Coinage of Pratihara Empire

The Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, also known as the Pratihara Empire, was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj.

The origin of the dynasty and the meaning of the term "Gurjara" in its name is a topic of debate among historians. The rulers of this dynasty used the self-designation "Pratihara" for their clan, and never referred to themselves as Gurjaras. The Imperial Pratiharas could have emphasized their Kshatriya, instead of Gurjara, identity for political reasons. However, at local levels Pratiharas were not wary of projecting their tribal (Gurjara) identity.

Coins of Pratihara Empire, although all struck to a single weight standard, were carefully differentiated by name. However, it is quite uncertain whether the government issued the coins or whether they have been issued privately under official regulation during Pratihara rule.

They display several stages of evolution and reveal that they were issued over a long period, possibly 50 to 100 years. Inscriptional evidences support the existence of a well-regulated currency during the Pratihara rule. The coins of Pratihara Empire enjoyed extraordinary longevity in circulation. This longevity made them an important currency of the succeeding Rajput period.


The Gurjara government had a stable currency system dependent on the agricultural revenue system and the military department, matched by the concurrent needs of both local and export traders for a medium of exchange. The monetary system was rational and there was a standard coinage metrology during the life of the kingdom. However, there is no practical way of estimating the absolute volume of money in the Gurjara dominions. Still, by comparing the rates of recapture in modern Uttar Pradesh versus those of earlier and later periods, a sense of scale for the relative volume of money can be achieved. The survival rate for coins belonging to AD 600-1000 period is appropriate for the lapsed time. Hence, it is concluded that the volume of exchange transactions during this era was comparable to that of other periods in north Indian history, and probably higher than that of the Gupta era.


The distribution of the successive Gurjara drammas shows that these coins did not circulate in the regions of Kathiawad-Malwa of southern Rajasthan. Much of this region was administered by feudatory dynasties acknowledging Gurjara-Pratihara supremacy. The variety of Indo-Sassanian style drammas, which were found in the regions were different from the major currency of the Ganga basin. In Marwar, the coins were broad, thin and generally closer in fabric to the Hun prototypes. The coins on average contained 0.65 g of silver, an amount somewhat lower than the Vinayakapala Dramma. Although the Gurjaras controlled the seaports of Gujarat, their dramma coinage from the Gangetic plains did not circulate in this area where a high-value feudatory coinage was well established, and where foreign currencies were encountered. Further, Gurjara coinage was not a unified fiduciary coinage.

In Gujarat, the feudatory silver coinage was also based on the Indo-Sassanian prototype, although the coins were not as wide and thin as the Marwar coins. In this period, their minimum precious metal content was 3.27 g, which was considerably in excess of the value of coins of Marwar or the Ganga basin. Their stable silver content encouraged their use far beyond coastal Gujarat. This coinage survived the passing of the issuing dynasty, as indeed the passing of the imperial money-forms of the Pratiharas.

Historians believe that after the Gupta period, Gurjara Pratiharas came to India from the central Asian region and settled in Rajasthan. Gradually, they gained political importance.


The bardic tradition of Rajasthan claims that the Gurjara Pratiharas, Chalukyas, Parmaras, and Chahmanas were born out of a yajna done at Mount Abu. Therefore, these four dynasties are also known as agnikulas(fire-clans).
The four dynasties of Rajputs were created for the protection of the country from external aggressions.
The literary meaning of Pratihara is ‘door keeper.’ It is believed that their ancestor Lakshmana served as a door keeper to his brother Rama. Therefore, they were called as Pratihara.

The geographical name of Gujarat is supposed to be derived from Gurjara.

The Gurjara-Pratiharas of North India were one of the first four patrilineal clans of the caste group referred to as the Rajputs.

Although their significance has largely been overlooked by historians and students of history, their influence on art and culture and their political sway over the major part of North India from the 9th to the 11th century cannot be ignored. One of the most debated subjects in relation to the Gurjara-Pratiharas is their origin and identity, a topic that has, over the years, acquired racial, colonial and nationalistic tinge. Study of the archaeological sources, however, reveal that the Gurjara-Pratiharas probably rose from a varied background and not from the “sacrificial fire altar” as their court historians claim and their contribution to art, especially temple art and architecture was a motif of legitimation of power.

