Xannat at 21:39, 29 March 2023

2023-03-29T21:39:13Z

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[[File:Arched hill symbol.jpg|thumb|Arched-hill symbol (here a three arched-hill symbol with crescent).]]
The '''Arched-hill symbol''' is a symbol on ancient [[Coinage of India]]. There are some variations to the number of the hills depicted, or the symbol surmounting the hill, such as a [[crescent]] or a star.

It is thought that the three-arched hill symbol was initiated during the [[Maurya Empire]] (3rd–2nd century BCE).<ref>"The crescented three- arched hill symbol, seems to have originally been adopted by Chandragupta Maurya." Malwa Through the Ages, from the Earliest Times to 1305 A.D, Kailash Chand Jain Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1972 [https://books.google.com/books?id=_3O7q7cU7k0C&pg=PA145]</ref> Later, in coins from [[Taxila]] dated from 220 BCE, the three-arched symbol appears regularly, and from 185 BCE is regularly associated with the animal figures of the elephant and the lion.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=150982 CNG Coins]</ref> In contrast, the [[Nandipada]] is generally associated with the [[zebu]] bull.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=127009 CNG Coins]</ref> On coins of the [[Shunga Empire|Shunga period]], the three-arched hill can appear among a multitude of other symbols, such as the [[Nandipada]], the tree-in-railing, the elephant, or the empty cross.{{cn|date=June 2017}}

The symbol is generally considered a representation of a [[Buddhist]] [[Chaitya]]. It has also been argued that it was the imperial symbol of the Mauryas.<ref>Coin Splendour: A Journey Into the Past, Prasanna Rao Bandela, Abhinav Publications, 2003, p.28 [https://books.google.com/books?id=_mUg2BBJr7kC&pg=PA28]</ref> The symbol however, appears in many post-Mauryan contexts as seen with the coins of Taxila and the Shungas.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Sunga coin circa 150 BC 100 AD.jpg|A [[Sunga]] coin (150 BCE-100 CE) with three-arched hill (reverse, top left) among other symbols.
File:MauryanCoin.JPG|An Arched-hill symbol on the reverse of this [[Maurya Empire]] coin.
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC Column and Hill.jpg|Single-die [[Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara|local coinage of Taxila]]. Column and arched-hill symbol (220-185 BCE).
File:Taxila coin Circa 185 160 BC.jpg|Taxila coin (Post-Maurya, 185-160 BCE).
File:Agatocles Chaitya.jpg|A six-arched hill symbol with star on top, with tree-in-railing on a coin of [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]].
File:John paul 1 coa.svg|A six-arched hill symbol on [[Pope John Paul I]] coat of arms. Fairly common in other coats of arms in Italy.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Historic Indian currency and coinage}}

[[Category:Symbols]]
[[Category:Coins of India]]

Arched-hill symbol - Revision history

Xannat at 21:39, 29 March 2023