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    Kushana Coinage

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    plast_adesh
    The Vedic Vayupurana describes a battle waged among the ancient Aryans. It was as a result of this war that Anavs part of the Chandravanshi clan and Gurtar ( Guzar ) of suryabanshi had to immigrate to wester Aryabart area of modern Iran (Iran means "land of Aryans") to Tarim basin. It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by the Turanian desert, that the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) was said to have been born and gained his first adherents. Avestan, the language of the oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta, was once called "old-iranic" which is related to Sanskrit. Chandravansi known as Sythians and Suryabanshi known as Guzar/Gusur by Tibbetian , Yuezhi by Chineese , Tocharian by Romans and Tushara by Poranic Indians.

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    Kushana Coinage

    Uploaded by

    plast_adesh
    186 views32 pages
    The Vedic Vayupurana describes a battle waged among the ancient Aryans. It was as a result of this war that Anavs part of the Chandravanshi clan and Gurtar ( Guzar ) of suryabanshi had to immigrate to wester Aryabart area of modern Iran (Iran means "land of Aryans") to Tarim basin. It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by the Turanian desert, that the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) was said to have been born and gained his first adherents. Avestan, the language of the oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta, was once called "old-iranic" which is related to Sanskrit. Chandravansi known as Sythians and Suryabanshi known as Guzar/Gusur by Tibbetian , Yuezhi by Chineese , Tocharian by Romans and Tushara by Poranic Indians.

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    The Vedic Vayupurana describes a battle waged among the ancient Aryans. It was as a result of this war that Anavs part of the Chandravanshi clan and Gurtar ( Guzar ) of suryabanshi had to immigrate to wester Aryabart area of modern Iran (Iran means "land of Aryans") to Tarim basin. It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by the Turanian desert, that the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) was said to have been born and gained his first adherents. Avestan, the language of the oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta, was once called "old-iranic" which is related to Sanskrit. Chandravansi known as Sythians and Suryabanshi known as Guzar/Gusur by Tibbetian , Yuezhi by Chineese , Tocharian by Romans and Tushara by Poranic Indians.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    186 views32 pages

    Kushana Coinage

    Uploaded by

    plast_adesh
    The Vedic Vayupurana describes a battle waged among the ancient Aryans. It was as a result of this war that Anavs part of the Chandravanshi clan and Gurtar ( Guzar ) of suryabanshi had to immigrate to wester Aryabart area of modern Iran (Iran means "land of Aryans") to Tarim basin. It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by the Turanian desert, that the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) was said to have been born and gained his first adherents. Avestan, the language of the oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta, was once called "old-iranic" which is related to Sanskrit. Chandravansi known as Sythians and Suryabanshi known as Guzar/Gusur by Tibbetian , Yuezhi by Chineese , Tocharian by Romans and Tushara by Poranic Indians.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 32

    coinage

    in
    Ancient Kushana Empire of
    gurjars
    By
    Adesh katariya
    ([email protected])

    Kushan Carnelian seal representing the "" (adsho Atar),


    with triratana symbol left, and Kanishka's dynastic mark right

    Kushana Empire
    In 176 BC, the Yuezhi were driven from Tarim
    Besin to westward by the Xiongnu, a fierce
    people of Magnolia.
    The Yuezhi under the leadership of the Kushana
    came down from Central Asia and swept away all
    earlier dynasties of the Northwest in a great
    campaign of conquest.
    They established an empire which extended from
    Central Asia right down to the eastern Gangetic
    basin.

    Originally, they were aryans and follow


    Hinduism, but Emperor Kanishka become
    Buddhist
    Peshawar and Mathura were two capitals of
    Kushana kingdom, now Kushana found in
    majority near both places known as Gujjar
    tribe and Kushana is a sub-tribe of Gujjars.

    Early Kushana Coinage


    The Kuaas started their ruling under Kujula
    Kadphises in central asia and centre of power was
    Gandhara .
    The Kuaas apparently introduced the very first
    anthropomorphic representations of Indian gods for
    their coins in Gandhara, even before an iconographical
    canon for these deities became standardised.

    In the coinage of Kushan Empire the main


    coins issued were gold, weighing 7.9g., and
    base metal issues of various weights
    between 12g and 1.5g.
    Actually, Kushana got very high qty gold from
    silk route through toll taxes .
    Little silver coinage was issued, but in later
    periods the gold used was debased with
    silver.

    The coin designs usually broadly follow the


    styles of the preceding Greco-Bactrian rulers in
    using Hellenistic styles of image, with a deity on
    one side and the king on the other.
    Kings may be shown as a profile head, a
    standing figure, typically officiating at a fire
    altar in Zoroastrian style, or mounted on a
    horse.
    The artistry of the dies is generally lower than
    the exceptionally high standards of the best
    coins of Greco-Bactrian rulers.

