Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c19: IV. Graeco-Indian Coins
Indische Paläographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c19
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IV. Graeco-Indian Coins
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§ 17. The Greek invasion. — The incursions of the Bactrian princes into the Kabul Valley and Northern India must have begun about the beginning of the 2^nd cent. B.C. The war between the Seleucid Antiochus III and the Bactrian Euthydemus ended in an alliance between them (B.C. 206). Probably in the same year, Antiochus crossed the Paropanisus and renewed friendly relations with the king then reigning in the Kabul Valley, Sophagasenus or Subhagasena, who has been identified (LIA II, p. 273) with Jaloka.
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POLYBIUS, Exc. Hist. XI, 34, 11.
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§ 18. Euthydemus and Demetrius. — It was during the reign of *Euthydemus* (**Plate I, 18**), and, perhaps, under the leadership of his son Demetrius, that the first Indian conquests were made (GARD. p. XXII). As evidence of this early settlement in India, there exists a coin of *Demetrius* which is, perhaps, the first to show the result of a compromise between the Greek and Indian methods of coinage (**Plate I, 10**). The regular types of the Greek system are retained, but the coin is of the square Indian form, and, on the reverse, is added an Indian translation in Kharoṣṭhī characters of the Greek legend on the obverse.
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C.NChr. 1869, p. 136, Pl. IV, 11; GARD. Pl. XXX, 3. For the extent of the Indian conquests of Demetrius, v. VON GUTSCHMID, Gesch. Irans, p. 44, and GARD. p. XXIII.
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§ 19. Eucratides. — Next, in point of date, come the Indian conquests of *Eucratides*, *c.* B.C. 190—160, the rival and conqueror of Demetrius (JUSTIN XLI, 6). His coins are found at Balkh, in Seistan, in the Kabul Valley, and, more rarely, in the Panjab.
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§ 20. Dates on G.I. coins. — Important for the chronology of this period is the unique tetradrachm of *Plato*, copied from the tetradrachm of Eucratides, and bearing the date 147 of the Seleucid era = B.C.
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C.NChr. 1869, p. 217, Pll. VI. VII. For the date of Eucratides: VON SALLET, ZfN. 1879, p. 170; GARD. p. XXVI. Parthian coins attributed to Mithradates I (B.C. 171—138) imitated from those of Eucratides: GARD., Parthian Coinage, p. 32, Pl. II, 4 (= Internat. Num. Orient. I, Part 5). — Gold piece of 20 staters struck by Eucr.: CHABOUILLET, Rev. Num. 1867, p. 382, Pl. XII, »Les textes relatifs à Eucratide«, id. p. 407. Gold coin of Eucr.: MONTAGU, NChr. 1892, p. 37, Pl. III, 11. Cp. also ZfN. 1879, p. 295. Silver medal (decadrachm) attributed to Eucratides or Heliocles, GARD., NChr. 1887, p. 177, Pl. VII, 1. Coins of Eucratides bearing also the name of Heliocles and Laodice: VON SALLET, ZfN. 1879, p. 188; VON GUTSCHMID, Gesch. Irans, p. 48; GARD. p. XXIV.
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¹⁶⁵ The occurrence of other dates on Bactrian coins is less certain.
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Gard. p. 20, Pl. VI, 11; Vaux, NChr. 1875, p. 1; von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, pp. 173. 190. Cp. also Proc. BA. 1872, pp. 34. 174; C.NChr. 1869, p. 226; 1892, p. 45; Hoernle, Ind. Ant. 1879, p. 196; Th.JRAS. 1877, p. 3; von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, p. 184.
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§ 21. Pantaleon, Agathocles. — Contemporary with the reign of Eucratides in India are those of *Pantaleon* and *Agathocles*, whose coins are found both in the Kabul Valley and W.Panjab — those of Agathocles also as far south as Kandahar (C.NChr. 1869, p. 41). The Indian coins of these two rulers are the only coins of Greek princes which bear inscriptions in Brāhmī characters (**Plate I, 12**, Pantaleon). Certain copper coins of Agathocles have legends on both *obv.* and *rev.* in Kharoṣṭhī letters (**Plate I, 16**).
