The university has shut down research labs due to coronavirus fears, so I am at home for a while and can finally get around to posting all my coin acquisitions of the last few months. Journey with me now back to the distant past of November 2019, when you could bring hundreds of people to gather at a coin show bourse and nobody would panic if somebody started coughing: Indo-Scythians, Taxila mint. AE hexachalkqn (28 mm, 14.08 g). Azes II (c.35 BC- 5 AD). Obverse: Humped bull (Nandi?) right with trident below head, mint control mark above, Greek legend around "Basileos Basileon Megalou Azou" (Of the Great King of Kings Azes). Reverse: lion right, mint control mark above, legend in Kharosthi around "Maharajasa rajadirajasa mahatasa ayasa" (same meaning as Greek legend). Mitchiner ACW 2380. This coin: Purchased from Marcos Xagoraris (Aristos Ancients) at the Baltimore coin show, November 2019. The Indo-Scythians were originally a nomadic people who conquered a large region in the northern and north-western Indian subcontinent around the mid-2nd century BC. Unfortunately, the details of Indo-Scythian history are poorly understood, as very few historical sources survive; Indo-Scythian history makes Parthian history look complete and uncontroversial. Even the king to whom this coin is traditionally assigned, Azes II, is disputed- some historians think that "Azes I" and "Azes II" were just one long-lived king Azes. It is known that shortly after the reign of this Azes, the nascent Kushan Empire conquered Taxila and surrounding territories, as they expanded at the expense of the Indo-Scythians. The city of Taxila, located in what is now Punjab province in Pakistan, was a major point of contact between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent for many centuries, from the around 1000 BC to the time of the Kushans, but it began to decline in importance until it was finally destroyed by the Huns and abandoned in the 5th century AD. The Indo-Scythians ruled an empire with highly diverse populations, and this coin shows that very well. The legend is in both Greek (showing the survival of some Hellenistic culture in the region) and Kharosthi (a script used to write Sanskrit and Prakrit [local dialects derived from Sanskrit] in northern India). The bull on the obverse is probably meant to represent Nandi, the mount of the Hindu deity Shiva (the presence of a trident, another symbol of Shiva, makes this attribution more likely). The lion on the reverse was a common Buddhist symbol at the time. Other coins by the same ruler show Greek deities such as Zeus, Athena, and Hermes. Interestingly, while the Greek legend is still easily readable, there is some drift in the letter forms: the O is square, the M looks more like H, and the N is clearly retrograde. This may indicate that knowledge of Greek culture was declining in the region. Anyway, this is an attractive coin with interesting iconography and mostly-intact legends, so I was happy to buy it. Please post your coins of Azes II, or whatever else seems related.
Cool coin, @Parthicus . I have always been curious about these two Kings. Or ONE. If it were one, a mighty long reign! Is it possible that he had two phases of his Kingship? Azes I India Indo-Scythian King Azes I 57-30BCE AR Drachm
Incredible write-up, thank you for your research and efforts in this. Your example has some great detail, especially in the legend. I think that it is especially worth mentioning that one of the biggest indications that Azes I and Azes II are the same ruler is that Robert (Bob) Senior discovered and published a JONS article in 2008 titled "The Final Nail in the Coffin of Azes II" where he displays and discusses a Azes II coin that had been overstruck with an Azes I design. I haven't read the article but it's pretty interesting that such a historical confusion is directly tied to numismatics like that. I have this small fractional coin that I have attributed to Azes II. While not unique, these small coins seem to be quite a bit rarer than the larger standard pieces. I really don't know the denominations from the region/time but one online source called it a "quarter unit" so I've been using that. I also uploaded this to Numista; see its page here. Indo-Scythians Circa 35 BCE-5 CE AE Quarter Unit; 2.27g 16mm Issued under Azes II (?)
Great coin @Parthicus ! I have several attributed to Azes I and Azes II but I titled this poster Azes and left it at that.
Mine is a treasured ex x6 coin: Rev: Bull watching Sesame Street on TV. Great writeup... I will be stealing it for my database!
INDO-SCYTHIANS. Azes II(?), 35 BC - 5 AD. AR Drachm (1.7 gm, 11h, 14mm). Obv: Mounted king, right. Rev: Zeus standing holding Nike and scepter. Mitch.2413.
Hoover has a lot of information on the Indo Skythians in HGC 12, if you are not already familiar with it. My Azes : Greek Asia. Indo-Skythians. Azes II (35-12 BC). AR Tetradrachm, 35-12 BC. D/ King on horseback right, raising right hand. R/ Zeus standing left, holding Nike and scepter. Mitch ACW 2397-99. HGC 12 639
