Coins have existed for over 2,000 years in India, but none have matched the sheer beauty and complexity of the coins issued by the kings of the Gupta dynasty from the fourth through the sixth centuries AD. Starting from the first of the Gupta kings, Chandragupta I in AD 319, to the last king Vishnugupta in AD 543, their coins are a historical record detailing the evolution of the Gupta style and its impact on religious art from India’s Golden Age. The clues hidden in the coin designs, Brahmi legends, dates, and metrology have been deciphered here to help reconstruct the history of the Gupta dynasty. This work greatly expands upon A. S. Altekar’s 1957 effort to fully document the coinage and to understand its impact on the history of India. It includes the rarest of the coins from the collections of major international museums as well as private collections, otherwise inaccessible to most researchers, and provides full-color, high-definition images of type specimens for each variety of coin issued by the Gupta kings. Fully revised and expanded for this 2nd edition, Treasures of the Gupta Empire will help researchers, collectors, and history buffs fully understand the Gupta dynasty’s complex history and beautiful coinage, and will serve as the most comprehensive numismatic and historical reference of the Gupta dynasty for years to come.
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A reference for history enthusiasts, scholars and collectors alike, this book offers a comprehensive guide to Gupta Dynasty numismatics. The 2nd edition sees all known Gupta coin issues documented, with updated classifications and notes on their rarity. A revised chronology is presented, using data from coins, inscriptions, seals and copper plates.
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Foreword to the Second Edition (K. K. Thaplyal) Foreword to the First Edition (B. R. Mani) Foreword to the First Edition (Joe Cribb) Author’s Note to the Second Edition Preface Acknowledgements Numismatic Terms Maps Part One: A Numismatic History of the Gupta Empire 1. The Gupta Dynasty 2. Evolution of the Design Elements of Gupta Coinage 3. The Question of a Standard vs. a Javelin vs. a Rājadaṇḍa 4. Historical Trade Routes Crisscrossing Ancient India 5. Inscriptions and Dates 6. Metrology of Gupta Era Coinage Part Two: A Numismatic Catalogue of Gupta Era Coin Types Classification System Rarity 7. Śrīgupta 8. Ghaṭotkacha 9. Chandragupta I 10. Samudragupta I 11. Rāmagupta-Kāchagupta: The Forgotten King 12. Chandragupta II 13. Kumāragupta I 14. Purugupta: Succession after Kumāragupta I 15. Ghaṭotkachagupta 16. Skandagupta 17. Gupta Kings after Skandagupta 18. Later Kings of Māgadha and Bengal Appendices Appendix I: Tamghās: Monograms or Guild Symbols Appendix II: List of Brāhmī Letters and Numbers Appendix III: List of Brāhmī Legends Abbreviations Bibliography Index
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'Sanjeev Kumar’s Treasures of the Gupta Empire is the first attempt at a comprehensive type catalogue of Gupta coins for fifty years. Implicitly, it is a replacement for Allan and Altekar both in content (with a lot of new material in the last half century) and in terms of organization (also supported by a great deal of new scholarship).   'As a comprehensive reference on the gold coinage of the Guptas it is no doubt a huge contribution … The enlarged images, relative ease of use, and comprehensive nature, will likely ensure the volume supplants any of its predecessors as the catalogue of choice … [Overall], this is a volume that I would recommend as a standard reference to anyone with an interest in Gupta coinage.' – Robert Bracey (2017) Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781803277950
Publisert
2024-07-18
Utgave
2. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Archaeopress Archaeology
Vekt
2400 gr
Høyde
297 mm
Bredde
210 mm
Dybde
27 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
604

Forfatter

Biographical note

Mr Sanjeev Kumar is Chairman of the Shivlee Trust, a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, and an esteemed independent researcher and numismatist, who has devoted his life to studying Gupta Dynasty history and numismatics. He is regarded as one of the leading authorities and researchers on Gupta Dynasty coinage.


Kumar’s fascination with Gupta coinage began when he was a young boy growing up in India. Lured by the tales of the Gupta kings, the legendary Vikramādityaḥ, their exploits and treasures, led him to a lifelong pursuit of these golden monuments to India’s Golden Age and what they could reveal about its history and culture. The fruits of this labour will help all to fully appreciate the beauty of Ancient India.


The first edition of Treasures of the Gupta Empire was released at the National Museum in Delhi by the Minister of Culture for India, Dr Mahesh Sharma along with the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, National Museum Delhi, and the Archaeological Society of India.