A Note on the Alkhan Coin Type 39 and Its Legend Khodadad Rezakhani

2015, Vol. 1, No. 1

Editor-in-Chief Touraj Daryaee Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture University of California, Irvine 1st Floor Humanities Gateway Irvine, CA 92697-3370 e-mail: [email protected]

Editors Parsa Daneshmand (Oxford University) Arash Zeini (Independent scholar)

Book Review Editor Shervin Farridnejad (Freie Universität Berlin)

Editorial Assistants Ani Honarchian (UCLA) Sara Mashayekh (UCI)

Advisory Board Samra Azarnouche (École pratique des hautes études) Dominic P. Brookshaw (Oxford University) Matthew Canepa (University of Minnesota) Ashk Dahlén (Uppsala University) Peyvand Firouzeh (Cambridge University) Leonardo Gregoratti (Durham University) Frantz Grenet (Collège de France) Wouter F.M. Henkelman (École Pratique des Hautes Études) Rasoul Jafarian (Tehran University) Nasir al-Ka‘abi (University of Kufa) Andromache Karanika (UC Irvine) Agnes Korn (Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main) Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (University of Edinburgh) Jason Mokhtarain (University of Indiana) Ali Mousavi (UC Irvine) Mahmoud Omidsalar (CSU Los Angeles) Antonio Panaino (University of Bologna) Alka Patel (UC Irvine) Richard Payne (University of Chicago) Khodadad Rezakhani (Freie Universität Berlin) Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (British Museum) M. Rahim Shayegan (UCLA) Rolf Strootman (Utrecht University) Giusto Traina (University of Paris-Sorbonne) Mohsen Zakeri (University of Göttingen)

Logo design by Charles Li Layout and typesetting by Arash Zeini

i xšnaoθrahe ahurahe mazdå Detail from above the entrance of Tehran’s fire temple, 1286š/1917–18. Photo by © Shervin Farridnejad

ii Contents

I Articles 1

1 A re-examination of two terms in the Elamite version of the Behistun inscription Saber Amiri Pariyan ...... 2

2 Alexander and the Arsacids in the manuscript MU29 Touraj Daryaee ...... 8

3 Take care of the xrafstars! A note on Nēr. 7.5 Shervin Farridnejad ...... 11

4 The kings of Parthia and Persia: Some considerations on the ‘Iranic’ identity in the Parthian Empire Leonardo Gregoratti ...... 14

5 Brief comments on the so-called Xorde Avesta (1) Götz König ...... 17

6 Some thoughts on the rock-reliefs of ancient Iran Ali Mousavi ...... 22

7 A note on the Alkhan coin type 39 and its legend Khodadad Rezakhani ...... 24

8 Relieving monthly sexual needs: On Pahlavi daštān-māh wizārdan Shai Secunda ...... 28

9 Preliminary observations on word order correspondence in the Zand Arash Zeini ...... 32

II Reviews 36

10 Smith, Kyle. 2014. The Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba’e Sajad Amiri Bavandpoor ...... 37

11 Mayor, Adrienne. 2014. The Amazons. Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across theAn- cient World Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones ...... 39

12 Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd & James Robson. 2010. CTESIAS’ History of Persia: Tales of the Orient Yazdan Safaee ...... 40

III Special Issue 43

13 Of dirt, diet, and religious others: A theme in Zoroastrian thought Bruce Lincoln ...... 44

iii List of Tables

1 Sequence of instructions in V 18 ...... 20 2 Sequence of instructions in Yt 13 ...... 20 3 Ritual instruction in Ny 1 & 2 ...... 20 4 Aməṣ̌a Spəṇtas in Yt 3.1 ...... 20 5 fradaiϑīš(a) in Yt 3 ...... 21 6 Yt 1.24 ...... 21 7 Yazišn in PYt 1.24 ...... 21 8 iϑā in the Gāϑās ...... 33 9 Homology of judgement of the dead and digestion, following Greater Bundahišn 28.10 ...... 48 10 Homologic relations implied by Farbag-Srōš’s opinion on whether Zoroastrians can buy prepared foods from their non-Zoroastrian neighbors (Rivāyat of Farnbag-Srōš 25) ...... 51