    Continuing influence from Roman coins can be


    seen in designs of the late 1st and 2nd century
    CE, and also in mint practices evidenced on the
    coins, as well as a gradual reduction in the value
    of the metal in base metal coins, so that they
    become virtual tokens.
    Iranian influence, especially in the royal figures
    and the pantheon of deities used, is even
    stronger.
    Under Kanishka the royal title of "King of kings"
    changed from the Greek " "
    to the Persian form "AONANOAO" (Shah of
    Shahs).

    Much of what little information we have of


    Kushan political history derives from coins.
    The language of inscriptions is typically
    the Bactrian language, written in a script derived
    from Greek.
    Many coins show the tamga symbols (see table)
    as a kind of monogram for the ruler.
    There were several regional mints, and the
    evidence from coins suggests that much of the
    empire was semi-independent.

    Skanda and Visakha

    Gold coin of Kanishka I, with a depiction of the Buddha, with the legend
    "Boddo" in Greek script;Ahin Posh

    Kushan deities
    The Kushan religious pantheon is extremely varied,
    as revealed by their coins and their seals, on which
    more than 30 different gods appear, belonging to
    the Hellenistic, the Iranian, and to a lesser extent the
    Indian world.
    Greek deities, with Greek names are represented on
    early coins. During Kanishka's reign, the language of
    the coinage changes to Bactrian (though it remained
    in Greek script for all kings).
    After Huvishka, only two divinities appear on the
    coins: Ardoxsho and Oesho.

    Representation of entities from Greek


    mythology and Hellenistic syncretism
    (Helios), (Hephaistos),
    (Selene), (Anemos).
    Further, the coins of Huvishka also portray the
    demi-god erakilo Heracles, and the Egyptian
    god sarapo Sarapis.

    The Indic entities represented on


    coinage include
    (boddo, Buddha)
    (metrago boddo,
    bodhisattava Maitreya)
    Mo (maaseno, Mahasena)
    o koo (skando
    komaro, Skanda Kumara)
    (shakamano
    boddho, Shakyamuni Buddha)

    The Iranian entities depicted on


    coinage include:
    , , , (mithro and variants, Mithra)
    (mozdooano, Mazda vana "Mazda the
    victorious?")
    , , (variations of pan-Asiatic nana,
    Sogdian nny, in a Zoroastrian context Aredvi Sura Anahita)
    (oado Vata)
    Oxo (oaxsho, "Oxus")
    Oooo (ooromozdo, Ahura Mazda)
    (orlagno, Verethragna)
    (tiero, Tir)

    The Iranian entities depicted on


    coinage include:

    (ardoxsho, Ashi Vanghuhi)


    Ao (ashaeixsho, Asha Vahishta)
    (athsho, Atar)
    (pharro, Khwarenah)
    (lrooaspa, Drvaspa)
    , (manaobago, Vohu Manah)
    (mao, Mah)

    (oesho), long considered to represent


    Indic Shiva, but more recently identified
    as Avestan Vayu conflated with Shiva.
    Two copper coins of Huvishka bear a 'Ganesa'
    legend, but instead of depicting the
    typical theriomorphic figure of Ganesha, have
    a figure of an archer holding a full-length bow
    with string inwards and an arrow.
    This is typically a depiction of Rudra, but in
    the case of these two coins is generally
    assumed to represent Shiva.

    Mahasena on a coin of Huvishka

    Four-faced Oesho

    Rishti

    Manaobago

    Pharro

    Ardochsho

    God Shiva (Oesho)

    Oesho (God Shiva) with bull

    MacDowell (1968) identified three regional copper


    issues of Kajula Kadphises and Vima Taktu of
    separate coinage in their first issue, which would
    correspond to the three previous realms making
    up the Kushan empire.
    The northern area, Bactria which had the largest
    sized coins of 12g (tetradrachms) and
    1.5g, Gandhara whose coinage weighed 9-10g for
    large and 2g for small, and the Indian area, where
    coins are 4g each.

    Bronze coin of Vima Takto. Corrupted


    Greek legend
    [.]: "The King of Kings,
    Saviour"

    Tetradrachm of Kujula Kadphises in


    the style of Hermaeus.

    MacDowell (1960) proposed a gradual reduction


    of all three issues starting with Huvishka, while
    Chattopadhyay (1967) proposes a rapid
    devaluation of the issue by Kanishka.
    It seems that there were two reductions based
    on the coinage of the rulers just named. Later
    issues were unified into a central coinage
    system of weights.

    Vima Kadphises issued three


    denominations of for this metal, a two
    of 15.75 grammes, a one of
    7.8 grammes and a quarter dinar piece
    of 1.95 grammes

    Gold dinar of Kushan king Kanishka


    II (200220)

    Thanks
    The motive of this this presentation is, to attract good scholers to discuss and research on
    the great contribution of Kushana of Yuezhi/Gurjar Tribes.
    -Adesh Katariya

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