on some coins of syria and bactria / [percy gardner]

8/20/2019 On some coins of Syria and Bactria / [Percy Gardner]

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-some-coins-of-syria-and-bactria-percy-gardner 1/15

/ ;-=09 )(8*

=-0/ ]

This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Tue, 08 Dec 2015 10:27:07 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions



IX.

ON SOME

COINS OF

SYRIA

AND

BACTRIA.

I.

-

Coin

of

Agathocles,

with Types of

Alexander.

Cabul

with

he

districts

round t is the

land

of

surprises

for

the

numismatist.

The

Greek

kingdoms

founded

n

that

regionby

the

followers

f Alexander the Great

have

passed away,

eaving

scarcely

ny

record f

themselves

n

the

pages

of

ancient

historians.

But

for

the

numerous

beautiful

oins

which

the

Greek

rulers

issued,

nd

which

continually

rrive

n an inexhaustible

tream,

we

should

have

but

little

idea of the

extent,

he

wealth,

and

the

prosperity

f the dominions

which

they

swayed during

the

third

nd second

centuries

efore

ur

era.

Coins alone

enable us to see

how

thoroughly

reek

the

Cabul valleywas duringthe period of Hellenism, nd to

judge

how

deep

must

have

been

on

the

growth

f

Indian

civilisation

he influenceof

the

close

neighbourhood

f

flourishing

Greek

realms. From coins

alone we can

trace

the

conquests

f

Apollodotus

nd

Menanderfar

nto

Hindostán.

In coins

we can observe he first

eviations

of

the civilisation

f

the

Greeksof Cabul

from hose

of

the

West,

nd watch

he

gradual

nvasion f

he

ndian

religions

and

Indian

customs,

ntil,

under

he

domination

f the

n-

vadingScythians,Greeks nd Indians becomeonepeople,

VOL.

XX.

N.S.

B B




182 NUMISMATICHRONICLE.

and

maintain

civilisation

which borrows

ome

elements

from

ach

of the

coalescing

nationalities.

From

the

first

he

coinage

of the Bactrian

and

Indian

Greekshas

a

character

f ts own. The

portraits

f

kings

which

t

exhibits

re marked

by

an excessive

naturalism.

The deitieswho have

their

place

in it are few

n

number,

and seemto have been chosenbecause

they

have counter-

parts

n the Indian

Pantheon. In

the

inscriptions

here

is

something uite

local

;

for

instance,

the

participle

ßao-iXevoiv

akes

from

time

to

time

the

place

of the

noun

ßaa-iXcvs

and

titles

unknown

n

the

rest of the Greek

world re

applied

to the

kings,

uch as

Sucaiós,

he

equiva-

lent of the

Indian

dhramika.

Among

the

peculiarities

f

Indian

numismaticss the

introduction f medals struck n commemorationf de-

parted

worthies. It is

often

stated

that

the medal

was

unknown

to

the

Greeks.1

And

even

the

Indo-Greek

medals

were

of the

exact

weight

of

the

usual

coins,

nd

probablypassed

current,

hough

ssued n

but

small num-

bers.

These coin-medals

were

truck irstn

the

beginning

of

the

second

century

.c.

by

three

contemporary

ings,

Eucratides,

Antimachus,

nd

Agathocles.

The

following

specimens

were

already

published

by

General

Cunning-

ham, Num. Chron., vol. ix., Plate VI., and vol. viii.,

Pl.

IX.

(cf.

Von

Saliet,

Nachfolger

Alexanders,

.

15).

Eucratides.

1.

Obv.-

BAZIAEYZ MErÂZ

EYKPATIAHZ.

Hel-

meted

ead

of

he

King.

Rev.-

HAIOKAEOYX

KAI

AAOAIKHZ.

Male

and

female

eads

right,

ugate,

resumably

hose

ofthe

fathernd

mother

f

Eucratides.

1

We

may,

however,

onsider

ome f

the

gold

pieces

of

the

Ptolemaiceries s medals,speciallyhosewith he nscriptionsfoot

aSeX<£ot.




ON

SOMECOINS

OF SYRIAAND

BACTRIA.

183

Antimachtjs.

2.

Obv.-

AIOAOTOY

ZÍ1THPOZ.

Head ofDiodotus.

Rev-

BAZIAEYONTOZ

ANTIMAXOY

OEOY.

Zeus

thunderingeagle

t his feet.

Agathocles.

