1840.] from Bactrian and Indo- Scythian coins. 373 



as well as the form of characters, somewhat altered, are peculiar 

 to it, whilst other coins with the name Kadphises present the 

 characters, previously used. The real Kadphises coins have all 

 symbols of worship of Siva,, and the word oor)fxo 9 Uhavima, the 

 ZT#r#fto-KadapheSj a Hercules. 



To comprehend all the palaeographic and philological facts, re~ 

 fering to our investigation, we must, before entering upon the 

 attempt at applying these coins to history, at least touch on 

 some other relics of this writing. 



§7. 

 The legends in the Topes. 



In the digging of the Topes, (stoopas), which are so frequently 

 discovered throughout the whole region, governed by the Indo- 

 Scythian kings, and which were most probably destined for their 

 ashes, some inscriptions are found in the same characters we 

 have hitherto discussed, in a more running hand, however, and 

 difficult to be read with accuracy. They are published by 

 Mr. Prinsep, and I may refer to his accounts of them.* These 

 inscriptions being important in more than one respect to our 

 investigations, we should have made the attempt at their inter- 

 pretation, if we could have done it, without departing too much 

 from the subject, peculiar to this work. 



But this departure would have been necessary, for the writ- 

 ing is more indistinct than that upon the coins, especially so the 

 characters of the inscription, most ample and apparently most 

 important. Though engaging therefore in tedious grammatical 

 discussions, yet many things must have been left partly without 

 any explanation, and partly under a mere doubtful interpretation, 

 and from the decyphering^ but partially successful, no profitable 

 conclusion would have resulted, as respects the historical arrange- 

 ment of the Indo-Scythian kings. Lastly, it would also have been 

 necessary to have entered upon a consideration of the end, for 

 which these remarkable architectural monuments themselves were 

 constructed, and to have examined the views, which a celebrated 

 German scholar has pronounced concerning them. The topes 



* As. Trans, in. PI. xxi. and PL xxxm. It must be attributed to the 

 inexperience of these characters at that time, that the inscriptions are 

 reversed. 



