Kabul hoard
Chaman Hazouri hoard | |
Athenian tetradrachm, minted under Achaemenid rule, of the type included in the Kabul hoard (dated to 380 BCE).[1][2] | |
Coordinates | 34°30′53.28″N 69°11′42″E / 34.5148000°N 69.19500°E |
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Type | Coin hoard |
The Kabul hoard, also called the Chaman Hazouri, Chaman Hazouri or Tchamani-i Hazouri hoard,
This numismatic discovery has been important in studying and dating the history of the
Historical context
The
Coinage was developed by the Greeks of the
Discovery and storage of the hoard
The hoard was discovered by a construction team in 1933 when digging for foundations for a house near the
The Chaman-i-Hazouri coins remained at the Kabul Museum until 1992–1993, at which time the
Description of the hoard
The hoard suggests, together with other coin finds in the areas of
Achaemenid siglos coins
Several Achaemenid
Coins of this type were also found in the Bhir Mound hoard of Taxila.[22]
Greek coins
The Greek coins recorded in the hoard were 30 coins from various Greek cities and about 34 from Athens with one Iranian imitation.[1] Generally, Greek coins (both Archaic and early Classical) are comparatively very numerous in the Achaemenid coin hoards discovered in the East of the Achaemenid Empire, much more numerous than sigloi, suggesting that the circulation of Greek coinage was central in the monetary system of those part of the Empire.[25][page needed]
- Archaic Greek coin types from the Kabul hoard
The Kabul hoard contained some archaic Greek coin types (minted before 480 BCE), among them: archaic staters from Aegina, Thasos and Chios. These early coins were made using a die on the obverse with an illustrative design, while the back was formed with simple geometric punch-marks.[28][29]
- Early classical Greek coin types from the Kabul hoard
In addition, there were two early classical tetradrachms from
Bopearachchi and Cribb state that these coins "demonstrate in a tangible way the depth of Greek penetration in the century before Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid satrapies."[39] According to Joe Cribb, these early Greek coins were at the origin of Indian punch-marked coins, the earliest coins developed in India, which used minting technology derived from Greek coinage.[5][40]
Round punch-marked coins
Schlumberger labelled 29 round punch-marked coins found in the hoard as being "of a new kind", not found elsewhere. They are round or elliptic/ cup-shaped coins of the Achaemenid weight standard, struck with one, two or several punches.[20] They usually display a sort of arrow symbol on the obverse, and circular geometric symbols on the reverse.[5] Similar coins have also been found in the Shaikhan Dehri hoard in Pushkalavati in the center of the Gandhara area,[45] but not in Taxila.[46]
Their dispersal in Kabul and Pushakalavati led Bopearachchi to postulate that they were manufactured locally, while the region was under Achaemenid protection, during the 5th century BCE.[45] Some scholars also believe them to have been a "product of the local Achaemenid administration".[47][42] However, others state that the local administration was largely autonomous and followed an independent monetary policy.[43][44] According to Joe Cribb, these coins were locally made imitations of Greek coins, with some pictorial, but mostly non-pictorial designs, using weight standards derived from Greek and Persian coinage.[46]
According Bopearachchi, these coins illustrate the transition from regular round coinage to Indian punch-marked coins.[48] First, these coins have been shown to be the chronological predecessors of and bent and punch-marked coins.[48] Second, they were minted according to the Achaemenid weight standard of 1 siglos (5.5 grams), or 2 siglos (11 grams).[48]
- Design evolution of the round coins
Lastly, the round coins in the Kabul hoard display a marked evolution in design: the series starts with simple round coins struck on the obverse and reverse with animal motifs reminding of the "western designs" of Croesus, or Achaemenid motifs.[49][48][47] In particular, the round coins which are considered the oldest in the hoard, have an obverse design consisting in the facing busts of two bulls,[50][48] evocative of the design of the mid-6th century coins of Croesus with the facing busts of a lion and a bull, generally considered as the first coins ever to be minted.[48][51] Other western designs include a stag, or double Persian column capitals.[47]
In later coins, the obverse design is progressively abandoned, and the reverse becomes a punch mark which progressively evolves to more symbolic motifs (such as the cup-like coins with lines around a central circle),[52] before reaching a stage were the round coins are struck with multiple punches.[53][48][54]
In summary, these coins were "the precursors of the bent and punch-marked coins", and "the use of independent punches is at the origin of the striking of Indian "coins with multiple punch-marks".
