INDO-SCYTHIAN KINGDOM. Azes I/II (ca. 58-12 BC). AR tetradrachm (23mm, 8.92 gm, 5h). NGC VF 3/5 - 3/5. Taxila. BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOY AZOY, Azes, in military dress, advancing right on horseback, goad in right hand, standard in outstretched left, Kharosthi letter to right / Maharajasa Rajarajasa mahatasa Ayasa (Kharosthi), Zeus standing facing, head left, Nike standing right in outstretched right hand, transverse scepter in left; monograms to left and right. HGC 12, 639. Senior 105. The coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes I/II--possibly the same person, reigning over Punjab and the Indus Valley from 48-12 BC--display an eclectic blend of nomadic Scythian culture, the Greek pantheon, and Buddhist spirituality. The different deities depicted on the reverse of his coins are thought to represent different mints. Azes must have presided over a substantial influx of wealth and foreign goods trading across the then still young Silk Road. Next to nothing is known about the life of the Indo-Scythian king, other than that he must have brought an end to the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Numismatist R. C. Senior has developed a hypothesis about the events of Azes' reign based on the proliferation and development of his coinage: Azes may have shared kingship with Spalirises, succeeded or defeated him, conquered Pushkalavati from Hippostratos (whose coins he overstruck), expanded his domain out of Gandhara's capital city after the demise of Azilises, and then consolidated control over all of Punjab. The Pallas-Athena reverse types are distinct to the Pushkalavati mint. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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