Eternal India Encyclopedia

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COINS

with four compartments having a dot in each of them and a branch of a tree. On the reverse some minute symbols are found. The invasion of India by Alex-

fabric of a lotus, a conch, a solid square with four cir- cular arms at the four points, a strip with a cres- cent. The coins of the Gupta period (Fig-9) are mostly in gold. The most common

ander the Great in 326 B.C. saw the formation of a Greek Kingdom in Syria which extended as far as the Indus. The Satrap of Bactria, the country north of the Hindu Kush, declared his independence of the Kingdom. Meander was the most powerful king among the Indo-Bactrians. The Indo-Bac- trian rulers issued gold coins by

coin is that which shows the King standing to right, bare-bodied, shooting at the lion with bow and arrow to one side and on the other side is goddess seated facing on lion couchant to left, holding lotus in the left hand and noose in the right.

the die-striking technique which had been earlier unknown to India. They gave a new form to Indian coinage by placing the heads of their Kings on the obverse and introducing inscriptions on the coins (Fig-6). They also introduced figures of Greek gods and god- desses. A silver coin issued by Agathocles, a ruler of Bactria, shows the head of Alexander wearing a lion's scalp with the in- scriptions Alexandrous on the right and Toy Philippon on the left. The reverse shows Zeus seated on the throne holding an eagle and a long sceptre. Heads of Antiochus, Diodotus, ‘Euthydemus, Demetrius and Pantaleon are portrayed on the coins issued by Agathocles. Similarly Educratides commemorates his parents Heliocles and Leodice. The Kushanas, a nomadic tribe

DELHI MUSLIM DYNASTY

With the advent of the Muslims in India, Indian coinage assumed an en- tirely new pattern. In Islam, the ruler's name on the coins was invested with special importance. Muslim rulers started issuing coins on each occasion when they won a war or conquered a kingdom. The coinage underwent a change during the expeditions of Mahmud of Ghazni between 1001 and 1021 A.D. Most important coins of this period (Fig-10) are silver dirhams that bear on the obverse the Kalima. Iltutmish issued silver coins (1211- 1236 A.D). Qutub-ud-din Aibak is- sued gold and silver coins. Kadamba Kings : The characteristic sign of the Kadamba Kings is a lion looking backwards. They were probably the first to strike the cup-shaped Padma- tankas, coin has on the obverse Padma (lotus) the eight-petalled in the centre, with four punch-struck lions round it. The coins weigh 58.52 grams. Ganga Kings .The gold coins of Ganga Kings of Mysore had an elephant on the obverse and floral design on the reverse. Weights of these coins are 52.3 and 58.5 grams. Chalukyas : The coins of the Western Chalukya Kings had a lion or a temple sign in place of the lotus. They were struck in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1913, around 16,586 of these cup coins were unearthed at Kodur in Nellore Dis- trict of Madras Presidency. The weights of these coins are 65.9 to 66.9 grams.

known to the Chinese as Yuch-Chi, left their homeland in the 2nd century B.C. and settled in Bactria. A century later, a prince of the Kue-Shuang (Kushana) branch of the Yuch-Chi and his successors extended their rule up to Varanasi in the East. The earli- est Indian Kushana coins (Fig-7) were issued by Kujula Kadphises, the first Kushana ruler of India, in copper. Kujula's successor was Wima. Wima Kadphises successor was Kanishka who issued coins only in gold and copper. He discarded Greek and introduced a new language - mid Iranian. His coins bear the legend Shao Kaneshki Koshano. On the reverse of these coins are placed a number of deities bearing Iranian names-Mihira

SOUTH INDIA COINS OF 10TH AND 11TH CENTURIES

(Sun)-Mao (Moon) , Oado (wind) and Athsho (fire).

POST-MAURYAN AND PRE-GUPTA AGE

After the break-up of the Mauryan empire the new states that were formed issued coins (Fig-8) mostly in copper, very rarely in silver. Some square or rectangular

pieces, about one and a half inches long, three quarters of an inch wide, bearing five bold symbols, the sun, six-armed symbol, three-arched symbol with a crescent above, a J-Iike symbol, a circle with a hook to the left, on one side and on the other side were four punched mark