8. 06®.-EYOYAHMOY OEOY. Head ofEuthydemus.

iž^.-BAZIAEYONTOZ

Ar AOOKAEOYZ

Al-

KAIOY.

Herakles eated.

4.

Obv.-

AIOAOTOY

ZÎÏTHPOZ.

Head of

Diodotus.

An>.-

BAZIAEYONTOZ

AT AOOKAEOYZ

Al-

KAIOY.

Zeus

thunderingeagle

t his

feet.

5. Obv.

ANTIOXOY

NIKATOPOZ.

Head

of

An-

tiochus.

Rev.- BAZIAEYONTOZ Ar AOOKAEOYZ Al-

KAIOY.

Zeus

thundering

eagle

t

his

feet.

These

pieces

are

of

the

utmost

importance

for

the

restoration

f

Bactrian

history.

Unfortunately

heir

evidence

s

capable

of

being

variously

ead.

Thus

in the

absence

of

historical

record

t

has

been

disputed

whether

the coin

of

Eucratides

was

issued

in honour

f his father

and

mother,

or

in honour

of

the

marriage

of his son

Heliocles, who succeeded him, with Laodice, whom

Yon Saliet

conjectures

o

have

been

a

princess

of

Syrian

descent,

nd

perhaps

a

grand-

aughter

f

Antiochus the

Great.

So also

there

has

been

a

considerable

ontroversy

s

to

the

character

of

the

pieces

issued

by

Antimachus

nd

Agathocles.

General^

Cunningham2

nd Mr. Thomas3

supposed

that

these

two

princes

were

subject,

when

the

2 CoinsofAlexander'successors, . 122.3

Num.

Chron.,

N.S.

u.

186.




184

NUMISMATIC

HRONICLE.

coins

were

minted,

o the

rulerswhose

heads

appear

on

the

obverse f

them.

They

held the

term

ßao-i'evovTos

o

imply

a

lower

degree

of

power

than

would

the

term

ßaa-tXiw

,

position,

n

fact,

ittle

uperior

o that

of

satrap.

Thus

they upposed

Antimachus

o

have been

tributary

at

one

time to

Diodotus,

nd

to

have

acknowledged

him

as

supreme

lord.

Agathocles

they supposed

to have

accepted

the

supremacy

uccessively

f

Euthydemus,

io-

dotus,

nd

an

Antiochus

of

Syria,

whom

they

naturally

conjectured

o

have

been

Antiochus

II.,

who conducted

in

the

early part

of

his

reign

an

expedition

against

the

Kings

of

Bactria.4

This

view

was

attacked

ecently

y

Dr.

von

Saliet,

who

started an

entirely

different

heory.

He held

that the

piecesofAgathocleswere ssued,notat variousperiodsof

his

reign,

but

all at

one

time,

nd

that

theyconveyed

no

acknowledgment

f

supremacy,

ut

partook

of

the

nature

of

medals,

howing

hat

he

claimed

as

his

predecessors

n

the

kingdom

Euthydemus,

who

supplanted

the

children

of

Diodotus,

Diodotus,

who had

revolted

against

Antio-

chus

II.

of

Syria,

and

Antiochus

himself.

All

these

kings Agathocles,

fter

he

manner

f

Syrian

and

Egyp-

tian

princes

of

the

time,

raised

to

the

ranks

of

deities, r,

at least,ofheroes, nd claimedtheirprotection.

I

have the

good

fortune

o

be

able,

by

means of

an

un-

published

oin

which

has

lately

arrived

from

he

East

and

been

purchased

by

the

Trustees

of

the

British

Museum,

to

throw n

entirely

ew

light

on

the

controversy.

And

this

new

light

shows

that

the

trained

numismatic

agacity

of Yon

Saliet

saw

the

truth

f

the

matter.

Our

new

coin

is as

follows

Pl.

X.

1)

;

4Polybius, ist.x. Extr.8.




ON SOMECOINSOF SYRIA

ANI)

BACTRIA.

185

Ožw.-

AAEZANAPOY TOY <t>IAinnOY.

Head

of

Herakles,

r

Alexander

n

that

haracter,

ear-

ing

ion's kin.

Rev.-

BAZIAEYONTOZ

Ar

AOOKAEOYZ

Al

KAIOY.

Zeus

seated,

olding

agle

nd

ceptre

in

thefield

monogram,

P.

(Types

of

Alexander

the

Great.)

Tetradrachmwt.

251*2

grs.

Now

it is

quite

certain

that s

there

were

no

Hellenic

Kings

of Bactria and

India

until bout

b.c.

