Kabul hoard

Ancient Greek–Persian coinage in Afghanistan

Kabul hoard

Chaman Hazouri hoard

A late Iranian imitation of 5th century Athenian tetradrachm, minted under Achaemenid rule, of the type included in the Kabul hoard (dated to 380 BCE).[1][2]

Shown within Afghanistan

Coordinates| 34°30′53.28″N 69°11′42″E﻿ / ﻿34.5148000°N 69.19500°E﻿ / 34.5148000; 69.19500
Type| Coin hoard

The Kabul hoard, also called the Chaman Hazouri, Chaman Hazouri or Tchamani-i Hazouri hoard,[3][4] is a coin hoard discovered in the vicinity of Kabul, Afghanistan in 1933. The collection contained numerous Achaemenid coins as well as many Greek coins from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.[5] Approximately one thousand coins were counted in the hoard.[3][4] The deposit of the hoard is dated to approximately 380 BCE, as this is the probable date of the least ancient datable coin found in the hoard (the imitation of the Athenian owl tetradrachm).[6]

This numismatic discovery has been important in studying and dating the history of the coinage of India, since it is one of the very rare instances when punch-marked coins can actually be dated, due to their association with known and dated Greek and Achaemenid coins in the hoard.[7] The hoard proves that punch-marked coins existed in 360 BCE, as also suggested by literary evidence.[7] According to numismatist Joe Cribb, it suggests that the idea of coinage and the use of punch-marked techniques was introduced to India from the Achaemenid Empire during the 4th century BCE.[8] However, numerous Indian scholars see the development of coinage in the Gangetic plains as an indigenous development.[9]

## Historical context

[edit]

See also: Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley

Gandhara at the northeastern corner of the Achaemenid Empire

The Kabul valley and the region of Gandhara to the west of Indus came under the Achaemenid rule during the reign of Cyrus the Great (600–530 BCE). Jointly, the region was known by its Iranian name Paruparaesanna as well as the Indian name Gandara. It was administered at first from Bactria, but organised into a separate satrapy in c. 508 BCE with a headquarters possibly at Pushkalavati (near present-day Charsadda in Pakistan).[10][11] It was a tribute-paying region until the time of Artaxerxes (424 BCE),[12] but it remained part of the royal conception of the empire until Alexander's conquest (c. 323 BCE).[13] At Alexander's time, the region was said to be governed by hyparchs (rulers in their own right, but professing subjection to the emperor).[14] The nature of the local administration under the Achaemenid empire is uncertain. Magee et al. note that neither the Achaemenid nor classical sources mention the presence of any satraps in Gandara. However, there were official personages encountered by Alexander's companions.[13]

Coin type of Croesus, the Croeseid, minted in Lydia, under the rule of Cyrus the Great to Darius I. Circa 545–520.

Coinage was developed by the Greeks of the Asia Minor, influenced by the Lydian coinage in the 7th century BCE. Over the next two centuries, the use of coins spread throughout the Mediterranean area.[15] The Achaemenid conquest of Asia minor in 540 BCE made no immediate difference to the situation: the Greek coinage continued under the Achaemenid rule and the Iranian heartland itself had little use for money.[16] Daris I introduced new Achaemenid coins, gold darics and silver sigloi, primarily as replacements for the Lydian coins in the Asia minor.[17] While the darics proved to be popular, the sigloi did not catch on. The Greek cities continued to mint their own silver coins. A mix of these Greek silver coins and the Achaemenid sigloi thus began to circulate throughout the Achaemenid empire, the Greek coins generally being in a majority.[18]

## Discovery and storage of the hoard

[edit]

930m
1014yds

Chaman-i Hazouri in Kabul

The hoard was discovered by a construction team in 1933 when digging for foundations for a house near the Chaman-i Hazouri park in central Kabul. According to the then director of Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA), the hoard contained about 1,000 silver coins and some jewellery. 127 coins and pieces of jewellery were taken to the Kabul Museum and others made their way to various museums in British India and elsewhere. Some two decades later, Daniel Schlumberger of DAFA published photographs and details of the finds stored in the Kabul Museum in a book titled Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan.[19][3]

The Chaman-i-Hazouri coins remained at the Kabul Museum until 1992–1993, at which time the Afghan mujahideen plundered the museum. All the coins were lost (along with various other artifacts). Some two years later, 14 coins from the collection surfaced in a private collection in Pakistan. Osmund Bopearachchi and Aman ur Rahman published their details in the book Pre-Kushana Coins in Pakistan (1995).[19]

