While my main interest in numismatics has always been Roman Imperial coinage, I can't deny that I have also taken a liking to Bactrian and Indo-Greek coinage and, from there, it has developed into an interest for the other nations that existed in that area, both in the same timeframe and also after it. Out of them, one of the most prolific in issuing coins was that of the Western Satraps, to which my most recent acquisition belongs to: Isvaradatta (242-243?), Drachm, Mint B. Obverse: head right, wearing satrapal cap, surrounded by blundered Greek legend; Reverse: Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Isvaradattasa Varse Prathame, three-arched hill, with crescents above and to the left, sun to the right and river below; Fishman 24.2 The history of the Western Satraps is very incomplete, due to a lack of sources, but historians were still able to piece it together thanks to numismatic evidence as well as the scant literary fragments. The Western Satraps arose in the 1st century AD in Northwestern India, following the Saka invasion of the region, which had swept away the Indo-Greek Kingdom and had led to the estabilishment of several small Scythian kingdoms in its place. The Western Satraps had managed to conquer a large territory and, in particular, they controlled the region of Gujarat and its trade ports, the most important of which was Barygaza, through which eastern goods flowed to the west, and thanks to the maritime commerce they amassed vast wealth. They were originally led by the Kshaharata Dinasty, whose most well-known member, Nahapana, is usually identified as the Nambanus mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a manuscript that lists the main trade routes of the area in that time period: "Beyond the gulf of Baraca is that of Barygaza and the coast of the country of Ariaca, which is the beginning of the Kingdom of Nambanus and of all India" If the identification is correct, then he is the only one of these kings to be mentioned by a Western source. However, eventually Nahapana's luck ran out, and his dynasty was destroyed by the Satavahana, and replaced by the Kardamakas, who ruled the kingdom possibly all the way until its end in the 5th century (it's uncertain whether the last few kings also belonged to this line). The greatest territorial extention of the Western Satraps (Wikipedia; Map made by user PHG) Now, as far as their coinage goes, the Western Satraps mainly struck drachms in silver, of which they had plenty thanks to the lucrative trade routes that they controlled. It's interesting to note that this design was apparently very popular, and was imitated for many centuries afterwards. Anyway, the drachms of Kardamakas always follow the same exact design, with the king's head on the obverse surrounded by a blundered Greek legend, a residual of the coinage of the Indo-Greeks, and which sometimes also contains a date, while the reverse features a Buddhist stupa, surrounded by two crescents, a sun, a river and a Brahmi legend that is far more interesting than the one on the obverse; the reason is that the reverse legend always identifies the issuing ruler as well as his father, thus allowing us to determine the correct succession of rulers. One of the Great Stupas of Sanchi, whose construction began in the 3rd century BC - even before the Western Satraps (Wikipedia; By Udit Sharma - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0) This brings us back to Isvaradatta, as he is the only one that does not follow this convention: instead of naming his father, this ruler (whose name means "The God-Given) states his regnal year instead, which has been interpreted as meaning that he did not belong to the ruling dynasty and that he did not have illustrious ancestors. While quite a few Kardamaka kings were likely rebels themselves against their relatives, as we can infer from the rarity of their coins and the conflicting titles claimed by some of them who reigned at the same time, Isvaradatta might be the only one who was external to the dynasty. In any case, his rebellion must have been unsuccessful, as his coins of the first year are scarce, and those of his second very rare. As for the dating of his reign, that is also uncertain, as the date on the obverse is usually missing or extremely blundered, though an example has been read as 164 of the Western Satrap Era, which would mean that he reigned in 242-243 AD, as an opponent of the legitimate ruler Vijayasena. I have tried separating the words on the reverse with the red bars, to allow everybody to associate them to the translation (the arrow indicates the starting point): Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Isvaradattasa Varse Prathame - Of the King and Great Satrap Isvaradatta, in the first year. If the coin had been one of the very rare ones struck in his second year, then the reverse legend would have ended in Dvitiye instead. It was without a doubt very interesting to venture in a field that is so distant from my main collecting subject, but I certainly enjoyed it (and I also enjoyed writing this thread), and I will certainly pick up more coins from the region in the future. Post your coins of the Western Satraps, your coins of usurpers, or anything else you feel like might be relevant . Sources: - "The Silver Coinage of the Western Satraps in India", by A. M. Fishman; - "How to read the legends on coins of the Western Kshatrapas", by Pankaj Tandon; - "Studies in the coinage of the Western Ksatrapas", by Amiteshwar Jha & Dilip Rajgor; - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Satraps; - http://coinindia.com/home.html;
Man, that's a very instructive thread. Knew nothing about him. I'm gonna push the "should be featured" button !
Very interesting and thank you. I recently have been focusing on Bactrian and Kushan coinage in addition to Roman Imperial and Byzantine because the cultural melding aspects are so interesting - Greeks in Afghanistan and India, various local cultures and languages all vying for prominence.
