TREASURES OF THE
A Queen Consort of the early Kidarite Principality
of the Kashmir Smast-
Kashmir Smast, Mardan, NWFP,
By Waleed Ziad
Detail of the portrait of the
Queen Consort
With special thanks to Mr. Mobin
Ahmad, Pakistan Numismatic Society.
This article presents three
unpublished bronze varieties discovered in the Kashmir Smast caves, hailing
from the early Kidarite period. It seeks
to chronologically place a very historical discovery of the portrait of a queen
consort on one such coin.
1. AE
Broad Unit
0.74 g. / 14.0x12.9 mm.
Obv.: Bearded
Kidarite style bust facing right; two akshara legend
Rev.: Compound
tamgha, with one akshara on each side
2. AE Unit
a. 0.59
g. / 10.0x10.8 mm.
b. 0.64
g. / 12.3x1.1 mm.
c. 0.43
g. / 9.6x9.2 mm.
d. 0.58
g. / 12.8x10.8 mm.
e. 0.65
g. / 12.3x10.7 mm.
Obv.: Bearded
Kidarite style bust facing right; two akshara legend
Rev.: Compound
tamgha, with one akshara on each side
3. AE Unit
a. 0.59
g. / 11.0x11.9 mm.
b. Appox.
0.50 g. / 11.5x11.5 mm.
c. 0.46 g. /
10.8x10.0 mm.
Obv.: Bearded
Kidarite style bust facing right; two akshara legend
Rev.: Bare
headed Female bust right, with hair tied back into a knot, and elongated earlobes,
holding a flower in front of the bust
Introduction
Three years ago (2003), a
numismatist from the Punjab, Mobin Ahmad, contacted me, extremely thrilled by a
Kashmir Smast discovery, a small AE unit minted in the Kashmir Smast standard
depicting a bearded bust on one side, and a distinctly female bust on the
other. This was described by him and in the
North West Frontier antique bazaars as the rare “Queen of Kashmir”
variety. This and another specimen were
acquired by me, and Ijaz Khan later supplied me with details of another superb specimen,
currently in the collection of Robert W. Schaaf, who has kindly provided the
image (Em. 3 b).
In order to chronologically place
the queen consort variety, it is essential to first describe Em. 1 and 2, which
present vital clues in this regard. The
obverse of Em. 1, the queen consort issues, and Em. 2 are identical, and
feature identical two akshara legends.
Em. 1
The obverse of Em. 1 depicts a
bearded Kidarite bust, wearing a flat topped Kidarite crown topped with a poppy
/ artichoke ornament, surrounded by two royal streamers. The crown is derivative of the Sasanian crown
of Shahpur III, which was adopted in AV KushanoSasanian dinars minted under the
name Varahran (attributed by Mitchiner as Varahran III) and subsequent dinars
issued by Kidara and other Kidarite emperors, similar to that of Gobl Hunnen
Em. XII and XIII. It is likely that all
of these issues were minted under Kidara sovereignty.
Like the AR drachms of Varahran
III, the poppy surmounting the crown is aligned with the beading on the border
and the streamers on each side of the pomegranate extend beyond the beading
into the outer flan.
The obverse features two Brahmi
aksharas which read as follows:
Ja Ha
This, which designates either the
name of the ruler, an abbreviated version thereof, or a title, has hithertofore
never been encountered.
The reverse features the compound tamgha
listed by Gobl as Symbole 82.
During the 5 year reign of Shapur
III (383-388 AD), the KushanoSasanian governors of Gandhara had invited the
Kidarite tribes into the state to provide protection against other nomadic
invaders. The Kidara soon occupied the
KushanoSasanian domains of Northern Gandhara and
It is likely, assuming this piece
was issued by a local ruler, that the ruler may have been part of this
coalition of Kidara and other Hunnic tribes, or would have associated himself
with the alliance.
On each side of the tamgha is an
akshara. The two aksharas read as
follows:
Kha and Ka
While this legend has never before
been encountered, Kidara AV dinars of
Em. 2
Em. 2 is identical to Em. 1, with
a different legend. It is also
noteworthy that the flan of this variety is narrower, and the weight is
significantly less.
The obverse features the following
Brahmi legend:
Pa Ha
This legend as well has
hithertofore never been encountered.
The reverse tamgha and legend are
identical to Em. 2
Em. 3
Em. 3 is noticeably smaller than
other Kashmir Smast varieties, but the artistic execution is quite superb for
the series and the strike is sharp.
The obverse image is identical to
that of Em. 1, however the two aksharas, rather than facing upwards, are facing
left. The artichoke ornament is located
below the beading. Given the similarity,
we can deduce that both issues were uttered under the same sovereign.
The reverse depicts a large
(relative to flan) female bust, with long hair tied back into a knot. To date, there have been no depictions of
females found on Kidara or Alxon currency, characterized by this unique hair
style and lack of facial hair. The queen has large almond shaped eyes and has
noticeably elongated earlobes with atypical long hoop earrings, as opposed to
beaded earring more commonly depicted in Hunnic coins.
The figure is depicted holding a flower
in front of the bust, similar to Alxon drachms of Toramana. No Kidarite AE or AR specimens are known with
the image of a ruler holding a flower or other regal object. The only prior depictions of ruler holding a
flower are the AV dinars issued by the Kushan king Huvishka over 200 years
earlier.
Conclusion
These three issues were minted
during the early years of the Kidarite occupation of Gandhara in the late 4th
century AD, as evidenced by the presence of the compound tamgha. The identity of the king and queen consort
can not be determined without further epigraphic evidence. It has been related by local historians that
the female depicted on this coin is a KushanoSasanian queen who, in solidifying
the alliance between the Kidara and the KushnoSasanian governor, was wedded to
the Kidara sovereign. In the absence of
further evidence, it is difficult to speculate any further in regards this
theory.