## Description of the hoard

[edit]

See also: Achaemenid coinage

The hoard suggests, together with other coin finds in the areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan that Greek coins had found their way to India, at least as far as the Indus, well before the conquests of Alexander the Great.[5] This happened under the rule of the Achaemenids.[20] The Achaemenid sigloi themselves were a small minority, just as in the hoards from other parts of the empire.[21]

Daniel Schlumberger published descriptions of 115 coins from those in the Kabul Museum. They included 30 coins from various Greek cities, about 33 Athenian coins and an Iranian imitation of an Athenian coin, 9 royal Achaemenid silver coins (siglos), 29 locally minted coins of said to be of a "new kind" and 14 punch-marked coins in the shape of bent bars.[3][1] It seems that the Classical Greek and Achaemenid coins were imported from the west.[20]

### Achaemenid siglos coins

[edit]

A royal Achaemenid siglos, 485-470 BCE (Archer king type). Coins of this type were also found in the Bhir Mound hoard of Taxila.[22][5][23]

Several Achaemenid siglos coins were found in the hoards of Kabul (deposit dated circa 350 BCE)[24] and Bhir Mound hoard of Taxila (deposit dated circa 300 BCE), which were evidently transmitted from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire.[5] They typically show a crowned Achaemenid king running to right, holding bow and spear (Archer king type), with a rectangular punch-mark on the reverse.[5] The several coin hoards discovered in the East of the Achaemenid Empire generally have very few sigloi, suggesting that the circulation of sigloi was actually quite small compared to the circulation of Greek coinage (both Archaic and early Classical) in those part of the Empire.[25][page needed]

Coins of this type were also found in the Bhir Mound hoard of Taxila.[22]

### Greek coins

[edit]

See also: Ancient Greek coinage

Early Classical coins from Athens were by far the most numerous coin type in the Kabul hoard. Circa 454-404 BCE.[26][27] "AΘE" for "Athens" in the right field on the reverse.

The Greek coins recorded in the hoard were 30 coins from various Greek cities and about 34 from Athens with one Iranian imitation.[1] Generally, Greek coins (both Archaic and early Classical) are comparatively very numerous in the Achaemenid coin hoards discovered in the East of the Achaemenid Empire, much more numerous than sigloi, suggesting that the circulation of Greek coinage was central in the monetary system of those part of the Empire.[25][page needed]

Archaic Greek coin types from the Kabul hoard

The Kabul hoard contained some archaic Greek coin types (minted before 480 BCE), among them: archaic staters from Aegina, Thasos and Chios. These early coins were made using a die on the obverse with an illustrative design, while the back was formed with simple geometric punch-marks.[28][29]

* Archaic coin of Thasos, circa 500-463 BCE.[30]

* Archaic coin of Chios, circa 490-435 BCE.[31] Earlier types known.

* Archaic Aegina coin type, "windmill pattern" incuse punch. Circa 510-490 BCE.[32][33][27]

Early classical Greek coin types from the Kabul hoard

In addition, there were two early classical tetradrachms from Akanthos as well as a stater from Corcyra. There were also coins from the cities of Levant: Pamphylia, Cilicia and Cyprus. Numismatist J. Kagan states that these coins must have reached the Kabul area soon after they were minted.[21]

* Aegina coin type, incuse skew pattern. Circa 456/45-431 BCE.[34]

* Coin of Akanthos, Macedon. Circa 470-430 BCE.[35][27]

* Coin of Aspendos, Pamphylia, circa 465-430 BCE.[36][27]

* Coin from Korkyra. Circa 350/30-290/70 BC (similar but older, early classical issues were in the hoard).[27][37]

* Coin of Cyprus, circa 450 BCE.[27][38]

Bopearachchi and Cribb state that these coins "demonstrate in a tangible way the depth of Greek penetration in the century before Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid satrapies."[39] According to Joe Cribb, these early Greek coins were at the origin of Indian punch-marked coins, the earliest coins developed in India, which used minting technology derived from Greek coinage.[5][40]

### Round punch-marked coins

[edit]

Punch-marked coin minted in the Kabul Valley under the Achaemenid administration. Circa 500-380 BC, or c.350 BCE.[41][5][42][43][44]

