230 Philological Secretary — Reports on coins. [Nov. 



imitation of Firiiz's coins. They cannot be genuine coins of Firiiz 

 for two reasons, (1) because their execution does not quite come up to 

 the standard of Firiiz's known genuine coins ; and (2) because they 

 do not bear any Pahlavi legend. At the same time they must be of 

 Firiiz's time, that is, of the latter half of the 5th century A. D. ; they 

 cannot be of a later date, for in that case they would rather imitate 

 Sassanian coins of Firiiz's successors. From the absence of any 

 Pahlavi legend and Sassanide king's name, it may be concluded that the 

 coins were not issued either by a Sassanide king or by any of his 

 vassals or governors. They must be the issue of some hostile king 

 who adopted Firiiz's coinage, but omitted Firiiz's name. It is known 

 from history that during the latter part of his reign, Firiiz was en- 

 gaged in calamitous campaigns against the white Huns in which he 

 lost his life. The Huns annexed the Eastern districts of the Sassanide 

 kingdom (Khorasan and Kabul), and then passed on to the invasion of 

 India. It was probably their leader who about this time (A. D. 470 — 

 480) adopted Firiiz's coinage. He naturally omitted Firiiz's name, 

 though he at first retained Firiiz's likeness on the obverse (Class I). 

 Subsequently he appears to have substituted his own likeness for that of 

 Firiiz (Class II). At the time of the Hunnic invasion of India their 

 leaders were Toramana and his son Mihirakula. The latter succeeded 

 his father about A. D. 515 ; and Toramana appears to have had a rather 

 long reign, so that he may have succeeded to the leadership of the 

 Huns about A. D. 470 or perhaps even earlier (see Fleet's Introduction 

 to Vol. Ill of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, pp. 10-12). His 

 Indian campaigns, during which he conquered Kashmir, the Paujab, 

 Sindh, Rajputana and a portion of Central India, probably fell within 

 the period A. D. 490 — 510. In India it is known from extant coins 

 of his that he imitated the contemporary Gupta coinage, and he appears 

 to have observed a similar practice in Kashmir. It is, therefore, pro- 

 bable that he followed a similar course during the period of his conquest 

 of portions of the Sassanide kingdom, and that the coins of the present 

 find, the age of which coincides with that of Toramana, are issues of 

 the latter king. They may have been carried by his advancing army 

 into India, and thus be brought to the place where they have now been 

 discovered. It is curious that these coins should bear no legend what- 

 soever, though Toramana's Indian, as well as Kashmirian, imitated coins 

 are inscribed with his name. Perhaps the fact may be accounted for 

 by the circumstance that his Sassanian imitations were his first attempt 

 at coining money of his own. If my suggestion that these coins are 

 issues of Toramana should prove to be correct, the barbarian head on the 

 obverse of Class II, may be a portrait of Toramana himself. 



