Turko Hephthalite Coins of Gandhara. TREASURES OF THE KASHMIR SMAST.

TREASURES OF THE KASHMIR SMAST:

A TurkoHephthalite AE depicting a Senmurv (Simurgh), Kashmir Smast-

Kashmir Smast, Mardan, NWFP, Pakistan

By Waleed Ziad

Forepart of a Senmurv

1. AE Thin Unit

a. 0.35 g. / 12.5x12.3 mm.

a. 0.38 g. / 12.1x12.3 mm.

Obv.: Beardless bust right, wearing crown composed of two crescents. Streamer to the left.

Rev.: Forepart of Senmurv.

Two specimens of this variety were discovered in separate Kashmir Smast finds. A close examination of this variety suggests an attribution to the Turko-Hephthalite or Western Turk period. An earlier Alxon attribution is based on the depiction on the obverse of a double crescent crown. A simplified version of the double crescent crown appears in the following Alxon series presented in Gobl Hunnen:

1) Conical crown- Khingila, Toramana, Mihirakula: Kronen 14, 17, 26, 30, 33, 34, 37, etc.

2) Flat diadem- Narendra: Kronen 35, 64, 73, 74, etc.

However the style of bust which appears on Narendra’s coinage (entire bust from arms up) is distinct from this example which depicts only the head of the ruler without shoulders visible.

Two crescent crowns, surmounted by a wolf head, a bull’s head, a lion’s head, and / or wings are commonly found in Turko-Hephthalite coins, of Sahi Tegin and other rulers. (Gobl Hunnen Kronen 40, 42, 47, 51-54, 64, etc.) Further, the wafer thin, brittle fabric of this coin is more similar to the known Turko-Hephthalite period AEs of the Kashmir Smast. (Kidara and Alxon Smast varieties tend to have slightly thicker flans).

The zoomorphic figure on the reverse is the forepart of a Senmurv of the type seen on countermarks on Sassanian drachms of Khusru II and Yezdgard III, as well as Arab Sassanian drachms (Gobl Hunnen KM 1, 3, 7, 10, 11A – 11K). These are believed to have been applied by later Turk Shahi rulers during the 8^th century.

This issue may likely be connected to the investure piece, Gobl Em. 255, which depicts the King of Zabul wearing a two crescent headdress with a Senmurv beside the bust and was issued at Ghazni. This issue corresponds with the official investiture of the Turko-Hephthalite King of Zabul by the Chinese court.

However, the staff in front of the bust is quite similar to that of Gobl Em. 252 and 253, Nazek drachms and AE units respectively minted in Gandhara. A number of varieties of Em. 253 have been discovered in the Kashmir Smast and will be discussed in later chapters. The combining of TurkoHephthalite and Nazek images may simply reflect the eclectic choice of symbols chosen by the Kashmir Smast moneyors, and may perhaps have no political significance, especially since TurkoHephthalite drachms are rarely found in Gandhara per se.