The emergence of temples in Indic religions was an outcome of the Indo-Greek rule, that was established as a result of a series of invasions in the north west around 200 BCES

The first temple structures archaeologically found in the subcontinent, thus, were Indo-Greek in nature, mostly located in the area around Sindh (modern day-Pakistan) and it is likely that the concept of a place of worship emerged from the Graeco-Persian influence. Around 300 CE, the concept of Panchayatna Puja mandala appeared in the religious scenario, where a quincunx pattern of worship was employed for the purpose of prayer in Hinduism.

This pattern was subsequently adopted in Hindu Temple architecture, with one of the first such specimens appearing in the temple architecture of the

Gurjara-Pratiharas around the 8th century

While investigating into the temple architecture of the dynasty throuh the archaeological and literary evidence, the author found a definitive pattern and the possible utilitarian motive of large scale construction of these structures under the aegis of the Pratiharas.

This work is a result of the analysis of the available sources and attempts to explain how structures supposedly  built for religious purposes acted as a political tool for negotiating identity and wielding  power.

Rulers of Gurjara Pratiharas – 650 to 1036 AD.

1. Dadda I-II-III                                 650 – 750 AD
2. Nagabhata I                                    750 – 780 AD
3. Vatsaraja                                        780 – 800 AD
4. Nagabhata II                                  800 – 833 AD
5. Ramabhadra                                   833 – 836 AD
6. Mihira Bhoja I                                836 – 890 AD
7. Mahendrapala I                              890 – 910 AD
8. Bhoj II                                             910 – 913 AD
9. Mahipala I                                      913 – 944 AD
10. Mahendrapala II                          944 – 948 AD
11. Devpala                                         948 – 954 AD
12. Vinaykpala                                    954 – 955 AD
13. Mahipala II                                   955 – 956 AD
14. Vijaypala II                                   956 – 960 AD
15. Rajapala                                        960 – 1018 AD
16. Trilochanpala                                1018 – 1027 AD
17. Jasapala (Yashpala)                     1024 – 1036 AD


Harichandra is said to have laid the foundation of this dynasty in the 6th century. He created a small kingdom at Bhinmal near about 550 A.D. after the fall of Gupta Empire. The Harichandra line of Gurjara-Pratiharas established the state of Marwar, based at Mandore near modern Jodhpur, which grew to dominate Rajasthan. The Pratihara rulers of Marwar also built the temple-city of Osian.

Development of the Indo-Sassanian drachms into "Gadhaiya Paisa" types

To fully understand these coins, you would need to know the history of the Achaemenid, Persian and Sasanian empires, the early history of Islam, and the history of the Zoroastrian religion. This page doesn't aim to teach those subjects, but will say just enough to put the coins into context.

The Fire Altar and Persis

Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, or Zarthosht, was the prophet who began the religion of Zoroastrianism, of which the fire altar is an important symbol. It represents the enduring energy of the creator, Ahura Mazda, and is the focus (but not the object) of prayer.

Achaemenes, or Haxamanis, founded the first Persian empire in around 700 BCE. Zoroaster probably lived about 100 years later, and Zoroastrianism eventually became the State religion. The Achaemenid empire was conquered by Alexander the Great, and his successor Seleucus I Nicator founded the Seleucid dynasty there around 300 BCE. However, this was soon conquered by the ascendant Parthians, who claimed cultural descent from the Achaemenids, and used the same Pahlavi script. Perhaps in part because of this, they allowed a small part of what is now southern Iran to survive as the semi-independent kingdom of Persis. This kingdom had been a distinct principality since the 8th century BCE and was even able to retain control during parts of the Seleucid period. It was the centre of Persian culture and of Zoroastrianism, and it was where fire altars began to appear on coins.

Many of the names on this page come in two versions. One is a westernised Persian name, the other is a westernised Greek name. Often the two are equally valid, because the Persian ruling class was Greek in origin during the Alexander and Seleucid period.

                                A silver hemidrachm of Ardashir II of Persis, c. 50-1 BCE. 15mm, 2.0 grammes.

The kings of Persis are not well known, and nor is the order of succession. Their names appear quite differently depending whether you read Greek or Persian sources. This coin is of Darev or Darius the second. The portrait on the obverse shows heavy Parthian influence. The reverse shows the king holding a sceptre over a fire altar. The script is Aramaic rather than Greek or Pahlavi, perhaps to emphasise their apartness from the Greek Seleucids.