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C.NChr. 1868, p. 279, Pl. VIII, 8—10, Pl. X; von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, 175, Pl. V; Gard. p. xxvi, Pll. III, 8. 9, IV, and XXX, 4. For the reading of the Kharoṣṭhī legends on coins of Agathocles: Bühler, WZKM. VIII, p. 206.
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§ 22. Agathocles. — Certain *medals* (tetradrachms) of Bactrian fabric struck by Agathocles bear the portraits, types, and inscriptions of Alexander the Great, Antiochus 'Nicator' (*sic*, v. von Gutsch., Gesch. Ir., p. 38; Gard. p. xxviii, note), Diodotus, and Euthydemus; similar medals of the Bactrian prince Antimachus also bear those of Diodotus and Euthydemus.
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Gard. Pl. IV, 1—3, and XXX, 5. 6. (The medal of Antimachus and Euthydemus is in the possession of an Indian coin-dealer, and is as yet unpublished). For the historical significance of these: von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, p. 176; 1881, p. 279; Gard. p. xxviii. Cp. also NChr. 1868, p. 278; 1869, p. 31; 1880, p. 181; PE. I, p. 28.
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§ 23. Antimachus. — The types on the coins of *Antimachus* point to some naval victory won by him, perhaps on the Indus or some other large river.
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Gard. pp. xxix. 12, Pl. V, 1—3; C.NChr. 1869, p. 39.
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§ 24. Heliocles. — After the reign of *Heliocles* (c. b.c. 160—120) the transference of the Greek power from Bactria to territory south of the Paropanisus was complete. Until his time, many of the Greek princes had ruled both in Bactria and in India, and had struck coins both of Bactrian fabric bearing purely Greek legends, and of Indian fabric with bilingual inscriptions. Up to this date all the silver coins were struck according to the Attic standard (drachm = 67,5 grains or 4,37 grammes). This Attic standard gradually gives place to the Persian standard (v. sup. § 8). Heliocles himself, Apollodotus I, and Antialcidas use both standards; all the later Greek princes use the Persian standard only.
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von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, p. 193; Gard. p. lxxii.
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§ 25. Heliocles' successors. — The reigns of all the Greek princes who ruled after the date of Heliocles — they are about 20 in number according to the coins — must be confined within about a century, i. e. from c. 120 b.c. to 20 b.c., when the Kuṣanas completed the conquest of India. There were undoubtedly, for a considerable portion of this period, two or more distinct dynasties of Greek princes ruling at the same time, and varying greatly from time to time in power and extent of territory. No perfectly satisfactory arrangement of these different families or of the chronology of this period has yet been proposed.
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For one suggested arrangement: C.NChr. 1868, p. 274. Available data and general chronological table: Gard. p. xxxii ff. »Die sicheren Daten«: von Sallet, ZfN. 1879, p. 191. Historical notices of Menander and Apollodotus: Gard. p. xxxvi; I.IA. II, p. 322; PE. I, p. 47; Rh.D., SBE. XXXV, p. xix; von Gutschmid, Gesch. Ir., p. 104. Coin bearing the names of Archebius and Philoxenus (the genuineness of this specimen and of others struck from the same dies has been disputed): von Sallet, ZfN. 1888, p. 9, Pl. I, 3; id. 1896, p. 327. Coin of Polyxenus: Rodgers, NChr. 1896, p. 269; of Theophilus, Smith, JBA. 1897, p. 1. Interpretation of mono-
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grams: C.NChr. 1846, p. 175; 1868, p. 181; 1888, p. 204; CHABOUILLET, Rev. Num. 1867, p. 393; TH. JRAS. 1863, p. 121; PE. I, p. 55; VON SALLET, ZfN. 1879, p. 200; GARD. p. LV; HOERNLE, Ind. Ant. 1879, p. 196. The metal nickel used for Bactrian coinage: FLIGHT, NChr. 1868, p. 306.