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1 Drachm - Kanishka I
| Issuer | Kushan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 127-150 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Standing frontal figure of the solar deity Miiro (Mithra), depicted in Kushan style with a radiate nimbus or halo, dressed in tunic and trousers in the Central Asian manner. The deity holds attributes appropriate to his solar and martial character, with the Bactrian legend MIIRO identifying the divinity in the field to the right of the figure. The reverse reflects the syncretic religious iconography characteristic of Kushan coinage, blending Iranian, Hellenistic, and Central Asian traditions. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Kanishka I ruled a empire stretching from the Ganges plain to the Oxus and deep into Central Asia, and his copper drachms reflect that reach — the pantheon of deities depicted across his coinage draws on Bactrian Greek, Iranian, and Indic religious traditions simultaneously, an ecumenical range without parallel in ancient numismatics. The Kushans under Kanishka controlled the Silk Road's most profitable nodes, and coin production was substantial enough to fund both military campaigns and the great Buddhist councils he convened.
Mitchell's AC#3160 places this within a closely catalogued sequence where die linkages help resolve attribution disputes that plagued earlier scholarship.