List of Figures

1 Cuneiform text of DB 8:18 in KT’s report ...... 5 2 KT’s comments on unread signs in DB 8:18 ...... 5 3 Cuneiform text of DB 10:26 in KT’s report ...... 5 4 Column I from line 18 to line 28. Note the erosion in lines 18 & 26 ...... 5 5 The eroded signsv. of˹ hal-la-ma˺-ir (DB 8:18) in sun light ...... 6 6 The eroded signsv. of˹ hal-la-ma˺-ir (DB 8:18) in the shade ...... 6 7 The restored signs of DB 8:18 on a scale of one-quarter ...... 6 8 The eroded signsmi-ul of˹ (?)-ka4˺-iš (DB 10:26) in sun light ...... 6 9 The eroded signsmi-ul of˹ (?)-ka4˺-iš (DB 10:26) in the shade ...... 6 10 The restored signs of DB 10:26 on a scale of one-quarter ...... 6 11 Photoshop reconstruction of DB 10:26 by the present author ...... 7 12 Coin type 39 ...... 24 13 The legend on coin type 39 ...... 24 14 The Alkhan tamgha S1 ...... 25 Part I

Articles A note on the Alkhan coin type 39 and its legend

Khodadad Rezakhani

Freie Universität Berlin [email protected]

n the classification of the Hunnic coinage issued catalogue number 1965.418, seems rather clear. On the by “Alkhan” authorities, Robert Göbl recognizes a reverse, the coin has the bust of a king, looking right, Itype 39 that bears an obverse bust with a crown re- with a crown imitated from that of Shapur II. There is sembling that of Shapur II (Göbl 1967: 43-44). Klaus an Alkhan “tamgha” S1 in front of the bust, and a cres- Vondrovec, in his update to Göbl’s work, considers the cent moon at 11h behind the bust (Pfisterer 2013: 33). type 39 as part of the “Anonymous Clan Rulers” of the The hair bale and the upward turning ribbons start- Alkhans series (Vondrovec 2014: 178) and stylistically ing from the shoulder are among the reasons this type links it to the type 43, “as well as by the obverse legends is connected to the later type 43 coins of the “Early which are corrupted” (Vondrovec 2014: 170). Anonymous Alkhan” coin series (Vondrovec 2014: 179- In their 2010 article, Michael Alram and Matthias 180). The coin itself is significant since it is the begin- Pfisterer summarized the previous attempts at reading ning of a stage of Alkhan production when “all issues the legends as: “Humbach (1966) thought it might be were no longer struck from modified old Sasanian dies, a corruption of Alxanno šauo, Göbl (1967) read xmoido but were completely engraved by the Alkhan them- boiono, while Davary (1982) offers no reading at all” selves” (Vondrovec 2014: 178). (Alram & Pfisterer, 2010: 16). In his 2013 publica- tion, Pfisterer states that “… die in meinen Augen im- mer noch überzeugendste Variante is die von Göbl, der xmoido boiono liest” (Pfisterer, 2013: 33). Neither Göbl, nor Pfisterer following him, offer any meaning for this reading, which seems by all measures bizarre. In fact, it might be most sensible to dismiss the legend, as in the related type 43, completely cor- rupt. The difficulty arises from the fact that unlikethe type 43 legend where the individual letter shapes seem Figure 13: The legend on coin type 39 to have been corrupted, either incorrectly written or garbled by the die cutter, the Bactrian letters onthe Here, I propose to read the inscription, reading from type 39 coin seem rather perfectly preserved, except 1h, r.o. as: that they make no particular sense. χιδαρο βαιανο