                              A silver hemidrachm of Darev II of Persis, c. 100-1 BCE. 14mm, 2.2 grammes

This is Ardashir II (Persian) or Artaxerxes II (Greek). This crown is less Parthian, and is more like the Sasanian ones, which came later. This coin is clearer than the previous one, but neither of them match the splendid earlier Persis coins from the Seleucid period which show a much more elaborate fire altar. Unfortunately, those coins are also very expensive to buy. Both of the coins shown here are from the later Parthian period.

The Sasanian Empire

The last king of Persis, Ardeshir or Artaxerxes V, revolted successfully against the Parthians and established the Sasanian empire, becoming Ardashir I of Eranshahr (as it was then called). The name "Sasanid" or "Sassanid" was invented by later historians, based on the name of Ardashir's paternal grandfather Sasan. Sasanian coins were distinctive, showing the royal headdress in detail on one side, and a fire altar with attendants on the other.

                         A billon tetradrachm of the Sasanian Ardashir I, 224-241 CE. 26mm, 9.6 grammes

This rough coin with a corroded surface is a billon tetradrachm of the successful Ardashir. These coins can't have been as useful as the silver drachms shown below, because they were only produced for about 50 years. Their make-up was mostly copper – hence the corrosion. Unlike the drachms, there are only a few glints of silver to be seen on this coin as you turn it in the light. The coin shows Ardashir in a Parthian-style crown, and on the reverse is a fire altar on a short column, with elaborate side supports, and without any attendants.

                                 A silver drachm of the Sasanian Shapur I, 241-272 CE. 27mm, 4.4 grammes.

This rough coin with a corroded surface is a billon tetradrachm of the successful Ardashir. These coins can't have been as useful as the silver drachms shown below, because they were only produced for about 50 years. Their make-up was mostly copper – hence the corrosion. Unlike the drachms, there are only a few glints of silver to be seen on this coin as you turn it in the light. The coin shows Ardashir in a Parthian-style crown, and on the reverse is a fire altar on a short column, with elaborate side supports, and without any attendants.

                              A silver drachm of the Sasanian Shapur II, 309-379 CE. 23mm, 3.9 grammes.

50 years later, a similar coin, this time showing the bust of Ahura Mazda in the flames. This shows that the flames represent the energy and fire of the creator. The attendants are still richly dressed in royal style, but this time they are focused more on the altar than on showing off!

                              A silver drachm of the Sasanian Khushrou I, 550 CE.  30mm, 4.0 grammes.

200 years after the last coin, the altar and attendants are becoming more stylised, and the king's portrait is also somewhat less realistic. The coins are thinner, and have a wide rim which is less regular in outline. The thin flan the coins were struch from sometimes led to a lack of detail in the centre of the coin, where there was just not enough metal to fill the hollows in the die.

There is no standard spelling of Sasanian names in European scripts. They are all attempts to indicate the pronunciation. For example, in the name I have spelled "Khushrou," the "Kh" is pronounced something like "ch" in the Scottish word "loch."

The standard reference on these coins is Robert Göbl's "Sasanian Numismatics." In that book, he uses diacritical marks – macrons and háčeks – to indicate pronunciation, like this: Ardašēr, Šāpūr, Xusrō. Because these marks are not so easy to do in most word processors, you often see these spellings reproduced without the diacritical marks, e.g. Sapur, Xusro.

Kushanshahs

The Sasanid empire was large and powerful, and exercised some of its control through vassal states in Bactria and Gandhara, often referred to as Kushanshahs (kings or kingdoms of Kushan). They were allowed their own coinage under Sasanid patronage.

A bronze coin of Hormazd I Kushanshah in the name of Kavad, 276-300 CE. KOBAD on obverse. 16mm, 2.8 grammes.

This coin was minted in Gandhara (eastern Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan) by the Kushanshah Hormazd I, and it is thought that Kavad is the name of one of his governors. This was shortly after the time of the first Sasanian coin above. It is quite crude, and the style of the fire altar is very different to the silver coins, but similar to the billon tetradrachm. This coin shows Zoroastrian influence spreading into the Indian subcontinent – an area where religious history usually focuses on Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.

                    A bronze coin of Peroz II (Bactrian) Kushanshah, c. 300-325 CE. 14mm, 2.1 grammes.

This one comes from Bactria, a mountainous area to the west of Gandhara which now forms part of several countries, including Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, but mostly Tajikistan. It was struck for Peroz II Kushanshah. The style is better than that of the coin from Gandhara and shows the ruler wearing a distinctive horned headdress.

The reverse of the coin shows a figure, perhaps Mithra, emerging from the fire of the altar. The odd, extreme angle of the wrist holding the staff is typical of these coins.