Schlumberger labelled 29 round punch-marked coins found in the hoard as being "of a new kind", not found elsewhere. They are round, elliptic, or cup-shaped coins of the Achaemenid weight standard; struck with one, two or several punches.[20] They usually display a sort of arrow symbol on the obverse, and circular geometric symbols on the reverse.[5] Similar coins have also been found in the Shaikhan Dehri hoard in Pushkalavati in the center of the Gandhara area,[45] but not in Taxila.[46]

Their dispersal in Kabul and Pushakalavati led Bopearachchi to postulate that they were manufactured locally, while the region was under Achaemenid protection, during the 5th century BCE.[45] Some scholars also believe them to have been a "product of the local Achaemenid administration".[47][42] However, others state that the local administration was largely autonomous and followed an independent monetary policy.[43][44] According to Joe Cribb, these coins were locally made imitations of Greek coins, with some pictorial, but mostly non-pictorial designs, using weight standards derived from Greek and Persian coinage.[46]

According Bopearachchi, these coins illustrate the transition from regular round coinage to Indian punch-marked coins.[48] First, these coins have been shown to be the chronological predecessors of and bent and punch-marked coins.[48] Second, they were minted according to the Achaemenid weight standard of 1 siglos (5.5 grams), or 2 siglos (11 grams).[48]

Design evolution of the round coins
Silver coin issued by King Croesus of Lydia (561–545 BC), obverse: facing busts of lion and bull.

Lastly, the round coins in the Kabul hoard display a marked evolution in design: the series starts with simple round coins struck on the obverse and reverse with animal motifs reminding of the "western designs" of Croesus, or Achaemenid motifs.[49][48][47] In particular, the round coins which are considered the oldest in the hoard, have an obverse design consisting in the facing busts of two bulls,[50][48] evocative of the design of the mid-6th century coins of Croesus with the facing busts of a lion and a bull, generally considered as the first coins ever to be minted.[48][51] Other western designs include a stag, or double Persian column capitals.[47]

Coinage of Afghanistan, circa 400 BCE

In later coins, the obverse design is progressively abandoned, and the reverse becomes a punch mark which progressively evolves to more symbolic motifs (such as the cup-like coins with lines around a central circle),[52] before reaching a stage were the round coins are struck with multiple punches.[53][48][54]

In summary, these coins were "the precursors of the bent and punch-marked coins", and "the use of independent punches is at the origin of the striking of Indian "coins with multiple punch-marks".[48] Mauryan kings later issued descendants of these very coins in the territories south of the Hindu Kush for local circulation.[55]

### Short punch-marked bent-bars

[edit]

Short "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration, of the type found in large quantities in the Chaman Hazouri.[56][57]

The round punch-marked coins have been shown to precede chronologically the "bent bars", also minted under Achaemenid rule from Bactria to the Punjab.[42][43][44][20] The practice of using unmarked silver bars for currency is known from the Iranian plateau and seems to have been current in Central Asia under the Achaemenid Empire.[58] The bent bars are believed to have been derived from that practice, representing "a marriage between Greek coinage and Iranian bar currency".[59]

The short "bars with punch-marks" (28x15mm) discovered in Chaman Hazouri are attributed to the Paropamisadae by Bopearachchi.[56] Their design uses two circular symbols punched at each end of one face of the bar.[60] These bent bars are clearly reminiscent of later punch-marked Indian types, which use several of the designs of these coins "of a new kind".[20][failed verification] The "long bars" with punch marks (42x10mm), of which none were found in the Kabul hoard, are attributed to the area of Gandhara, as well as in the Bhir Mound hoard in Taxila.[61][60]

* Another example of a short "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration.

* Short punch-marked bent bars, of the type attributed to the Paropamisadae under the Achaemenids.

* Comparison between Paropamisadae short punch-marked bent bars, and a Mauryan punchmarked karshapana.

* The bars found in Taxila generally use the same motifs but are elongated.[60]

Development of Indian punch-marked coins
Mix of short Paropamisadae punch-marked bent bars, a long Taxila one, Gandharan round coins and Mauryan round punch-marked coins from Gandhara.

