Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part ii | states
contains Soter Megas coins. In fact, this suggests that the coins of earlier periods,
from the reigns of Wima Kadphises and Kanishka I either did not have a significant
role or had disappeared from money circulation.
The hoards of the third, late Kushan stage, indicate the same tendency to completely
replace old coins with new ones. There are five hoards from this period, four of which
contain only Vasudeva and Kanishka III coins, with one hoard containing Huvishka
coins (from the Kyzyl-Ketman hoard). Analysis of the hoards’ composition seems
to indicate that the Huvishka period can be regarded as a transitional stage from the
advanced stage of money circulation to the Late Kushan stage, since only a small
number of these coins have been found in hoards from either the preceding or the
subsequent period (the hoard of Huvishka and Kanishka coins from the Temple of
Oxus and the hoard from Kyzyl-Ketman). Not a single coin from the Early Kushan
rulers Soter Megas (Wima I Tak(to)), Wima Kadphises and Kanishka I has been
found in the hoards of the Late Kushan kings. Since all hoards, as we can see from their
composition, are the result of short-term accumulation, they provide a snapshot of
money circulation at any given stage. This allows us to conclude that the replacement
of old coins with new ones in Kushan Bactria took place at a much faster pace than
was previously thought, and that the circulation period for old coins was of limited
duration. In other words, it is reasonable to argue that the old coins may have been
withdrawn from circulation and then gradually replaced by new ones.
In Sogdia the denomination of coins and their metal composition remained
unchanged during this period (‘tetradrachms’ and ‘oboli’), but new issues and minting
centres appeared. For example, in southern Sogdia small silver coins weighing 0.4–
0.9 grams (hemi-oboli) with the images of Heracles and Zeus were minted, but with
an as yet not fully deciphered Sogdian legend consisting of two words, where only
MR’Y – ‘ruler’ is legible. Apparently, these coins were in circulation throughout the
region from the middle of the 1st century BC right up to the 4th century AD, when
they were replaced by bronze coins depicting a scene of single combat. Whereas
previously only isolated specimens were recorded (over 20 specimens in all), a hoard
of these coins has now been found in Talimardzhan.
The following groups of coins were in circulation in different parts of central
Sogdia. In Samarkand, Penjikent and adjacent areas, small silver coins were in
circulation depicting the image of an archer and a Sogdian legend conveying the
names of various rulers: a’st’m βγwrty, hprwmh, kyδr, twrak.
In the lower reaches of the Zarafshan river, in Bukhara, and to some extent in
Samarkand Sogdia, small silver coins of the Hyrcodes group were still in circulation.
These had an image of the ruler on the obverse and a protome of a horse on the
reverse, along with a Greek and Sogdian legend. The weight of these coins varies
102