Short punch-marked bent-bars
The round punch-marked coins have been shown to precede chronologically the "bent bars", also minted under Achaemenid rule from Bactria to the Punjab.[42][43][44][20] The practice of using unmarked silver bars for currency is known from the Iranian plateau and seems to have been current in Central Asia under the Achaemenid Empire.[58] The bent bars are believed to have been derived from that practice, representing "a marriage between Greek coinage and Iranian bar currency".[59]
The short "bars with punch-marks" (28x15mm) discovered in Chaman Hazouri are attributed to the Paropamisadae by Bopearachchi.[56] Their design uses two circular symbols punched at each end of one face of the bar.[60] These bent bars are clearly reminiscent of later punch-marked Indian types, which use several of the designs of these coins "of a new kind".[20][failed verification] The "long bars" with punch marks (42x10mm), of which none were found in the Kabul hoard, are attributed to the area of Gandhara, as well as in the Bhir Mound hoard in Taxila.[61][60]
-
Another example of a short "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration.
-
Short punch-marked bent bars, of the type attributed to the Paropamisadae under the Achaemenids.
-
Comparison between Paropamisadae short punch-marked bent bars, and a Mauryan punchmarked karshapana.
- Development of Indian punch-marked coins
According to Joe Cribb the earliest punched-marked bent-bars are found in the northwest of the continent, and their simple designs was then adopted in the Gangetic plains, before designs evolved there towards the usage of more numerous punches on each coin.[59] This is also proven by the fact that the Gangetic plains have no known coin designs anterior to their simple punch-marked bars, whereas the Kabul/Gandhara punch-marked bars were preceded there by the round punch-marked coins with symbols, minted under the Achaemenids.[59]
Daniel Schlumberger too considers probable that punch-marked bars, similar to the many punch-marked bars found in northwestern India, initially originated in the Achaemenid Empire, rather than in the Indian heartland:
"The punch-marked bars were up to now considered to be Indian (...) However the weight standard is considered by some expert to be Persian, and now that we see them also being uncovered in the soil of Afghanistan, we must take into account the possibility that their country of origin should not be sought beyond the Indus, but rather in the oriental provinces of the Achaemenid Empire"
— Daniel Schlumberger, quoted from Trésors Monétaires, p.42.[20]
Impact on the dating of Indian punched-marked coins
There is uncertainty regarding the actual time punch-marked coinage started in India, with proposals ranging from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.[7] However, the study of the relative chronology of these coins has successfully established that the first punch-marked coins initially only had one or two punches, with the number of punches increasing over time.[7]
According to Joe Cribb, the study of the Chaman Hazouri hoard suggests that Indian punch-marked coins may only go back to the mid-4th century BCE or slightly earlier, and actually started with the punch-marked coinage of the Achaemenids in the Kabul/Gandhara area.
Another find that can be dated was made in
However, historian Romila Thapar has stated that the punch-marked coins were in circulation before the Mauryan rule and the general opinion adheres to the 6th century BCE as the date of their introduction.[63]
Connected findings
In 2007 a small coin hoard was discovered at the site of ancient Pushkalavati (Shaikhan Dehri hoard) in Pakistan. The hoard contained a tetradrachm minted in Athens circa 500/490-485 BCE, together with a number of local types as well as silver cast ingots. The Athens coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far to the east.[64]
-
Athens coin (circa 500/490-485 BCE) discovered in Pushkalavati. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east.[64]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Cribb, Dating India's Earliest Coins 1985, p. 548: "The Iranian imitations were close copies of silver tetradrachms of Athens; the latest Greek coin of the Chaman Hazuri hoard is an example of these Iranian copies of an Athenian coin."
- ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57: "The Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained (...) a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm (no.6)" and "No. 6: Coins of this type have been found in the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul and a hoard from Babylon, both deposited c.350 BC"
- ^ a b c d Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 300–301.
- ^ a b 106. Kabul: Chaman-i Hazouri Archived 2020-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "The most important and informative of these hoards is the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained royal Achaemenid sigloi from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, together with a large number of Greek coins dating from the fifth and early fourth century BC, including a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm, all apparently taken from circulation in the region."
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 309 and Note 65.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, pp. 85–86.
- ^ Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 101.
- ^ Goyal, The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India 1999.