According to Joe Cribb the earliest punched-marked bent-bars are found in the northwest of the continent, and their simple designs was then adopted in the Gangetic plains, before designs evolved there towards the usage of more numerous punches on each coin.[59] This is also proven by the fact that the Gangetic plains have no known coin designs anterior to their simple punch-marked bars, whereas the Kabul/Gandhara punch-marked bars were preceded there by the round punch-marked coins with symbols, minted under the Achaemenids.[59]

Daniel Schlumberger too considers probable that punch-marked bars, similar to the many punch-marked bars found in northwestern India, initially originated in the Achaemenid Empire, rather than in the Indian heartland:

> "The punch-marked bars were up to now considered to be Indian (...) However the weight standard is considered by some expert to be Persian, and now that we see them also being uncovered in the soil of Afghanistan, we must take into account the possibility that their country of origin should not be sought beyond the Indus, but rather in the oriental provinces of the Achaemenid Empire"

> — Daniel Schlumberger, quoted from Trésors Monétaires, p.42.[20]

## Impact on the dating of Indian punched-marked coins

[edit]

India Early northern trade coinage. Multi punch-marked coins from the Gangetic plains were probably derived from the early Achaemenid punch-marked designs found in the Chaman Hazouri hoard.[7]

Main articles: Punch-marked coins and Coinage of India

There is uncertainty regarding the actual time punch-marked coinage started in India, with proposals ranging from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.[7] However, the study of the relative chronology of these coins has successfully established that the first punch-marked coins initially only had one or two punches, with the number of punches increasing over time.[7]

According to Joe Cribb, the study of the Chaman Hazouri hoard suggests that Indian punch-marked coins may only go back to the mid-4th century BCE or slightly earlier, and actually started with the punch-marked coinage of the Achaemenids in the Kabul/Gandhara area.[7] This date remains consistent with various literary works mentioning the usage of coinage in India.[7] This early design was then adopted in the Gangetic plains to evolve towards multi-punch-marked coins.[7]

Another find that can be dated was made in Kausambi, where silver-plated forgeries imitating the early types of punch-marked coins and bars from Chaman Hazouri were found in the Mauryan Empire levels associated with the Pillar of Ashoka that can be found there.[62] This is another indication that the earliest punch-marked coins only date from around the mid-4th century BCE, and that they were still the standard coinage of reference at the time of the early Mauryan Empire (mid-3rd century CE).[7]

However, historian Romila Thapar has stated that the punch-marked coins were in circulation before the Mauryan rule and the general opinion adheres to the 6th century BCE as the date of their introduction.[63]

## Connected findings

[edit]

In 2007 a small coin hoard was discovered at the site of ancient Pushkalavati (Shaikhan Dehri hoard) in Pakistan. The hoard contained a tetradrachm minted in Athens circa 500/490-485 BCE, together with a number of local types as well as silver cast ingots. The Athens coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far to the east.[64]

* Achaemenid period silver ingot, Pushkalavati, Gandhara.[65][64]

* Athens coin (circa 500/490-485 BCE) discovered in Pushkalavati. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east.[64]

## See also

[edit]

