One of the enduring open questions in ancient Indian history is the identity of the king who iden... more One of the enduring open questions in ancient Indian history is the identity of the king who identifies himself on the reverse of his gold coins as prak¯a´s¯aditya. Most authors have assumed that he was a Gupta king. This paper reviews the various proposals on the identity of Prak¯a´s¯aditya, arguing why we can be quite sure, as suggested by Robert G¨obl, that he was in fact a Hun king and not a Gupta. Then, by presenting a near-complete reading of the obverse legend, it is shown that it is virtually certain that he was in fact the Hun king Toram¯an. a, as G¨obl had speculated. Implications of this finding are then considered.
The last seven years have been highly fruitful for research on the Guptas and Iranian Huns. New a... more The last seven years have been highly fruitful for research on the Guptas and Iranian Huns. New advances have been made in identifying new coin types and varieties, much progress has been made in properly attributing coins, and new interpretations of both the coins and the history have been put forth. In addition, there has been new information on hoard finds. In what follows we will first consider the Guptas and then the Huns. The first few pages will provide an overall summary of the most important research findings, to be followed by detailed accounts and reviews of individual publications.
When looking at an entirely new type that has not been discovered in an archaeological context, i... more When looking at an entirely new type that has not been discovered in an archaeological context, it behooves us to look at it very critically. This coin has several problems that would lead us to doubt its authenticity. First, the weight (6.19 gm) is really too low for a quadruple and too high for a double unit. The occasional Indo-Greek quadruple whose weight falls this low tends to be quite worn; this coin, however, is in relatively pristine condition. Second, the first word in the obverse legend is BAΣIΛEYNOTΣ, rather than the usual BAΣIΛEΩΣ (“king”). Presumably, this is a mis-spelling of BAΣIΛEYONTOΣ, which would mean “in the reign of.” While this would be an acceptable term on a coin, it had been used in the Graeco-Bactrian world only by Agathocles and Antimachus in their pedigree coins; it had never been used by a king on his own coinage and, in any case, had not been seen on any Indo-Greek coin for some 70 years. Its use on this coin, therefore, seems rather odd. Third, the ob...
A few years ago, I acquired a gold coin of Kumaragupta I that had appeared in a CNG auction. 2 Th... more A few years ago, I acquired a gold coin of Kumaragupta I that had appeared in a CNG auction. 2 The cataloguer, saying it was a new variety, had dubbed the coin the “Lion Conqueror” type because of the extraordinary pose of the king, who stands triumphantly over the carcass of the lion he has presumably just killed. In fact, there is at least one other coin that shows the king in this posture, a coin in the U.P. State Museum in Lucknow that has been published by P.L. Gupta. 3 Gupta had named the coin the “Lion Killed Type,” but that seems like an odd name for it. All Gupta coin types are identified by the action or position of the king or principal subject (the Archer, the Lyrist, the Horseman, the Lion-Slayer, etc.), so it seems odd to identify the coin type by the fact that the lion portrayed in it has already been killed. I therefore, prefer the title “LionConqueror,” which aptly describes the attitude of the king on the coin. Be that as it may, I had the opportunity to examine th...
IN THEIR comprehensive survey of the coinage of the Western Kshatrapas, Jha and Rajgor2 (hereinaf... more IN THEIR comprehensive survey of the coinage of the Western Kshatrapas, Jha and Rajgor2 (hereinafter J&R) argue that Rudradāman I had three sons who followed him in ruling their kingdom: J&R name them Dāmajadasri, Dāmaghsada, and Rudrasimha. In this J&R went against the view of Rapson who, in his catalogue of Western Kshatrapa coins in the British Museum,3 had speculated that Dāmajadasri and Dāmaghsada were in fact the same person. Most authors seem to have accepted Jha and Rajgor’s view.4 In this paper, I present new information that strengthens the argument that these ‘two’ rulers were indeed one, and that his name was Dāmazāda. Part of the argument involves a radical new proposal: that we can distinguish different mints for the Western Kshatrapa coinage. This innovation also helps resolve another century-old problem. The crux of the issue revolves around the fact that the name ‘Dāmaghsada’ as it is inscribed on the coins contains an unusual Brāhmī compound letter that is translit...
Most dynastic lists of the Gupta kings state that Kumāragupta I was succeeded by Skandagupta. How... more Most dynastic lists of the Gupta kings state that Kumāragupta I was succeeded by Skandagupta. However, it is widely accepted that Skandagupta did not accede to the throne peacefully. Nor is it certain that the succession was immediate, since there is a gap between the known dates of Kumāragupta's and Skandagupta's reigns. This paper is concerned with the events following the death of Kumāragupta, using numismatic evidence as the primary source, and inscriptional and other epigraphic evidence as further support. Some of the numismatic evidence is new, and even the evidence that is not new has so far received little attention in the literature on the succession after Kumāragupta. Questions are raised about one particular theory that is presently enjoying some currency, that Skandagupta was challenged primarily by his uncle Ghaṭotkacagupta. Some other possible scenarios for the political events in the period after the death of Kumāragupta I will then be proposed and analyzed.
