1. Hermaios and Kujūla Kadphises. Æ.
Obv., diademed bust of king to right. In Greek, _Basileōs
stērossu Hermaiou_. (Meaning obscure.)
Rev., Herakles facing, with lion’s skin and club. In Kharoshṭhī,
_Kujūla Kasasa Kushana yavugasa dhramaṭhidasa_
“(Coin) of Kujūla Kasa, chief of the Kushāṇas, steadfast
in the law.”
2. Kujūla Kadaphes—imitation of a Roman type. Æ.
Obv., diademed head to right. In corrupt Greek, _Khoranou zaoou
Kozola Kadaphes_.
Rev., king seated to right on a chair, behind him a monogram.
In Kharoshṭhī, ... _Kaphsasa[20] sachadhramaṭhitasa
Khushanasa yüasa_ “(Coin) of Kapsha, chief of the
Kushāṇas, steadfast in the true law.”
3. Vima Kadphises. AV. Double stater. Wt. 244·2 grs.
Obv., king seated cross-legged, wearing crested helmet and
diadem, thunderbolt in right hand; symbol to left. Legend in
Greek letters, _Basileus Ooemo Kadphises_.
Rev., Śiva radiate, standing in front of bull, long trident in
right hand; symbol to left. In Kharoshṭhī, _Maharajasa
rajadhirajasa sarvaloga iśvarasa Mahiśvarasa Vima Kaṭhphiśasa
tradara_ “(Coin) of the great king, the king of kings,
lord of the world, the Maheśvara, Vima Kaṭhphiśa,
the defender.”[21]
4. Kanishka. AV. Wt. 122 grs.
Obv., king radiate, standing to left sacrificing at a small
altar, spear in left hand. In Greek characters, _Shāonānoshāo
Kaneshki Koshāno_ “(Coin) of the king of kings, Kanishka
the Kushāṇa.”
Rev., Buddha facing nimbate, wallet in left hand; to right
symbol. In Greek, _Boddo_.
5. Kanishka. AV. Wt. 30·8 grs.
Obv., half-length portrait of king to left, spear in left hand.
Legend as on No. 4.
Rev., bearded deity to left, with fillet in right hand and tongs
in left. To left symbol, to right _Athsho_.
6. Kanishka. Æ.
Obv., as No. 4, but legend _Shāo Kaneshki_.
Rev., Wind god, undraped and radiate, running to left; to left
symbol, to right _Oado_.
7. Huvishka. AV. Wt. 120·9 grs.
Obv., king riding on an elephant to right, holds sceptre and
elephant-goad. Legend as on No. 4, but _Oēshki_.
Rev., goddess to right, holding cornucopiae in both hands; to
right symbol, to left _Ardokhsho_.
8. Huvishka. AV. Wt. 123 grs.
Obv., king seated cross-legged, turning to left; goad in left
hand, sceptre in right. Legend as on No. 7.
Rev., bearded Herakles, with club and lion’s skin, standing,
apple in left hand; to left symbol, to right _Herakilo_.
9. Vasudeva. AV. Wt. 122·3 grs.
Obv., similar to No. 4, but king wears suit of chain-mail; also
name _Bazodēo_ in legend.
Rev., many-headed Śiva, standing in front of bull, trident in
left hand; symbol to right, to left _Oesho_.
10. Later Great Kushāṇa. AV. Wt. 121·4 grs.
Obv., as No. 4, but corrupt legend, Nāgarī letters, to left
“ha,” to right “vi.”
Rev., goddess seated on throne facing, holding noose in right,
cornucopiae in left hand; left, above symbol, below Nāgarī
“la”; to right _Ardokhsho_.
11. Yaudheya. Æ.
Obv., soldier standing, holding spear in right hand. In Brāhmī,
_Yaudheyagaṇasya iaya dvi_....
“Of the clan of Yaudheyas (?)”
Rev., standing figure, symbol on either side.
[20] Four different Kharoshṭhī forms appear on coins—Kasa, Kaphsa,
Kadapha and Kaü. It is uncertain how many persons they denote.
[21] Maheśvara (Mahesh) is a name of Śiva.
III. COINS OF THE WESTERN SATRAPS AND OTHER IMITATORS OF THE GREEK
MODELS
The coinage of the Indo-Greek kings made a deep impression upon their
successors and neighbours, just as the coinage of Bactria had impressed
the conquering Śakas, who copied it extensively in that country.
The crude coins of Miaos (or Heraos) and of Sapeleizes, two very
obscure rulers, are evidently modelled on the issues of Heliokles and
Eukratides. Śaka princes, like Maues, as we have seen, while adopting
many Greek features, employed a characteristic coinage of their own. On
the other hand, we find Rājuvula, one of the Śaka satraps who replaced
the Hindu kings of Mathurā in the first century A.D., slavishly copying
the billon hemidrachms of Strato II (Pl. I, 8). Nahapāna, a great
Śaka conqueror who founded a kingdom in the Western Ghats at about
the same period, also reproduced the Greek hemidrachm (Pl. II, 11),
as did the Andhra king, Śrī Yajña Gotamīputra (Pl. III, 1). Another
Śaka chieftain, Chashṭana, about A.D. 115, founded a kingdom in Mālwā,
striking hemidrachms like those of Nahapāna on the Greek model, and
resembling most nearly the coins of Apollodotos. The coins of both
these princes preserve the remains of Greek characters on the obverse,
and on the reverse are inscriptions in both Nāgarī[22] and Kharoshṭhī,
but after the death of Chashṭana the Kharoshṭhī inscription disappears.
His successors, known as the Western Satraps, extended his dominions
by conquests from the Andhras until they embraced all the flourishing
ports on the west coast with their valuable sea-borne trade. Their
hemidrachms are found in great abundance throughout Western India:
on the reverse of all appears the Buddhist _chaitya_ copied from the
Andhra coinage; the portraits on the obverse are distinctly Scythian in
appearance. These coins are of special historical importance; for in
the reign of the fifth satrap, Jīvadāman, dates in the so-called Śaka
era,[23] recording the year of issue, were added to the inscription
(Pl. III, 2); and these are of the greatest service in helping to date
events here and elsewhere in India down to the year A.D. 395, when the
Guptas conquered the country, and the long and monotonous series of
Western Satrap coins came to an end. The Guptas in their turn struck
silver of the same type; and these degenerate descendants of the Greek
hemidrachm had a further lease of life, when, imported by the Guptas
from their western (Pl. VI, 1) to their central dominions (Pl. VI, 2),
they were adopted by several minor dynasties, including the Maukharīs,
and were even struck by the invading Huns (Pl. VI, 7).
[22] Nāgarī is a later form of Brāhmī script.
[23] The Śaka era started in A.D. 78; this date is now considered to
mark the first year of Kanishka’s reign.
Imitation of both Greek and Śaka models is noticeable in the coins of
the Hindu state of Odumbara. (Pl. III, 3), the modern Pathānkot; both
these and the earlier silver coins of the Kuṇindas, who occupied hilly
districts near the river Satlej, have legends in Brāhmī and Kharoshṭhī;
both may be assigned to the first century B.C.
[Illustration: Fig. 3a. Kharoshṭhī Script on Coin of Hippostratos. Cf.
Pl. II, 5.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3b. Monograms on Indo-Greek Coins, etc.]