I cannot quite see the μ as read by Göbl in the first part of the word (i.e. χμιοδο). Instead, it appears to me to be precisely χιδαρο. The second part I tend to largely agree with Göbl, modifying it to βαιανο, providing a reading for the whole legend as χιδαρο βαιανο.1 As parallel for the reading βαι- I like to bring attention to the gold denar type of Kidara, type 84 (Vondrovec 2014:184), where the reading Βοιο Κιδαρο2 has been proposed with the meaning “Lord Kidara.” Figure 12: Coin type 39 1Nicholas Sims-Williams, whose kind advice on this matter I would like to happily acknowledge here, suggests the reading as one In the specimen of the coin inspected by me, the in- word, thus χιδαροβαιονο (personal communication). I take full re- scription appears to make more sense than the one pre- sponsibility for my choice of treating the legend as two words and any possible ensuing mistakes. sented by Göbl or Vondrovec. The legend of the coin, 2I cannot see how Vondrovec has read κιδαρο on the coin, a kept at the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris under the doubt shared also by Nicholas Sims-Williams (personal communica- A note on the Alkhan coin type 39 and its legend Khodadad Rezakhani

Bay meaning “god, lord” (MacKenzie1971: 17) is of darite and Alkhan coinage are not unknown. It is al- course a Middle Persian borrowing into Bactrian and ready noted that the Kidarite type 18b (Pfisterer 2013: thus by extension, the meaning of it as lord should be 3.2; Vondrovec 2014: 35-36) might bear a Brahmi speculated to have also been fully borrowed from Mid- legend khigi, connecting it to the Alkhan authority dle Persian. In this sense, the plural form βαιανο from Khingila. The same coin also has a symbol S3(a Middle Persian bayān should carry the same meaning cakra) otherwise exclusively attested on type 66 of the of “lord” that has been used as a royal title (Panaino Alkhan, with Brahmi Khigi and Bactrian αλχα legends 2009: 209-256). In fact, as Mary Boyce has suggested, (Attributed by Cribb 2010 to its “mint D”; Vondrovec the plural form Bayān, when put in the postposition, 2014: 36). In the Begram hoard of Hunnic coins col- comes to mean a royal title (Boyce 1981-1982: 64-66; lected by Masson, two copper issues include a tamgha, Panaino 2003: 285). Considering this, I propose to which is a combination of the Kidarite and Alkhan translate the second part of the inscription as “King, tamghas (Errington 2010: 149). Majesty” following the original Middle Persian version. Consequently, at present, I can see the following The first part, however, would be a problematic mat- possibilities if we entertain the idea that this coin, type ter. Normally, the name of the Kidarite authority Ki- 39 of the “Anonymous Clan Rulers” of the Alkhan, is dara is written as Kedara on the Brahmi legends of issued by Kidara, the founder of the Kidarite dynasty. his various issues (Vondrovec type 11, p. 60) and as The first would be demonstrating a closer relationship κιδαριτο in the combination of “Huns known as Ki- between the coin issues of the Kidarites and that of the darites” in the fragmentary history of Priscus (fr. 33 Alkhans, possibly even a case of joint-minting of the Exc. De Leg. Rom., Blockley translation 1983: 337). coins, as the tamgha S1 betrays the coin as a genuine In Bactrian, the name is attested as Kidiro and Kēddiro Alkhan issue (Errington 2010: 149). In this sense, the (Grenet 2005; Sims-Williams 2010: 78, no. 213). In all famous and well published Swat bowl would