arched-hill symbol
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The Arched-hill symbol is a symbol on ancient
Coinage of India The Coinage of India began anywhere between early 1st millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE, and consisted mainly of copper and silver coins in its initial stage.Allan & Stern (2008) The coins of this period were ''Karshapanas'' or ''Pana''. A ...
. There are some variations to the number of the hills depicted, or the symbol surmounting the hill, such as a
crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
or a star. It is thought that the three-arched hill symbol was initiated during the Maurya Empire (3rd–2nd century BCE). Later, in coins from Taxila dated from 220 BCE, the three-arched symbol appears regularly, and from 185 BCE is regularly associated with the animal figures of the elephant and the lion. In contrast, the
Nandipada The ''Nandipada'' ("foot of Nandi") is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull's hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi, S ...
is generally associated with the
zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus'' or ''Bos taurus indicus''), sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised by a fatty h ...
bull. On coins of the Shunga period, the three-arched hill can appear among a multitude of other symbols, such as the
Nandipada The ''Nandipada'' ("foot of Nandi") is an ancient Indian symbol, also called a taurine symbol, representing a bull's hoof or the mark left by the foot of a bull in the ground. The nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi, S ...
, the tree-in-railing, the elephant, or the empty cross. The symbol is generally considered a representation of a
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
Chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...
. It has also been argued that it was the imperial symbol of the Mauryas.Coin Splendour: A Journey Into the Past, Prasanna Rao Bandela, Abhinav Publications, 2003, p.2

/ref> The symbol however, appears in many post-Mauryan contexts as seen with the coins of Taxila and the Shungas.


Gallery

File:Sunga coin circa 150 BC 100 AD.jpg, A Sunga coin (150 BCE-100 CE) with three-arched hill (reverse, top left) among other symbols. File:MauryanCoin.JPG, An Arched-hill symbol on the reverse of this Maurya Empire coin. File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC Column and Hill.jpg, Single-die local coinage of Taxila. Column and arched-hill symbol (220-185 BCE). File:Taxila coin Circa 185 160 BC.jpg, Taxila coin (Post-Maurya, 185-160 BCE). File:Agatocles Chaitya.jpg, A six-arched hill symbol with star on top, with tree-in-railing on a coin of
Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent ( ...
king
Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles ...
. File:John paul 1 coa.svg, A six-arched hill symbol on
Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...
coat of arms. Fairly common in other coats of arms in Italy.


See also

*
Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara The Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara refers to the period of coinage production in Gandhara, following the breakup of the Maurya Empire (321-185 BCE). When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which sta ...


References

{{Historic Indian currency and coinage Symbols Coins of India