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tinguishing the coins, which some have attributed to him, from those of his father.

Euthydemus (220 to 190 B.C.) appears to have obtained possession of the Bactrian throne about 220 B.C., as is conjectured, by the expulsion of the younger Diodotus. From the few scattered passages of historians referring to this prince, it would seem that he greatly extended the region possessed by the two Diodotus', father and son; and so firmly was his dominion established, that he was enabled successfully to resist the attempt of Antiochus the Great to regain the lost provinces of Bactria. Silver coins of his reign are found in considerable numbers at Bokhara, Balkh, and other places of that region. They have, generally, a boldly though not finely executed head; and on the reverse a good figure of Hercules sitting on a lion-skin, and holding a club, with the inscription, BAZIAENE ETOEAHMOT—the Greek characters already beginning to show corruptions, which eventually render them almost illegible in this series.

Demetrius (190 to about 181 B.C.) was, like his father, cotemporary with Antiochus the Great, whose daughter he married. His coins are more various than those of his predecessors, and on some he is represented wearing a headdress formed of the skin of an elephant and the tusks, in the style of similar coins of Alexander the Great.

Eucratides (from about 181 to about 150 B.c.). This prince appears to have revolted from Demetrius while the latter was engaged in an Indian campaign; so that they may have reigned for some time cotemporaneously, Eucratides in the north portion of the state, and Demetrius in the southern or Indian provinces. It appears probable, however, that Eucratides eventually held all the territories of former Græco-Bactrian princes, and even greatly extended them, in so much that he was styled "the lord of a thousand cities," and assumed the title of Great. He was eventually assassinated by his son. The abundance of his coins, still continually found on both sides of the Paropamisus, is an evidence of his power and wealth. On these coins he is generally represented wearing a peculiarly formed helmet ; and on the reverse the Dioscuri are the most common type, with the inscription, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ, “ of the great king Eucratides," in good Greek characters. Some

of his coins are square. and some of these have the bilingual. inscriptions before referred to, in which case the Greek inscription surrounds the portrait, and the Indian one is placed above and below the Dioscuri, on the reverse.

Antimachus, Heliocles, and Agathocles (about 180 to 150 B.C.), appear to have been Greek princes, holding independent dominion in some portion of those regions cotemporary with Eucratides; and coins have been discovered of each of them, very similar in style to those of Eucratides, those of Agathocles being, perhaps, of the best execution.

After the death of Eucratides and his cotemporaries above mentioned, another group of Greek princes appear, and the bilingual inscriptions found on some of the coins of that monarch, now become general. The eastern character is exhibited more and more on these interesting historic monuments, as the Greek spirit, separated by intervening barbarism, gradually declined; and we find such titles as "great King of Kings," &c., commonly adopted in the inscriptions.

From about 150 to 120 B.C., the names of Menander, Appollodotus, Diomedes, Zoilus, Hippostratus, Strator, Dionysius, Nicias, and Hermæus occur. Several, it is probable, were cotemporary princes of different districts. The coins of this group of princes are inferior in art to those of the former; and in the Arian inscription the title "Basileus," or king, is translated "Maharajasa," the term still in use in the north of India. The author of the “ Περίπλους Ποντου Εύξεινου, commonly ascribed to Arian, tells us that silver coins of Menander and Apollodotus, who appear to have been the most powerful among the last-mentioned princes, were still in circulation in his day; and in modern times, considerable numbers are found in countries south of the Hindoo Koosh, and as far east as Jumma.

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At about the same period several other Greek princes appear to have reigned, as Antimachus, Antialcides, Lycias, Philoxenes, and Auryntus, bearing the title of NIKH OPOZ NIKEPHOROS, "the Victorious," on their coins; and others, as Heliocles, and a queen, Agathocleia, bearing peaceful titles. Hermæs, a prince of whom some coins have reached us, and whose coins bear the portrait of his queen, Calliope, on the reverse, appears to have been the last of the race of

Greek princes in this region, which was subdued, about 120 B.C., by the Scythian, Azes.

Azes and Maues (from about 120 to 115 B.C.). These Scythian conquerors, who appear to have swept away the last vestige of Greek and Parthian power from Bactria and the Indian provinces, yet adopted the style of coinage which they found in use, just as, four centuries before, the Persian Darius Hystaspes copied the Greek coinage which he found in use in Asia Minor.

Maues and Azes were apparently cotemporary; but, for the sake of clearness, the coins of the former may be mentioned first, and separately. They exhibit a rapid transition towards barbarism, both in the style of art and that of the inscriptions. The latter are at first simply copied from the earliest Greco-Bactrian style, as simply BAXIAENZ MATOT, “ of the king Maues;” then ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΜΑΥΟΥ, "of the great or mighty king Maues;" lastly, he styles himself "great King of Kings," on coins similar to those of Azes.

