Greco-Bactrian coinage
The Greek-Bakritic coinage is part of the coinage of a Hellenistic empire. The Greek-Bakritic coinage stands in the tradition of the coin reform that was carried out by Alexander the great in his empire. The Greco-Bakritic coins aroused the interest of research early on, as the portraits of the rulers in particular are among the best in quality in the Hellenistic world. In addition, for a long time these coins were the only direct witnesses to this easternmost state of the Hellenistic world.
Around 240 BC BC the satrapy of Bactria became its own kingdom, which had separated from the Seleucid Empire after an uprising . The monetary system of the new empire was based on silver tetradrachms , as well as gold staters , which were based on the Attic weight. This system was designed by Alexander and adopted by the Seleucid Empire. The coin types are also comparable. They show the head of the ruler on the front and the figure of a deity on the back. Here you can also find the legends that mention the name and title of the ruler. The legends are written in Greek .
The weight of the coins varies. The tetradrachms had an average weight of 16.6 g. However, there are numerous lighter coins that were probably also traded as tetradrachms, but were of less value in practice.
literature
- David W. Mac Dowall: The influence of Alexander the great on the coinage of Afghanistan and Northwest India , in: J. Ozols, V. Thewalt (Hrsg.): Aus dem Osten des Alexanderreiches , Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7701-1571- 6 , pp. 69-70