<strong>Supplemental Data for Phillip B. Wagoner and Pankaj Tandon</strong> <stron... more <strong>Supplemental Data for Phillip B. Wagoner and Pankaj Tandon</strong> <strong>"The Bahmani 'Currency Reform' of the Early Fifteenth Century in Light of the Akola Hoard"</strong> <strong><em>American Journal of Numismatics</em> vol. 29 (2017)</strong> The enclosed files contain all of the supplemental data from the Akola Hoard as reported in <em>AJN</em> 29 by Wagoner and Tandon. The files include the complete Excel spreadsheet and PDF copy, as well as CSV-formatted files of each sheet from the master spreadsheet, plus PNG images of histograms created from the data. The contents of the journal article and supplemental materials are licensed as CC-BY by the authors and the American Numismatic Society.
The coinage of Vijayanagar and the later successor state of Mysore is relatively unique among Ind... more The coinage of Vijayanagar and the later successor state of Mysore is relatively unique among Indian coin series in that a number of coin types have close sculptural parallels. In this brief paper, I will point out a few of these, using two specific cases, reliefs of Hanumān and the gold varāhas of Hari Hara I and Bukka I, and the statue of Bālakṛṣṇa from the Kṛṣṇa Temple in Hampi and the Bālakṛṣṇa type coins of Kṛṣṇadevarāya, to illustrate how the observation of the close parallel between sculpture and coins can yield us insights into the coinage and the historical context that might not otherwise be obtainable.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland
sorcery, (p. ) coupled with consistent religious faith is the leitmotif of Irwin’s intellectua... more sorcery, (p. ) coupled with consistent religious faith is the leitmotif of Irwin’s intellectual portrait drawn from “another planet”. But is not this portrait consistent with the world of a medieval thinker? Would not any further rationalism be utter heresy? Ibn Khaldun’s conditional rationality prompts Irwin to join those who reject the view of Ibn Khaldun as ‘precursor’ of modern ideas. In the epilogue, coming back to the perspective from “another planet” announced in his introduction, Irwin candidly and refreshingly admits that he could not always understand Ibn Khaldun. Although he was one of the most outstanding figures of his age, Ibn Khaldun’s thoughts remained beyond the grasp of his contemporaries. Robert Irwin sees him as a strikingly bleak and lonely figure (p. ), standing between the exceptional and the conventional, beyond categorisation. Irwin’s portrait of the philosopher is beautifully written, intriguing, stimulating and movingly intimate. <da@soas.ac.uk>
Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the... more Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the ruler, but only are dated in what are thought to be regnal years. Many authors in the past have tended to attribute the coins to the most prominent king of the dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147) (hereafter AC), but without any real justification. 2 In a recent paper, I proposed a method of attribution, based on the regnal lengths of the different kings, which would assign a sizable group of the known coins to the last four kings of the dynasty. 3 Coins attributable on a sound basis to AC remained unknown.
There is considerable disagreement in the literature over the proper attribution of various types... more There is considerable disagreement in the literature over the proper attribution of various types of Gupta gold coins. There are differences of opinion, for example, on the question of whether or not Candragupta I ever issued any coins. The attributions for some of the late Gupta coins are also contested; notably, different authors have different views on how many kings there were who were named Kumāragupta and how many were named Narasiṃhagupta. This paper is not principally concerned with any of these contentious issues, although the question of Candragupta I’s coinage will be discussed. Rather, the purpose of the paper is primarily to propose a reattribution of some coins that so far have been universally assigned to Candragupta II. In other words, it is to create controversy where none has hitherto existed.
One of the enduring open questions in ancient Indian history is the identity of the king who iden... more One of the enduring open questions in ancient Indian history is the identity of the king who identifies himself on the reverse of his gold coins as prak¯a´s¯aditya. Most authors have assumed that he was a Gupta king. This paper reviews the various proposals on the identity of Prak¯a´s¯aditya, arguing why we can be quite sure, as suggested by Robert G¨obl, that he was in fact a Hun king and not a Gupta. Then, by presenting a near-complete reading of the obverse legend, it is shown that it is virtually certain that he was in fact the Hun king Toram¯an. a, as G¨obl had speculated. Implications of this finding are then considered.
