Reading Baktrian Drachms

Have any of you ever tried to actually decipher the idiosyncratic Greek on Baktrian drachms? If you go to Wildwinds, or other resources, the obverse legend is listed as BASILEWS MEGALOU SWTHROS KAI FILOPATOROS APOLLODOTOU. Those are the words anyway - if you take a close look at the coins there are some very interesting variations.



1. BAΣIΛEΩΣ is spelled BAΣIΛIΩΣΣ, with an I as the 6th letter and two sigmas. I wonder if the extra sigma is an error.

2. MEΓAΛOY is abbreviated as MEΓO. Omegas are spelled as dots, as on certain Seleucid inscriptions.

3. ΣΩTEPOΣ is abbreviated as ΣPO.

4. On this coin, the K of KAI is missing - another error?

5. ΦIΛOΠATOPOΣ is completely spelled out in proper Greek.

6. AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY is completely spelled out, but retrograde to the rest of the inscription.

Interesting, n'est pas?

 

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I agree, that is a very interesting mix of variations and/or errors....and a very attractive coin as well!!

My sole example of Meander appears to have some of those very same 'attributes'---including the bottom retrograde, which I never really appreciated until now.

 

Maybe the letters that look like I on my coin are in fact E, but the legends of Apollodotos II are so long compared to Menander, that the engraver had to foreshorten them? Your BAΣIΛEΩΣ is spelled correctly.

Looking at your coin, Mikey, in which BAΣIΛEΩΣ is followed by ΣΩTEPOΣ, I'm thinking the engraver of my coin started out spelling ΣΩTEPOΣ after BAΣIΛEΩΣ, then realized he had another word to add first. That might account for the extra sigma.

 

The Khartoshi script has been much harder for me.

 

Yeah, I'm getting a little better with that, the more Eastern I acquire. I've only had three coins on which I've had Karosthi lettering.

 

Thanks for this @John Anthony. I only have one Bactrian coin but plan on adding more. The coin legends were terribly difficult to make out and now I understand why. When you are looking for letters that are not there or more letters than there should be and then 1/4 of the inscription is in another direction, well, I guess the problem is apparent.

 

You should add Bactrian coins, they're fun! I'm still a little fuzzy about the region and history but their coins fascinate me.

Here's a question: does the term Indo-Scythian describe various people linked by cultural similarities like Germanic or Celtic tribes?

 

Check out the Saka People. Very Interesting...

 

Nice to see some attention for the Indo-Greeks !
The later Apolodotus II drachms often show degraded portraits and legends. It is not really correct to call Apollodotus II Bactrian. He probably never even set foot there.
The earlier Graeco-Bactrians had ruled over the Bactria territory. Appollodotus II ruled in the later years of the dynasty when they had lost power over Bactria and mainy retained a powerbase in the Indian Punjab, hence Indo-Greeks.
This is one with a better legend and portrait: (Starting with Basileus Soteros)
There also is short legend type.


The different direction of the legend parts started under the ruler of Menander. Early Menander coins show a continuous legend. Later in his reign the design was altered to put the name of the ruler central at the bottom. That is so both for the Greek and for the Kharosthi text.

 

Here are my two new Baktrian drachms ...

 

The lower one looks a fourrée, is that right? It has a pleasing, free artistical style.
The upper drachm has a fine, stern portrait and great detail.

 

yes, you're correct ... I didn't add-in any description because I just finished running a thread on those two coins ... please see, below

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-baby-got-baktria.275860/

 

I almost always include the coin detail because I never know who is looking and they may have some basic questions about the coin's details.

 

Nice Antialkides Stevex6. Look at the hooked nose, I like that very much.

 

Well, here's another one, a hook-nosed Antialkidas that is. A drachm that's a bit damaged, but the portrait is good, as well as the sitting Zeus and his elephant.

 

Still, i think he looks better with his hat off:


Btw, regarding the opening post: I just checked the references, and i think JA's transcription is not correct. The edge text just reads "Basileos Soteros Kai Philopateros". Where the first O in Soteros is an Omega, and the second an Omicron.
The K of Kai is not missing. This is sometimes written as a line with two dots next to it. You referred to Wildwinds as source, but that only shows the tetradrachms (Bop 3). There's more space on them for the extra Megalou word. It is not supposed to be on the drachms (Bop 2).

This is the somewhat scarcer short legend Drachm type (Bop 1):

 

Your Antialkidas may be looking better, but where has his hook nose gone? I'm curious how he looks on his tetradrachms. By the way, I like the room for his ears in his helmet, nice style.
I'm a fervent cap wearer, but the designers of my caps never had any thoughts about ears.

 

Haven't got any Antialkidas Tetradrachms to show here (Rare and Expensive), but on these he has a rather big straight nose. So there's lots of variation in the depiction i guess. What that means, i don't know.
To make the trio complete, and because of your fondness of caps, here the drachm type with kausia:

 

Rather like a professor's baret, thus a less martial portrait.

 

One thing is for sure: he had a big nose.
It is believed that the hat many of the modern-day Afghani wear evolved from the kausia.