UpdateBot at 17:49, 18 May 2022

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[[File:Gold coin of the Kushan empire, king Havishka - 1999.227 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|260px|Gold coin of king Havishka, Cleveland Museum of Art]]
[[File:Gold coin of the Kushan empire, king Vasudeva I.jpg|thumb|260px|Gold coin of king Vasudeva I, Cleveland Museum of Art]]
[[File:India, Kushan, Vasudeva II, 3rd century - Coin of Kushan King Vasudeva II - 2011.212 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|260px|Gold coin of Kushan King Vasudeva II, Cleveland Museum of Art]]
[[File:Coin of Heraios.jpg|thumb|260px|Silver [[tetradrachm]] of the first known self-declared "Kushan" ("Kossano" on his coins), [[Heraios]] (ruled c. 1–30)]]
[[Image:KushanCoinage.jpg|thumb|260px|Late Kushan ruler [[Shaka I]] (325–345).]]
In the coinage of the North Indian and Central Asian [[Kushan Empire]] (approximately 30–375 CE) the main coins issued were gold, weighing 7.9 grams, and base metal issues of various weights between 12 g and 1.5 g. Little silver coinage was issued, but in later periods the gold used was debased with silver.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-03 |title=ONSNUMIS.ORG - Kshaharata Questions |url=http://www.onsnumis.org/articles/kshaharata.shtml |access-date=2022-02-26 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803183048/http://www.onsnumis.org/articles/kshaharata.shtml |archive-date=3 August 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 (gods)|pantheon]] of deities used, is even stronger.<ref>MacDowell, "Mithra"</ref> Under Kanishka the royal title of "King of kings" changed from the Greek "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ" to the Persian form "ϷAONANOϷAO" (Shah of Shahs).<ref>MacDowell, "Mithra", 308-309</ref>

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.

==Kushan deities==
[[File:SkandaAndVisakhaHuvishkaCoin.jpg|thumb|260px|Skanda and Visakha]]
[[File:Coin of Kanishka I.jpg|thumb|260px|Gold coin of [[Kanishka I]], with a depiction of the Buddha, with the legend "Boddo" in Greek script;[[Ahin Posh]]]]

The Kushan religious [[Pantheon (gods)|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 language|Bactrian]] (though it remained in Greek script for all kings). After Huvishka, only two divinities appear on the coins: ''Ardoxsho'' and ''[[Oesho]]'' (see details below).

Representation of entities from Greek mythology and Hellenistic syncretism are:
* Ηλιος ([[Helios]]), Ηφαηστος ([[Hephaistos]]), Σαληνη ([[Selene]]), Ανημος ([[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:
* Βοδδο (''boddo'', [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]])
* Μετραγο Βοδδο (''metrago boddo'', bodhisattava [[Maitreya]])
* Mαασηνo (''maaseno'', [[Mahasena (deity)|Mahasena]])
* Σκανδo koμαρo (''skando komaro'', [[Murugan|Skanda]] Kumara)
* þακαμανο Βοδδο (''shakamano boddho'', [[Shakyamuni Buddha]])

The Iranian entities depicted on coinage include:
* Αρδοχþο (''ardoxsho'', [[Ashi Vanghuhi]])
* Aþαειχþo (''ashaeixsho'', [[Asha Vahishta]])
* Αθþο (''athsho'', [[Atar]])
* Φαρρο (''pharro'', [[Khwarenah]])
* Λροοασπο (''lrooaspa'', [[Drvaspa]])
* Μαναοβαγο, (''manaobago'', [[Vohu Manah]])
* Μαο (''mao'', [[Mah]])
* Μιθρο, Μιιρο, Μιορο, Μιυρο (''mithro'' and variants, [[Mithra]])
* Μοζδοοανο (''mozdooano'', [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda *vana]] "Mazda the victorious?")
* Νανα, Ναναια, Ναναϸαο (variations of pan-Asiatic ''nana'', Sogdian ''nny'', in a Zoroastrian context [[Aredvi Sura Anahita]])
* Οαδο (''oado'' [[Vata-Vayu|Vata]])
* Oαxþo (''oaxsho'', "Oxus")
* Ooρoμoζδο (''ooromozdo'', [[Ahura Mazda]])
* Οραλαγνο (''orlagno'', [[Verethragna]])
* Τιερο (''tiero'', [[Tishtrya|Tir]])

Additionally:
* Οηϸο (''oesho''), long considered to represent Indic [[Shiva]],<ref>Sivaramamurti, p. 56-59.</ref> but more recently identified as [[Avestan]] [[Vayu-Vata|Vayu]] conflated with Shiva.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sims-Williams|first=Nicolas|chapter=Bactrian Language|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|volume=3|location=London|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul}}</ref><ref>H. Humbach, 1975, p.402-408. K.Tanabe, 1997, p.277, M.Carter, 1995, p.152. J.Cribb, 1997, p.40. References cited in "De l'Indus à l'Oxus".</ref>
* 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.

{{Gallery|align=center
| title = Deities on Kushan coinage
| lines = 4
| width = 160
| height = 140
|File:MahasenaHuvishka.jpg|Mahasena on a coin of Huvishka
|File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithOisho.JPG|Four-faced Oesho
|File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithRishtiAsRoma.JPG|Rishti
|File:Manaobago.JPG|Manaobago
|File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithPharro.JPG|Pharro
|File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithArdochsho.JPG|Ardochsho
|File:KanihkaIOishoShiva.jpg|Oesho
|File:KanihkaIOishoShivaCoin2.jpg|Oesho with bull
|File:AdshoCarnelianSeal.jpg|Kushan [[Carnelian]] seal representing the "ΑΔϷΟ" (''adsho'' Atar), with [[triratana]] symbol left, and Kanishka's dynastic mark right
}}

==Base metal issues==
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 12 g (tetradrachms) and 1.5 g, [[Gandhara]] whose coinage weighed 9–10 g for large and 2 g for small, and the Indian area, where coins are 4 g each.

