550 New Varieties of Bactrian Coins. [Sept. 



"We may remark, however, in opposition to this ingenious conjec- 

 ture, that the Sanscrit name Aja is but a corruption of Ajaya, the 

 unconquered, and therefore might more appropriately represent the 

 Greek aniketos than Azos, which latter I have indeed elsewhere con- 

 jectured might be found in the Yavana-asb of Hindu tradition*. More- 

 over, the first letter of the present legend may probably be *1, which 

 would give the reading TPIujaI daya-mido, in exact accordance, as 

 to pronunciation, with the Greek. 



Fig. 4 is taken from a drawing by M. Court, who has been 

 fortunate in finding a new type of this curious copper coin, the 

 reverse of which usually presents the figure of a naked horse. (See Vol. 

 IV. page 343.) 



The present reverse exhibits the prince holding an olive branch 

 and spear, implying peace or war, in either hand. From the 

 collation of many specimens of the horse variety, and one small one like 

 the above, Mr. Masson makes out the full inscription tobeBA2lAEfl2 

 BA2IAET2 An A IT the h apparent at the commencement of the lower 

 line being the missing 2 of the word BA2IAET2- This reading is con- 

 firmed by more than a dozen examples, but it still leaves us with a 

 most unpronounceable appellation. It may possibly be only a perver- 

 sion of the epithet AIKAIOT. In Masson 's small coin the monogram 

 m appears to be the triple blade of a trident reversed, which the 

 figure is holding. 



Fig. 5. An unique, is also extracted from M. Court's collection. 

 It assimilates with the numerous class of Azos coins, having on the 

 obverse a horseman with extended arm. The inscription has much 

 the appearance of Pehlevi, but this may proceed from the indistinct- 

 ness of the Greek letters. The monogram is very peculiar and 

 curious, from the circumstance of its constant occurrence on the dege- 

 nerate gold coins of the Kadphises group. 



The reverse is quite in the Roman taste. Two soldiers seem to be 

 crowning their successful chief, who rests on a kind of club. The 

 name in the legend below is happily most distinct, "PT^KV+ia ; the 

 fourth letter is doubtful, but if read ^ the combination may be hesi- 

 tatingly transcribed Yatilariko. 



Of fig. 6, three examples are known : one in the Ventura collec- 

 tion was depicted in Vol. IV. PI. XXI. It was copied hastily, and I 



* In the Cashmir lifcst of the Rdjtarangini, there is a prince named Axa 

 (transcribed Aj in the Persian of the Ayin Akberi) whose date by Wilson is 

 100 B. C. but when corrected for the epoch of Asoka, about A. D. 180. He, 

 too, may be one of our Azos family ; — but if we go by resemblance of name only, 

 we shall be liable to lay hands on the great Asoka himself as the founder of the 

 line I 