- ^ Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire 1948, p. 144.
- ^ Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan 1975, pp. 175–177: "One should...be careful to distinguish the limited geographical unit of Gandhāra from the political one bearing the same name."
- ^ Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire 1948, p. 292.
- ^ a b Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, p. 714, col. 1.
- ^ Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, footnote 35.
- ^ Graham, Coinage (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece) 2013, p. 174, col. 1: "Ancient Greek coinage developed in Asia Minor, probably influenced by the circulation of Lydian coinage in the 7th century BC. The production of Greek coinage grew as the polis flourished and spread throughout the Mediterranean during the height of the colonization phase between c.700 and c.500 BC. As a result, coinage in antiquity was an essentially Greek phenomenon and became a medium of exchange, the legacy of which remains with us today."
- ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 61–62: "Neither the Egyptian nor the Mesopotamian civilizations had needed coinage as a form of money; further, the Achaemenids in the Iranian heartland remained attached to a barter and exchange economy throughout their reign, using commodities like corn, meat, and wine, as well as silver bullion."
- ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, pp. 69–71: "the tetradrachms of Athens, above all, had developed in the course of the fifth century to a kind of world trade currency" and "the Achaemenids had introduced their own distinctive currency in Asia Minor, which, however, formed only a small part of the monetary supply and circulated side by side with local and imported Greek coins."
- ^ a b Achaemenid Rule (550–330 BC) Archived 2018-09-06 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 308-.
- ^ a b Kagan, Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris 2009, pp. 230–231.
- ^ a b Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "Coins of this type found in Chaman Hazouri (deposited c.350 BC) and Bhir Mound hoards (deposited c.300 BC)."
- ^ "Kabul hoard 1-3-4". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
- ^ "Kabul hoard, coins 65-72". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
- ^ a b Kagan, Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris 2009
- ^ "Kabul hoard 31-32-33". Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
- ^ a b c d e f "The 1933 Cabul hoard pub-lished by Schlumberger consisted of over 115 coins, with significant overlap with the Malayer hoard. Athens again is the largest group, with 33 recorded tetradrachms compared to eight sigloi. In addition to the worn archaic stater of Aegina, a fragmentary stater of Thasos and a worn Chiot stater may be archaic. There are two well-preserved early classical tetradrachms from Acanthus and an early classical stater of Corcyra. Again there is a significant Levantine component represented by coins from Pamphylia, Cilicia and Cyprus, though nothing from Phoenicia. The early Cilician coins probably date the hoard slightly later than the Malayer hoard." in Kagan, Jonathan. ARCHAIC GREEK COINS EAST OF THE TIGRIS. p. 230.
- ISBN 9781134676620.
- ISBN 9780195305746.
- ^ "a fragmentary stater of Thasos" described in Kagan p.230 Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Kabul hoard Coin no.9 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "a worn Chiot stater" described in Kagan p.230 Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Kabul hoard Coin no.12 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.5 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ CNG: ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina. Circa 510-490 BC. AR Stater (20mm, 11.73 g).
- ^ Kabul hoard Coins no.1-3-4 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabul hoard Coins No.7-8 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.17 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.6 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabul hoard Coin no.26-27 Archived 2018-07-31 at the Wayback Machine in Daniel Schlumberger Trésors Monétaires d'Afghanistan (1953) Archived 2018-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57.
- S2CID 191453065.
The evidence of the Chaman Hazouri hoard suggests that the prototype of India's first coinage, i.e. the bent bar coinage, was itself an adaptation of a local Afghan imitation of Greek coinage. This raises the question whether it is appropriate to suggest a Greek origin, i.e. a western origin, for the Indian coinage tradition.
- ^ "Extremely Rare Early Silver from the Kabul Valley", CNG 102, Lot:649 Archived 2018-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
- ^ a b c Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 56–57: "In the same hoard there were also discovered two series of local silver coins which appear to be the product of the local Achaemenid administration. One series (no.8) was made in the same way as the Greek coins in the hoard, but with novel designs of local origin, and the other (no.9) had similar local design but made in a new way, which relates it to the silver punch-marked coins of India. It appears that it was these local coins, using technology adapted from Greek coins, which provided the prototypes for punch-marked coins, the earliest coins made in India." NB: Series No. 8 refers to the cup-shaped coins, series no.9 refers to the bent-bar punch-marked coins presented in this article.
