Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Sophytes, the Enigmatic Ruler of Central Asia / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Seleucid Coins of Central Asia and the Bactra Mint / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Two Unreported Coins from the Second Mir Zakah Deposit / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Monetary Policy of Bactria under the Seleucids / Osmund Bopearachchi -- ‘Greek Realms in Afghanistan: New Data’ / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The First Local Monetary Issues of North-West India: New Data / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Overstruck Indo-Greek Coins / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Evidence of the Overstrikes for the Reconstruction of the History of the Indo-Greeks / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Graeco-Bactrian Issues of Later Indo-Greek Kings / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Menander Soter, an Indo-Greek King Chronological and Geographical Observations / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Euthydemus’ Imitations and the Date of Sogdian Independence / Osmund Bopearachchi -- On the So-Called Earliest Representation of Gaṅeśa / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Indian Brahman on a Coin of Indo-Greek Telephus / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Bactrian and Indo-Greek Coins / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (before and after Alexander’s Conquest) / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Recent Coin Hoard Evidence on Pre-Kushana Chronology / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Some Interesting Coins from the Pandayale Hoard / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Two More Unique Coins From the Second Mir Zakah Deposit / Osmund Bopearachchi -- ‘Thundering Zeus Revisited’ / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Diomedes Overstruck by Agathocleia / Osmund Bopearachchi -- To Err is Human / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Three Interesting Indo-Greek Coins / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Over-struck and Double-struck / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Two Rare Pre-Kushan Coins / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Was Indo-Greek Artemidoros the Son of Indo-Scythian Maues?: Amluk Dara Hoard Revisited / Osmund Bopearachchi -- A Note on Some Interesting Indo-Greek Coins / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Emergence of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Two Exceptional Indo-Greek Numismatic Documents / Osmund Bopearachchi -- A Gold Coin of the Indo-Parthian Ruler Abdagases II / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Naštēn, a Hitherto Unknown Iranian Ruler in India / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Indo-Parthians / Osmund Bopearachchi -- A New Gold Coin of Abdagases II / Osmund Bopearachchi -- The Numismatic Data and the Dating of the Begram Bazaar / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Sabedana or Sarpadana / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Some Observations on the Chronology of the Early Kushans / Osmund Bopearachchi -- ‘Begram Stūpa Deposit: Further Study on the Origin of Kushan Gold’ / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Vandalized Afghanistan / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Preserving Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage: What is to be Done? / Osmund Bopearachchi -- A Joy and a Curse / Osmund Bopearachchi -- Index / Osmund Bopearachchi.

The first volume comprises Osmund Bopearachchi's most important articles on the numismatics of Central Asia and India, particularly of pre-Bactrian, Graeco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek, Indo-Parthian and Kushan coins. There are 36 articles on numismatics and 3 on the destruction of Afghanistan's cultural heritage during the period of Civil War. It is well known that from the time of Theodore Bayer, the reconstruction of the history of Greek settlers of Alexander the Great in Bactria and India and their nomadic successors, Scythians, Parthians, and Kushans, has depended mainly on coins. It is only in the light of these coins that the rare ancient texts and the limited archaeological evidence can be used for writing their history. Since the publication of Bopearachchi's first book, Monnaies grécobactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné (1991), nearly half a million coins have surfaced in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of accidental finds and illegal excavations. His research is mainly based on these new discoveries. Through his work he has brought to light new kings, coin types, monograms, overstrikes and coin hoards. Bopearachchi has also shown that the history of Greeks and their successors in Central Asia and India can no longer be written based solely on numismatics. He has taken into consideration other forms of human activities such as architecture, sculpture, epigraphy, ceramics and artefacts and shows it amply in his writings based on his own investigations and the contributions of eminent archaeologists, historians, numismatists, epigraphists and art historians of Central Asia and India.

English

Description based on print version record.