I spent a long, long time drooling over the example that AncientNoob posted on here a long time ago, and I have been hunting for one for nearly two years at a price I could stomach. Found this one from a reputable seller on
ebay, who accepted my best offer on a price that was already a steal!
Turco-Hepthalite kingdom (Afghanistan)
c. 680-720 AD
AR Drachm (31mm, 3.37g)
Bust of Vakhudeva in Khusro II or Ardashir III style right, orb replaced with leopard head or Senmurv, Brahmi before: Sri VaJaRa | Behind: VaKhuDeVaH; cursive Bactrian around: Sri Bago Ozorko Boohono Dava Bago Srio Shaho
Fire altar with front-facing attendants in Khusro II style, Pahlavi to left and right: Afzui piy shamrat; Bactrian around.
Holed at neck and plugged with base gold or copper; no countermarks.
I'm hoping I don't botch the history lesson here; apologies if I do.
The history of central Asia has always been tumultuous, characterized by massive waves of migrant civilizations, mostly from what is today southern Mongolia. The Huns first arrived in waves in the late second or early third centuries AD. The Kidarites were the first, settling in what today is Pakistan and northern India, breaking the Sassanian hold there. The Kidarites were followed by the Alchons in the early 5th century, who struck into the heartland of India under Khingila. Meanwhile, the Kidarites had been harassing the Sassanians and refusing to pay tribute, so Shah Peroz I formed a pact with the Hepthalite king Kushnavaz, and brought the Kidarites to their knees, relegating them to small and insignificant pockets throughout northern India. Kushnavaz betrayed Peroz, who launched two successive and catastrophic campaigns against him, which ultimately led to the Hepthalites acquiring enough booty and captive troops to be the unchecked superpower of central Asia. Meanwhile, an obscure tribe called the Nezaks managed to form a hold over present-present-day Afghanistan, and India started to get real sick of the Alchons wrecking everything. A new player arrived in the form of the Gokturk Khaganate; a foreshadowing of the Mongol invasions of the middle ages. The Sassanians under Khusro I allied with the Goturks to destroy the Hepthalite empire, and split the spoils and territory between them, in about 557. The Alchons were defeated by an alliance of Indian kingdoms, and sought refuge with the Nezaks sometime after 550. The Goturk Khaganate splintered following a civil war, and the "Western Turks" along with their subservient Hepthalite warriors started a land grab. They were mostly checked by the Sassanians from spreading into Iran, but succeeded in assimilating the Nezak-Alchons. The Turk Shahis as they began to be called, were defeated in the 700s following Muslim campaigns from the West, and the rise of the Hindu Shahis from within.
Sadly, Vajara Vakhu Devah is not attested outside of these coins. Unusually large and well-crafted for the period, these are unusual in that nearly all seem to have been subjected to a reform to raise their value by punching a hole in the king's neck and filling it with a tiny drop of gold. The consistency of the placement suggests it was done officially, but the existence of un-plugged specimens indicate that it was done after minting. My specimen is not countermarked, although most plugged coins carry either a "thunderbolt" or "scales" countermark.
I remember seeing somewhere a translation of the Pahlavi and Bactrian on the coins, but can't find it now. Any additional detail appreciated!
Posted 03/12/2018 1:06 pm
