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Obol - Pabes
| Issuer | Tribal confederation of Yuezhi (Central Asia (ancient)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 50 BC - 1 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Hercules (Heracles) standing facing, nude, with head turned slightly to the right, resting his left hand on a grounded club and holding the Nemean lionskin draped over his left arm, rendered in the Hellenistic iconographic tradition. The figure stands on a ground line and is flanked on either side by the Greek legend ΠΑΒΕΣ, reading vertically along the left and right fields respectively. The style is a local imitation of Indo-Greek prototypes, with somewhat schematic rendering of the musculature characteristic of late Yuezhi coinage. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
The Yuezhi confederation occupied a peculiar historical position in the first century BC — recently displaced from the Gansu corridor by the Xiongnu, they had driven the Sakas southward and were consolidating control over Bactria. This obol belongs to an imitative series derived from Bactrian Greek prototypes, struck as the confederation's component kingdoms gradually coalesced into what would become the Kushan Empire under Kujula Kadphises.
At 0.59g, these pieces already represent significant reduction from their Greek models. Senior's classification as A3.1 places Pabes among the earlier tribal rulers, though the precise dynastic sequence within the confederation remains contested.