Azes I, 57-35 BC, Drachm

Azes I, Drachm, AR, 57–35 BC, 2.40 g, 15 mm. Indo-Scythian Kingdom, uncertain mint. Obverse with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOΥ AZOΥ surrounding the king on horseback right. Reverse with Kharosthi legend Maharajasa rajarajasa mahatasa Ayasa surrounding Zeus standing left, holding thunderbolt and scepter. Struck on a compact flan at an uncertain Northwest Indian mint, exhibiting the bilingual Greek–Kharosthi convention of the series. Mitchiner 738.

Azes I consolidated Indo-Scythian rule over Gandhara and the Punjab in the late 1st century BC, and his bilingual silver coinage is a principal source for the political and cultural interface between Hellenistic and South Asian traditions. The Greek and Kharosthi legends reflect administrative communication with both Hellenized urban centers and local populations, while the horseman motif and “King of Kings” title became models for subsequent Saka and Kushan issues. These coins are key evidence for regional chronology and for the continuity of Hellenistic monetary standards across the northwestern Indian subcontinent.