1834.] Coins of the Manikydla Tope. 439 



explains to signify " aux epaules." Other Persian historians however, 

 according to Herbelot, make the title of this monarch Zdlakndf 

 " aux ailes," or with the wings, interpreting it as an allusion to his 

 clemency towards his Arab enemies, whom he on some occasion spared 

 from massacre : taking it in its literal sense it may have applied to his 

 usual head-dress, or metaphorically the title may have perhaps been 

 tvpified by the device of wings upon his cap in the coins and effigies of 

 the monarch. Assuming it to be satisfactorily proved any at rate 

 that the silver coin in question belongs to this sovereign, we have at 

 once a limit to the antiquity of the tope of Manikyala, in the reign of 

 Sapor II. ; that is, between the years of the Christian era 310 — 380 : 

 for it is natural to suppose that the coins deposited were of the species 

 current at the time, as it has always been customary in the nations of 

 the west so to deposit the current coins of the place on laying the 

 foundations of temples, bridges, and other public works. Thus then 

 we contract the date of the erection within the narrow space of these 

 seventy years, which may be esteemed a sufficient approximation, in 

 the absence of more positive information on the subject. 



Before quitting the subject of the Sassanian coin, I must notice the 

 other two coins already stated to assimilate with the Sassanian type, 

 namely, figs. 10 and 11, of plate xxi. The headdress in these is also 

 remarkable for the wings ; although the absence of bushy hair and 

 beard, attended with a difference of feature, forbid their being ascribed 

 to the same prince, or at least to the same year of his reign. The chief 

 peculiarity of these coins is their Devanagari legend, which however 

 illegible it may be in parts, contains the initial title of respect, Sri, 

 repeated twice and in the same relative position — before the title 

 and before the name itself, — as is customai*y with Indian monarchs ; 

 for instance, Sri Maharajadhi Raja Sri Chandra Gupta, &c. The 

 name itself may probably be foreign. 



The reverse of these coins, no longer a fire-altar with its atten- 

 dant priests, bears a rudely executed front face with a head-dress of a 

 peculiar form. Fortunately among the coins procured at Kabul by 

 Sayed Keramat Ali, there is one which serves in a great measure 

 to clear up the mystery of this ornament. I have depicted it as 

 figure 6, of plate xxv. On one side of it we see the front face, 

 and winged crown of Ziilaknaf, Shapur II., with the precise or- 

 naments on the margin of the obverse described by Ker Por- 

 ter, and no Sanscrit epigraphe ; while on the reverse we have the 

 mysterious head-dress of figs. 10 and 11, and the legible Devanagari 

 inscription Sri V6.su dt'va, which is the patronymic appellation of 

 Krishna the Indian Apollo. 



