The Sino-Kharoṣṭhī Coins of Khotan and Their Significance for This Kingdom’s Interregional Connections

Abstract

Recent discoveries have greatly increased understanding of the co-called ‘Sino- Kharoṣṭhī’ coinage of the early kings of Khotan. They confirm the chronology of the coinage in the 1st to early 2nd centuries CE, and show the framework of their internal chronology and of Khotan’s monetary system. The coins show strong links between Khotan and the territory ruled by the first four Kushan kings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and India. The cultural, economic and administrative contexts of the coins throw some light on why they were issued, but, as they are the only concrete evidence for Khotan at this period apart from the fragmentary commentaries in the Chinese and Tibetan chronicles written centuries later, many questions remain unanswered.