Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
signs=.
- Manus Island, page 202. No location named. Should probably be East
Indies.
- Gulf of Kas, page 195. Missing longitude.
- Fitze-long Bay, page 187. Wrong map coordinates.
- The Index lists Dharmapuri, Diggi, Kang-ping and Radhan as having
Glossary entries which do not exist.
- Alternative spellings of Ibn Batuta include Batutu, Batatu, and
Batouka.
- Inconsistencies between latitude and longitude in the Index and the
Glossary have been left as printed, including Ajmere, Bahera, Bitlis,
Carmel, the Dead Sea, Deogarh, Dharwar, Diarbekr, Dondra Head,
Elichpur, Hugli, Kagoshima, and Kamagawa.
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
REFERENCE
A LITERARY AND
HISTORICAL ATLAS
OF ASIA
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[Illustration: To THE WISE MAN ALL THE WORLD'S A SOIL
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A LITERARY &
HISTORICAL
ATLAS OF
ASIA
J G. BARTHOLOMEW LL.D
LONDON: PUBLISHED
by J·M·DENT & SONS LTD
AND IN NEW YORK
BY E·P·DUTTON & CO
INTRODUCTION
Fourth in the series of special atlases designed for "Everyman's
Library" the present volume deals with the countries of Asia, whose
history and geography, and whose possibilities, great and grave, are
alike reflected in the maps and charts that follow. When Queen Elizabeth
granted to certain merchants of London a charter that gave them a roving
commission to trade in the East Indies, she could not foresee the
immense developments that were to rise from that adventurous commerce
between east and west. The successive maps of India with their frontier
changes mark the gradual advance of an old world toward the new one knit
by powerful mutual ties to the Isle of Britain; and recently we have
seen what it is to be hoped will open a greater era for those regions,
marked by a return to the old capital of Delhi, and a resuming of
ancient rites which first gained their symbolism in those lands.
But Asia, as Japan has taught us and as China will undoubtedly teach us
again, has her own destiny to bear out, apart from our European
interests and politics; and it is in that aspect we need to study her on
the lines laid down and made clear and positive in this volume. It is
not the military records, the charts of mutinies and battle-fields,
interesting as they are, which are alone important; but those showing
the conditions, physical and climatic, of the country; the dispersion of
the tongues, the sites of the old religions, the wealth and tillage of
the earth with its fruits, grain and minerals, its rice fields and tea
plantations; the prevalence of rain, sun and trade-winds; and the course
of the sea-roads that affect its human and industrial life.
A gazetteer does not always seem to the ordinary man a very entertaining
thing, but in this of Asia its compiler, Miss Grant, has tried to mark
in brief, close compacted in small type, the place-associations,
historical and other, that give life to the names of town or country.
She has related them to the books that have dealt with them, and the
events they have witnessed: given Ning-po its allusion to Marco Polo's
travels, and Madras its San Thomé pedigree, connected Palmyra with
Tamerlane, and Puri, Bengal, with the gold tooth of the Buddha and the
Temple of Vishnu's incarnation. In the Brief Survey of the Coins and
Coinage, Mr. J. Allan (of the Coins and Medal Department, British
Museum) has traced the record from Lydia, six centuries and more B.C.,
to our own time. His notes on the Phoenician coins--"tetradrachms of
Tyre with a dolphin or the god Melkart riding on a sea-horse," or an owl
with a crook and a flail (Egyptian royal symbols); or the double shekels
of Sidon with a galley, sails, or oars, before a walled city on one
side, and a king of Persia on the other--show how much of history a set
of coins, apparently so secretive, may hide in their silver and gold
impressions.
In this Asian Atlas, of small dimensions as it requires to be to fit its
pocket, Irkutsk in the north, "far Mandalay," the details of the East
and West Indies, the route of Marco Polo, coasts like the Carnatic,
towns like Lucknow and Cawnpore, Lhasa, "the Forbidden City" of Tibet,
and Matsuye, the old capital of Idzumo, which Lafcadio Hearn describes,
all have their record. It remains to be said, that as in other volumes
of the same set, Dr. Bartholomew of Edinburgh has acted as cartographer;
and the editor and publishers wish to acknowledge his large practical
aid in the design of the atlas. Also, they owe a word of thanks to Mr.
William Foster of the India Office for his expert advice.
Finally, they wish to dedicate the volume to the people and the princes
of India, Japan, and the other countries of which it is a memorial,
believing in their great future.
