A Bull-headed Huna ruler's coin issued in Kabul-Gandhara

The fifth century of the Common Era saw tectonic changes in the fortunes of the Gupta Empire of the Indian sub-continent and the Sassanid Empire of Persia due to the increasing incursions of the White Huns from the North-West border of India. 

Originating like the earlier dynasty of Kushans on the outskirts of China, the Shweta Hunas rose from the Eastern border of Persia and probably  spoke a variant of Eastern Iranian language. They first took over Tokharistan (Central Asia) from the Kidarite Kushans (Later Kushans) soon driving them out of areas around modern day Afghanistan and Pashtun belt of Pakistan. The Hunas soon attacked the outposts of the Gupta dynasty in the second half of the fifth century with a prominent defeat at the hands of  Emperor Skanda Gupta and a later expedition defeated by a coalition of Narasimhagupta (Baaladitya) and King Yashovarman in Central India. 

However, the Hunas overall succeeded in subduing the Later Guptas' chieftains in Northern India under Toramana and his son, Mihirakula forming their major base in Kashmir which became a refuge for them after the defeats and reverses at the hands of local rulers in the mainland. 

According to most experts, the Hunas spoke a variant of Iranian language which is attested by the legends on the coins of the initial rulers whose coins have a monolingual Pehlavi legend followed by later bilingual and trilingual legends. 

The coin on display in this post is a billon drachm issued in the name of 'NAAPKI MALLEKA' inscribed in Pehlavi script, as described by Michael Mitchiner in his book, 'ANCIENT CLASSICAL WORLD' 

The Coin is no doubt inspired by Sassanid drachms of the period in terms of fabric of the coin with the King's bust on the obverse with winged head-dress and the reverse having a fire altar with two attendants. However, the iconography of the Huna ruler, Naapki Malleka has a Bull's head surmounted on the king's head which is quite an unique feature of this series. The Bull's head could be indicative of Tantric worship by the Hunas or merely indicate a cultic practice of sacrificing bulls as indicated by a Chinese Buddhist traveller, Song Yun who visited Hunnic regions in A.D. 540 and states that the Huns "did not recognize the Buddhist religion and they preached pseudo gods, and killed animals for their meat." 

The Nezaka Malleka coinage's period would be guesswork but in view of its use of Pehlavi legend, one is inclined to place it in sixth century C.E. rather than a later period. The preference to Pehlavi over Brahmi legends would also place it in the far northern part of Kabul-Gandhara region. Additionally, the use of Pehlavi also indicates the coin's issue by Iranian dialect speaking people to the later Turkic people who replaced the Huns.

Napki Malleka coins were issued in probably two series, one in pure silver and the second in billon (with more copper than silver); our coin belongs to the latter series which would have been again issued in a later era of lesser prosperity with plateauing of the resources of the Huna Empire. The Napki Malleka series would thus have been issued as a continuum coinage by a series of rulers who could have the title, Napki Malleka (Malleka meaning King) with variant legends seen in the series. 

Thus, the Huna Coinage issued in the interim by Huna rulers represents a transitional coinage between two cultures, Sassanid Persian and Indian where the series was adopted by Huna rulers, Toramana and Mihirkula to transplant the series in the Indian mainland leading to a unique series called Indo-Sassanian. It also represents the power of coinage to convey religious messages by an alien people whose hybrid faith borrowed from other faiths but yet tried to impress its individual features upon posterity      

Pehlavi Legend 'NAAPKI MALEKA'