* History portal
* Afghanistan portal

* Coinage of India
* Ghazzat hoard

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Cribb, Dating India's Earliest Coins 1985, p. 548: "The Iranian imitations were close copies of silver tetradrachms of Athens; the latest Greek coin of the Chaman Hazuri hoard is an example of these Iranian copies of an Athenian coin."
2. ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57: "The Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained (...) a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm (no.6)" and "No. 6: Coins of this type have been found in the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul and a hoard from Babylon, both deposited c.350 BC"
3. ^ a b c d Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 300–301.
4. ^ a b 106\. Kabul: Chaman-i Hazouri Archived 2020-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "The most important and informative of these hoards is the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained royal Achaemenid sigloi from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, together with a large number of Greek coins dating from the fifth and early fourth century BC, including a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm, all apparently taken from circulation in the region."
6. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 309 and Note 65.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, pp. 85–86.
8. ^ Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 101.
9. ^ Goyal, The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India 1999.
10. ^ Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire 1948, p. 144.
11. ^ Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan 1975, pp. 175–177: "One should...be careful to distinguish the limited geographical unit of Gandhāra from the political one bearing the same name."
12. ^ Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire 1948, p. 292.
13. ^ a b Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, p. 714, col. 1.
14. ^ Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, footnote 35.
15. ^ Graham, Coinage (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece) 2013, p. 174, col. 1: "Ancient Greek coinage developed in Asia Minor, probably influenced by the circulation of Lydian coinage in the 7th century BC. The production of Greek coinage grew as the polis flourished and spread throughout the Mediterranean during the height of the colonization phase between c.700 and c.500 BC. As a result, coinage in antiquity was an essentially Greek phenomenon and became a medium of exchange, the legacy of which remains with us today."
16. ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 61–62: "Neither the Egyptian nor the Mesopotamian civilizations had needed coinage as a form of money; further, the Achaemenids in the Iranian heartland remained attached to a barter and exchange economy throughout their reign, using commodities like corn, meat, and wine, as well as silver bullion."
17. ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 64–65.
18. ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 69–71: "the tetradrachms of Athens, above all, had developed in the course of the fifth century to a kind of world trade currency" and "the Achaemenids had introduced their own distinctive currency in Asia Minor, which, however, formed only a small part of the monetary supply and circulated side by side with local and imported Greek coins."
19. ^ a b Achaemenid Rule (550–330 BC) Archived 2018-09-06 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
20. ^ a b c d e f Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 308-.
21. ^ a b Kagan, Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris 2009, pp. 230–231.
22. ^ a b Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "Coins of this type found in Chaman Hazouri (deposited c.350 BC) and Bhir Mound hoards (deposited c.300 BC)."
23. ^ "Kabul hoard 1-3-4". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
24. ^ "Kabul hoard, coins 65-72". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
25. ^ a b Kagan, Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris 2009
26. ^ "Kabul hoard 31-32-33". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
27. ^ a b c d e f "The 1933 Cabul hoard pub-lished by Schlumberger consisted of over 115 coins, with significant overlap with the Malayer hoard. Athens again is the largest group, with 33 recorded tetradrachms compared to eight sigloi. In addition to the worn archaic stater of Aegina, a fragmentary stater of Thasos and a worn Chiot stater may be archaic. There are two well-preserved early classical tetradrachms from Acanthus and an early classical stater of Corcyra. Again there is a significant Levantine component represented by coins from Pamphylia, Cilicia and Cyprus, though nothing from Phoenicia. The early Cilician coins probably date the hoard slightly later than the Malayer hoard." in Kagan, Jonathan. ARCHAIC GREEK COINS EAST OF THE TIGRIS. p. 230.
28. ^ Gates, Charles (2013). Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge. p. 206\. ISBN 9781134676620.
29. ^ Metcalf, William E. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. OUP USA. pp. 45–. ISBN 9780195305746.
30. ^ "a fragmentary stater of Thasos" described in Kagan p.230 Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Kabul hoard Coin no.9 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
31. ^ "a worn Chiot stater" described in Kagan p.230 Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Kabul hoard Coin no.12 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
32. ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.5 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
33. ^ CNG: ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina. Circa 510-490 BC. AR Stater (20mm, 11.73 g).
34. ^ Kabul hoard Coins no.1-3-4 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
35. ^ Kabul hoard Coins No.7-8 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
36. ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.17 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
37. ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.6 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
38. ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.26-27 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
39. ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57.
40. ^ Cribb, Joe (1 January 2003). "The Origins of the Indian Coinage Tradition". South Asian Studies. 19 (1): 16–17\. doi:10.1080/02666030.2003.9628617. ISSN 0266-6030. S2CID 191453065. "The evidence of the Chaman Hazouri hoard suggests that the prototype of India's first coinage, i.e. the bent bar coinage, was itself an adaptation of a local Afghan imitation of Greek coinage. This raises the question whether it is appropriate to suggest a Greek origin, i.e. a western origin, for the Indian coinage tradition."