E. R.
CONTENTS
COLOURED MAPS
PAGE
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HECATÆUS, B.C. 500 1
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ERATOSTHENES, B.C. 220 2
QUADRANS HABITABILIS ACCORDING TO ABU RIHAN BIRUNENSIS,
A.D. 1030 3
EGYPTIAN EMPIRE, B.C. 1450 4
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE, B.C. 560 5
PERSIAN EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT, 525 B.C. 6, 7
EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 325 B.C. 8, 9
ASIA MINOR 10, 11
PALESTINE, OLD TESTAMENT 12
PALESTINE, NEW TESTAMENT 13
ASIA, EARLY EXPLORERS 14, 15
ASIA, THIRTEENTH CENTURY 16
ASIA, ABOUT 1740 17
INDIA, 1705 18
INDIA, 1765 19
INDIA, 1805 20
INDIA, 1857 21
THE FAR EAST, 1800 22, 23
RUSSIAN ADVANCES IN CENTRAL ASIA 24, 25
THE WORLD ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION, SHOWING ROUTES TO
ASIA 26, 27
ASIA--OROGRAPHICAL 28
RIVER BASINS 29
JANUARY TEMPERATURE 30
JULY TEMPERATURE 31
JANUARY RAINFALL 32
JULY RAINFALL 33
MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL 34
VEGETATION 35
RACES 36
RELIGIONS 37
POPULATION 38
POLITICAL 39
ECONOMIC MAP OF ASIA ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION 40, 41
TRADE ROUTES OF ASIA ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION 42, 43
TURKEY IN ASIA, ARABIA, PERSIA, AFGHANISTAN, AND
BALUCHISTAN 44, 45
ASIA MINOR, SYRIA, ETC. 46, 47
SUEZ CANAL 48
ADEN 49
OROGRAPHICAL CENTRAL ASIA, WITH INDIAN FRONTIERS 50, 51
INDIAN EMPIRE 52, 53
PRODUCTS OF INDIA 54, 55
BOMBAY, BERAR, AND PART OF CENTRAL INDIA 56, 57
PUNJAB, SIND, RAJPUTANA, KASHMIR, ETC. 58, 59
UNITED AND CENTRAL PROVINCES, BENGAL, ASSAM, ETC. 60, 61
MADRAS, HAIDARABAD, MYSORE, AND CEYLON 62, 63
ENVIRONS OF BOMBAY 64
ENVIRONS OF CALCUTTA 65
OROGRAPHICAL FARTHER INDIA 66
BURMA 67
MALAY STATES 68, 69
SIAM AND INDO-CHINA 70, 71
THE FAR EAST, ECONOMIC 72, 73
EAST INDIES 74, 75
JAVA 76
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 77
ISLAND OF SINGAPORE 78
HONG-KONG 79
CHINA AND JAPAN 80, 81
NORTHERN CHINA 82, 83
SOUTHERN CHINA 84, 85
ENVIRONS OF PEKING AND SHANGHAI 86
ENVIRONS OF HONG-KONG AND MANILA 87
JAPAN 88, 89
KOREA AND MANCHURIA 90
CENTRAL JAPAN 91
ENVIRONS OF TOKIO 92
ENVIRONS OF PORT-ARTHUR AND NAGASAKI 93
SIBERIA 94, 95
ENVIRONS OF VLADIVOSTOK 96
A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE COINAGES OF ASIA, FROM
THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY, BY J. ALLAN,
M.A., M.R.A.S. 97
LINE MAPS
BATTLE OF SIRANGAPATAM, February 1792 130
BATTLE OF ASSAYE, September 1803 131
BATTLE OF MEANEE, February 1843 131
BATTLE OF ALIWAL, January 1846 132
BATTLE OF SOBRAON, February 1846 132
INDIAN MUTINY, SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS, May 1857 133
ARYAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA 134
NON-ARYAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA 135
SITES OF ANCIENT INDIAN TEMPLES 136, 137
MILITARY DIVISIONS OF INDIA 138
DELHI 139
LUCKNOW 140
CAWNPORE 141
LAHORE 142
RANGOON 143
LHASA, "THE FORBIDDEN CITY" 144
A GAZETTEER OF TOWNS AND PLACES IN ASIA HAVING AN HISTORIC
INTEREST 145
INDEX 173
[Illustration: THE WORLD
according to
HECATÆUS
B.C. 500
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE WORLD
according to
ERATOSTHENES
B.C. 220]
[Illustration: QUADRANS HABITABILIS
according to
ABU RIHAN BIRUNENSIS
A.D. 1030
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN EMPIRE
B.C. 1450]
[Illustration: BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
B.C. 560
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PERSIAN EMPIRE
AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT
525 B.C.
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EMPIRE OF
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
325 B.C.
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA MINOR
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PALESTINE
OLD TESTAMENT]
[Illustration: PALESTINE
NEW TESTAMENT
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
EARLY EXPLORERS
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
13th CENTURY]
[Illustration: ASIA
ABOUT 1740
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1705]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1765
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1805]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1857
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE FAR EAST
1800
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: RUSSIAN ADVANCES IN
CENTRAL ASIA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE WORLD
ON MERCATORS PROJECTION.
SHOWING
ROUTES TO ASIA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
OROGRAPHICAL]
[Illustration: ASIA
RIVER BASINS
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
JANUARY TEMPERATURE]
[Illustration: ASIA
JULY TEMPERATURE
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
JANUARY RAINFALL]
[Illustration: ASIA
JULY RAINFALL
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL]
[Illustration: ASIA
VEGETATION
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
RACES]
[Illustration: ASIA
RELIGIONS
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA
POPULATION]
[Illustration: ASIA
POLITICAL
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ECONOMIC MAP
OF
ASIA
ON MERCATORS PROJECTION
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TRADE ROUTES
OF
ASIA
ON MERCATORS PROJECTION
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TURKEY IN ASIA
ARABIA, PERSIA
AFGHANISTAN & BALUCHISTAN]
[Illustration: ASIA MINOR, SYRIA &c.
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SUEZ CANAL]
[Illustration: ADEN
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: OROGRAPHICAL
CENTRAL ASIA
WITH INDIAN FRONTIERS
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIAN EMPIRE
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PRODUCTS OF INDIA]
[Illustration: PRODUCTS OF INDIA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: BOMBAY
BERAR, AND PART OF
CENTRAL INDIA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PUNJAB
SIND, RAJPUTANA,
KASHMIR, &c.
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: UNITED AND
CENTRAL PROVINCES
BENGAL, ASSAM, &c.
