The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria and india in the. The reader will do well to bear in mind that a plausible or possible explanation or reconstruction, is far from a certain one, and often by no means the only one. Ancient greek coins ancient coins of the near east. Click here for the baktria page with thumbnail images. Bactria was a greek kingdom, established when it broke away from the seleukid kingdom. May 26, 2009 grecobactrian coins in the lahori museum 1908 in ancient macedonian kings, archaeology by admin on may 26, 2009 at 2. Ancient coins grecobactrian tetradrachm of eucratides. If you are in possession of a collection of old coins, youve. Poseidon standing facing, holding trident and palm branch. The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria. Ancient greek coins ar tetradrachm 171160 bc, antimachos 171160 b.
Hermaios about 20 bc but none have the horizontal text, text like that is usually associated with the romans but two bactrian rulers did mint coins like that eucratides i about 150bc. The bactrian kingdom was the easternmost part of the hellenistic world which was created by the conquests of the macedonian king alexander the great. It covered bactria and sogdiana in central asia from 250 to 125 bc, while an expansion of its armies into northern india from 180 bc established the indo. The bactrian kingdom was the easternmost of the hellenistic greek kingdoms of the successors of alexander the great.
Chronology of the indo bactrian rulers is based largely on numismatic evidence. Here is a guide to what might be considered as the top ten musthave coin tools that the more advanced collectors have in their arsenal. Greek civilization in bactria was overwhelmed towards the end of the first. The actual series of bactrian coins opens with a didrachm of diodotus, no. Some of the earliest greek coinage struck in baktria is attributed to the mint of ai khanoum, a lost city rediscovered only in 19612. Bactrian kingdom coins the bactrian kingdom was the easternmost part of the hellenistic world which was created by the conquests of the macedonian king alexander the great. A precisioncrafted digital scale is an absolute necessity for anyone planning to move into the intermediate or advanced category of coin collecting.
When you hold a 50, 200 or 2,000yearold coin in your hand, you cant help but imagine where it might have been in its lifetime. The coins of the graecobactrian period preserve the finest in hellenistic portraiture. Discussion in ancient coins started by 4to2centbc, nov 2, 2015. Reproducible worksheets these worksheets practice math concepts explained ini can count bills and coins isbn. Greek king heliokles ii, who copied the coins of his namesake, introduced the. It originated around 256 bc when diodotus i declared himself independent of the seleukid king antiochos ii. The bactrian coins are renowned throughout the world. Bactrianumis ancient and islamic rare coins, antiques. The notion of a kushan dynasty or of a kushan period is entirely that of modern historians. The elephant skin headdress grabbed me aktria, grecobaktrian kingdom. The grecobactrian kingdom was one of the successor states descended from alexander the greats empire, carved out of. Bactrian greeks, ar drachm, heliokles i bactrianumis.
Pdf this article focuses on coins inscribed with the name. I recently discovered that edge struggles to render some pdf documents. Most of the history of bactria was surmised from their coins and other collateral evidence. Bactrian kingdom menander i soter atelier incertain c. To access the full database of over 5 million records, please consult coinarchives pro.
The graecobactrian kingdom the easternmost region of the hellenistic world covering bactria northern afghanistan and lands to the north known in ancient times as sogdiana, in presentday turkmenistan, uzbekistan and tajikistan was one consequence of the sojourn through afghanistan by alexander the great, whose army built fortresses. Because it was struck in silver, the public hoarded it along with other coins when the civil war broke out. I meant to show off this guy again for this thread. Hey folks, with edge being the default pdf reader on windows 10 i just wanted to urge everyone to download an alternative viewer. In that case, he was a grandson of euthydemus whom he qualified on his coins as. Pdf reader for windows 10 free download and software. Specialising in classical antiquities, near eastern, biblical, chinese, precolumbian, byzantine, asian, african and primitive arts, the business expanded from a small shop in the jerusalem souq into a dealership with global reach, and a presence in most of the worlds major artbuying centres. It seems less refined than other issues, so it may be a local reproduction that doesnt mean its not a genuine old coin, though designs of established denominations were often reused locally. On their campaigns the celts encountered many exotic things coins, for. On their campaigns they clashed with the etruscans, the romans and the greeks, they fought as mercenaries under philip ii and alexander the great.
Nov 02, 2015 i did not find many posts here about bactrian or baktrian coins, so i thought i might start one. A free to view alternative and through coin archives see 3. He might have been a son of demetrius and one of his subkings in charge of the paropamisade between bactria and india. The existence of the coinage points to the khaqans consolidation of political and economic power and control over local rulers. If you are in possession of a collection of old coins, youve no doubt wondered how to determine whether or not your coins are rare or valuable. Jul 20, 2005 turkosogdian coinage, issues of the khaqans. Within the indogreek kingdom there were over 30 kings, often in competition on different territories. The descendants of the grecobactrian king euthydemus invaded northern india.