41. ^ "Extremely Rare Early Silver from the Kabul Valley", CNG 102, Lot:649 Archived 2018-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
42. ^ a b c Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57: "In the same hoard there were also discovered two series of local silver coins which appear to be the product of the local Achaemenid administration. One series (no.8) was made in the same way as the Greek coins in the hoard, but with novel designs of local origin, and the other (no.9) had similar local design but made in a new way, which relates it to the silver punch-marked coins of India. It appears that it was these local coins, using technology adapted from Greek coins, which provided the prototypes for punch-marked coins, the earliest coins made in India." NB: Series No. 8 refers to the cup-shaped coins, series no.9 refers to the bent-bar punch-marked coins presented in this article.
43. ^ a b c Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, pp. 714: "There has been some debate about the nature of Achaemenid administration over the eastern provinces, using Achaemenid and classical sources. What is clear is that both are harmonious in referring to the existence of satraps in Bactria and Arachosia (Harauvatish), whereas at no point does either refer to satraps in Gandara, Thatagus, or Hindush."
44. ^ a b c Bopearachchi, Achaemenids and Mauryans 2017: "The 'autonomy' revealed by urban settlements in the Persian satrapies situated south of the Hindu Kush mountains can also be seen in their monetary policy. While the whole empire accepted the Achaemenid darics and sigloi as the legal tender, Indian satraps issued their own coinage consisting of curved and punch-marked bars, which the English have agreed to call 'bent bars'."
45. ^ a b Bopearachchi, Achaemenids and Mauryans 2017, p. 20.
46. ^ a b Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 98.
47. ^ a b c Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, p. 70.
48. ^ a b c d e f g h Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 309–311.
49. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 328 (Coins 1-3).
50. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 328 (Coin 1).
51. ^ Takacs, Sarolta Anna; Cline, Eric H. (2015). The Ancient World. Routledge. p. 393\. ISBN 9781317458395.
52. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 329 (Coins 4-10).
53. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 330 (Coins 11-13).
54. ^ Coins minted in the Kabul Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
55. ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, p. 59: "In the territories to the south of the Hindu Kush the punch-marked coins, descendants of the local coins of the Achaemenid administration in the same area, were issued by the Mauryan kings of India for local circulation."
56. ^ a b Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 271, Coins 14–15–16; Cribb, Dating India's Earliest Coins 1985, pp. 547–548
57. ^ 372\. Lot: 658, Lot of two AR bent bars Archived 2018-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
58. ^ Bivar, Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period 1971, pp. 100–101.
59. ^ a b c Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, pp. 98–101.
60. ^ a b c Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 311.
61. ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 271, Coins 17–39
62. ^ Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 100-101.
63. ^ Goyal, The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India 1999, p. 153.
64. ^ a b c "A Truly International Currency", Triton XV, Lot: 1163, ATTICA, Athens Archived 2019-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
65. ^ "Achaemenid Period Ingot", Triton XV, Lot: 1366 Archived 2018-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Alram, Michael (2016), "The Coinage of the Persian Empire", in William E. Metcalf (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, pp. 61–, ISBN 9780199372188
* Bivar, Adrian David Hugh (1971), "Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period from Nūsh-i Jān, near Malayir", IRAN: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, Volume IX, pp. 97–111
* Bopearachchi, Osmund (2000), "Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest)", Indologica Taurinensia, 25, International Association of Sanskrit Studies
* Bopearachchi, Osmund (2017), "Achaemenids and Mauryans: Emergence of Coins and Plastic Arts in India", in Alka Patel; Touraj Daryaee (eds.), India and Iran in the Longue Durée, UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies, pp. 15–48
* Bopearachchi, Osmund; Cribb, Joe (1992), "Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia", in Errington, Elizabeth; Cribb, Joe; Claringbull, Maggie (eds.), The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ancient India and Iran Trust, pp. 56–59, ISBN 978-0-9518399-1-1
* Cribb, Joe (1983), "Investigating the introduction of coinage in India - A review of recent research", Journal of the Numismatic Society of India: 80–101
* Cribb, J. (1985), "Dating India's Earliest Coins", in J. Schotsmans; M. Taddei (eds.), South Asian Archaeology, 1983: Proceedings from the Seventh International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologistan in Westeren Europe Held in the Musees Royaux d'art et d'histoire, Brussels, Naples: Istituto Universario Orientale, pp. 535–554
* Eggermont, Pierre Herman Leonard (1975), Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan and the Siege of the Brahmin Town of Harmatelia, Peeters Publishers, ISBN 978-90-6186-037-2
* Oliver, Graham (2013), "Coinage", in Nigel Wilson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-136-78800-0
* Kagan, J. (2009), "Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris: Evidence for Circulation" (PDF), Proceedings of the XIVth International Numismatic Congress, Glasgow, pp. 230–234[permanent dead link]
* Goyal, Shankar (1999), "The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 80 (1/4): 125–154, JSTOR 41694581
* Magee, Peter; Petrie, Cameron; Knox, Richard; Khan, Farid; Thomas, Ken (2005), "The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations in Akra in Northwest Pakistan", American Journal of Archaeology, 109 (4): 711–741, doi:10.3764/aja.109.4.711, S2CID 54089753
* Olmstead, A. T. (1948), History of the Persian Empire, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0-226-62777-9 `{{citation}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

