Essays on Indian Antiquities: Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, Volume 2J. Murray, 1858 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ajmír Akbar alphabet Antiochus Apollodotus Arian ARIAN LEGEND ARIAN LEGEND:-Máhárajasa Ariana Antiqua Asoka Assay Bactrian Bayley Benáres Beng Bengal Bombay Brereton British Museum Buddhist bullion Calcutta cent character coinage commencement Copper currency cycle Dámá deva Dihlí ditto dynasty epoch Eucratides Farrukhábád figure Girnár gold coin gold muhr grains Greek Gupta head of king Heliocles Hemidrachma Hijra Hindú India inscription Jour Kanauj Kapurdigiri Khán Kufic letter lunar luni-solar Madras Major Cunningham máshas mints mohurs Monogram month Muhammad Numismatic OBVERSE original paisá Pálí Pehlvi Persian Plate princes Prinsep Rája reign REVERSE Rudra rupee Samvat Sanskrit Sassanian Satrap Sept sers Shah sikká rupees silver coins Sinh Sinha Skanda Gupta solar specimens standard Súrat Table tolás Tradatasa Ujjain Vikramaditya vowel weight ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ الله دو محمد
Popular passages
Page 79 - no gold coin shall henceforward be a legal tender of payment in any of the territories of the East India Company.
Page 140 - Seleucidre until the fifteenth century, when a new mode of computing was adopted by them. Some insist strongly on the antiquity of their present era, but it is generally believed not to be more ancient than the century above-named. They date from the creation, which they consider to have been 3760 years and three months before the commencement of our era.
Page 144 - B. c., being the year following the conquest of Spain by Augustus. It was much used in Africa, Spain, and the south of France; but by a synod held in 1180 its use was abolished in all the churches dependent on Barcelona. Pedro IV.. of Arragon, abolished the use of it in his dominions in 1350. John of Castile did the same in 1383. It continued to be used in Portugal till 1455.
Page 80 - January 13, 1841, authorised officers in charge of public treasuries " freely to receive these coins at the rates until further orders respectively denoted by the denomination of the pieces." As the gold mohur and the silver rupee were of identical weight and fineness, this Proclamation represented a ratio of 15 to i between gold and silver.
Page 31 - Pali is the language of the writings of the Buddhists of Ava, Siam, and Ceylon; therefore it is concluded it was the language of the Buddhists of Upper India; when the inscriptions were engraved, and consequently they are of Buddhist origin. This, however, admits of question; for although the Buddhist authorities assert that Sakya...
Page 132 - Kanouj, and between Patna and Benares, we find the yojan in his time to be as nearly as possible seven English miles; and this agrees much better with what we find the yojan to be, if we resolve it into its component parts. Eight barley-corns equal a finger, twenty-four fingers equal a Band, one thousand Bands equal one Krosa, and four Krosa one Yojan. Now, estimating the fingers...
Page 138 - October, viz. from the 5th to the 14th. And, to prevent the recurrence of a like irregularity, it was also ordered, that in three centuries out of four, the last year should be a common year, instead of a leap year, as it would have been by the Julian calendar. The year 1600 remained a leap year, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 were to be common years. This amended mode of computing was called the New Style, and was immediately adopted in all Catholic countries, while the Old Style continued to be employed...
Page 146 - Many chronologists have computed this era from the 15th of July, but, Cantemir has given examples, proving that, in most ancient times, the 16th was the first day of the era; and now there can be no question that such is the practice of Mahometans. The year is purely lunar, consisting of twelve months, each month commencing with the appearance of the new moon, without any intercalation to bring the commencement of the year to the same season. It is obvious that, by such an arrangement, every year...
Page 149 - By substituting these words for the letters in the cycle, under the head of China, the Japanese names are found. Thus, the first year of a cycle is called kino-je-ne } the thirty-fifth, tsutsno-je,in, and so on.
Page 76 - SEC. 3. specifies that these gold mohurs " are to be considered a legal tender of payment in all public and private transactions . . at the rate of sixteen sicca rupees ;" and further defines penalties for their refusal by the native Treasurers ; and to complete the authoritative currency, it is even declared in Sec. 20, that " no person shall recover in any court of judicature . . any sum of money, under a bond or other writing, or any agreement, written or verbal, entered into after the above-mentioned...