The Kabul Shahi dynasties also called Shahiya ruled the Kabul Valley (in eastern Afghanistan) and the old province of Gandhara (northern Pakistan) during the Classical Period of India from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century. They are split into two eras the Buddhist-Shahis and the later Hindu-Shahis with the change-over occurring around 870. When Xuanzang visited the region early in the 7th century, the Kabul region was ruled by a Kshatriya king, who is identified as the Shahi Khingal, and whose name has been found in an inscription found in Gardez.