Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c26: XI. Later Coins of N., E., C. and W. India
Indische Paläographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c26
- Language
- German
Contents
- c26.s1 § 113. Nepal — 2 parts
- c26.s2 § 114. Ṣāhis of Gandhāra — 2 parts
- c26.s3 § 115. Ṣāhi Coinage — 2 parts
- c26.s4 § 116. Kalacuris of Ḍahāla — 2 parts
- c26.s5 § 117. Kalacuris of Mahākośala — 2 parts
- c26.s6 § 118. Candellas of Jejāhuti or Mahoba — 2 parts
- c26.s7 § 119. Cauhāns of Dehli and Ajmīr — 13 parts
XI. Later Coins of N., E., C. and W. India
c26.1
and Sapardalaksān' (perhaps = Rajputana; C.NChr. 1894, p. 292). The coins of *Shāhi Tigin*, which are closely connected with those of Vāsudeva and with the particular issue of Khusru II mentioned above, by the use of the same reverse-type, supposed to represent the sun-god of Multan (C.ASR. V, p. 123), also bear the title "King of India and Persia" (Nāgarī: *Hitivi ca Airān ca parameśvara*) = "King of the Panjab and Khorasan" (Sassanian Pahlavi: *Takān Khorasān Malkā*; C.NChr. 1894. p. 291). The attribution and interpretation of other coins belonging to this Indo-Persian class (e. g. C. op. cit. Pl. XII, 5—8) are less certain; but it seems probable that they belong to the same region and period as the others.
c26.2
Cp. also WILSON, Ar. Ant. pp. 400. 402, Pl. XVII, 6. 8. 9, Pl. XXI, 22; TH., Hist. of Early Muh. Arabs in Persia, p. 90; PE. I. Pl. V, 10. 11; p. 122, Pl. VII, 6; II, p. 105.
c26.3
§ 110. Kanauj (Kanyākubja). — Coins struck by princes of the following dynasties of the mediaeval kingdom of Kanauj are known:---
c26.4
(1) *Raghuvamśi Dynasty.* For coins conjecturally attributed to Harṣadeva (c. 606—650 A.D.) v. inf. § 122. The silver coins bearing the inscr. *Śrīmad-Ādivarāha* were struck by Bhojadeva (**Plate V, 5**; c. 850—900 A.D.).
c26.5
HULTZSCH, EI. I. p. 155; C.CMI. p. 49, Pl. VI, 20. 21. The same ref. also for other coins which may perhaps belong to this dynasty. For the mention in inscr. of Śrīmad-Ādivarāha *drammas* and other contemporary coins, v. KIELHORN, EI. I, p. 169.
c26.6
(2) *Tomara Dynasty.* The princes of this dynasty seem, at first, to have held both Kanauj and Dehli, and to have been confined to Dehli after the Rāṭhor conquest of Kanauj, c. 1050 A.D. The coins represent three consecutive rulers of both Kanauj and Dehli, c. 978—1049 A.D., and two others of Dehli only, c. 1049—1128 A.D. The gold coins follow the types of the Kalacuris of Dahāla (v. inf. § 116); the billon coins those of the Brāhman Ṣāhis of Gandhāra (Bull and Horseman type; v. inf. § 115 (6)).
c26.7
C.CMI. p. 80, Pl. IX, 1---8; TH. PATHANS p. 58.
c26.8
(3) *Rāṭhor (Gāḍahavāla) Dynasty.* The coins of the Rāṭhor conqueror of Kanauj, Candradeva, c. 1050 A.D., are not known. The series begins with those of his son *Madanapāla Deva*, c. 1080 A.D., and includes the coins of two other rulers reigning till c. 1193 A.D. The coin-types are like those of the Tomara Dynasty.
c26.9
C.CMI. p. 82, Pl. IX, 15—17.
c26.10
§ 111. The Pāla Dynasty of Magadha. — No coins of this dynasty are certainly known, but it is not improbable that the coins of Sassanian derivation bearing the name Śrī Vigraha should be attributed to *Vigrahapāla I* of Magadha, 910 A.D.
c26.11
§ 112. Kashmir. — The origin of the Kashmirian coin-types is to be found in certain coins probably struck by Kaniṣka (v. sup. § 74, class (2)); and from this date until the Muhammadan conquest of Kashmir in the 13^th cent. these coin-types --- *obv.* King standing: *rev.* Goddess seated — remained unchanged. The workmanship, however, is so rude during the greater part of this period (e. g. **Plate IV, 24**: Jagadeva, c. A.D. 1198), that these designs were in some cases misinterpreted by the early numismatists; and the dead level of degradation is so constantly kept, that the evidence of date usually afforded by the progressive improvement or degeneration in style is here to a great extent lacking. From the reign of Avantivarman (c. 855 A.D.) onwards,
c26.12
SMITH, JBA. 1894, p. 192; C.ASR. XI, pp. 175. 181, Pl. XLIII; C.CMI. p. 52, Pl. VI, 17. For the mention of *Vigrahapāla drammas* in the Siyadoni inser. v. KIELHORN, EI. I, pp. 167. 169.