## External links

[edit]

Photographic inventory of the Kabul hoard in the Kabul Museum (now disappeared after looting in 1992-1994), by Daniel Schlumberger in Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953):

* Kabul hoard Greek coins (photograph)
* Kabul hoard Greek and Persian coins (photograph)
* Kabul hoard Local coins (photograph)
* Kabul hoard Local coins (photograph)
* Kabul hoard, various fragments (photograph)
* An attempt at classification

* v
* t
* e

Gandhara

History|

* Gandhara kingdom
* Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley
* Greek conquests in India
* Mauryan Empire
* Greco-Bactrian kingdom
* Indo-Greek kingdom
* Indo-Scythians
* Indo-Parthians
* Kushan Empire
* Alchon Huns
* Turk Shahis
* Hindu Shahis
* Ghaznavid Empire

Culture|

* Greco-Buddhist art
* Greco-Buddhism
* Hellenistic influence on Indian art
* Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
* Art of Gandhara by museum

Archaeology|

| Peshawar basin|

* Takht-i-Bahi
* Sahr-i-Bahlol
* Baho Dheri
* Aziz Dheri
* Shaji-ki-Dheri
* Kanishka stupa
* Loriyan Tangai
* Jamal Garhi
* Yusufzai‎
* Sikri Yusufzai
* Butkara Stupa
* Bhamala
* Aziz Dheri
* Shingardara
* Ali Masjid
* Sphola
* Ahin Posh
* Swat
* Saidu Sharif
* Chakpat
* Barikot
* Charsadda
* Pushkalavati
* Ranigat
* Hashtnagar
* Sikri stupa

|

Taxila|

* Sirkap
* Dharmarajika
* Jaulian
* Kalawan
* Mohra Muradu
* Jandial
* Kunala Stupa
* Lalchak monastery
* Badalpur
* Bhallar
* Mankiala
* Bhir Mound

Eastern Afghanistan|

* Hadda
* Tapa Shotor
* Chakhil-i-Ghoundi
* Tapa-i Kafariha
* Shotorak
* Paitava
* Bimaran
* Mes Aynak
* Fondukistan
* Khair Khaneh
* Sphola Stupa
* Tapa Sardar
* Tepe Narenj
* Tepe Maranjan

Artifacts|

* Aramaic Inscription of Taxila
* Bimaran Casket
* Kanishka reliquary
* Stone palettes
* Buddhas of Bamiyan
* Buner reliefs
* Saptarishi Tila statue
* Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara
* Kabul hoard
* Shinkot casket
* Rukhuna reliquary
* Treasure of Begram
* Wardak Vase
* Standing Buddha
* Brussels Buddha
* Bajaur casket
* Silver Reliquary of Indravarman
* Hephthalite silver bowl
* Gardez Ganesha

* v
* t
* e

History of Central Asia

Polities|

* Mal'ta–Buret' culture
* Yamnaya culture
* Afanasievo culture
* Sintashta culture
* Vakhsh culture
* Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
* Saka
* Andronovo culture
* Tagar culture
* Uyuk culture
* Pazyryk culture
* Massagetae
* Median Empire
* Achaemenid Empire
* Macedonian Empire
* Seleucid Empire
* Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
* Guiyi Circuit
* Yuezhi
* Xiongnu
* Kushan Empire
* Kushano-Sasanians
* Kidarites
* Alchon Huns
* Hephthalites
* Tocharians
* Ustrushana
* Khuttal
* Ferghana
* First Turkic Khaganate
* Western Turks
* Tang dynasty (Anxi Protectorate)
* Ikhshids of Sogdia
* Tokhara Yabghus
* Turk Shahis
* Oghuz Yabgus
* Second Turkic Khaganate
* Uyghur Khaganate
* Abbasid Caliphate
* Tahirid dynasty
* Saffarid dynasty
* Samanids
* Ma'munids
* Farighunids
* Ghaznavids
* Great Seljuq Empire
* Ghurid Empire
* Khwarazmian Empire
* Mongol Empire
* Chagatai Khanate
* Golden Horde
* Ilkhanate
* Sufi dynasty
* Kart dynasty
* Timurid Empire
* Principality of Fergana
* Khanate of Bukhara
* Durrani Empire
* Khanate of Khiva
* Chinese Turkestan
* Russian Turkestan
* Soviet Central Asia
* Chinese Central Asia

Culture|

* Central Asian art
* Silk Road
* Silk Road transmission of art
* Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
* Serindian art

Archaeology|

| Southern Russia|

* Sintashta
* Arzhan kurgan
* Pazyryk burials
* Salbyk kurgan
* Filippovka kurgans

|

Western China|

* Bulayïq
* Kucha
* Kizil Caves
* Kizilgaha caves
* Kumtura Caves
* Subashi Temple
* Dunhuang
* Miran
* Niya
* Rawak
* Mogao Caves
* Tumshuq
* Bezeklik Caves
* Dunhuang Caves
* Loulan
* Khotan
* Kashgar
* Beshbalik

