INDIA, Kushan Empire. Kanishka I, circa 127/8-152. Dinar (gold, 21 mm, 8.00 g, 12 h), main mint in Kapisha (Begram?). BACIA-EYC BACIA-E-N KANH-KOY ('King of Kings, Kanishka' in Greek) Kanishke I standing front, head to left, sacrificing with his right hand over altar and holding trident in his left. Rev. HAIOC ('Helios' in Greek) Helios, standing front, head to left and surrounded by halo, raising his right hand in blessing; to left, tamgha. ANS Kushan 378. Cribb & Bracey D.G1i . Donum Burns. MK 25 (O1/R1). Extremely rare. In exceptional condition for this highly interesting issue, with a wonderful rendering of Helios. A few nicks, otherwise, extremely fine. From the collection of Hendrik Hortz, religious studies scholar and journalist, Leu Web Auction 32, 7 December 2024, 26, ex Numismatica Genesis 11, 18 November 2019, 7 and Triton XXI, 9 January 2018, 576. The early Kushana adopted not only the Greek script from the Bactrians and Indo-Greeks but also developed a synthetic pantheon in which their native gods merged with those of the Greek conquerors. Our splendid and extremely rare dinar features on its reverse a figure with Indian characters, dressed in a light chiton, who is clearly identified as the Greek sun god Helios by the radiant halo and the Greek description HAIOC. How much the Kushan population retained a Greek understanding of the gods is debatable – just as today, few believers fully grass the religious symbolism of major scriptural religions, the common people of the Kuhan Empire likely had little connection to the Mediterranean pantheon. Nevertheless, the continued use of the Greek script and Greek deity names into the 2nd century CE - and, of course, the minting of gold staters and tetradrachms with deductions of kings and gods in general - tests to the centuries-long cultural influence of the original Macedonian expansion of Western arms to the Indian subcontinent under Alexander and Seleukos I in the 4th century BC. This lot can be shipped to a US address.