c26.13
the coins fairly represent the list of kings given in the Rājatarangiṇī. For all the previous period, the dates and order of succession given in the Rājatarangiṇī are untrustworthy, although a number of the names are found on the coins. That the Kidāra Kuṣaṇas held Kashmir for some time is certain, but the date of their settlement there is doubtful (v. sup. § 76). The Kashmirian coins of the Hūṇas given in C.NChr. 1894, Pl. X, 5—7, and 9--13 (v. sup. sub § 106), seem to be copied from coins of the Kidāra Kuṣaṇas; and those of the succeeding Nāga or Karkoṭaka Dynasty (c. 625—757 A.D., v. C.CMI, p. 39, Pl. III, 7—14) all bear the name Kidāra (**Plate IV, 22**: Yaśovarman). Between the date of the Hūṇa Mihirakula (c. 515 A.D.) and the beginning of the Nāga Dynasty, C. places a number of kings among whom a Toramāṇa occurs. This king has usually been identified with the Hūṇa Toramāṇa, the father of Mihirakula (RĀJENDRA LĀLA MITRA, Proc. BA. 1878, p. 191; FLEET, CII. III, Pref. p. 10 ff.). For the arguments against this identification and in favour of a somewhat later date for Toramāṇa of Kashmir, v. C.NChr. 1894, p. 256. Some gold coins of *Harṣa* of Kashmir (**Plate IV, 23**) c. 1090 A.D., are directly imitated from South Indian coins, for the attribution of which v. inf. § 125 (1).
c26.14
C.CMI, p. 25, Pl. III--V; RODGERS, JBA. 1879, p. 277, Pl. XI. XII. Cp. also C.NChr. 1843 (VI), 1; PE. I, 388, Pl. XXXI, 1—15. For the reading *Tuñjīna* (STEIN) instead of *Toryamāṇa* (= Toramāṇa, C.CMI. p. 42, Pl. III, 1) v. SMITH, JBA. 1897, p. 6, Pl. I, 9.
§ 113. Nepal
c26.s1.1
— The earliest coins peculiar to Nepal are large copper pieces which bear some resemblance to the second class of Yaudheya coins — a resemblance no doubt due to a common origin from the coins of the Kuṣaṇas (v. sup. § 60). They appear to extend over a period from the first quarter of the 5^th cent. to the last quarter of the 7^th cent. A.D. Those bearing the name *Mānāṅka* have been attributed to Mānadevavarman, c. 425 A.D., and those reading *Guṇāṅka* to his successor Guṇakāmadevavarman, c. 450 A.D. These names occur only on the coins and in the native dynastic lists. No mention of them has yet been found in inscrr. or other dated records. The dates given are, therefore, only approximate. The coins of *Aṃśuvarman* (**Plate V, 1**) and *Jiṣṇugupta* can be dated with more exactness, as both these kings are known from dated inscrr. of the seventh cent. The coins bearing the names *Paśupati* and *Vaiśravaṇa* cannot be accurately dated. These are names of divinities, and it is uncertain by whom the coins were struck; but, from their style and fabric, they would seem to belong to the same period as the others.
c26.s1.2
C.CAI. p. 112, Pl. XIII; PE. I, p. 62, Pl. III, 12; JBA. 1865, p. 124, Pl. 15—19; BENDALL, ZDMG. 36, p. 651; SMITH, Proc. BA. 1887, p. 144, Pl. II; HOERNLE, id. 1888, p. 114. For the chronology: BÜHLER, Ind. Ant. 1884, p. 411; S. LÉVI, JA. 1894 (IV), p. 64, places Aṃśuvarman earlier.
§ 114. Ṣāhis of Gandhāra
c26.s2.1
— Traces of the kingdom which was established in Gandhāra — the Kabul valley and the region of the upper Indus — by the first Kuṣaṇa conqueror (v. sup. § 65) are to found at intervals from its beginning to its end (c. B.C. 25 — A.D. 1026).
c26.s2.2
For a résumé of the information derived from literary sources, e. g. ALBERUNI, Hwen Thsang, and the Rājatarangiṇī, v. STEIN, Zur Gesch. der Ṣāhis von Kābul, 1893.