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: MADRAS
HAIDARABAD, MYSORE,
AND CEYLON
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: BOMBAY]
[Illustration: CALCUTTA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: OROGRAPHICAL
FARTHER INDIA]
[Illustration: BURMA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: MALAY STATES]
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SIAM & INDO-CHINA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE FAR EAST
ECONOMIC
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EAST INDIES
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: JAVA]
[Illustration: PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ISLAND OF
SINGAPORE]
[Illustration: HONG-KONG
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: CHINA & JAPAN
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: NORTHERN CHINA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SOUTHERN CHINA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PEKING
SHANGHAI
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: CANTON and HONG KONG]
[Illustration: MANILA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: JAPAN]
[Illustration: FORMOSA & LU-CHU ISLANDS
on the same scale
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: KOREA AND MANCHURIA]
[Illustration: CENTRAL JAPAN
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TOKIO]
[Illustration: PORT ARTHUR
NAGASAKI
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SIBERIA
John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: VLADIVOSTOK]
A
BRIEF SURVEY
OF THE
COINAGES OF ASIA
FROM THE
EARLIEST TIMES
TO THE
PRESENT DAY
A BRIEF SURVEY
OF THE
COINAGES OF ASIA
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES (700 B.C.) TO THE PRESENT DAY
BY J. ALLAN, M.A., M.R.A.S.
_Of the Department of Coins, British Museum_
The coins of Asia from the earliest times may be conveniently reviewed
in the following geographical and chronological sections: I. Ancient
coins of Western and Central Asia (to the rise of Islam, excluding the
majority of Greek and Roman coins which have no claim to be Asiatic);
II. Mohammadan coins of Western and Central Asia; III. Coins of India
(Hindu and Mohammadan); IV. Coins of the Far East; V. Coins struck by
European nations for their Asiatic possessions.
I.--ANCIENT COINS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL ASIA
_Origin of Coinage in Lydia._--According to Herodotus (I. 94) the
Lydians were the first people to strike coins of gold and silver, while
other writers attribute the invention of coinage to Pheidon, king of
Argos, who struck coins in Aegina. The truth appears to be that gold, or
rather electrum, was first coined in Lydia in the seventh century B.C.,
while silver was first minted in Aegina about the same time. The
earliest Lydian coins are believed to have been issued in the time of
Gyges, king of Lydia (687-652 B.C.). These are rude oval pieces of
electrum, a natural mixture of gold and silver found locally, and are
stamped on one side only (Plate I. 1). The uncertain value of this metal
was found an embarrassment to commerce, and Croesus (561-546 B.C.),
under whose rule Lydia became a great and wealthy power, introduced a
coinage of pure gold and of pure silver, ten staters of silver being
equal to one of gold (Plate I. 2, gold stater).
_Persia._--When Cyrus conquered Lydia in 546 B.C., the Persians, who,
like the Assyrians, had no coined money, became acquainted with the art
of coinage. It is not certain when the Persians began to issue coins,
but from the statement of Herodotus that Darius Hystaspis (521-486 B.C.)
coined gold of the finest quality, and the probable etymology of "daric"
from Darius, the beginning of the Achaemenid coinage is placed in his
reign; it is most probable that it was at Sardes in Lydia that Darius
first struck his coins, as there he would be most likely to find skilled
artificers. The coins of the Persian empire were the _daric_ of gold
about equal in value to the stater of Croesus (or rather more than an
English sovereign in metal value) and the _siglos_ (_shekel_) of which
twenty were the equivalent of a daric. The types were the same on each
coin, viz., on the obverse, the Persian King in a half-kneeling position
holding a bow in his left hand and a spear in his right, while the
reverse still had no type but only a rough incuse caused in striking the
coins (Plate I. 3, daric). These two coins remained the official coinage
of the Persian empire till its fall. The conquered Greek cities were not
allowed to strike gold, but the issue of silver and copper by them was
not interfered with; in addition certain Persian satraps were allowed to
issue silver coins bearing their own names.
_Phoenicia._--In spite of their commercial activity, the Phoenician
cities of the Mediterranean coast did not begin to strike coins until
comparatively late times, the end of the fifth and beginning of the
fourth centuries B.C. We possess extensive silver coinages of the fourth
century for most of these cities, those of Tyre and Sidon being
particularly important. The tetradrachms of Tyre have as types, a
dolphin or the god Melkart riding on a sea-horse and an owl with crook
and flail, Egyptian symbols of royalty (Plate I. 4, _c._ 410-332 B.C.).
The double shekels of Sidon bear on the obverse a galley with sails or
rowers often before a walled city, and on the reverse the suzerain king
of Persia in a chariot (Plate I. 5, _c._ 400-384 B.C.).
_Imitations of Athenian coins._--The coins of Athens circulated very
widely in the ancient world, particularly in Central Asia, where
imitations of them were made when the Athenian mint could no longer
supply the demand (Plate I. 6, imitation of Athenian tetradrachm). On
some of these imitations the owl was replaced by an eagle, while
Athenian influence can still be traced in the remarkably neat coins of
Sophytes (Plate I. 11, reverse, cock), whom Alexander found reigning on
the North-West Indian frontier on his march across it in 326 B.C.
_Alexander III., the Great._--When the Persian empire fell before
Alexander the Great his coins became current throughout Asia, from the
Mediterranean to the Indus, and profoundly influenced all later
coinages. His gold coins (the stater, with its multiple the distater and
its sub-divisions) have on the obverse a head of Athena, and on the
reverse a winged Victory with the king's name; the silver (drachm, with
multiples and subdivisions) has on the obverse a head of the young
Herakles in lion-skin, and reverse, Zeus seated on throne holding eagle
and sceptre (Plate I. 7). Tetradrachms bearing Alexander's name and
types continued to be struck for a century and a half after his death,
and they are at the present day the commonest of ancient coins.
_Seleucid Kings of Syria._--We possess an extensive series of coins of
the Seleucid kings of Syria, the dynasty founded by Seleucus Nikator
(312-280 B.C.), the general of Alexander who succeeded to his Asiatic
heritage. The earliest Seleucid coins (before 306 B.C.) retained the
name and types of Alexander, but soon a greater variety of types was
adopted, while the king's head began to appear regularly on the obverse.