- ^ a b c Magee et al., The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations 2005, pp. 714: "There has been some debate about the nature of Achaemenid administration over the eastern provinces, using Achaemenid and classical sources. What is clear is that both are harmonious in referring to the existence of satraps in Bactria and Arachosia (Harauvatish), whereas at no point does either refer to satraps in Gandara, Thatagus, or Hindush."
- ^ a b c Bopearachchi, Achaemenids and Mauryans 2017: "The 'autonomy' revealed by urban settlements in the Persian satrapies situated south of the Hindu Kush mountains can also be seen in their monetary policy. While the whole empire accepted the Achaemenid darics and sigloi as the legal tender, Indian satraps issued their own coinage consisting of curved and punch-marked bars, which the English have agreed to call 'bent bars'."
- ^ a b Bopearachchi, Achaemenids and Mauryans 2017, p. 20.
- ^ a b Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 98.
- ^ a b c Alram, The Coinage of the Persian Empire 2016, p. 70.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 309–311.
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 328 (Coins 1-3).
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 328 (Coin 1).
- ISBN 9781317458395.
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 329 (Coins 4-10).
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 330 (Coins 11-13).
- ^ Coins minted in the Kabul Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University and US Department of Defense, retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, p. 59: "In the territories to the south of the Hindu Kush the punch-marked coins, descendants of the local coins of the Achaemenid administration in the same area, were issued by the Mauryan kings of India for local circulation."
- ^ a b Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 271, Coins 14–15–16; Cribb, Dating India's Earliest Coins 1985, pp. 547–548
- ^ 372. Lot: 658, Lot of two AR bent bars Archived 2018-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
- ^ Bivar, Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period 1971, pp. 100–101.
- ^ a b c Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, pp. 98–101.
- ^ a b c Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 311.
- ^ Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 271, Coins 17–39
- ^ Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 100-101.
- ^ Goyal, The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India 1999, p. 153.
- ^ a b c "A Truly International Currency", Triton XV, Lot: 1163, ATTICA, Athens Archived 2019-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
- ^ "Achaemenid Period Ingot", Triton XV, Lot: 1366 Archived 2018-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins
Bibliography
- Alram, Michael (2016), "The Coinage of the Persian Empire", in William E. Metcalf (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, pp. 61–, ISBN 9780199372188
- Bivar, Adrian David Hugh (1971), "Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period from Nūsh-i Jān, near Malayir", IRAN: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, Volume IX, pp. 97–111
- Bopearachchi, Osmund (2000), "Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest)", Indologica Taurinensia, 25, International Association of Sanskrit Studies
- Bopearachchi, Osmund (2017), "Achaemenids and Mauryans: Emergence of Coins and Plastic Arts in India", in Alka Patel; Touraj Daryaee (eds.), India and Iran in the Longue Durée, UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies, pp. 15–48
- ISBN 978-0-9518399-1-1
- Cribb, Joe (1983), "Investigating the introduction of coinage in India - A review of recent research", Journal of the Numismatic Society of India: 80–101
- Cribb, J. (1985), "Dating India's Earliest Coins", in J. Schotsmans; M. Taddei (eds.), South Asian Archaeology, 1983: Proceedings from the Seventh International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologistan in Westeren Europe Held in the Musees Royaux d'art et d'histoire, Brussels, Naples: Istituto Universario Orientale, pp. 535–554
- Eggermont, Pierre Herman Leonard (1975), Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan and the Siege of the Brahmin Town of Harmatelia, Peeters Publishers, ISBN 978-90-6186-037-2
- Oliver, Graham (2013), "Coinage", in Nigel Wilson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-136-78800-0
- Kagan, J. (2009), "Archaic Greek Coins East of the Tigris: Evidence for Circulation" (PDF), Proceedings of the XIVth International Numismatic Congress, Glasgow, pp. 230–234
- Goyal, Shankar (1999), "The Origin and Antiquity of Coinage in India", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 80 (1/4): 125–154, JSTOR 41694581
- Magee, Peter; Petrie, Cameron; Knox, Richard; Khan, Farid; Thomas, Ken (2005), "The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations in Akra in Northwest Pakistan", American Journal of Archaeology, 109 (4): 711–741, S2CID 54089753
- Olmstead, A. T. (1948), History of the Persian Empire, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0-226-62777-9
External links
Photographic inventory of the Kabul hoard in the