Indo-Scythian Vonones & Spalahores bronze square unit bilingual c.100–75 BC

Vonones and Spalahores, Square Unit, bronze, c. 100–75 BC, Kandahar mint; 8.49 g; 22 mm. Obverse: Greek legend ΣΠΑΛΥΡΙΟΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΥ; Herakles seated left holding club, within a square frame; small monogram in field. Reverse: Kharoshthi legend SPALAHORAPUTRASA DHRAMIASA SPALAGDAMASA; king on horseback right within a square panel. Struck on a square flan with framed devices; bilingual issue (Greek/Kharoshthi). References: Mitchiner 2167; Göbl, AN 2264.

This bilingual bronze belongs to the early Indo-Scythian takeover of Arachosia. The Greek legend styles a “brother of the king,” while the Kharoshthi names “Spalagadames the righteous, son of Spalahores,” linking the coin to the ruling Saka house commonly associated with Vonones and Spalahores. The pairing of a Saka horseman with the Hellenistic Herakles reflects continued Greek iconography at Kandahar alongside local scripts, documenting administrative and cultural continuity as Indo-Greek authority gave way to Saka control.