Nomos AG
obolos 27 21 Mar 2023
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BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Antimachos I, circa 180-165 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 32 mm, 16.64 g, 12 h). Diademed and draped bust of Antimachos to right, wearing flat topped kausia. Rev. BΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΜΑΧΟΥ Poseidon, nude to the waist, standing facing, holding long trident in his right hand and filleted palm branch in his left; in inner right field, monogram of KPN. Bopearachchi 1C. HGC 12, 106. SNG ANS -. Lightly toned. Light porosity, otherwise, good very fine.
The coinage of Baktria, present-day Afghanistan, is one of the most romantic and fascinating vestiges of Hellenism. The Greeks basically arrived there with Alexander's conquering armies (though some Greeks had already been transported there as a place of exile by the Persian kings); after his conquest many remained. It became a province of the Seleucid kings of Syria but its satrap was able to establish it as an independent kingdom in the mid 3rd century BC. The coinage of Baktria and of its successor states further east in the Indus Valley is remarkable for the gallery of outstanding portraits they bear, primarily of rulers whose names and features are known solely from their coins. This coin is no exception: we know virtually nothing about Antimachos save for his portraits, which are remarkable for their individuality. The soft hat he wears, the Macedonian traveling or hunting cap, the kausia, proved to be one of the longest lasting items of Greek heritage in the East: its direct descendent, the pakol, is worn by Afghans to this day.
The coinage of Baktria, present-day Afghanistan, is one of the most romantic and fascinating vestiges of Hellenism. The Greeks basically arrived there with Alexander's conquering armies (though some Greeks had already been transported there as a place of exile by the Persian kings); after his conquest many remained. It became a province of the Seleucid kings of Syria but its satrap was able to establish it as an independent kingdom in the mid 3rd century BC. The coinage of Baktria and of its successor states further east in the Indus Valley is remarkable for the gallery of outstanding portraits they bear, primarily of rulers whose names and features are known solely from their coins. This coin is no exception: we know virtually nothing about Antimachos save for his portraits, which are remarkable for their individuality. The soft hat he wears, the Macedonian traveling or hunting cap, the kausia, proved to be one of the longest lasting items of Greek heritage in the East: its direct descendent, the pakol, is worn by Afghans to this day.