still produced coins only in silver and copper. It was with the third ruler, Wima Kadphises (r. early second century AD), that the first gold coins were minted.33 These were not an innovation: gold staters had been produced by the Hellenistic kings of Bactria and of Kapisa/Gandhāra and by Rome, the last imported into India. On current understanding, it appears that techniques of the first two of these were used by the Kushan, alongside newly developed techniques, but not Roman ones. However, in appearance they probably borrowed from existing Roman coins. Harry Falk makes the case that Wima Kadphises made a deliberate choice to follow the standard of Roman coins under Augustus (r. 27 BC–AD 14), although they are not struck to this standard.34 In terms of the weight, Robert Bracey argues that they followed a Bactrian standard derived from the Greek stater.35
Under Wima Kadphises gold staters appear in a variety of forms showing production by the same mint but in five different chronological phases.36 The double staters, as found in the Axum hoard, date from phase 4, presumably well into his reign and the most productive of the phases.37 They weigh about sixteen grams—double that of the standard, hence the name. Bracey notes that it is unusual to find coins of Wima Kadphises among coin hoards of later kings and suggests that this might be a result of a low level of production or a short circulation of such coins. In this respect, the Axum hoard is unusual if not exceptional. They were probably minted in Balkh.38 New reverse and obverse dies were made for each phase, and Bracey suggests that each phase saw a period of days or weeks of intensive production with multiple workmen but that there might have been long periods when no coins were minted.39 The Kharoṣṭhī inscription and images were prepared freehand onto the dies by different craftsmen, probably using a prototype or drawing. The Greek legend was created by drilling holes into the die to mark the end point of the letters and then joining these up with lines. The obverse die was then fixed into an anvil, and the reverse die joined others in a die box. To make each coin, the gold blank was placed between the observe die and the reverse die. The reverse die was struck twice to create the impression. The coin was then removed and the impression checked. If not clear enough, it was replaced and struck again. To create the impression would require strong blows, probably holding a hammer with two hands. Therefore either the coin and reserve die were fixed or a second workman held them in place. Other coin-making workshops used hinged dyes or sleeves to hold them in place, but the evidence suggests neither of these were used by the Kushan. The dies, however, were probably up to 50 percent larger than the finished coins.
The source of the gold for the coins has been subject to discussion. Gold is found in the Zerafshan and Ferghanan valleys, north and east of the Kushan in the lands of Sogdiana and Dayuan, and also in the steppes to the north. Trade is commonly found across the ecological border of Inner and Outer Eurasia, the steppe providing goods such as horses and gold in trade for grain, silk, and other commodities (see chapters 1, 6, and 8). There would be little remaining evidence of such trade—the grain consumed and the gold reworked—and this source cannot be dismissed.40 Southern Arabia has also been suggested as a source, and for a long time it was argued that a large part of the gold came from Rome in the form of coins. In an often quoted text, the first-century Roman historian Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) estimated that the Roman Empire spent some 150 million sesterces a year for luxury products from India, including silks, gems, and spices.41 Yet while coin hoards have been found in Southern India, very few Roman coins have been found in Kushan territory. Moreover, recent analysis has shown the gold used in Roman coins to have a different source than that used in Kushan.42 But perhaps we should consider a more local source. As Falk points out, there is plentiful evidence of gold in the Kushan area, in the mountains of what is now eastern Afghanistan, and also brought down by the rivers.43 And a large gold hoard has been found in graves to the west of Balkh, at Tillya Tepe.44 The archaeologist in charge of the 1978 excavations of it, Victor Sarianidi, claimed that these were graves of Yuezhi rulers, pre-Kushan.45 However, the Yuezhi/Kushan attribution has been questioned, as the grave goods have Parthian, Saka-Samaritan, Xianbei, and Chinese affinities. Whether the people buried there had links with these cultures or whether they came from these cultures, both show the rich interconnections of Central Asia in the first century.46 Sarianidi also claimed that the gold was local river gold, a view supported by more recent analysis of some pieces.47
The obverse of the five double gold staters found in the Axum hoard shows Wima Kadphises in profile facing right (figure 7).48 He is bearded and wears a diadem and tall peaked cap. He is seated cross-legged on clouds with flames emanating from his shoulder. His dynastic symbol or tamgha is to the left (figure 8). Tamgha seem to have been developed by pastoralist people as a tribal symbol and used, for example, to brand their cattle, so this is another legacy of the Kushan’s past.49 The inscription on the coin—reading in translation “King Wima Kadphises”—is in Greek language and script. The reverse shows the Kushan god Wesho (sometimes associated with the Indian deity Śiva).50 He is standing with a battle-ax trident in his right hand and an animal skin in his left in front of a bull—often identified as Nandi, the mount of Śiva. The symbol to the left is a nandipada symbol, sometimes associated with the Buddhism Triratna, but Bracey argues strongly against this, attributing its appearance to imitation: “It appears because it appeared on other coins. Though some value was attached to it that is not why it was used.”51 The inscription is in Prākrit, an Indian language, written using the Central Asian Kharoṣṭhī script.52 It reads: “Of the great King of Kings, lord of the world, great lord, Wima Kadphises, the savior.”
FIGURE 7. Coin of Wima Kadphises, found in the Debra Damo hoard. After Göbl (1970).
FIGURE 8. Tamgha of the Kushan kings used on the coins.
Here we see in one coin a microcosm of Central Asian complexity, of the meeting and mixture of peoples, languages, gods, and symbols. This is not an accidental or random mixture of cultures but the deliberate exploitation and adaptation by a ruler of certain symbols, languages, and gods to send a message both to the peoples under his reign and to neighboring and more distant cultures.
Gold coins of the next king, Kaniška, also appear in a variety of forms, and it is not clear whether the five gold staters in the hoard were of one or more types.53 Under Kaniška, for the first time some coins show images of Buddha on the reverse: up until then the gods depicted were local, Iranian, Indian, or Hellenistic. Robert Göbl indicates that the hoard did not include the issue with Buddha but one showing a bearded Kaniška with his head turned to the left (figure 9). Like all the kings depicted on these Buddha coins, he is shown standing. He wears a tall conical hat and holds a spear in his left hand and a goad in his right. With his right, he is tending an altar. The legend is no longer in the Greek language but in the local Bactrian language, although still in modified Greek script. It reads, “Shah of Shahs, Kaniška the Kushan.”54 The Greek term found on his predecessor’s coins, basileus (βασιλεύς), often translated as “king,” has been replaced with the Iranian term for ruler, shah, and this continues to be used thereafter. On the obverse is the solar deity Mithra standing with head facing left, nimbate, holding the hilt of a sword in his left hand and with right hand outstretched in benediction. The Bactrian legend at right gives his name in Greek script as Miiro, while Kaniška’s tamgha is to the left.
FIGURE 9. Coin of Kaniška I, found in the Debra Damo hoard. After Göbl (1970).
Coins from Huviška’s reign form by far the greater part of the hoard—88 out of the 105 coins—and represent at least seven types (figure 10).55 All show a bust of Huviška on the obverse. On these coins he is nimbate,
