Component-I (A) – Personal Details
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Component-I (A) – Personal details: Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. Prof. V. Sakunthalamma Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. & Prof. Susmita Basu Majumdar Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta. Prof. Suchandra Ghosh Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta. Prof. Susmita Basu Majumdar University of Calcutta. 1 Component-I (B) – Description of module : Subject Name Indian Culture Paper Name Indian Numismatics Module Name/Title Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian Coins Module Id IC / NMST / 10 Pre-requisites Ancient Indian Economic History and Monetary system Objectives To understand the Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian Coins of Ancient India and its importance Keywords Indo-Scythian / Indo-Parthian / Coins / Numismatics E-text (Quadrant-I) : 1. Introduction The history of the Indo-Scythians has to be reconstructed largely on the basis of numismatic evidence as the names of the rulers are furnished by their coins. Scythian is a generic term which refers to a group of people, originating in Central Asia and then migrating to south and west. Maues was the earliest of the Indo-Scythians to rule in a part of India. The other Scythian clan was that of Vonones and his associates who reached India through Afghanistan, the other was Maues who had crossed the Pamirs and entered into India. However in the middle of the first century BCE, it was Azes, once a co-ruler of the Vonones group who assumed sole power and extended the rule of the Scythians in India. The earliest Saka kingdom was established by c. 158 BCE in a region of extreme north western section of the subcontinent. This included the Darel and Swat on the Indus. The area was then known as a part of Chipin. When precisely and under what circumstances Maues arrived in India is uncertain, but the expulsion of the Scythian (Saka/Sai) peoples from Central Asia is referred to in the Han Shu, where the cause given is their confrontation with the Ta Yüeh-chih, themselves undergoing an enforced migration. That the route from the Pamirs into the Gilgit valley was used in Maues’ time is confirmed by the discovery of inscriptions in the Chilas/Gilgit area bearing his name The extension of the Saka rule to Shah-dheri area is suggested by an inscription found in that locality which talks of the great king, the Great Moga. Moga has been universally identified with Moa or Maues of legends on several varieties of coins. The group of Maues was ousted from the Taxila area and also perhaps from Gandhara to the west of the Indus by the Indo-Greek ruler Hippostratus. 2. Maues : Maues’ coins do not bear portraits, and on his issues and those of subsequent rulers the deities depicted represent more an association with particular regions rather than dynastic relationships. A clearer picture of the chronology and relationships between the Indo-Greek kings and Maues has been obtained from hoard evidence and monogram sequences. The 2 order of kings has been confirmed by the identification of overstruck coins, since the issuer of the undertype must be either earlier than or contemporary with the king who overstruck his coins. Overstriking can take place when there is a shortage of metal for a new coinage, but it sometimes signifies hostile incursion by a new ruler. Maues’ encroachment into Indo- Greek territory doesn’t appear to have been violent, he didn’t restrike their coins, and only one uncertain overstrike on his exists. He issued silver coins for three principal provinces. He adopted many coin types of his Indo-Greek predecessors. In Hazara and Kashmir, his eastern province, he struck the beautiful “Female City deity enthroned right in the obverse and Zeus Nikephoros left in the reverse]”. The bronze denominations bear types that show either the king mounted on horseback (which becomes the commonest silver type for subsequent Indo-Scythian monarchs) or mainly non-Greek deities. This was probably the first province occupied by Maues, and one seemingly not previously occupied by the Indo-Greeks. In Taxila province (to the west of Hazara), he struck his commonest silver issue “Zeus left - Nike right”. The bronze coin types are predominantly animals (bull, elephant) which had appeared on the city’s coinage even before the Greek occupation. Other coins show Greek (Apollo, tripod, Zeus-Nikephoros, Artemis) or Parthian (horse, bowcase) influences. By far the commonest bronze is an imitation of the Bactrian king Demetrius I . In the northwest region his silver coins bear the type of “Artemis and driver in two-horsed chariot - Enthroned Zeus” , the design of the reverse is similar to one of Antialcidas (c.130– 120). Some of his drachms