Catalog
Drachm - Napki Malka 2nd ver. Kabul mint
| Issuer | Hephthalite Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 515-560 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.52 g |
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| Obverse description | Bust of the ruler Napki Malka facing right, wearing an elaborate crown with radiating prongs and a crescent device, the effigy rendered in a debased Sasanian artistic style. The portrait features a pronounced profile with stylized hair and drapery visible at the shoulder. Attendant Bactrian-script or Hephthalite legends appear in the field to the right and left of the bust. A star or crescent device is visible in the upper left field. The whole is contained within a border of pellets. |
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| Reverse script | Bactrian |
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| Additional information |
The Hephthalites — the so-called "White Huns" who shattered the Sasanian army and killed Peroz I in 484 — operated a monetary system built almost entirely on imitation and adaptation. The Napki Malka coinage borrowed its authority from Sasanian prototypes while asserting its own dynastic identity through incremental design revision. This second version reflects a consolidation phase, likely tied to the Hephthalite dominance over the Kabul region during the decades before the Göktürk-Sasanian alliance dismantled their empire around 560.
The billon fabric itself is diagnostic — silver content degraded progressively across the series, making alloy analysis a more reliable dating tool than stylistic attribution alone.