serve to these instances the name starts with a /k/ which leaves show not only a correspondence between the two au- very little doubt about the pronunciation of the name. thorities in the later period of their existence, 450-460 This would then cause problems with identifying the as Marshak dates the bowl (Marschak 1986: 29-34), but χιδαρο on our coin Type 39 as Kidara since the initial also in the initial phase of their existence south of the letter is quite clearly a χ (kh) and cannot be read asaκ. Hindu-Kush.3 However, in the Islamic sources referring to the Ab- basid general Al-Afshin, a descendant of the traditional rulers of Ustrushana, his name is given as Khydhr ﯿﺬر (al-Tabari IX.11; Mas’udi 169) which was sometimes written wrongly as (Arabic) Haydar (Dinawari 203; ﯿﺪر Baladhuri 211), but was specified as Khydhar by later Figure 14: The Alkhan tamgha S14 writers as well (Ibn Khallakhan, V.123) while at least one source has the form kydr (Qudama, Al-Kharaj, ﯿﺪر 380). The name Kydr seems to have indeed been a pop- A second possibility is that this series of early Alkhan ular name among the people of Ustrushana, as sev- coinage, the second stage of their Anonymous Clan eral characters, including a certain Kydr b. Abdul- Rulers, should indeed be associated with the Kidarites lah al-Ustrushani are mentioned in the Islamic sources and not the Alkhans themselves. This would bring the (al-Tabari IX.259; Yaghubi II.495). I cannot at present issue of Alkhan tamgha S1, as the characteristic of the suggest a precise connection between kydr and xydr Alkhan coinage (Alram and Pfisterer 2010: 15) to fore. and will leave it to my better equipped philologist col- Also important is the attribution of this stage of Alkhan leagues, but would like to propose that the χιδαρο coinage to the “Kabul” mint and the suggestion that mentioned on our coin is indeed referring to the same this mint passed directly from the Sasanians, issuing personality as Kidara, this coin possibly showing one coins of Shapur II and Shapur III to the Alkhans (Von- of the earliest instances of kyδr/khyr correspondence drovec 2014: 45; Schindel 2004: 282-284). Considering prior to its mention in the Islamic sources. the position of the Type 39 in the range of coins asso- The numismatic complications for this can be man- 3 ifold and beyond the concern of the present paper. I like to present an extra support from another scholar on the use of the bowl as a reflection of a contemporary reality of the co- Close association and correspondence between Ki- existence, and even co-operation, of the Kidarites and the Alkhans: “… although it has been disputed that the bowl indicates that the tion). What I see on type 84 and in its variants presented by Von- Kidarites and Alkhon were contemporaries, I still think it reflects drovec on pages 148-149 is a βοιο followed by what appears to be a social reality of the period, i.e. one of co-existence between the either κοο (84, 84-1, 84-2) or κρορο/κοοϸο (most clearly on variant two groups, who may have been in control of different areas at in 84-4). I am not able at this time to provide a meaning or a possible the same period. Such a reality is one moreover which the coin and alternative reading for this coin, but would posit that the possibil- textual evidence reinforces.” (Errington 2010: 149). ity of the second word being κηδαρο (the expected Bactrian form: 4Image from http://pro.geo.univie.ac.at/projects/ Sims-Williams 2010: 78, no. 213) is quite slim. khm/showcases/showcase6.

