A hard to define Indo-European culture

The Yuezhi were a loose confederation of Indo-European people who had been living in northwestern China until they were driven west by another group, the Xiongnu, in 176–160 B.C, reaching Bactria (northwest Afghanistan and Tajikistan) around 135 B.C. They had learned to use a form of the Greek alphabet, and struck coins which imitated Roman coins.

The Kushans were a branch of the Yuezhi who spread south into the region traditionally known as Gandhara, and then expanded across the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Kanishka was the third Kushan emperor and saw the dynasty to its peak. At this point, Kushan controlled a large territory ranging from the Aral Sea through areas that include present-day Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan into northern India as far east as Benares and as far south as Sanchi. There is a map on Wikipedia, and from the previous couple of paragraphs, it can be understood why Wikipedia gives the empire’s name in no less than eight languages (Ancient Greek, Bactrian, Sanskrit, Brahmi, BHS, Parthian, Chinese and Pinyin). The

Also from the Wikipedia, we can note that the Kushans were a syncretic empire. That is, “characterized or brought about by a combination of different forms of belief or practice”. The ancient equivalent of “Multicultural”.

Kushan control fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms as the Sassanians attacked from the west and the Guptas attacked from the east, collapsing the Kushan Empire around 375 A.D.

Featured on my Tetradrachm (A unit of currency borrowed from the Greeks) is a portrait of Kanishka, standing over an alter, sacrificing and holding a standard (a flag). Much of the detail is lost, but I like how the toning highlights the remainder of the detail on this coin.

The reverse features the wind god Oado (or Vado), running. I tried to look up Oado, and all the references I could find …. where of this coin. I ended up back on Wikipedia and found an article with a list of all the collated wind deities, of which there are over a hundred. This makes sense when you think that wind is something which can be felt, but not seen, and could seem god-like.

Meanwhile on the Wikipedia page for Vāyu-Vāta, they feature a much more detailed version of this coin:

Vāyu-Vāta is an Indo-Iranian, dual natured divinity of the wind (Vayu) and of the atmosphere (Vata). The two can be referred to separately, and can be both good or bad, depending on the context. The Kushans practised Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion and one of the oldest organised faiths, dating back as far as the 15th century B.C.

Finally, this coin is a really nice solid piece – very thick (around 4mm), and around 25mm diameter. It weighs nearly 15 grams.