The Seleucid coins are remarkable for the unique series of portraits
they give us. One of the commonest types of the Seleucid series has the
king's head on the obverse, and a seated Apollo with bow and arrow on
the reverse (Plate I. 8, gold stater of Antiochus I., 280-266 B.C.;
Plate I. 10, silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV., 175-166 B.C.).
_Bactria._--About the middle of the third century B.C. the empire
founded by Seleucus began to break up. A line of kings was founded in
Bactria by Diodotos, a revolted satrap, whose independence Antiochus II.
had to acknowledge. The earlier coins of these kings, who afterwards
crossed into India and gradually lost their Hellenism, present some of
the finest examples of portraiture on Greek coins (Plate I. 9, gold
stater of Diodotos I., _c._ 250 B.C.).
_Judaea._--Among the smaller kingdoms who became independent of the
Seleucids in the second century B.C. may be mentioned that of the Jews.
Certain shekels, bearing on the obverse a chalice with the legend
"shekel of Israel," and on the reverse a branch with three buds and the
legend "Jerusalem the Holy" (Plate II. 1), have been attributed to Simon
Maccabaeus (143-135 B.C.), but they may belong to the First Revolt
(66-70 A.D.).
_Parthia._--About the same period, the great Parthian kingdom was
founded in Central Asia and lasted till 220 A.D. The Parthian coinage is
of silver (drachms and tetradrachms) and bronze. Although Parthian
drachms are at the present day one of the most extensive of ancient
coinages, their classification is exceedingly difficult on account of
our ignorance of Parthian history, and the fact that the coins do not
bear the name of the issuer but of Arsakes, the founder of the dynasty.
The silver drachms bear on the obverse the portrait of the reigning
king, and on the reverse the first king Arsakes seated holding a bow,
with a legend in Greek characters which is at first simply (coin of)
"the king Arsakes" (Plate II. 2, drachm of Mithridates I. the Great,
171-138 B.C.), but gradually increases in length till a century later it
assumes the form (coin of) "the king of kings Arsakes, the just, the
illustrious, the beneficent, the friend of the Greeks," which remains
the usual legend. Tetradrachms with similar legends were also struck in
large numbers; their usual reverse type is the Parthian king seated,
receiving a wreath from the goddess of Victory or from a City goddess
(Plate II. 3, tetradrachm of Phraates IV., 38-3 B.C.). After the reign
of Phraates IV. the coins are dated in the Seleucid era, while the later
coins bear a Pehlevi legend in addition to the Greek inscription which
is by this time almost unintelligible.
_Sassanian Empire._--Early in the third century A.D. the last remnants
of Parthian power were destroyed by Ardashir, a Persian prince, who
founded the Sassanian empire, which after successfully disputing the
supremacy of Asia with the Romans for four centuries finally fell before
the conquering hosts of Islam. The Sassanian silver coins, particularly
of the later kings, are exceedingly numerous at the present day, but the
gold and copper are rare. The types of the gold and silver are
throughout the dynasty the same; on the obverse is the head of the king
with a long legend of the form, "Ardashir, worshipper of Ahura Mazda,
divine king of kings of Iran, a scion of the celestial race," on the
reverse a fire-altar, usually with two attendant priests, and at first
the legend "the fire of Ardashir" (etc.), later the mint and regnal year
of issue. The earlier coins are of remarkably good workmanship, and give
us fine portraits of the Sassanian kings (Plate II. 4, gold coin of
Ardashir I., 226-241 A.D.; Plate II. 5, silver drachm of Sapor I.,
241-272 A.D.). The gold coins weigh rather less than an English
sovereign, and their standard appears to be derived from Roman solidi;
the silver coins are drachms following the Parthian standard, and,
particularly the latter pieces, are remarkable for their thin fabric
(_e.g._ Plate II. 7, Khusrau (Chosroes) II., Parvez, 590-628 A.D.) which
was copied by the Arabs in their silver coins, and can be traced in
certain Mohammadan series to the present day.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--B. V. Head, _Historia Numorum_ (Oxford, 1911), pp.
643-845; B. V. Head, _Coinage of Lydia and Persia_ (London, 1878);
British Museum Catalogue of Greek Coins, _Lydia_ (1901), _Syria_ (1878),
_Parthia_ (1905), _Phoenicia_ (1910); E. Babelon, _Perses Acheménides_
(Paris, 1893); E. Babelon, _Rois de Syrie_ (Paris, 1890); Dorn &
Bartholomaei, _Monnaies Sassanides_ (St. Petersburg, 1875).
II.--MOHAMMADAN COINAGES
(_Exclusive of India_)
_Beginnings of Arab Coinage._--The Arabs were unacquainted with the art
of coinage till they learned it on their campaigns of conquest in Syria
(Byzantine) and Persia (Sassanian). At first they were content to issue
gold and copper pieces imitated from contemporary Byzantine coins (Plate
II. 9, early copper coin of Abd-al-Malik; obverse, figure of the Caliph;
reverse, modified Byzantine cross), while their silver pieces were
copies of late Sassanian coins (like Plate II. 7), with the addition of
_bismillah_ (in the name of God) on the margin.
_Abd-al-Malik's Reformed Currency._--Though one traditionist says that
even Adam felt the need for money and struck dinars and dirhems, more
reliable authorities agree in attributing to Abd-al-Malik, the fifth
Omayyad Caliph (684-705 A.D.), the institution in 696 A.D. of a purely
Muslim coinage, worthy of the great Arab empire and the foundations on
which it was built. This coinage was of gold, silver, and copper, and
the names _dinar_ (denarius aureus), _dirhem_ (drachma), and _falus_
(follis), which have remained in use practically to the present day,
were borrowed from the Byzantines. The dinar originally weighed rather
more than half a sovereign, while the dirhem was a little less than
sixpence in English money, but the names came to mean simply gold and
silver coin respectively.
