Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

2 .5
Antimachus, Agathocles, Eucratides, Demetrius, Heliocles – i.e. all the great Graeco-
Bactrian kings. The bulk of the finds of Graeco-Bactrian coins (over 70 specimens)
have been concentrated in this area near the Amu Darya river (for example, 27
specimens were found at Tahkt-i Sangin, more than 30 at Old Termez, and another
15 at Kampyrtepa). Yet another area where finds of such coins were clustered (15
specimens) is in the valleys of the Surkhan Darya and Kashka Darya rivers(at
Dalverzintepa, Denau, Regar, Khaitabadtepa and Shahr-i Nau). There have also been
isolated finds of these coins at other sites and settlements, namely:
Sogdia. A total of more than 10 individual coin finds have been recorded here, as
well as two coin hoards.
Kesh and Nakhshab. Three Antimachus oboli were found at Shahrisabz, a Diodotus
chalkous at Sangirtepa, as well as a hoard including Eucratides oboli, drachmas and
tetradrachms.
Samarkand Sogdia. About 10 coins have been recorded from this area, including
drachmas of Euthydemus, tetradrachms of Demetrius, Antimachus and Heliocles
and oboli of Eucratides, found at Afrasiab, near Samarkand and in Penjikent.
Bukhara. In the eastern part of Bukhara, a hoard of 56 tetradrachms of Diodotus,
Euthydemus (about 50 specimens) and Agathocles were found at Takhmachtepa.
Tetradrachms of Demetrius and Euthydemus have also been found on the outskirts
of Bukhara (in Khoja and Obon).
Khorezm. There is no evidence of money circulation in this area during this
period. Only three finds of Graeco-Bactrian coins are known. These coins probably
found their way to this area as foreign coins, as Khorezm was not a part of the Graeco-
Bactrian kingdom. These finds include a Eucratides tetradrachm from Janbas-Kala, a
Euthydemus tetradrachm from Khiva, and a chalkous from Yakke-Parsan.
To date, no Graeco-Bactrian coins have been found in other areas of Transoxiana.
This suggests that money relations existed only in the two most developed areas of
this region – Northern Bactria and Sogdia, which were under the jurisdiction of
Graeco-Bactrian kings. Further, in Sogdia (however, with the probable exception of
large cities such as Maracanda, Er-Kurgan and Bukhara) a bartering system would
have been predominant in some areas.
The fourth period (the end of the 2nd century BC to the beginning of the 1st
century AD). After the collapse of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom in the late 2nd
century BC, under pressure from the Sakas and Yuezhi, the political situation in
Transoxiana underwent a fundamental change. A confederative Yuezhi state emerged
in Bactria, while Sogdia remained under the nominal rule of the (also confederative)
Kangju state, which consisted of several relatively independent dominions ruled by
Yuezhi dynasties. Meanwhile in Khorezm an ancient dynasty seems to have survived.
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