250,

Agathocles

cannothave

been

a

contemporary

f Alexander he

Great,

or

recognised

him as

supreme

ord.

In this

case,

then,

the intention

n

issuing

the coin

can

only

have

been

to

commemorate

great

man

recognised

or claimed

as

a

predecessor. And it is extremely robablethat what is

true

n this case is

true also

in

the

rest.

As

Agathocles

commemorates

lexander,

so,

it

would

seem,

he com-

memorates

Diodotus and

Euthydemus.

And

so he com-

memorates

Antiochus

Nicator.

Who Antiochus

Nicator

may

be

is, indeed,

somewhat

doubtful. None

of the

three

first

Antiochi

of

Syria

bore

that title.

The first

was

surnamed

Soter,

the second

Theos,

and the third

Megas.

But as

the first eleucus was

surnamed

Nicator,

and his son,the firstAntiochus,was

co-regent

withhim,

it seems

extremely robable

that the

title

may

have

some-

times

been

transferred

o the

latter,

nd

that he

may

be

intended

in the

coinage

of

Agathocles.

It

was

against

Antiochus

II.

that Bactria

and India

revolted

it

is,

therefore,

nlikely

that

he

should

have

been

in

those

regions

held

up

to

honour.

Antiochus

1.,

on the other

hand,

was

obeyed

hroughout

he

Eastern

regions

which

Alexanderhad conqueredfrom

he timewhen Seleucus

made

him

his

partner

n the

empire

until his

death.




186

NUMISMATICHRONICLE.

It

would

appear,

then,

hat

of the

three

Bactrian

kings

who were

ruling

about the

year

200

b.c.,

each

issued

a

commemorative

eriesof

coins. Antimachusclaimed

as

his hero

Diodotus.

Agathocles

raced

his

political ncestry

through

Euthydemus,

Diodotus,

and

Antiochus

I.

of

Syria,

to

Alexander

the

Great.

Eucratides, eing

of a

different

isposition,

may

have

thought

his own imme-

diate

parents

ufficientlyistinguished

o claim commemo-

ration

on

medals,

nd

did

not seek

to

affiliate

imself o

the

great

rulers f

past

generations.

I

have assumed

he

date of these rulers

o

be

as

late

as

B.c.

200,

and

I

certainly

hink that the

fabric

f their

coins

forbids he

hypothesis

f an

earlier

date. To Yon

Saliet

belongs

the merit

of first

ndicating

this

but

now

that attentionhas once been called to it, I incline to

think

that

every

instructed

numismatist

will

cede

the

point.

A

comparison

with

contemporary

oins of

Syria

and

Asia Minor

will

make

this

clear.5

It

is

of

great

interest

o find

at

this

date a

piece

issued

which

repro-

duces

exactly

the

types

of

Alexander's

own

coins.

It had

already

been

conjectured

by

numismatists,

Messrs.

Six

and

Head

for

example,

hat certain

classes

of

the

coins

minted

n the

name of

Alexander,

were

really

struck as

late aâ 200 b.c. The coins in questionare those called

Class

YI.

by

Dr.

L.

Müller

in

his

excellent

work

on

the

coins

of

Alexander

the

Great,

nd

are

distinguished

y

the

largeness

f

their

diameter,

he

flatness

f

their

relief,

and

the

nferior

uality

of

their

art.

They

were

issued,

as

is

supposed,

y

various

cities

of

the

west

coast

of

Asia

Minor,

about the

time

of

the

break-up

of

the

rule

of

8Yon Saliet rgues he uestiont engthnd na veryatis-

factory

anner.

Zeit.

f.

Num.,

vi.

165,

qq.




ON SOMECOINSOF

SYRIA

AND

BACTRIA.

187

Antiochus

II.,

King

of

Syria.

The

cities

which

scaped

from

his

yoke, scarcely venturing

s

yet

to

claim

full

autonomy

r issue

money

in

their

own

name,

sheltered

themselvesbehind

the

great

name of

Alexander,

and

struck oins

n

imitation f those

which

he

issued n

such

abundance

n

all

parts

of

his extensive

dominions.

Now,

on

comparing

hese coins with the

piece

issued

by

Aga-

thocles we

may

find the closest

likeness in

style

and

fabric,

a likeness of that sort

which almost

invariably

indicates

contemporaneity.

Here

again,

then,

we

find

a confirmation f the

theories

to which numismatists

had

been

led

by

sound induction.

