The Seleucidan Emperors: their Coins and Coin-imitations in India
By Surendra Kishore Chakraborty
Summary
Surveying the history of the Seleucid Empire from Seleucus I Nicator’s reconquest of Babylon in 312 B.C. to the later kings, the article focuses on their coinage and its influence on neighbouring regions. Seleucus’s campaigns, including his treaty with Chandragupta Maurya, are summarised and the reigns of successors like Antiochus I–IV are outlined. The paper analyses Seleucid coins, noting their realistic portraits of the reigning king on the obverse and deities such as Apollo or Zeus on the reverse, with Greek legends and mint marks. These coins established the convention of depicting the monarch’s bust, a practice soon imitated by other Hellenistic states and later by Indian rulers. The article describes how local imitations in north‑western India adapted Greek types while modifying weights and designs, paving the way for Indo‑Greek and Indo‑Scythian coinage. It argues that Seleucid coin artistry left a lasting aesthetic and technical legacy in western and central Asia.
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Conclusion
By analysing the design and spread of Seleucid coinage, the article concludes that these coins were more than currency: they broadcast imperial ideology and set standards for portraiture. The tradition of placing the ruler’s likeness on the obverse became a hallmark of Hellenistic and later Indian coinage, attesting to the Seleucid Empire’s enduring cultural impact.