25 DABIR 2015 1(1) A note on the Alkhan coin type 39 and its legend Khodadad Rezakhani

ciated with the “Kabul” mint, it is obvious that it was and Kashmir Smast.” In Coins, Art and Chronol- issued by the same mint and consequently, that the ogy II: The First Millennium C.E. in the Indo- χιδαρο βαιανο authority was indeed in charge of this Iranian Borderlands, edited by Michael Alram, Debo- mint. If indeed the case, we might speculate that the rah E. Klimburg-Salter, Minoru Inaba, and Matthias tamgha S1 was in fact a sign of the mint of Kabul itself, Pfisterer, 412:147–68. Verlag der Österreichischen passing from the Kidarites to the Alkhans when the Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010. latter took over the mint, and subsequently becoming canonical on the coinage of the Alkhans themselves, Göbl, Robert. Dokumente Zur Geschichte Der Iranischen even when minting coins outside Kabul. This might Hunnen in Baktrien Und Indien. Vol. 2. Wiesbaden: also explain the presence of the tamgha on some later Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1967. Nezak issues (Vondrovec 2014: type 219a) which are issued in Kabul (Vondrovec 2014: 389). Marschak, Boris I. Silberschätze Des Orients: Metal- While issues of continuity in style and relations be- lkunst Des 3.–13. Leipzig: E. A. Seemann, 1986. tween stylistic types admittedly play a more crucial role in explaining the relationship between various Grenet, Frantz. “Kidarites.” Encyclopaedia Iranica (On- coinage authorities, the decipherment of the legends of line), 2005. the coins can up to a point be useful for understanding their placement in the historical setting. By proposing Humbach, Helmut. Baktrische Sprachdenkmäler. Vol. a new reading of the coin type 39 of the Alkhan and 1. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1966. suggesting a relationship between this coin and that of a Kidarite authority, I hope to have brought about Khallikan, Ahmad b. Wafiyat ul-‘Ayan, edited by Ihsan the possibility of rethinking the pattern of coin issues ‘Abbas, Beirut: Dar as-Saadir, 1972. in the earliest stages of the Kidarite and Alkhan issues and provided a way of redefining their history. MacKenzie, David Neil. A Concise Pahlavi Dictio- nary. Oxford; London: Oxford University Press, 1971 (reprint 1990). Bibliography Mas’udi, Ali b. Hussain. Al-Tanbīh wa-l-’Išrāf, trans. Alram, Michael, and Matthias Pfisterer. “Alkhan and Abolghassem Payandeh, Tehran: Elmi Farhangi, Hephthalite Coinage.” In Coins, Art and Chronol- 1349. ogy II: The First Millennium C.E. in the Indo- Iranian Borderlands, edited by Michael Alram, Deb- Panaino, Antonio. “the baγān of the Fratarakas: Gods orah Klimburg-Salter, Minoru Inaba, and Matthias or ‘divine’ Kings?” in Religious themes and texts of Pfisterer, 412:13–38. Verlag der Österreichischen pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia. Studies in Honour Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010. of Professor Gherardo Gnoli on the occasion of his 65th birthday on 6th December 2002 (Beiträge zur Iranistik Baladhuri, Ahmad b. Yahya, Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. 24), C. G. Cereti, M. Maggi, E. Provasi (eds.), 283-306, M. J. de Goeje, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1866 (2013). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 2003.

Blockley, Robert C. The Fragmentary Classicising His- Panaino, Antonio. “The King and the Gods in the Sasa- torians of the Later Roman Empire. Oxford: Francis nian Royal Ideology.” Sources Pour L’histoire et La Cairns, 1981. Géographie Du Monde Iranien (224-710), Res Orien- tales XVIII, 2009, 209–256. Boyce, Mary. “Varuna the Baga,” in: Monumentum Georg Morgenstierne (Acta Iranica 21), J. Duchesne- Pfisterer, Matthias. Hunnen in Indien. Vienna: Verlag Guillemin (ed.), 59-73, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1981-1982. der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2013. Davary, Gholam Djelani. Baktrisch: Ein Wörterbuch Auf Grund Der Inschriften, Handschriften, Münzen Schindel, Nikolaus. Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum Und Siegelsteine. Heidelberg: Groos, 1982. 3: Shapur II. – Kawald I. Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum Paris–Berlin–Wien. Vienna: Verlag Dinawari, Ahmad. Al-Akhbar at-Tiwal. Edited by der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Abdulmun‘im ‘Amir. Cairo: Wizarat al-Thiqafa, 2004. 1379/1959. Sims-Williams, Nicholas. “Ancient Afghanistan and Errington, Elizabeth. “Differences in the Patterns of Its Invaders: Linguistic Evidence from the Bac- Kidarite and Alkhon Coin Distribution at Begram trian Documents and Inscriptions.” In Indo-Iranian

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Languages and Peoples, edited by Nicholas Sims- Williams, 225–42. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Sims-Williams, Nicholas. Bactrian Personal Names. Band II, Faszikel 7. Iranisches Personennamenbuch. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010.

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