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1 Drachm Napki Malka
| Issuer | Hephthalite Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 475-576 |
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| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Brahmi |
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| Reverse description | Central fire altar depicted frontally, with a tall, narrow shaft rising to a capital from which flame-like or foliate elements emerge at the top, closely derived from Sasanian reverse iconography. Two vertical columns of pellets flank the altar on either side, a characteristic feature of Hephthalite coinage. Additional attendant figures or ribbons are suggested in the lower field to either side of the altar base. The field is otherwise plain, and the entire design is contained within an irregular beaded border consistent with hammered production. |
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| Additional information |
The Hephthalite Empire — a Central Asian power that humiliated the Sasanian Persians badly enough to kill Peroz I in 484 AD and extract decades of tribute from his successors — produced coinage that borrows heavily from Sasanian dies while asserting its own identity through deliberate modification. The Napki Malka issues represent one of the better-documented Hephthalite series, named from a Bactrian title rather than a personal ruler, which has made attribution to specific reigns nearly impossible and remains a point of active scholarly dispute.
The century-long date range reflects that uncertainty directly.