An ancient habitation, Mathura's strategic location ensured its position as a centre of trade and a meeting point of cultures. A major city during the time of the Buddha (5th century, BC) it became the eastern capital of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka. Mathura continued to be a centre of power during the enlightened rule of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BC) and upto the Gupta era (4th century AD). The arts, flourished and at the Mathura Museum one can trace the evolution of the Mathura School from the time of the Kushan emperors to the Gupta period.