Mongolia|

* Noin-Ula burial site

Kazakhstan|

* Begash
* Issyk kurgan
* Jankent
* Karsakpay inscription
* Kerderi
* Krasnyi Yar
* Merke Turkic Sanctuaries
* Otrar
* Petroglyphs of Arpa-Uzen
* Petrovka settlement
* Boralday
* Sawran
* Shilikty
* Steppe Geoglyphs
* Sumbe
* Talapty Settlement
* Turkistan (city)
* Urpek
* Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
* Araltobe kurgan

Kyrgyzstan|

* Aigyr-Zhal 2
* Balasagun
* Burana Tower
* Issyk-Kul
* Koshoy Korgon
* Manas Ordo
* Navekat
* Özgön
* Shakh Fazil
* Suyab
* Tash Rabat

Uzbekistan|

* Afrasiyab
* Akchakhan-Kala
* Akhsikath
* Ancient Pap
* Ayaz-Kala
* Balalyk Tepe
* Burchmulla
* Dalverzin Tepe
* Desert castles of ancient Khorezm
* Fayaz Tepe
* Guldursun-Kala
* Hazorasp
* Itchan Kala
* Kafir-kala
* Kampir Tepe
* Kara Tepe
* Khalchayan
* Khiva
* Koi Krylgan Kala
* Koktepe
* Kyzyl-Kala
* Obi-Rakhmat Grotto
* Poykent
* Sarmishsay
* Shahrukhiya
* Siypantosh Rock Paintings
* Tavka Kurgan
* Toprak-Kala
* Varakhsha
* Zarautsoy Rock Paintings

Tajikistan|

* Bunjikat
* Penjikent
* Ajina tepe
* Cyropolis
* Kafir-kala
* Sarazm
* Takht-i Kuwad
* Takht-i Sangin
* Kalai Kafirnigan

Turkmenistan|

* Cave of Dzhebel
* Abiward
* Altyndepe
* Anau culture
* Anau
* Dev-Kesken
* Gonur Depe
* Jeitun
* Konye-Urgench
* Kutlug Timur Minaret
* Merv
* Monjukli Depe
* Namazga-Tepe
* Nisa
* Togolok
* Ulug Depe

Afghanistan|

* Tepe Fullol
* Ai-Khanoum
* Dilberjin Tepe
* Hadda
* Tapa Shotor
* Chakhil-i-Ghoundi
* Shotorak
* Paitava
* Bimaran
* Tapa-i Kafariha
* Mes Aynak
* Fondukistan
* Khair Khaneh
* Tapa Sardar
* Tepe Narenj
* Takht-e Rostam
* Tepe Fullol
* Tillya Tepe
* Yemshi Tepe
* Alexandria Prophthasia
* Aq Kupruk
* Asqalan
* Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
* Buddhas of Bamiyan
* Chakhil-i-Ghoundi Stupa
* Darra-e Kur
* Dasht-e Nawar
* Dokhtar-i-Noshirwan
* Firozkoh
* Gawhar Shad Mausoleum
* Haji Piyada
* Khair Khaneh
* Mundigak
* Musalla Complex
* Nagara
* Qala-i-Jangi
* Rag-i-Bibi
* Surkh Kotal

Iran|

* Bandian complex
* Mount Khajeh
* Shahr-e Sukhteh

Artifacts|

* Sokh snakes
* Orlat plaques
* Hephthalite silver bowl
* Chilek silver bowl
* Gardez Ganesha
* Mogao Christian painting
* Murals from the Christian temple at Qocho
* Penjikent murals
* Sampul tapestry
* Sogdian Daēnās
* Oxus Treasure
* Bimaran Casket
* Buddhas of Bamiyan
* Kabul hoard
* Aramaic Inscription of Laghman
* Kandahar Aramaic inscription
* Pul-i-Darunteh Aramaic inscription
* Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription
* Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka
* Afrasiab murals
* Stamp seal (BM 119999)
* Seal of Khingila
* Siberian Ice Maiden
* Ai-Khanoum plaque
* Saksanokhur gold buckle
* Boar hunter (Hermitage Museum)
* Siberian Collection of Peter the Great
* Silver Deer and Golden Crown of Bilge Qaghan

*[c.]: circa
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