§ 115. Ṣāhi Coinage
c26.s3.1
— The coins may probably be arranged in the following periods:—(1) Coins of the early Kuṣaṇas, c. B.C. 25 — A.D. 180 (v. sup. §§ 65—73); (2) The later imitations of these (v. § 74), from which the coins of the Sassanian invaders (c. 300—450 A.D.) were copied (v. § 75); (3) The coins of the Kidāra Kuṣaṇas, who held Gandhāra, c. 425--475 A.D. (v. § 76). It is, however, doubtful whether these coins should be attributed to the kingdom of the Kidāra Kuṣanas in Gandhāra or in Kashmīr; (4) The coins of the Hūṇas struck in Gandhāra, c. 475—530 A.D. (v. § 104). The use of the title Ṣāhi on Hūṇa coins is probably to be traced to this source; (5) After the Hūṇa period, during the visit of Hwen Thsang, c. 630 A.D., the king of Gandhāra was a Kṣatriya. This, perhaps, shows that the Kuṣana dynasty had become Hinduised (v. STEIN, op. cit. p. 5). It is uncertain what coins should be attributed to this period — perhaps the late imitations in copper of debased Kuṣana type (C.CMI. p. 49, Pl. VI, 1--6); (6) According to ALBERUNI (tr. SACHAU II, p. 13) a Brāhman vazīr usurped the throne and founded a dynasty. To the different members of this Brāhman dynasty are attributed the series of coins commonly known, from their predominating types, as the "Bull and Horseman" coins (c. A.D. 860 950; C.CMI. p. 62; **Plate V, 6**: Spalapati); (7) For the remaining period which extends to the date of the suppression this dynasty by Maḥmūd of Ghazni (i. e. c. 950—1026 A.D.), the names of the different princes are known from inscr., but no coins have as yet been attributed to them. They are called Rajputs, and it has been conjectured (C.) that a counter-revolution may have wrested the kingdom from the Brahmans and restored it to its ancient Kṣatriya possessors.
c26.s3.2
C.CMI. p. 55, Pl. VII; Ar. Ant. p. 428, Pl. XIX, 1—23. For the supposed dates on the coins of the Brahman Ṣāhis v. BAYLEY, NChr. 1882, pp. 128. 291; TH., Ind. Ant. 1883, p. 260; FLEET, id. 1886, p. 185.
§ 116. Kalacuris of Ḍahāla
c26.s4.1
Territory: the country watered by the upper Narbada and its tributaries (C.CMI. p. 67). Capital: Tripurī (= Tewar) for the ancient coins of which, v. sup. § 57. Of the mediaeval kingdom, the coins of only one monarch, *Gāṅgeyadeva* (**Plate V, 7**), c. 1005—1035 A.D., are known. On these coins, the ancient Indian type of the seated Goddess is retained on one side, while the whole surface of the other side is occupied by the inscr. They were imitated by the Candellas of Jejāhuti (§ 118), the Tomaras of Dehli, and the Rāṭhors of Kanauj (§ 110).
c26.s4.2
C.CMI. p. 67, Pl. VIII, 1--5; CASR. XVII, 71; ALBERUNI (trans. SACHAU) I, p. 202.
§ 117. Kalacuris of Mahākośala
c26.s5.1
Territory: the present dist. of Chatisgarh and Raypur in the Central Provinces (C.CMI. p. 67). Coins of three princes, from c. 1060 to 1140 A.D., are known (**Plate V, 8**: Jājalladeva). As on the coins of the Kalacuris of Ḍahāla (§ 116), the inscr. occupies the whole of one side, but the type of the seated Goddess no longer appears on the other.
c26.s5.2
C.CMI. p. 67, Pl. VIII, 6—11; HOERNLE, Proc. BA. 1893, p. 93.
§ 118. Candellas of Jejāhuti or Mahoba
c26.s6.1
Territory: the dist. bounded by the Jamna on the N., the sources of the Kiyān (or Ken) on the S., the Dasān on the W., and the Vindhya Mts. on the E. (C.CMI. p. 77). The coins represent seven of the nine known rulers between 1063 and 1282 A.D., and are copied from those of the Kalacuris of Ḍahāla (§ 116) to whom the Candellas were subject before A.D. 1063 (**Plate V, 9**: Hallakṣaṇavarma).
c26.s6.2
C.CMI. p. 76, Pl. VIII, 12—21; CASR. XXI, p. 77; HOERNLE, JBA. 1889, p. 34, Pl. IV, 11. 12.
