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Description
After the collapse of the Mauryan empire, political control in the Indian subcontinent fragmented, with new regional polities coming to the fore, several of which issued coinage for local circulation. In the Punjab, from 2nd century BCE-1st century CE, several janapadas (tribal clans) issued coins, but only one city state: Pratishthana. Located in the eastern Punjab, the ancient site of Pratishthana is presently covered by fields. Till recently, no coins were known of this city state. The first specimen was published in 2006, with a second added in 2016.
A few more copper and lead coins have since come to light. This paper will publish four types with the city name 'Patithana' and examine the context of these rare coins. It provides an important glimpse of a city state that briefly issued coins, before it succumbed numismatically to the powerful political entities in the region, the Indo-Scythians and the Kushans.