We have

now

actual

proof

that the

types

of Alexander

were

not

extinct

n

Asia in the

beginning

f

the

second

century

.c.,

and the

chain of theevidenceforthe date of Class YI. of Alex-

ander's coins

s much

strengthened.

The

inscription

AAEZANAPOY TOY

4>IAinnOY

is

worthy

f attention. I

know

not

whether

his formula

may

occur

elsewhere,

ut I cannotfind t

in

the

Corpus

I.

Ģ.

Alexander

is

usually

either

BAZIAEYX AAEZ-

ANAPOZ

or

AAEZANAPOZ

merely.

He is called

♦lAinnoY

on a base

at

Athens,

the

authority

or the

existence

of which

is the

Schedae

Fourmonti,6

nd on

a bust in the Louvre,where the characters re of very

late

date.7

But it is

to be

observed hat

Alexander of

Epirus,

uncle

of

the

great

Macedonian,

used

on his own

coins

the

perfectly

arallel phrase

AAEZANAPOY TOY

NEORTOAEMOY.

It

was

specially

in

contradistinc-

tion

from

he

son

of

Neoptolemus

nd fromhis

own son

that

Alexander

was

called

the

son

of

Philip.

It

must

be

confessed

hat the

simple

patronymic

s

applied

to

6C. I. G. No. 185. 7C. I. G. No. 6,019.




188

NUMISMATIC

HRONICLE.

Alexander the Great

rather

surprises

s

at a timewhen

Euthydemus

was

called

Theos,

and

Diodotus,

Soter.

It

is

not

easy

to

see

the force of

the

genitive

AAEZ-

ANAPOY.

When

Eucratides

puts

the

names

of

his

father and

his mother

in

the

genitive,

the

matter

s

simple.

We

read the

two

faces of the

coin

together,

ßacriXevs

icy

s

Ev/cpariS^ç

HÀio/cAcovsai

AaoSUr^s,

nd see

that

by

the

formula

ucratides

merely

sserts his

origin.

But

we

cannot

uppose

that

Agathocles

had the

audacity

to claim actual

descent from

Alexander,

or

put

his

name

in the

genitive

to

signify

uch

origin.

In

this

case

we

musttake

the

phrase

AXeÇávSpov

ov

t'¿7nrov

y

itself,

nd

supply

ome

word

to make the

meaningcomplete.

What

that word

should

be remains

doubtful.

Perhaps

Upóv,

dedicated to, an adjective usually accompanied in

inscriptions

y

the

genitive

case,

will

best

supply

the

meaning.

Or we

might

supply

vó/iurpa,

o indicate

hat

the

coin

of

this issue

belonged

in a

special

manner to

Alexander.

The

inscription

n

our coin seems

further

o confirm

n

opinion

now

very

general

among

numismatists hat

the

head

in

lion's

skin

s intended n

the

coins

of

Alexander's

successors

for

Alexander himself

in

the

character of

Herakles. If we considerthat the coins of this series

which bear

the names

of

Euthydemus,

Diodotus,

and

Antiochus,

lso

present

s

with

portraits

f

those

princes,

it

will

appear likely

that

this

which

bears

the

name

of

Alexanderwill

also

present

his

portrait.

And,

in

fact,

t

is undeniable

hat

soon

after

Alexander's

death,

the

coin

which

bears his

name,

and is struck

with

the

type

of

the

head

of

Herakles,

does

begin

to

show

an

attempt

to

assimilate t to the

well-known ikeness

of

the

great

Macedonian. Poor as is the

style

of our coin,we

may




ON

SOMECOINS

OF

SYRIA

AND BACTR1A.

189

see

in

it

an

endeavour

to

portray

he

deep-set

eye,

the

enthusiastic

xpression,

f

Alexander,

II.

-

Coins of the Early

Seleucidae.

1.

Obv. Head of

young

Herakles

n ion's kin.

ANTIOXOY

Rev

ZEAEYKOY

Zeus

Aëtophoros

eated

in

field

BAZIAEÍ2Z.

monograms

see Plate).

Tetradrachm.

Wt. 263

8

grs.

(Pl.

X.

2.)

(Types

f

Alexander

he

Great.)

2.

Obv

Head of

Zeus

right,

aur.

BAZIAEÍ2Z

Rev.

ZEAEVKOY

Pallas to

right, ighting

n

bigaANTIOXOY.

drawn

y

elephants

above,

A

in

circle.

Drachm.

Wt. 53-2.

(Pl.

X.

3.)

