghazna, Konduz, Bamian, Shotorak, and Bagram,
have been excavated.