The best-known coins of Azes represent the king holding a kind of three-pronged spear, resembling a trident, said to be a national Tartar weapon, and placing his foot on the shoulder of a fallen enemy. Nine varieties are known of the coins of Maues, and many more of Azes.

Azilises (about 115 to 90 B.c.) coined with similar titles to those of Azes and Maues.

Vonones, Spalirius, and Spalypius (from about 90 to 60 B.C.) are names occurring on coins which are placed in the Greco-Bactrian series. They, from the names, appear to have been Parthian princes, who recovered portions of Bactria from the rule of Scythian conquerors. Coins of another prince, styling himself "great Saviour King," without a name, are attributed to this period; and another set of Scythian coins, having no Arian translations of the inscriptions, occur about this time, the Greek being scarcely decipherable, but the names of Kodes and Hykrodes have been distinctly made out.

The conquests of Vikramaditya occurred about this time; but no coins have been found which can with safety be attributed to him.

The Kadphises dynasty (from about 50 B.c. to 50 a d.),

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after occupying the chief power in northern India and Bactria for some time, issued a gold coinage, none other being known of the Bactrian and Indian series, except a few unique gold of the earliest Greek princes. Previous to the issue of this gold coinage, with its corresponding pieces of silver, the terms of Korso, Koranos, Zathos, and Kozoulo are found, which seem to be titles lower than royalty, while on the gold coinage, the Greek Basileus (king) is found, and its corresponding Arian title, Maharaja; which would seem to prove that at that epoch the power of the dynasty had greatly extended, and induced the chief to assume a title which he had not previously adopted. A Greek inscription surrounds the figure of the prince, styling him "King of Kings," &c., &c. ; and on the reverse the Arian inscription reads, "MaharaJASA RAJADHI RAJASA SABATRACHA, IACHA, MAHIHARASA DHI MAKADPHISHASA NANDATA," which may be translated, "Of the Great Sovereign, King of Kings, everywhere seizing the earth, Dhima (or Vohima) the Saviour."

These coins display nothing of the Greek character of art except the inscription on the obverse, which is scarcely legible. The portrait of the king, instead of being a large, boldly-executed head, is, as in the case of some of the coins of Azes, a full figure, of barbaric execution. He wears the Tartar costume, and points to a pile of loaves of bread. On his right is the Tartar weapon resembling a trident; and on his left, beneath a curious monogram, also found on the coins of the earlier Greek princes, is the club of Hercules, the only remaining symbol of the Greek mythology, which on the reverse has entirely given way to emblems belonging to the Budhist creed, where Siva and the Nandi bull are easily recognised. This introduction of Budhist symbols had already commenced with the coinage of Azes. The coins of the whole dynasty bear the name of Kadphises, the founder, as in the Parthian series the name of the founder, Arsaces, is adopted by all subsequent princes; and this custom was doubtless copied from them by the less civilised Scythian princes, their neighbours.

Undophones, Gondophones, Abgasus, Abalgasus, and Pakores (from about 40 to 80 A.D.), are names apparently of Parthian princes, who appear to have possessed part of Affghanistan about this period. Pakores, however, whose

coins have been found at Kandahar, is not supposed to belong to the dynasty of Undophones.

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Kanerkis and his dynasty (from about 100 to 200 A.D.).-The coins of this new race of Scythian princes of Bactria and India are very remarkable, as their inscriptions are in Greek only, the Arian legend being altogether abandoned. The Greek characters are, however, so debased as to be scarcely decipherable. The title assumed is generally BAZIAETS BAZIAEON (BASILEUS BASILEŌN), “ King of Kings," and the dynastic name of the founder, as on the coins of the Kadphises dynasty, &c., &c., on the whole series, KANHPKOT (KANÉRKOU), in the genitive case. In the latter coins of this dynasty the Greek title Basileus is abandoned, and the Indian Rano Nano Rao adopted in its stead, but still written in Greek characters. On a coin of this dynasty, struck as late as A.D. 200, the prince is represented riding on an elephant; and on the reverse is a Mithraic representation of the sun, the head of which, as well as that of the prince on the obverse, is surrounded by a kind of nimbus, or glory, similar to that given by the early Christians to their representations of the evangelists and apostles. This resumption of exclusively Greek inscriptions at this epoch, may probably be attributed to a certain renovation of the decaying Grecian influence, by the temporary rule of the Parthian dynasty of Gondophorus in a portion of these regions.

After this dynasty, the coins of Bactria and Northern India become altogether Asiatic in character, and lose all traces of Greek influence. They may, therefore, be considered to belong to modern history, as they are thus more internally connected with the modern than the ancient series, which latter may be considered to terminate with the total disuse of Greek inscriptions.

I shall not attempt to trace the progress of the modern Asiatic coinages, which would carry me far beyond the limits of this work; and I shall, therefore, in reference to modern coins, be compelled to confine myself to the English series, which will very completely illustrate the progress of the art after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The greater number of facts connected with the Bactrian series described in this chapter are of quite recent discovery

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