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EL Dinar - Kidarite Huns
| Issuer | Kidarite Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 335-345 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Dinar (20) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Brahmi |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Enthroned goddess Ardoksho (identified with Tyche/Lakshmi) depicted facing, seated frontally upon a throne. In her right hand she holds a diadem with two pendant ribbons, and in her left hand a cornucopiae, emblems of divine dispensation and royal legitimacy. Brahmi legends and subsidiary symbols are arranged around the field. The execution is blundered and schematized relative to earlier Kushan prototypes, reflecting the Kidarite tendency toward abstraction in die engraving. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The Kidarites emerged as a distinct power when they broke from or displaced the Kushano-Sasanian administration in Bactria during the mid-fourth century, and their early coinage closely mimicked Kushan royal types — a deliberate political choice to claim legitimacy over populations accustomed to Kushan authority. The electrum composition itself is unusual for the region at this period, where gold and billon dominated; it may reflect access to mixed bullion rather than a controlled monetary policy.
ANS Kushan 2438 places this piece within a transitional attribution zone that specialists have debated for decades, with some assignments shifting between Kidara himself and immediate successors as die studies accumulate.