Bactrian and indoscythian kingdoms, diodotos i and ii in the name of antiochos ii theos of seleukid kingdom, av stater, c. Grecobactrian coins in the lahori museum history of macedonia. Usually the less expensive varieties of microscopes have optics of rather inferior quality, which offer the viewer a frequently blurred image at best, so it is a good idea to pay for as high a quality microscope as possible. Online orders are welcome as always and will be shipped directly. Ons news london meeting from the editor speakers at the meeting held on 26 april 2008 at the british museum were. Baktria, diodotus i as satrap for antiochus ii theos, c. Diodotus i was the seleukid governor of baktrosogdiana early in antiochos iis reign. Iits like a scene right out of an indiana jones film. Silver drachm depicting king on his galloping horse, and on reverse. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. The bactrian kingdom spawned a number of greek monarchies to the east. Unfortunately, there is an overwhelming amount of information out there and a good bit of it is either confusing or misleading. The bactrian group, which was composed primarily of greeks in the 3rd century bc overthrew the morian empire, which was based in india and had taken over parts of afghanistan.
I did not find many posts here about bactrian or baktrian coins, so i thought i might start one. Bactrian coins came from ai khanum as a result of clandestine diggings. E antioxoy, zeus walking left, brandishing thunderbolt in right hand, aegis draped over extended left arm. The bactrian coins were issued in bactria only, north of the hindu kush mountains, while the indogreek coins were issued south of the hindu kush. Cyrus the great in the 6th century bce conquered bactria and it remained under persian rule for the next 2. This and the other indogreek coins issued by eucratides demonstrate that he had an extensive kingdom in gandhara in addition to his bactrian domains.
Whether old coins, or more recent commemorating important. The internet would seem like a logical place to go for more information. An educational page about ancient coins of india and bactria. Indo bactrian empire of india bactria zariaspa was an ancient country lying between the mountains of the hindu kush and the amu darya present day afghanistan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan. Unlike the much later british version, we might presume the bactrian version. Bactrian coins is an article from journal of the royal asiatic society of great britain and ireland, volume 20. This very indic square drachma of apollodotuss features not only kharoshthi script, but an indic elephant and zebu as well. You can select to see all the coins of a particular king from the options below and they will then be displayed on another page, those images can be moved by. Unlike the much later british version, we might presume the bactrian version shown on coins was made of metal. This force grew as the greco bactrian kingdom expanded into india and was widely depicted in greco bactrian coinage. The usual view is that mithridates i ascended the throne c. Cyrus the great in the 6th century bce conquered bactria and it remained under persian rule for the next 200 years as a bactrian satrapy.
A bibliography of the numismatics of the hellenistic far. Featured is a tetradrachm of eucratides i of the hellenistic kingdom of grecobactria. Actually, the metal they were using was really a natural alloy of copper and nickel. Pdf a flood of fake bactrian coins robert bracey academia. Baktria, kings, diodotos i, ancient coins index with. View more articles from journal of the royal asiatic society of great britain and ireland.
Cribbs analysis is framed in his concept of a coinage tradition, which allows the numismatic evidence to be studied in a grounded manner. Indobactrian empire of india bactria zariaspa was an ancient country lying between the mountains of the hindu kush and the amu darya present day afghanistan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan. Convert pdf to txt, bmp, jpg, gif, png, wmf, emf, eps, tiff. A bibliography of the numismatics of the hellenistic far east. The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria and india in the british museum. History of macedonia grecobactrian coins in the lahori. It is hoped that the current work will be of similar use in gathering material concerning the. The barakat gallery, a fifthgeneration familyowned business, founded in jerusalem over 100 years ago. Baktria, diodotos i av stater in the name of antiochos ii of syria. Offering roman coins, greek coins, ancient coins, british coins, medieval coins, coin auctions, renaissance coins, indian coins, rare coins, celtic coins, european. Graecobactrian and indogreek coins a bibliography of the. Although the term kushan is known in ancient sources, it is often used to refer to a dynasty other than the one designated by modern historians. Only bactrian i have, but i do enjoy the look of these coins, and am tempted to seek out more and i love the op coin. The third arm of the grecobactrian army was the indian war elephants, which are depicted in some coins with a tower thorakion or howdah housing men armed with bows and javelins.
The baktrians had no idea that they were producing nickel coins. I have a very small collection of coins, but it is growing and this is one of my favorites. This force grew as the grecobactrian kingdom expanded into india and was widely depicted in grecobactrian coinage. Celticcoinsandtheirarchetypes the celts dominated vast parts of europe from the beginning of the 5th century bc. Sng ans 9 graecobactrian and indogreek coins sylloge nummorum graecorum. Its latter name comes from arsaces i who, as leader of the parni tribe, founded it in the mid3rd century bc when he conquered the region of parthia in irans northeast, then a satrapy province under. It covered bactria and sogdiana in central asia from 250 to 125 bc, while an expansion of its armies into northern india from 180 bc established the indogreek kingdom. This bibliography is intended to complement rachel mairs the archaeology of the hellenistic far east. Offering roman coins, greek coins, ancient coins, british coins, medieval coins, coin auctions, renaissance coins, indian coins, rare coins, celtic coins, european coins, jewish coins.
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