Mohammad's interdiction of any form of image-making, as savouring of
idolatry, limited the orthodox Caliph to legends on his coins, but
thereby gave Arab coins an importance as historical documents possessed
by no other series. From the earliest times they bore the mint and date
(in the Mohammadan era dating from 622 A.D.), and later the ruler's name
and titles, often including valuable genealogical data, were added. The
right of striking coins was one of the privileges of sovereignty, and
Muslim coins thus throw a good deal of light on Arab history.
Plate II. 6 is a dinar, and Plate II. 8 a dirhem of Abd-al-Malik; both
bear on the obverse the profession of faith, "There is no god but God;
He hath no associate:" around the reverse of the dinar is the legend,
"In the name of God this dinar was struck in the year 77" (696 A.D.),
while the similar inscription on the dirhem includes the mint (Damascus,
79 A.H.) and is placed around the obverse. On both the reverse areas is
"God is alone; God is eternal; He begets not and is not begotten" (the
dinar ends here, but the dirhem continues) "nor is there any one like
unto Him" (Koran, cxii.). Around the obverse of the dinar and reverse of
the dirhem is, "Mohammad is the prophet of God, sent with guidance and
the religion of truth to make it prevail over all other religions"
(dinar stops here), "averse though the idolaters may be" (Koran ix. 33).
_Abbasids._--In 750 A.D. the Abbasids overthrew the Omayyads, and at
first made but superficial alterations in the coinage; the long reverse
formula was replaced by the simple profession, "Mohammad is the prophet
of God." Plate III. 2, a dinar of the "good" Caliph Harun-al-Rashid
(786-809 _A.D._) is typical of the period, except that it bears the name
of his ill-fated vizier, Ja'afar, who will be remembered by readers of
the _Arabian Nights_ as the companion of the Caliph's nocturnal
ramblings, on whom this signal honour was conferred. In the ninth
century a second marginal inscription, "To God belongs the order before
and after, and in that day the believers shall rejoice in the help of
God" (Koran, xxx. 3, 4) was added on the obverse, while the Caliph's
name begins to appear regularly on the reverse area.
_Contemporaries of the Caliphs._--Coins with similar legends were struck
by the various dynasties which arose on the weakening of the authority
of the Caliph in the ninth and tenth centuries. In addition to the
ruler's name they usually bear the name of the reigning Caliph, whose
spiritual authority was still recognised; such are Plate III. 1, a
dirhem of the Samanid Nasr b. Ahmad struck in 300 A.H. at Samarkand,
which was then one of the great centres of Mohammadan learning and
literary activity; Plate III. 4, a Buwayhid dinar of Rukn-al-Daula
(932-976 A.D.), struck at Hamadan in 352 A.H., bearing the name of the
_fainéant_ Caliph al-Muti; and Plate III. 6, a dinar, struck at Rayy,
447 A.H., of the Great Seljuk Toghrul Beg (1037-1063 A.D.), the Turkish
conqueror of Western Asia whose descendants were among the most
redoubtable of the "Saracens." Plate III. 3, a dinar of the last Abbasid
Caliph--Al-Mustasim (1242-1258 A.D.), illustrates the change in the
fabric and calligraphy of the coinage which had taken place in six
centuries. Plate III. 5 is a dinar of Mahmud of Ghazni (998-1030 A.D.),
with the reverse legend in Sanskrit for the benefit of his Indian
subjects.
_Seljuks, Ortukids, and Ayyubids_ (_Saracens_).--Plate III. 7, a dirhem
of Sulaiman II. (1199-1203 A.D.), a Seljuk of Asia Minor, is the first
of a series of striking deviations from the orthodox Mohammadan type,
prompted as much by necessities of commerce with Christian nations as by
a lack of orthodoxy on the part of their issuers, heretics though they
were. The obverse area is occupied by a horseman holding a mace over his
shoulder, while around is the Shia form of the Mohammadan creed (as
above, with the addition of the words "Ali is the friend of God"); the
reverse bears the usual data. Plate III. 8 is a dirhem of one of his
successors Kaikubad I. (1219-1236 A.D.), a fine specimen of the
calligraphy of the period; Plate III. 9, is a dirhem of his successor,
Kai-Khusru II. (1136-1245 A.D.), bearing the "lion and sun," the
horoscope of his beautiful Georgian wife, whose portrait he wished to
place on his coins, till his counsellors persuaded him to be content
with her horoscope. The coins of the Ortukids, who were also prominent
opponents of the Crusaders, are remarkable for their immense variety of
types borrowed from all sources (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, etc.). Plate
IV. 1, reverse of a copper coin of Kara Arslan (1148-1174 A.D.), and
Plate IV. 2, of a copper coin of Alpi (1152-1176 A.D.), represent Christ
seated and the Virgin crowning the emperor respectively, both well-known
Byzantine types. The Saracen best known by name to English readers is
Saladin the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria (1169-93 A.D.) whose
capture of Jerusalem in 1187 provoked the Third Crusade in which Richard
I., Coeur-de-Lion, took a prominent part. Plate IV. 3 is a dirhem
struck by him at Damascus, his Syrian capital, in 582 A.H. (1186 A.D.).
_Mongols._--In the thirteenth century the Mongols, led by the Chingiz
Khan (1206-1227 A.D.), one of the greatest conquerors the world has
known, subjugated practically all Asia with the exception of India.
