Azes II Indo-Scythian AR Tetradrachm, Bilingual Horseman/Athena, 35-12 BC

Azes II, Tetradrachm, silver, reign 35–12 BC, uncertain mint, 9.60 g, 26 mm. Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOY AZOY; king on horseback right, in cataphract armor, whip raised; Kharosthi control letter da before the horse. Rev: MAHARAJASA RAJADIRAJASA MAHATASA AYASA; Pallas Athene standing right holding spear and shield, right arm extended; monogram to left; Kharosthi letter va in right field. Struck on a broad flan with bilingual legends and control marks clearly visible; a rare Indo-Scythian issue. Ref. Senior 98.327v.

Historical significance: Azes II ruled the Indo-Scythian kingdom during the final decline of the Indo-Greek states in the northwestern Indian subcontinent. His bilingual silver tetradrachms combine a Greek royal titulature (“King of Kings, the Great Azes”) with its Kharosthi equivalent, indicating administration over multi-lingual communities and trade networks. The mounted horseman reflects Saka steppe military identity, while the Athena reverse preserves Hellenistic iconography inherited from earlier Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek coinage. Control letters such as da and va and accompanying monograms functioned as emission marks, and the series provides a chronological and stylistic link to subsequent Indo-Parthian and early Kushan monetary systems.