Fantastic writeup, @Claudius_Gothicus, with a coin to match! ...Yeah, from here, in that order. @ancient coin hunter's phrase, "...all vying for prominence," made me sit up. All you have to do is live in the US long enough before you see a profound distinction, in any context where more than one ethnic group is living cheek by jowl, between the operant, respective political and cultural dynamics. As I like to say, in a world reeking of false dichotomies, this Ain't One of 'em. Two ethnicities can be in a state of war, literally or on an otherwise de facto basis, and the 'dominant' one won't blink at adopting elements of the other's culture. Right, the term du jour is 'appropriation.' Which can have some resonant validity, depending on the superficiality with which it takes place. But without this, the history of human civilizaton would be more boring than it is, by orders of magnitude. Apart from the US itself, I get the most traction with this from any number of medieval contexts. But it's terrific to be so eloquently reminded that it's been going on from ...heck, the beginning of recorded history (and archeology).
An area I too know little about, but your thread was very educational Rudrasimha II,son of Svami Jivadaman, Kardamaka Family, Western Kshatrapas, AR Drachma,Obv:bust of king facing right, date behind, corrupt Greek legend around,Rev:three arched hill with crescent in center, moon to left and sun to right, Brahmi legend in Prakrit Svami Jivadamapitrasa Rajnah Kshatrapasa Rudrasihasa,2.13g, 13.75 mm,(A.M. Fishman 31)
You cited Pankaj Tandon's article "How to read the legends on coins of the Western Kshatrapas: A Beginner’s Guide". It's online, and highly recommended. http://people.bu.edu/ptandon/WK-Legends.pdf Here is an example, which I puzzled out using Richard Plant's book: Vijayasena, date 169 Saka Era = 247 AD, 2.16g Reverse inscription in Brahmi Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Damasenasaputrasa Rajnah Ksatrapasa Vijayasanasa ("of Raja Satrap Vijayasena, son of Raja Mahasatrap Damasena")
Very instructive thread ! Adding a specimen of earlier king Chastana, founder of the Kardamaka line and starting the Saka Era, with a little reading aid.
Good job, very informative and excellent presentation. Correct attribution of the OP coin. (Note my avatar). I like these coins also, now have 23 of them but lack Isvaradatta, for one.
An interesting and good looking coin and enjoyable post @Claudius_Gothicus. These are interesting coins, although it has been quite a while since I last tried to read one and I am out of practice. I am also a fan of this resource for anyone getting to know these coins: How to read the legends on coins of the Western Kshatrapas:A Beginner’s Guide, Pankaj Tandon You may enjoy this site too - apparently there are also "year 2" coins for Isvarradatta - I don't have a coin of this usurper and it is interesting how he uses regnal years in place of his father's name. Losing interest, I made a regrettable choice of selling off quite a few of these as a "large lot" which didn't go for much. I kept only a few - here is one of the mahakshatrapa that Isvarradatta was challenging: Vijayasena as mahakshatrapa, silver drachm, third of four sons of Dāmasena to rule Obv: Head of king right, date behind head: S. 167 / 245 AD Rev: Chaitya (3-arched hill), river below, crescent moon and sun above, Brahmi legend around rajno mahakshatrapasa damasenasaputrasa rajno mahakshatrapasa vijayasenasa
When I was in college, my favorite professor advised us to strive to know something about everything and everything about something. I disappointed him and failed in both halves of his suggestion. Instead of knowing something about everything I now strive to be able to figure out where I can look to find out something about whatever it is that strikes me as worth knowing. This post strikes me as the place I will go on this subject. The fact is my half dozen satraps coins and remaining brain cells not currently otherwise occupied do not allow me to 'old school' learn what was presented here. I hope I will be able to find this page again someday if I want to know more. Yes.
That's a spectacular example, @Claudius_Gothicus, congrats! It looks lustrous with some lovely toning, and it's also well centred for these (in my limited experience). I have three common examples: Nahapana (c. 105-125) Rudrasena I (200-222) Vijayasena (239-250) I'd love to get a Chastana, like @THCoins' example! I find the ubiquitous "three-arched hill" symbolism quite fascinating... is it certain that it's a Buddhist symbol? You call it a "stupa" here; another term that's used is "chaitya." I'm unclear on the difference. The reliquary enclosed by a dome usually has a single arch, and the arched entryways of the hall also are single arched. Whereas this symbol comes with three or more arches, stacked, often with a crescent on top. This has never made any sense to me! Here's one on a late Mauryan punchmark coin (bottom right on the obv.): And on a transitional issue from Taxila while the Mauryan empire was crumbling, but before the Indo-Greeks had established control: Post-Mauryan: Gandhara/Taxila c. 200-180 BCE, AE karshapana Any further info you have on the "three-arched hill" would be gratefully received!
@Severus Alexander, Can not tell you much about the chaitya symbol unfortunately. But the specimen you marked as Rudrasena I is actually of Rudrasimha II, so far later. At the top the ruler is stated as "SwaMi JiVaDaMa PuTraSa", so son of Jivadaman. Rudrasena I did succeed a Jivadaman, but that was his uncle not his father. In addition, the sole "svami" indicates that this Jivadaman was not of royal blood. Also there is a J like character behind the portrait. That is the century mark. The small lateral extension means that this is 200, the character behind that is 30. So the date is 23x in the Saka era. Lastly, if you compare the calligraphy of your 2nd and 3rd coin, that of the second is less elegant. This is typical for a later ruler.
Thanks for the correction! I got these ages ago and just went with the sellers' descriptions, never having gotten around to researching them myself. I'm glad my coins are a bit more spread out in time than I realized... also it turns out to be a better contribution to the thread, since Rudrasimha II was a usurper, just like the OP ruler.
