The Chahamanas - Vakhudeva Vasudeva's Imitations

The Chahamanas of Shakambhari — ancestors of the more celebrated Prithviraj Chauhan — were producing these imitative drachms at a moment when the original Vakhtang-era Georgian prototypes had long since passed out of circulation. The coins copy, with varying fidelity, the Sasanian-derived "Vakhudeva" type that had filtered into northwestern India through centuries of trade and political upheaval. What makes the series unusual is the documented variation in silver purity across surviving specimens, suggesting either multiple minting episodes or deliberate debasement tied to dynastic fiscal pressure during the 8th century.