Punch-Marked Coin
Unknown Artist
400–300 BCE
Medium
silver
Dimensions
1.4 × 1.2 cm
Classification
Coins
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Sri B. D. Dwivedi
Accession Number
1967.243.a
About this artwork
After Alexander of Macedon succeeded in conquering Egypt and Persia in 331 BC, his ambition to rule the known world led him further east across Bactria in Afghanistan, through the Hindu Kush mountain pass, and into India. There he succeeded in defeating all the local kings of the region until his men, on the brink of mutiny, insisted that they return to Greece. Alexander left governors in charge of his territories, and after his death in 323 BC, his governors became independent kings, establishi...