§ 119. Cauhāns of Dehli and Ajmīr
c26.s7.1
Conquerors of Dehli from the Tomaras (v. sup. § 110) c. ? 1128 A.D., and of Jejāhuti (§ 118) in 1182 A.D. Those specimens of the Cauhān coinage which have been read with certainty represent the two last rulers, *Someśvara* and *Pṛthvīrāja*, from c. 1162 to 1192 A.D., the latter of these dates being that of the Muhammadan conquest of Dehli under Muhammad ibn Sām. The coin-types of the Cauhāns are the Bull and Horseman (§ 115 (6)), which continued for some generations to find a place among the coin-types of their Muhammadan conquerors, the Sulṭāns of Dehli (cp. S. LANE-POOLE, B. M. Cat. Indian Coins: Sultans of Dehli, Pll. I—III).
c26.s7.2
C.CMI. p. 83, Pl. IX, 9—14; BÜHLER, Proc. BA. 1893, p. 94; MORISON, WZKM. VII; TH., Pathans p. 63. For Rajput coins not certainly read, v. TH., Pathāns, p. 59; C.CMI. p. 88.
c26.s7.3
§ 120. Narwar. — For the coins of the Nāga dynasty, contemporary with the Guptas, v. sup. § 101. The later Rajput coins represent four of the six known princes between c. 1230 and 1290 A.D., including one — *Malayavarma Deva* — who is, at present, unknown from any other source. These coins bear dates in years of the Vikramāditya era (57 B.C.).
c26.s7.4
C.CMI. p. 89, Pl. X, 1—10; JBA. 1865, p. 115; TH., Pathans p. 67.
c26.s7.5
§ 121. Kangra. — The coins of the Rājas of Kangra represent a period probably from c. 1330 to c. 1610 A.D. They call for notice here merely as noteworthy instances of the survival of an Indian type — the "Bull and Horseman" — for many centuries after the Muhammadan conquest.
c26.s7.6
C.CMI. p. 99, Pl. XI; RODGERS, JBA. 1880, p. 10, Pl. II; BAYLEY, quoted in PE. I, p. 392.
c26.s7.7
§ 122. Unattributed Coins. — There are three classes of coins found in great numbers "from the Satlej eastward as far as Benares, and from the Himalaya southward to the Narbada River" (C.CMI. p. 47) which have not as yet been very definitely attributed:—
c26.s7.8
(1) thin pieces of silver derived from the Sassanian type. Those which are simply rude imitations of actual Sassanian coins have been assigned with much probability to the Hūṇas (§ 105). The later imitations, which show, as they recede farther from the prototype, a more degraded representation of the original types and an increasing thickness of fabric, are probably Indian; but they cannot at present be certainly attributed to any particular dynasties. They are "common in the Gangetic Doab, but are found more plentifully in Mewar and Marwar, and throughout all Rajputana" (C.CMI. p. 48). They may perhaps be the predecessors of the coins of class (2), or they may be independent of them though derived from the same prototype. In weight the two classes are similar; and, as the specimens vary from 60 to 65 grains, or from 3,8 to 4,2 grammes, they probably, like their Sassanian originals, represent the Greek drachma (v. sup. § 24). Some specimens bear the letters *Ha* or *Ja*, and C. (l. c.) has very plausibly suggested that the former may be the initial of *Harṣavardhana* of Kanauj. The later coins of *Bhojadeva* of Kanauj (Śrīmad-Ādivarāha) are, certainly, similar in fabric, and are probably derived from the same source (v. sup. § 110). He also suggests that those which bear the name *Śrī Vigraha* may possibly have been struck by some successor of Bhojadeva (CMI. p. 51); but it is, perhaps, more probable that they should be attributed to Vigrahapāla I of Magadha (v. sup. § 111).
c26.s7.9
C.CMI. p. 48, Pl. VI, 13—19.
c26.s7.10
(2) thick pieces of silver also derived from the Sassanian type, but so degraded in execution as to show little similarity to their originals. They are commonly called *Gadhiya paisa* (**Plate V, 4**) and C. (CMI. p. 50) would identify them with the *Ṣaḍboddhika drammas* of the Jaunpur inscr. (C.ASR. XI, p. 176). They are found in S.W. Rajputana, in Mewar, Malwa, and Gujarat (C.CMI. p. 47). By their *obv.* type they are connected with a class of coins, on which the name *Somaladeva* is substituted for the degraded fire-altar of the *rev.* The same name also occurs on coins which have for the *obv.* the "horseman" type, probably borrowed from the Brahman Ṣāhis of Gandhāra (§ 115 (6))
c26.s7.11
C.CMI. p. 49, Pl. VI, 10--12; BH.JBRA. XII, p. 325. Cp. also id. XI, p. 334; PE. I, p. 341, Pl. XXVII, 13—16.
c26.s7.12
(3) copper coins of very rude fabric which may perhaps be imitations of the coins of the Later Kuṣaṇas (class (1), v. sup. § 74) — *obv.* King standing: *rev.* Śiva and Bull. The workmanship is, however, so much degraded, that the *obv.* of these coins has usually been supposed to represent the Sassanian fire-altar. C. supposes these coins to have formed the common copper currency of the Panjāb and Rajputana between A.D. 500 and 800 (v. sup. § 115 (5)).
c26.s7.13
C.CMI. p. 48, Pl. VI, 1—6.
Linked texts (2)
- Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit
- 玄奘 — Classical Chinese