Nezak Huns

                              A billon drachm of the Nezak Huns, 630-711 CE. 25mm, 3.4 grammes.

Here is a fire altar coin from the area that is now Afghanistan. This interesting and elaborate design, produced in Kabul, shows the king wearing a buffalo's head over a winged helm. The reverse shows a fire altar with wheels above the heads of the usual two attendants. The reverse of this particular coin is a mirror-image of the usual, with the control marks reversed and retrograde. This is probably an engraver's error.

You can find the makers of this coin referred to as Hunas, Indo-Hepthalites, Turco-Hepthalites, Nezak Huns or sometimes White Huns. "Nezak Malka," the legend on this coin, is probably a title, not the name of a king.

Kashmir Smast

In Gandhara, now the north of Pakistan, is the Kashmir Smast, a network of caves which formed the center of an independent kingdom in the 4th to 8th centuries CE.

                  A bronze Kushano-Sasanian unit from Kashmir Smast, c. 305 CE.  15mm, 3.3 grammes.


This intriguing coin shows a ruler wearing a horned headdress – probably representing bull's horns. It is smaller and thicker than the Nezak coin above, but weighs almost the same. The style of the portrait is similar to the Bactrian Kushanshah coin shown above, but in fact it has been identified as a type issued under the Sasanian Peroz II by the satrap Meze in the Indian, rather than Bactrian, Kushanshah area.

          A billon Nezak quarter unit from Kashmir Smast, perhaps 7th-8th century CE. 16mm, 1.0 grammes.

This much lighter coin is clearly a similar design to the larger Nezak coin in the previous section, and probably has the same origin, though from a different dynasty.

Both of these small coins were found in the Kashmir Smast caves. The idea of a cave kingdom that lasted several hundred years sounds impossibly romantic, but seems to be real enough!

Turco-Hepthalite Countermarks

A silver drachm of Khushrou II, 591-628 CE, with Turco-Hephthalite countermark dated around 650-700 CE.
33mm, 3.9 grammes.

 Some of the Sasanid coins were re-used by the Turco-Hepthalites.

The Sasanid ruler Khushrou II was very expansionist. He re-conquered most of the territory of the old Achaemenid empire. However, he was assassinated in 628 CE, and the Sasanid empire never recovered from the resulting chaos. Coins of Khushrou II are easy to find, but this one is less common. It has a countermark showing that it was given approval to be used as currency by the later Turco-Hephthalites.

       Conquest by the Umayyad Caliphate

The Sasanian empire failed to withstand the spread of Islam, and fell to the Caliph Umar in a succession of battles in the mid 7th century CE. Persian culture was not completely repressed, despite some acts of destruction which resulted in a considerable emigration. The Zoroastrians were eventually accepted as "People of the Book" and a policy of tolerance was applied. Though, inevitably, within a couple of centuries most Persians became Islamic, and infused Persian cultural ideas into the Shi'a faith.

                       A silver hemidrachm of Sa'id bin Da'laj of Tabaristan, 772 CE. 23mm, 2.0 grammes.

Tabaristan – now the province of Mazandaran in northern Iran – remained independent of the Umayyads, and the mountainous regious were independent for some while after that. But their successors, the Abbasid Caliphate, controlled some areas. Here is a coin of an Abbasid governor, Sa'id bin Da'laj, struck by the Tabaristan mint. This coin shows that the Sasanian coin type was retained with little change, and Sa'id was apparently quite happy to depict a human face. However, the attendants on the reverse are here shown as stylised designs.

A silver hemidrachm of Sulaiman ben Mansur of Tabaristan with a lozenge in place of the head, 136-138 CE.
24mm, 1.9 grammes.

This interesting hemidrachm was minted by the only ruler of Tabaristan to heed the Islamic prohibition against depicting the human form, as far as the coinage was concerned. Not only are the two attendants on the reverse still the same stylised columns, but the face on the obverse has been replaced with a neutral lozenge bearing the Arabic word "bakh," meaning "excellent." The shoulders, robes and crown are still in place, which gives a very odd effect.

Bukhara in Sogdiana

                                             A bronze fals of Bukhara, 766 CE.     21mm, 1.8 grammes.

This bronze coin is an Abbasid fals from Bukhara in Sogdiana, currently part of Uzbekistan. Bukhara used a tamgha, or typical symbol, to indicate the origin of the coin. Sogdiana was rich in Persian cultural history, having been an eastern province of Achaemenid Persia, and so the tamgha chosen for this coin was a fire altar, placed on its side so as to fit in with the design of the coin.

