The kingdom was founded when the graecobactrian king demetrius. The first indogreek kingdom appeared circa 190 bce may when the greco bactrian king or general for his father demetrios was busy in india, when his indian possessions were divided between several kings, probably firstly in order to better govern them but then due to civil war. Indogreek dynasty, greco bactrian kings who ruled over the region south of the hindu kush in the second and first century b. The term indogreek is generally used because these kingdoms were almost always separated from bactria. The bactrian coins were issued in bactria only, north of the hindu kush mountains, while the indogreek coins were issued south of the hindu kush. This bibliography is intended to complement rachel mairs the archaeology of the hellenistic far east. Some new hypotheses on the problems of the indogreek kingdoms. Cribbs analysis is framed in his concept of a coinage tradition, which allows the numismatic evidence to be studied in a grounded manner.
It covered bactria and sogdiana in central asia from 250 to 125 bc, while an expansion of its armies into northern india from 180 bc established the indogreek kingdom, which was to last until around 10 ad. A short time ago, a casual reference to the complicated greek monograms stamped on the earlier bactrian coins suggested to me an explanation of some of their less involved combinations by the test of simple greek letter dates, which was followed by the curious discovery that the bactrian kings were in the habit of recognizing and employing curtailed dates to the optional omission of the figure. By breaking ground in a dozen obscure subjectssuch as bactrian, indoscythic, and sassanian coins, indian metrology, persian gems and inscriptionsthomas rendered important services to science, which were recognised by his election as a fellow of the royal society on 8 june 1871, as correspondent. The indogreek kingdom or graecoindian kingdom also known locally as yavanarajya. Online orders are welcome as always and will be shipped directly. Ancient greek coins ar tetradrachm 171160 bc, antimachos 171160 b. The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria and india in the british museum by percy gardner the earliest graeco bactrian and graecoindian coins barclay v. They were treasure troves of information with names and portraits of the kings. The barakat gallery, a fifthgeneration familyowned business, founded in jerusalem over 100 years ago. Mazdooano, the gracious one, kushan god on a gold dinara. While most coins of the indogreeks those shown in this thread with purely greek legends and some successors such as the yuehzhi, are indeed bactrian, most of the indoscythian coins bilingual greek and kharosthi were issued south of the hindu kush thus the indo in arachosia and gandhara, an area beginning near the afghanistan. Around 430 king khingila, the most notable alchon ruler, and the first one to be named and represented on his coins with the legend.
Bactrian greeks bactrianumis ancient and islamic rare. Bactria was center of an iranian renaissance in the 8th and 9th centuries, and new persian as an independent. Authentic ancient greek roman biblical numismatic coins for. Pdf the greek kingdom of bactria, its coinage and its collapse. I do not believe it was minted by bactrain greeks in which. Discussion in ancient coins started by 4to2centbc, nov 2, 2015. Around 250 bce, the satrap diodotus, followed by his son diodotus ii. Ae quadruple unit indian standard, 1715 bc, bactrian kingdom. The baktrians had no idea that they were producing nickel coins. Menander, the greatest of the indogreek kings and the one best known to western and indian classical authors.
Guide to ancient greek silver coins collecting how to overview of the types duration. See more ideas about bactrian camel, camel and camels. Sylloge nummorum graecorum, denmark, the royal collection of coins and medals, danish national museum, volume 7. Poseidon standing facing, holding trident and palm branch. Pdf a flood of fake bactrian coins robert bracey academia. It is hoped that the current work will be of similar use in gathering material concerning the. Head catalogue of coins in the provincial museum lucknow. The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria and india in the british. These bactrian versions very likely were derived from an earlier coinage struck by ptolemy i, who ruled egypt after the death of alexander iii the great, initially as satrap 3233054 bce, and. Portraits, especially of kings, were popular design choices in hellenistic coins. Though it is clear from the coins and the evidence of chinese chroniclers that at this time sapadbizes was an ally or dependent of. You may be interested in collecting greco bactrian coins from this time period. This and the other indogreek coins issued by eucratides demonstrate that he had an extensive kingdom in gandhara in addition to his bactrian domains.