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kushan.org/coins/huvishka/devaluation.htm |title= |website=www.kushan.org |access-date=25 March 2007}}{{SemiBareRefNeedsTitle|date=May 2022}}</ref>
Later issues were unified into a central coinage system of weights.

<gallery>
File:KujulaIndoGreekCoinage.jpg|[[Tetradrachm]] of [[Kujula Kadphises]] (30–80 CE) in the style of [[Hermaeus]].
File:Coin of Kushan King Vima Takto.jpg|Bronze coin of [[Vima Takto]]. Corrupted Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΩΝ ΣΩΤΗΡ [ΓΗΕ.]: "The King of Kings, Saviour"
</gallery>

==Gold coinage==
[[Vima Kadphises]] issued three denominations of for this metal, a two of 15.75 grams, a one of 7.8 grams and a quarter dinar piece of 1.95 grams.<ref>{{Cite web |title=COINS OF KUSHAN DYNASTY |url=http://www.nupam.com/kushan1.html |access-date=2022-02-26 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908052845/http://www.nupam.com/kushan1.html |archive-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Coin of KanishkaII.jpg|Gold [[dinar]] of Kushan king [[Kanishka II]] (200–220)
</gallery>

==Imitations==
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =vertical
| header=Imitation of Kushan coinage
| image1 = Coin of VasudevaII.jpg
| caption1 = <center>Kushan coin of [[Vasudeva II]], 275–300 CE.</center>
| image2 = Samudragupta_circa_335-380_CE.jpg
| caption2 = <center>Standard type of Samudragupta, 335/350-375 CE</center>
| footer=Samudragupta was the first Gupta ruler to mint coins. These were in imitation of the coinage of the [[Kushan Empire]], adopting its weight standard, techniques and designs, following the conquests of Samudragupta in the northwest.<ref name="RM31">{{cite book |last1=Mookerji |first1=Radhakumud |title=The Gupta Empire |date=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=9788120804401 |pages=30–31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA30 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Infobase Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Higham |first1=Charles |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations |date=2014 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438109961 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref> The two types of coins are similar, except for the headdress of the ruler (a close-fitting cap instead of the Kushan pointed hat), the Garuda standard instead of the trident, and Samudragupta's jewelry, which is Indian.<ref name="RM31"/>
}}
The coinage of the Kushans was copied as far as the [[Kushano-Sasanians]] in the west, and the kingdom of [[Samatata]] in [[Bengal]] to the east. Towards the end of Kushan rule, the first coinage of the [[Gupta Empire]] was also derived from the coinage of the Kushan Empire, adopting its weight standard, techniques and designs, following the conquests of [[Samudragupta]] in the northwest.<ref name="Sen">{{cite book |last1=Sen |first1=Sudipta |title=Ganges: The Many Pasts of an Indian River |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300119169 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHN_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA205 |language=en}}</ref><ref>Gupta inscriptions using the term "Dinara" for money: No 5-9, 62, 64 in {{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors |date=1960 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463254/page/n229}}</ref><ref name="RM">{{cite book |last1=Mookerji |first1=Radhakumud |title=The Gupta Empire |date=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=9788120804401 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA30 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Infobase Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Higham |first1=Charles |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations |date=2014 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438109961 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref> The imagery on Gupta coins then became more Indian in both style and subject matter compared to earlier dynasties, where Greco-Roman and Persian styles were mostly followed.<ref>Pal, 78</ref><ref name="RM"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Art |first1=Los Angeles County Museum of |last2=Pal |first2=Pratapaditya |title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |date=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520059917 |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clUmKaWRFTkC&pg=PA73 |language=en}}</ref> The standard coin type of [[Samudragupta]], the first Gupta ruler to issue coins, is highly similar to the coinage of the later Kushan rulers, including the sacrificial scene over an altar, the depiction of a halo, while differences include the headdress of the ruler (a close-fitting cap instead of the Kushan pointed hat), the Garuda standard instead of the trident, and Samudragupta's jewelry, which is Indian.<ref name="RM31"/>

== References ==
<references/>

== Further reading ==
*MacDowell, David W., "Mithra": "Mithra's Planetary Setting in the Coinage of the Great Kushans", in ''Études Mithriaques: Actes Du 2e Congrès International, Téhéran, Du 1er Au 8 Septembre, 1975'', ed. Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, 1978, BRILL, {{ISBN|9004039023}}, 9789004039025, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OK15YW6BplwC&pg=PA309&dq=Kushan+coinage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oqmrUNf7MrSk0AXqqYHYDg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Kushan%20coinage&f=falsegoogle preview]

==External links==
*[http://coinindia.com/galleries-kushan.html Online catalogue of Kushan coinage]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050529231807/http://www.geocities.com/jmd_brussels/IBKE.html The Indo-Bactrian and Kushan coinage]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080807202221/http://prabhu.50g.com/kushana/kus_images.html KANISHKA AND THE KUSHANA DYNASTY]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050204064550/http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/kushan/kushan.html Kushan Empire]

{{Historic Indian currency and coinage}}

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[[Category:Ancient currencies]]
[[Category:Coins of India]]
[[Category:Kushan Empire]]

Kushan coinage - Revision history

UpdateBot at 17:49, 18 May 2022