Plate IV. 4 is one of the rare coins attributed to Chingiz Khan, while
Plate IV. 5 is a handsome dinar struck by Arghun, one of the earliest
(1284-1295 A.D.) of the Persian line of Mongols (obverse, Mohammadan
(Shia) creed and date, etc.; reverse, the Khan's titles, etc., in
Mongol). Tamerlane (1369-1404 A.D.) (Timur Lang, Timur the Lame), a
distant descendant of Chingiz Khan, is another great conqueror familiar
to English readers through Marlowe and Gibbon. One of the coins struck
by him, with the name of his nominal sovereign, Suyurghatmish, is
figured on Plate IV. 6. Plate IV. 7 is a dirhem of his son and ultimate
successor, Shah Rukh (1404-1447 A.D.), of a type (obverse, Mohammadan
creed, with the names of the four orthodox Caliphs around the margin;
reverse, titles) which was very popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth
century. Plate IV. 8 is an early Ottoman coin struck by Mohammad I.
(1402-1421 A.D.) at Brusa in 822 A.H. (1419 A.D.), of a type which
served the Turks for some centuries.
_Persia._--The earliest coins of the Shahs of Persia (_e.g._ Plate IV.
10, reverse of a silver coin of Ismail I. (1502-1524 A.D.) struck at
Meshhed in 924 A.H. (1518 A.D.)) are of the type instituted by Shah
Rukh to which they may be traced through the Shaibanid coinage; the
later Persian coins are smaller and thicker (Plate IV. 12, mohur of the
great conqueror Nadir Shah (1736-1747 A.D.)). Plate IV. 11, a gold tuman
of Fath-Ali Shah (1797-1834 A.D.), the first Shah with whom England
entered into diplomatic relations, is a remarkable fine product of the
Persian mint. Nasir-al-Din (1848-1896 A.D.) instituted a mint on the
European model in Teheran, and struck coins with his portrait (_e.g._
Plate IV. 13, a gold tuman), or the Lion and Sun, on the obverse and his
titles on the reverse.
_Bukhara._--The coins of the Emirs of Bukhara, now under Russian
suzerainty, are mainly of gold (_e.g._ Plate IV. 9, a gold tila of the
fanatical Haidar Tora, 1800-1826 A.D.).
_Afghanistan._--The Emirs (Durrani and Barakzai) of Afghanistan, who
became independent of Persia in the eighteenth century, adopted the
standards and types of their Moghul contemporaries. A mint on the
European model has recently been established in Kabul, and its coins are
rapidly replacing older issues.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--O. Codrington, _Musulman Numismatics_ (London, 1904); S.
Lane-Poole, _Mohammadan Dynasties_ (London, 1894); British Museum
Catalogue of Oriental Coins, vols, i.-x.; British Museum Catalogue of
Persian Coins, _Shahs of Persia_ (1887); W. H. Valentine, _Copper Coins
of Modern Muhammadan States_ (London, 1911); M. Longworth Dames, _Coins
of the Durranis_ (_Numismatic Chronicle_, 1888); L. White King, _Coins
of the Barakzais_ (_Numismatic Chronicle_, 1896).
III.--COINS OF INDIA
_Early Hindu Coins._--The earliest coins of India are square or oblong
pieces of silver or copper punched with various symbols, the exact
significance of which is not exactly known. They were probably made by
money-changers or by the authority responsible for the purity of the
coin. These pieces date from as early as the fourth century B.C. and
circulated all over India (Plate V. 1). To a somewhat later date belong
the coins of various native states in North India; these soon became
profoundly influenced by the coinages of foreign invaders, and indeed it
is only lately that the independent origin of coinage in India has been
generally recognised (Plate V. 3, silver coin of the Kuninda king,
Amoghabhuti, second century B.C.).
_Foreign Invaders._--Early in the second century B.C., in the reign of
Euthydemus, the Greeks of Bactria began to invade India. We possess
coins of his son Demetrius, of the square Indian form with an Indian
legend on the reverse, showing a compromise between the Greek and Indian
methods of coinage. Henceforth the coins of his successors, many of whom
are otherwise unknown to history, are bilingual (Plate V. 2, hemidrachm
of Apollodotos I., _c._ 150 B.C.). Towards the end of the second century
B.C. the Scythians invaded Bactria and India; their coins are imitated
from those of their Greek predecessors, but are much inferior as works
of art (Plate V. 4, silver coin of Azes I., _c._ 90 B.C.).
They were followed about the middle of the first century B.C. by the
Kushans who founded a great empire in North-West India. The Kushan kings
of whom the greatest was Kanishka, famed in Buddhist legend, have left a
great wealth of gold and copper coins remarkable for the variety of
deities (Zoroastrian, Greek, Hindu, and Buddha) depicted on their
reverses (Plate V. 5, gold coin of Kanishka).
_Andhras and Western Satraps._--During the first three centuries A.D.
the Western Satraps, a dynasty of Scythic origin, ruled a powerful
kingdom in Western India. Their coinage of silver, forming a long dated
series, appears to be derived from hemidrachms of the Greek kings
possibly influenced by Roman denarii (Plate V. 8, Damaghsada, _c._ 180
A.D.). Unique among India coinages is the lead coinage of the Andhras
who ruled in Central and Southern India from the third century B.C.
till they fell before the Satraps (Plate V. 7, Vilivayakura, _c._ 100
A.D.; reverse only).
_Guptas._--A new era in the history of India begins in the fourth
century A.D. with the rise of the Gupta dynasty which conquered
practically all India and held it for two centuries. Their coinage,
mainly of gold, is derived from the Kushan, but displays great
originality and variety of types, and has legends in pure Sanskrit
(Plate V. 9, gold coin (_suvarna_) of Samudragupta, 340-380 A.D.,
commemorating his horse-sacrifice on his conquests; V. 10, _suvarna_ of
Kumaragupta I., 414-450 A.D.).