The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria and india in the. Alexander of macedons conquest of the achaemenid satrapies of bactria and sogdia in central asia and the indian territories south of the hindu kush hendukosh plunged these regions into a political upheaval with farreaching consequences. Recent discoveries of coin hoards from central asia and pakistan new numismatic evidence on the prekushan history of the silk road osmund bopearachchi. Offering roman coins, greek coins, ancient coins, british coins, medieval coins, coin auctions, renaissance coins, indian coins, rare coins, celtic coins, european. There is no shortage of sites where finds of coins, pottery or other artefacts. Although greek and roman literature speaks of about 6 greco bactrian kings, coins number more than 32 kings. Bactrian and indoscythian kingdoms, demetrios i, ar tetradrachm, c. Since 2005 ancient sculpture gallery has created and delivered museum replicas of unsurpassed quality and lasting beauty to thousands of customers on all continents. These coins feature numismatic art and tend to be large. Baktria, sogdiana coins for sale buy baktria, sogdiana. Some new hypotheses on the problems of the indogreek. Click here for the baktria page with thumbnail images.
Gold staters and silver tetradrachms were issued in the name of antiochus i, son of seleucus. Bactrian kingdom coins the bactrian kingdom was the easternmost part of the hellenistic world which was created by the conquests of the macedonian king alexander the great. Bactria was a greek kingdom, established when it broke away from the seleukid kingdom. The sasanians lost bactria in the 4th century, however, it was reconquered in the 6th century. Graecobactrian and indogreek coins a bibliography of the. Ancient sculpture gallery museum reproductions of ancient. Authors will receive pdf offprints of their contributions.
The graeco bactrian kingdom the easternmost region of the hellenistic world covering bactria northern afghanistan and lands to the north known in ancient times as sogdiana, in presentday turkmenistan, uzbekistan and tajikistan was one consequence of the sojourn through afghanistan by alexander the great, whose army built fortresses. Portrait of king khingila, founder of the alchon huns, on one of his coins, c. With the muslim conquest of iran in the 7th century, islamization of bactria began. Mazdooano, the gracious one, kushan god on a gold dinara of kanishka i coin. The dioskouroi on horseback prancing right, each holding spear and palm. The coins of the greek and scythic kings of bactria. Bactrian coins came from ai khanum as a result of clandestine diggings. He is believed to have been a patron of the buddhist religion and the subject of an important buddhist work, the milindapanha the questions of milinda. Indogreek kingdom or grecoindian kingdom was ruled by more than 30 hellenistic kings at the various parts of the northwest and northern indian subcontinent during a period from the 2nd century bce to the beginning of the 1st century ce. Thomas, edward dnb00 wikisource, the free online library. More broadly bactria was the area north of the hindu kush, west of the pamirs and south of the tian shan with the amu darya flowing west. I am not going to comment on the authenticity but i have decided it is if not a genuine bactrian coin, then at least based on one.
Sylloge nummorum graecorum, the collection of the american numismatic society, part 9. Archiving 69,477 records from 195 auctions added in the last six months get access to the full database of 1,624,564 records with coinarchives pro. Jens jakobsson and simon glenn, new research on the. Bactria proper was north of the hindu kush mountain range and south of the amu darya river, covering the flat region that straddles modernday afghanistan, tajikistan, and uzbekistan. Coins with king portraits often have the name of the king inscribed on them. This is one of the largest ancient coin deposits ever attested in the history of mankind. Specialising in classical antiquities, near eastern, biblical, chinese, precolumbian, byzantine, asian, african and primitive arts, the business expanded from a small shop in the jerusalem souq into a dealership with global reach, and a presence in most of the worlds major artbuying centres. Catalogue of a small collection of bactrian and indian coins, in gold, silver, and copper, the property of a gentleman, including an unpublished coin of muhammadbintughlak, a gold coin of narses, also unpublished. New documents in ancient bactrian reveal afghanistans past. Most of the history of bactria was surmised from their coins and other collateral evidence. China 10 yuan bactrian camel proof silver coin 1994. Chronology of the indo bactrian rulers is based largely on numismatic evidence. Graecobactrian history, for which coins are often the only source, this is a short period in.
Bactria or bactriana was the name of a historical region in central asia. India is mentioned in early christian writing as the prince to whose court st. With a proven record and extensive experience, our museum replicas have already become centerpiece of. A bibliography of the numismatics of the hellenistic far east. Writing political history from numismatic evidence alone is challenging to say. Year 279 with a graeco bactrian era of independence from the seleucids in 247 b. For half a century, under the first three graecobactrian kings, diodotus i, his. Some of the earliest greek coinage struck in baktria is attributed to the mint of ai khanoum, a lost city rediscovered only in 19612. The bactrian kingdom spawned a number of greek monarchies to the east. Find the best selection from the most respected coins dealers around the world. Contents part 1 the end a good place to begin part 2 call to arms a battle cry for those who will hear part 3 beginning where you must decide to start finale taking the next step join the community share this manifesto acknowledgments. Ons news london meeting from the editor speakers at the meeting held on 26 april 2008 at the british museum were. Kritt, brian, new discoveries in bactrian numismatics classical numismatic studies no.
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