The last seven years have been highly fruitful for research on the Guptas and Iranian Huns. New a... more The last seven years have been highly fruitful for research on the Guptas and Iranian Huns. New advances have been made in identifying new coin types and varieties, much progress has been made in properly attributing coins, and new interpretations of both the coins and the history have been put forth. In addition, there has been new information on hoard finds. In what follows we will first consider the Guptas and then the Huns. The first few pages will provide an overall summary of the most important research findings, to be followed by detailed accounts and reviews of individual publications.
When looking at an entirely new type that has not been discovered in an archaeological context, i... more When looking at an entirely new type that has not been discovered in an archaeological context, it behooves us to look at it very critically. This coin has several problems that would lead us to doubt its authenticity. First, the weight (6.19 gm) is really too low for a quadruple and too high for a double unit. The occasional Indo-Greek quadruple whose weight falls this low tends to be quite worn; this coin, however, is in relatively pristine condition. Second, the first word in the obverse legend is BAΣIΛEYNOTΣ, rather than the usual BAΣIΛEΩΣ (“king”). Presumably, this is a mis-spelling of BAΣIΛEYONTOΣ, which would mean “in the reign of.” While this would be an acceptable term on a coin, it had been used in the Graeco-Bactrian world only by Agathocles and Antimachus in their pedigree coins; it had never been used by a king on his own coinage and, in any case, had not been seen on any Indo-Greek coin for some 70 years. Its use on this coin, therefore, seems rather odd. Third, the ob...
A few years ago, I acquired a gold coin of Kumaragupta I that had appeared in a CNG auction. 2 Th... more A few years ago, I acquired a gold coin of Kumaragupta I that had appeared in a CNG auction. 2 The cataloguer, saying it was a new variety, had dubbed the coin the “Lion Conqueror” type because of the extraordinary pose of the king, who stands triumphantly over the carcass of the lion he has presumably just killed. In fact, there is at least one other coin that shows the king in this posture, a coin in the U.P. State Museum in Lucknow that has been published by P.L. Gupta. 3 Gupta had named the coin the “Lion Killed Type,” but that seems like an odd name for it. All Gupta coin types are identified by the action or position of the king or principal subject (the Archer, the Lyrist, the Horseman, the Lion-Slayer, etc.), so it seems odd to identify the coin type by the fact that the lion portrayed in it has already been killed. I therefore, prefer the title “LionConqueror,” which aptly describes the attitude of the king on the coin. Be that as it may, I had the opportunity to examine th...
IN THEIR comprehensive survey of the coinage of the Western Kshatrapas, Jha and Rajgor2 (hereinaf... more IN THEIR comprehensive survey of the coinage of the Western Kshatrapas, Jha and Rajgor2 (hereinafter J&R) argue that Rudradāman I had three sons who followed him in ruling their kingdom: J&R name them Dāmajadasri, Dāmaghsada, and Rudrasimha. In this J&R went against the view of Rapson who, in his catalogue of Western Kshatrapa coins in the British Museum,3 had speculated that Dāmajadasri and Dāmaghsada were in fact the same person. Most authors seem to have accepted Jha and Rajgor’s view.4 In this paper, I present new information that strengthens the argument that these ‘two’ rulers were indeed one, and that his name was Dāmazāda. Part of the argument involves a radical new proposal: that we can distinguish different mints for the Western Kshatrapa coinage. This innovation also helps resolve another century-old problem. The crux of the issue revolves around the fact that the name ‘Dāmaghsada’ as it is inscribed on the coins contains an unusual Brāhmī compound letter that is translit...
Most dynastic lists of the Gupta kings state that Kumāragupta I was succeeded by Skandagupta. How... more Most dynastic lists of the Gupta kings state that Kumāragupta I was succeeded by Skandagupta. However, it is widely accepted that Skandagupta did not accede to the throne peacefully. Nor is it certain that the succession was immediate, since there is a gap between the known dates of Kumāragupta's and Skandagupta's reigns. This paper is concerned with the events following the death of Kumāragupta, using numismatic evidence as the primary source, and inscriptional and other epigraphic evidence as further support. Some of the numismatic evidence is new, and even the evidence that is not new has so far received little attention in the literature on the succession after Kumāragupta. Questions are raised about one particular theory that is presently enjoying some currency, that Skandagupta was challenged primarily by his uncle Ghaṭotkacagupta. Some other possible scenarios for the political events in the period after the death of Kumāragupta I will then be proposed and analyzed.