So

far as

I know the

only

memorial f

the

joint

reigns

of

Seleucus

and Antiochus

s

yet

published

s the

tetra-

drachm

already

described

by

me in the

pages

of

the

Chronicle.8

In that coin the

egend

was

incomplete,

nly

the

letters

BAZIAE

being

visible,

so

that

it

remained

doubtfulwhether he word intended had been ßam'4<üs

or

ßaa-iXitav.

his doubt

is

now

set at

rest.

The

variety

in

the

order

of the

egend

n

the two coins now

published

is

remarkable.

It is to be observed

that the

epithet

ßaa-iXiüis

elongs

only

to

Seleucus,

while

the name

of

Antiochus stands

by

itself.

Taken

together,

he two

forms f

egend

seem

to me to

imply

that

when

the coins

were issued

Seleucus

was

recognised

as

sole

king,

but

8

XIX.

p.

10,

PL I. 4.

VOL.

XX. N.8.

C C




190

NUMISMATIC

HRONICLE.

Antiochus

was considered

o

be

his

vicegerent

r

satrap.

I

do

not think

hat the

option

now

remains

o

us which

mentioned n

my

previouspaper,

that,

namely,

f

taking

the

word

A

vno^ov

s a

patronymic,

nd

supposing

it

to

refer

o the father f

Seleucus

I.,

whose

name

was,

as

we

know,

Antiochus. We

might

read

thus

the

words

ßa(n'i(ü<s

%e'€VK0V

Amolou,

but when Avrto^oi;omesfirst

this s

impossible.

We

seem

then,

n

our

coins,

o have

clear evidence

of

the

assumption

f

Antiochus

s

colleague

by

his

father,

ut at the

same

time

proof

that

he

did

not

assume the

kingly

title

until

the

beginning

of

his sole

reign

on his father's

death

in

b.c.

280.

I

cannot

fix

the

mint-place

of these

coins,

but

it

is

probably

in

the far

East,

where

Antiochus

ruled

as

his

father's

representative.

8.

Obv. Head of

Antiochus.

diademed.

Rev.-

BAZIAEÍ1Z

[A]NTlOXOY.

Horned ead of

horse

o

right,

ridled

below,

ABIA

;

in

front,

A

in circle.

Tetradrachm.

Wt.

256*2.

(Pl.

X.

4.)

The

letter

A

in this case seems

to stand for the mint.

What

meaning,

hen,

have

the

letters

ABIA

?

It

seems

probable hatthey re thebeginning fthename of some

satrap

or

semi-independent

uler

of

a

district

n Bactria

or

the

Paropamisus.

The

horned

horse's

head,

as

I

have

before

emarked,9

eems

to

be a

type

belonging

specially

to

those

regions.

But I

cannot find in the historians

mention

of

any

satrap

whose

name

begins

with Abid.

Possibly

some

quite

different

nterpretation

may

be

the

true

one.

9See paper lready ited.




ON

SOME

COINS

OF SYRIAAND BACTRIA.

191

III. Imitations

of

Coins

of

Athens.

1. Obv

Head of

Pallas,

helmeted.

Rev.

AIT.

Owl; behind,

live-twig

nd crescent.

Tetradrachm.

Wt.

260*2.

(Pl.

X.

5.)

2. Obv Head ofPallas behind,unch fgrapes.

Rev

-

AOE.

Owl

behind,

live-twig

nd

crescent,

lso

object

esembling

aduceuswithout andle.

Drachm. Wt.

58- .

(Pl.

X.

6.)

These

are both

nteresting

pecimens

f

the

imitations

of

Athenian

coins current

n

the far

East about the

time

of

Alexander. I

imagine

the letters AIT on

the

arger

coin to

begin

the name of a

satrap,

not

of a

city,

for

citiesdid notin those regions place theirnames on their

coin.

The

symbol

on

the

drachm,

which

resembles

a

caduceuswithout

handle,

but which

may

more

probably

stand

for

the

sign

of the zodiacal

Taurus,

occurs

else-

where

on Indian

coins. It is found n

the

gold

signet-

ring

of the

Persepolitan

King

Pahasp,

or

Phahaspes,

which has

recently

eached

England.

This

drachm

may

have been

issued

by

that

king,

or it

may belong

to

some

other

potentate

of

North

India or the

neighbouring

region.

In

style

and

weight

t remindsus of the

money

of

Sophytes

Num.

Chron., 1866,

p. 220).

Percy

Gardner.




SYRIAN

AND BACT

RIAN

COINS

on some coins of syria and bactria / [percy gardner]

Documents