are square, imitating those of the last major Indo-Greek king in the region, Philoxenos (ca. 125-110). Here the bronze coins are scarce and show either Zeus, Nike, a lunar deity, or other uncertain male/female deities. His Artemis : Bull coins are typologically based on the Artemis : Bull pieces of Artemidorus. Maues probably conquered Gandhara to the west of the Indus from the Indo-Greek ruler Artemidorus. It has been suggested that Maues possibly attempted to unify his currency system, since in the final phase of his reign he introduced a new bronze type with “Poseidon - yakshi [female fertility figure] amongst vines” being issued in all three provinces. One remarkable coin issue of Maues bears the type associated with Kashmir province but a monogram associated with Taxila and struck jointly in his name and that of Queen Machene. Since Machene is not a Greek name, it is quite possible that this issue commemorated an alliance (probably through matrimony) between Maues and a powerful Indo-Scythian family in Taxila. A rare issue was even struck that bore just these two reverse types without a portrait, the usual determinant of what are regarded as Indo-Scythian coins. Maues ruled in the region of western Punjab (Taxila and Charsadda) and numismatic evidence shows that this was reconquered from Maues by the Indo-Greek ruler Apollodotus II and Indo-Greeks, thus, continued to rule in this area for sometime till the coming of another Scythian called Azes I in c.55 BCE when they were finally driven away from this region. The brunt of the defeat was taken by Hippostratus who was then ruling in western Punjab. Apollodotus II (c.80–65 BCE) ruled for a long time and had both western and eastern Punjab under his possession. Hippostratus (c.65–55 BCE) succeeded him in western Punjab. 3 That his territory in Punjab was taken over by Azes I is also corroborated by the Ambala hoard which stops with coins of Hippostratus. 3. Vonones group and Azes, Azilises and Azes II 3.1 Historical Background Vonones declared independence after a short phase of the Arsacid rule and minted coin as a supreme ruler though having an associate. Spalyrises served as an associate of Vonones and later on ruled independently in Arachosia. In no time Azes I became his co-ruler and Spalrises as a senior ruler had his name written in Greek whereas Azes’ name was in Prakrit. From a co-ruler Azes I graduated into an independent king. He issued coins with the title ‘King of Kings’. Large part of north-west India was united during the rule of AzesI and his huge output of coinage suggest a great increase in wealth. He might have reached the north-western section of the Indian subcontinent from Arachosia through the Gomal pas and through the regions watered by the Gomal, Tochi and Kurram rivers. That an era was introduced in his name in 58/57BCE is evident from inscriptions which are dated in the era of ‘The Great King Azes’. This was known earlier as Vikrama era but now we know that it owed its origin to the first Indo-Scythian king, Azes I These rulers followed a system of joint rule and the accepted numismatic sequence for them following G.K. Jenkins is Vonones/Spalahores, Vonones/Spalagadames, Spalyrises/Spalagadames, Spalirises, Spalirises/AzesI, AzesI, Azilises and AzesII. Azes I and Azilises succeeded to the realm of Maues. The coinage of these two Scythian kings forms a uniform series of issues that succeeded Maues’s coinage and was itself followed by the coinage of Azes II. Scythian coins issued in the name of Azes are generally subdivided into coins of Azes I and Azes II. Recent study by Robert Senior argues that there was only one Azes but this has not been unanimously accepted. The presence of two Azes has been argued on the basis of the following points: a) The basic criterion has been that the mounted horseman shown on the obverse of most coins carries a spear on Azes I’s coins but a whip on the coins of Azes II. b) Other criteria for differentiating between coins of Azes I and those of Azes II are based on control marks, metrology and coin types. Coins of Azes I are characterized by different ranges of control marks from those used by Azes II. c) Azes II coins are highly debased. There was evolution from broad thin flans to smaller thick flans of Azes II’s coins. d) Use of royal title is another criteria. Azes I normally used Rajarajasa and Azes II changed it to Rajadirajasa though this change did not occur simultaneously in all the coin series. 3.2 Extent of the kingdom of Azes I and his coin types The extent of his kingdom can be understood from the reverse devices of his coins. His presence in the area of Pushkalavati (Charsada in Peshawar district) is attested by his City goddess of Pushkalavati : bull type of coins of Azes I indicate his presence in the area of 4 Pushkalavati.