<strong>Supplemental Data for Phillip B. Wagoner and Pankaj Tandon</strong> <stron... more <strong>Supplemental Data for Phillip B. Wagoner and Pankaj Tandon</strong> <strong>"The Bahmani 'Currency Reform' of the Early Fifteenth Century in Light of the Akola Hoard"</strong> <strong><em>American Journal of Numismatics</em> vol. 29 (2017)</strong> The enclosed files contain all of the supplemental data from the Akola Hoard as reported in <em>AJN</em> 29 by Wagoner and Tandon. The files include the complete Excel spreadsheet and PDF copy, as well as CSV-formatted files of each sheet from the master spreadsheet, plus PNG images of histograms created from the data. The contents of the journal article and supplemental materials are licensed as CC-BY by the authors and the American Numismatic Society.
The coinage of Vijayanagar and the later successor state of Mysore is relatively unique among Ind... more The coinage of Vijayanagar and the later successor state of Mysore is relatively unique among Indian coin series in that a number of coin types have close sculptural parallels. In this brief paper, I will point out a few of these, using two specific cases, reliefs of Hanumān and the gold varāhas of Hari Hara I and Bukka I, and the statue of Bālakṛṣṇa from the Kṛṣṇa Temple in Hampi and the Bālakṛṣṇa type coins of Kṛṣṇadevarāya, to illustrate how the observation of the close parallel between sculpture and coins can yield us insights into the coinage and the historical context that might not otherwise be obtainable.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland
sorcery, (p. ) coupled with consistent religious faith is the leitmotif of Irwin’s intellectua... more sorcery, (p. ) coupled with consistent religious faith is the leitmotif of Irwin’s intellectual portrait drawn from “another planet”. But is not this portrait consistent with the world of a medieval thinker? Would not any further rationalism be utter heresy? Ibn Khaldun’s conditional rationality prompts Irwin to join those who reject the view of Ibn Khaldun as ‘precursor’ of modern ideas. In the epilogue, coming back to the perspective from “another planet” announced in his introduction, Irwin candidly and refreshingly admits that he could not always understand Ibn Khaldun. Although he was one of the most outstanding figures of his age, Ibn Khaldun’s thoughts remained beyond the grasp of his contemporaries. Robert Irwin sees him as a strikingly bleak and lonely figure (p. ), standing between the exceptional and the conventional, beyond categorisation. Irwin’s portrait of the philosopher is beautifully written, intriguing, stimulating and movingly intimate. <da@soas.ac.uk>
Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the... more Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the ruler, but only are dated in what are thought to be regnal years. Many authors in the past have tended to attribute the coins to the most prominent king of the dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147) (hereafter AC), but without any real justification. 2 In a recent paper, I proposed a method of attribution, based on the regnal lengths of the different kings, which would assign a sizable group of the known coins to the last four kings of the dynasty. 3 Coins attributable on a sound basis to AC remained unknown.
There is considerable disagreement in the literature over the proper attribution of various types... more There is considerable disagreement in the literature over the proper attribution of various types of Gupta gold coins. There are differences of opinion, for example, on the question of whether or not Candragupta I ever issued any coins. The attributions for some of the late Gupta coins are also contested; notably, different authors have different views on how many kings there were who were named Kumāragupta and how many were named Narasiṃhagupta. This paper is not principally concerned with any of these contentious issues, although the question of Candragupta I’s coinage will be discussed. Rather, the purpose of the paper is primarily to propose a reattribution of some coins that so far have been universally assigned to Candragupta II. In other words, it is to create controversy where none has hitherto existed.
Whether or not Greek coins had been issued in Bactria prior to the arrival there in 329 BCE of Al... more Whether or not Greek coins had been issued in Bactria prior to the arrival there in 329 BCE of Alexander the Great is a question that has exercised numismatists for well over a century. The prevailing view at this time seems to be that there were no Greek style coins in Bactria prior to the time of Alexander. In recent years, however, a series of small obol-sized silver coins have been appearing in the trade market that call for a reopening of this question. The purpose of this paper is to look carefully at these coins, to argue that they were probably issued prior to the time of Alexander, and then to discuss the question of who might have issued them.
Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the... more Attributing the coins of the Eastern Gangas is a difficult task because the coins do not name the ruler, but only are dated in what are thought to be regnal years. Many authors in the past have tended to attribute the coins to the most prominent king of the dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147) (hereafter AC), but without any real justification. 2 In a recent paper, I proposed a method of attribution, based on the regnal lengths of the different kings, which would assign a sizable group of the known coins to the last four kings of the dynasty. 3 Coins attributable on a sound basis to AC remained unknown. In this brief note, I present some coins that I believe can be attributed quite firmly to AC. The coins consist of a group of ten coins I acquired at a Spink auction in 2014. 4 As I will show, four of these coins can be attributed to this king because of the dates they contain and, by extension, the rest of the lot can therefore be attributed to him as well. In what follows, I will present the ten coins first and then follow up with my argument for why the coins can be attributed to AC.
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Papers by Pankaj Tandon