_Huns._--The Gupta empire finally fell before the inroads of barbarous
Huns, who swept down through Persia on India about the same time that
their kinsmen under Attila were ravaging Europe. They have left numerous
coins imitated from Sassanian or Indian types (Plate V. 12, silver coin
of Toramana, _c._ 514-544 A.D., with Sassanian types). From the Hun
imitations of Sassanian coins are descended certain coins of very rude
fabric known to the natives as "asses' head" money, which circulated
very largely in North India from the sixth to the eighth century (Plate
V. 11).
_Mediaeval Hindu Dynasties._--The later Kushan type (Plate V. 6, gold,
_c._ 250 A.D.), with a king standing, sacrificing at altar on the
obverse and a goddess enthroned facing on the reverse, survived for
centuries on the base gold and rude copper coins of Kashmir (Plate VI.
1, gold, Yasovarman, _c._ 730 A.D.), and the seated goddess remains a
familiar type on the gold coins of the mediaeval Hindu dynasties of the
present United and Central Provinces, and even survived on the coins of
Mohammadan invaders (Plate VI. 4, gold coin of Hallakshanavarman,
1097-1110 A.D., of Jejahuti). Among the commonest of Indian coins are
the silver "Bull and Horseman" coins of the Brahman kings of Kandahar
(Plate VI. 2, Spalapatideva, _c._ 875 A.D.), the types of which were
copied by various Hindu kings (_e.g._ Plate VI. 3, Prithvi-Raja of
Delhi, 1166-1192 A.D.) and retained by their Mohammadan conquerors.
_South India._--In South India the primitive punch-marked coins remained
much longer in circulation than in the north, and from the frequent
finds of Roman gold and silver coins, it is probable that these formed
the major part of the currency in the early centuries of the Christian
era. Many of the Hindu coins of South India are uninscribed, and their
attribution is still uncertain. To the Chera dynasty of Malabar are
attributed certain gold coins having an elephant on the obverse (Plate
V. 13, thirteenth century). Copper coins, having on the obverse a figure
of the king standing and on the reverse the king seated, were introduced
by Rajaraja of the Chola dynasty (_c._ 1030 A.D.); this type spread
through South India, was introduced into Ceylon on the Chola conquest,
and adopted there by the independent kings of Kandy (Plate VI. 7,
Parakramabahu, 1153-1186 A.D.). Thick gold cup-shaped pieces are
attributed to the Western Chalukyas of the Deccan (eighth century A.D.,
Plate VI. 6), while large thin gold coins were struck by the eastern
branch of the family (Plate VI. 8, Rajaraja, 1021-1062 A.D.); both bear
the Chalukya emblem, the boar. Certain cup-shaped gold pieces bearing a
lotus were struck by the Kadambas of Northern Mysore (Plate VI. 9). The
great mediaeval Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara (Mysore) has left an
extensive series of gold and copper coins. Its small gold coins called
pagodas (Plate VI. 5, Venkata Raya, _c._ 1530-1542 A.D.), bearing one or
more deities on the obverse, formed the pattern for later coinages not
only of the native states but also of various European invaders of South
India.
_Sultans of Delhi._--When Mohammad bin Sam (1193-1205 A.D.) defeated the
allied Hindu forces on the plain of Thaneswar in 1193 he became master
of India and founded the dynasty known as the Sultans of Delhi, which
survived till the Moghul conquest. In addition to striking coins of the
usual Mohammadan type he copied the coins of his Hindu predecessors
(_e.g._ Plate VI. 10, copper, _cf._ 2 and 3; VI. 11, gold, _cf._ 4). The
coins of his successors are the tanka (about 175 grains) in gold and in
silver, in addition to smaller coins of copper and billon. Plate VI. 13
may be taken as typical; it is a gold tanka of Mohammad III. bin Tughlak
(1324-1351 A.D.); on one side it bears the name of the Sultan,
"Mohammad Shah Sultan who trusts in the support of the Merciful One,"
with a marginal inscription giving the date and mint (Delhi, 726 A.H.
(1326 A.D.)); on the other side is a form of the Muslim creed. Plate VI.
12 is one of the remarkable brass tokens with which the same Sultan
sought to displace gold and silver money. It bears a legend giving the
value at which it was to pass, and an appeal to the piety of his
subjects in a legend from the Koran, "He that obeys the Sultan obeys the
Merciful One." Though no fraud was intended, this token currency was a
failure. Plate VI. 14 is a silver tanka of Sher Shah (1539-1545 A.D.),
one of the last and one of the greatest of the Sultans of Delhi. The
obverse bears the Mohammadan creed and the names of the first four
caliphs on the margin, a type which survived for two centuries longer in
the Moghul coins. The coins of the various Mohammadan states which
became independent of Delhi in the fifteenth century cannot be detailed
here. Plate VII. 1, a silver tanka of Ghiyas-al-Din of Malwa (1468-1500
A.D.), may be taken as typical of them.
_Moghul Emperors._--The Moghul Emperors made but little change in the
types and standards of the coins of their predecessors, but gave the
standard gold coin the name mohur, while the silver was called the
rupee. Plate VII. 2 is a mohur of Jalal-al-Din ("Glory of the Faith"),
Mohammad Akbar (1556-1605 A.D.), struck at Agra in 976 A.H. (1568 A.D.),
similar in type to Sher Shah's tanka (Plate VI. 14). The coins of his
son Nur-al-Din ("Light of the Faith"), Mohammad Jahangir (1605-1627
A.D.), are the most remarkable of the series. Plate VII. 3, a mohur of
Jahangir, is a fine specimen of calligraphy (obverse, Mohammadan creed;