    To the left of the coin is the tamgha turned the right way up.

                                        A silver drachm from Bukhara, 775-785 CE.  25mm, 2.7 grammes

Bukhara was on the silk road to China that was first established by Alexander the Great, so had increasing Chinese influence. But at the time of these two coins it was under the control of the Abbasid dynasty, the successor to the Umayyads. Even so, as with Tabaristan, their silver coins were in the old Sasanian tradition.

This silver drachm. issued by the Caliph al-Mahdi, has an obverse based on coins of the Sasanian Vahran V, and the reverse has a stylised fire altar with attendants, and with the bust of Ahura Mazda among the flames.

Fire Altars in India

When the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Persia, many Zoroastrians fled, migrating into India and mostly ending up in Gujarat, which lies on the west coast, south of modern Pakistan.

                          A silver drachm of the Pratiharas of Rajasthan, 780-980 CE. 23mm, 3.7 grammes.

This Pratihara coin comes from the area of Rajasthan in northern India, and clearly shows a Sasanian-style fire altar with stylised attendants. (Though, I have also seen it said that the coin's style is wrong for the Pratiharas, and this coin type is from a later issue of unknown provenance.)

                               A silver drachm of the Palas of Bengal, after 853 CE. 18mm, 4.0 grammes.

The Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled Bengal in the ninth century. This coin is much more stylised, and the design was much larger than the flan of the coin, making it even harder to make out. The obverse of this one shows the area behind the head, with the circle of dots marking the edge of the design visible to the left, and a stylised hair tie at the top. The reverse is the left side of the fire altar, with one dot of flame visible, and the main part of the visible design is what remains of an attendant.

                         A silver drachm of the Saindhavas of Saurashtra, 800-950 CE. 18mm, 4.1 grammes.

This coin is from the Saindhavas dynasty, who were eventually conquered in 915 CE by the Abhiras dynasty, who owed alleigance to the Pratiharas. The bust and fire altar are crudely done, but stylised in a different way from either of the two coins above. You will see below that this type of styling continued for some while. 

                                  

                               A silver drachm of the Chaulukyas of Gujarat, 900-950 CE.  17mm, 4.0 grammes.

The design of these coins from Gujarat is said to derive from silver drachms of the Sasanian king Peroz, whose coins were brought into Northern India by invading Huns in the 6th Century. That sounds very specific – why not coins of Khushru II, for example? Perhaps because Peroz is said to have paid a heavy ransom to the Hepthalites for the return of his son, in the 5th century CE, and the coins of that ransom could well have been the inspiration for this type.

                                          

                       A silver drachm of the Chaulukyas of Gujarat, 1030-1120 CE. 15mm, 4.0 grammes

But the inspiration was probably second or third-hand, via Hephthalite types like those shown above. Very stylised designs like this were most likely purely imitative, and didn't indicate that Zoroastrianism was a state religion. This example shows the further development of stylisation. Look how the eye, nostril, lips and chin are shown as a row of dots, which is continued decoratively below and round the head. This coin also has a "sun and moon" design above the head.

                         A bronze drachm of the Vaghelas of Gujarat, 1210-1300 CE.  14mm, 4.6 grammes.

This is a very three-dimensional coin, much different from the flat and thin Sasanian drachms. The design is so stylised here that casual observers don't recognise the head and fire altar motifs at all. But the coin type over several hundred years remained quite consistent, and if you follow the series, the meaning of the design is clear.

                         A bronze drachm of Gujarat, c. 1300 CE.   11x15mm across, 4mm thick, 3.9 grammes

In the next example of this series, the nose has become completely detached from the head, which is now just a dumbbell-like abstract shape within a semi-circle of dots, with more ornate patterns around. The fire altar is still distinguishable on the reverse. The shape of the coin is irregular and the reverse is quite concave, so it's possible that the reverse die was domed in shape. Like the Pala example, none of these last four show the whole design on any one coin.

Finally, a coin which shows the purity of the design making way for something more informative. The curves to the left of the head are a Brahmi "Ja" symbol. To the right of the head, hard to make out, are an inverted triangle and another sun and moon symbol. The shaft of the fire altar on the reverse has written on it "Sri Omkara," which indicates that it was minted by the Omkara Mandhata Monastery in Malwa.

                                  A billon drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa, 1150-1300 CE.  13mm, 4.1 grammes.