A Reappraisal of the Economic Inscriptions and Coin Finds from Aï Khanoum

Abstract

The paper proposes a new interpretation of the activities that occurred in the palace treasury of the Hellenistic city of Aï Khanoum on the eve of the site’s abandonment by its Greek inhabitants. A reexamination of a series of inscriptions and coins from the site reveals that the names of individuals believed to have been the treasury’s directors are in actuality the names of depositors, the treasury stored three different currencies, and coins found in association with the site indicate that the city was inhabited for a longer period of time than is the standard reckoning.