reverse, titles and mint; Lahore, 1015 A.H.), while Plate VII. 4 is the
obverse (Ram) of a mohur of the remarkable series issued by him bearing
the signs of the zodiac. Jahangir was, like many of the Moghuls, a heavy
drinker, and went so far as to portray himself with the wine cup in his
hand on a well-known mohur (Plate VII. 5). Plate VII. 6, a mohur of his
successor Shihab-al-Din ("Flame of the Faith"), Shah Jahan (1628-1659),
is typical of the coinage of the period (obverse as Plate VII. 2,
reverse, titles; Agra, 1050 A.H. (1640 A.D.)). His successor, Aurangzib
(1659-1707 A.D.), replaced the religious legends on the obverse by the
mint and date, and this remained the usual type to the end of the
series. (Plate VII. 7, mohur of Shah Alam II. 1759-1806 A.D.; Delhi,
1205 A.H.).
At the end of the eighteenth century numerous states became practically
independent of the Great Moghul, but struck coins which still bore his
name. When the last Moghul Emperor was deposed in 1858, the name of
Queen Victoria began to appear on the coins of such native states as
were allowed to continue issuing coins. To attain uniformity in the
currency of the empire this right has been gradually curtailed by the
British government, and is now exercised only by a few of the more
important states, such as Hyderabad, which issues coins struck by modern
European machinery.
_Assam and Nepal._--Two important Hindu kingdoms, Assam and Nepal, were
never subject to the Moghuls. The kings of Assam issued an extensive
coinage (octagonal in form) till their territory was acquired by Britain
(Plate VII. 8, rupee "of the divine king Siva Sinha (1714-1744 A.D.) a
bee on the lotus feet of Hara and Gauri"). Plate VII. 9 is a silver
mohur of Prthvi Vira Vikrama (1881) of Nepal, the reigning Maharaja of
Nepal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--E. J. Rapson, _Indian Coins_ (Strassburg, 1897); Sir A.
Cunningham, _Coins of Ancient India_ (London, 1891), _Coins of Mediaeval
India_ (1894); British Museum Catalogue of Indian Coins, _Greek and
Scythic Kings_ (1886), _Andhras and Western Ksatrapas_ (1908), _Sultans
of Delhi_ (1885), _Muhammadan States_ (1885), _Moghul Emperors_ (1891);
Catalogue of Coins in the Indian Museum, vol. i. by V. A. Smith (Oxford,
1906), vols. ii. and iii. (1907, 1908) by H. Nelson Wright; E. H. Walsh,
_The Coins of Nepal_ (_Journ. of Roy. Asiat. Society_, 1907); J. Allan,
_Coinage of Assam_ (_Num. Chron._, 1908).
IV.--THE COINAGES OF THE FAR EAST
_China._--The earliest coins of China, like those of Western Asia, date
from the seventh century B.C.: these are small bronze spades and knives,
copies of the actual spades, knives, or rather billhooks, and other
small articles of husbandry which had previously been used for barter.
The knives are about seven inches long and bear an inscription giving
the weight or value and the name of the town or confederacy which issued
it; a modified form of the spade money, called the _pu_ (flattened)
money, circulated widely in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. (Plate
VIII. 1, a _pu_ coin of the town of Lu-Yang). Round money had been made
as early as the fourth century B.C., but it was not till 221 B.C. that
the great reformer Shih Huang Ti (221-210 B.C.), the "First Emperor,"
definitely superseded all previous currencies by round coins. His coins
were pieces of half an ounce (_pan-liang_), and were continued by the
Han dynasty (Plate VIII. 6, a _pan-liang_ of the Empress Kao Hou,
187-179 B.C.).
This coinage gradually became so debased and counterfeited that in 118
B.C. the Emperor Wu Ti (122-117 B.C.) issued a new bronze coinage of
five-_chu_ pieces (Plate VIII. 2); the five-_chu_ piece remained the
standard coin for the next eight centuries. The attempted monetary
reforms of the usurper Wang Mang (9-22 A.D.) may be mentioned here. In
addition to reviving a modified _pu_ and knife money (Plate VIII. 4), he
instituted a round coinage (_ho tsiuen_, Plate VIII. 3), but after his
assassination and the restoration of the Han dynasty the five-_chu_
piece was restored. The history of Chinese currency is henceforth a
continual struggle between the government and the counterfeiter. On one
occasion at least, the government sought to get rid of the forgers by
making the most skilled of them mint officials.
In 618 A.D. the Tang emperor Kao Tsu (618-627 A.D.) issued the _Kai yuan
tung pao_, "current money of the inauguration" (_i.e._ of the Tang
dynasty, Plate VIII. 5), which gave the coinages of the Far East the
form they have retained almost to the present day. From the time of the
Sung dynasty (960-1120 A.D.) onwards the legend took the form "current
money of" (name of regnal period) (Plate VIII. 8, "current money of
(the) Sung Yuan" period, 960-976 A.D.). The Southern Sung dynasty
(1127-1278 A.D.) dated their coins on the reverse in regnal years. The
Mongols (1260-1341 A.D.) issued but little copper money. An account of
their extensive paper currency in the reign of Kublai Khan (1260-1295
A.D.) is given by Marco Polo. The Ming dynasty (1368-1628 A.D.) placed
the mint-name on the reverse, while the Ching dynasty (1628-1911) placed
the mint-name in Manchu on the reverse (Plate VIII. 7, Shun-che period,
1644-1662 A.D.; Pekin mint).
It is only recently that a serious attempt to institute a silver coinage
in China has been made. In the nineties of last century, mints with
European machinery were instituted in each province, and struck silver
and copper coins of European fabric (Plate IX. 1, half-dollar of the
late Emperor Kuang Hsü, 1875-1910) for Sze-Chuan. During the last thirty
years bilingual silver coins have been issued for the Mohammadan
population of Chinese Turkestan (Plate IX. 6, reverse of a five mithkal
piece of Kashgar). One of the most remarkable of Chinese coins is the
silver rupee recently issued for the Sze-chuan province, bearing the
Emperor's head, and copied from the Indian rupee, with which it is
destined to compete for Tibetan trade (Plate IX. 3).