The hephthalite numismatics

This article explores numismatic materials relating to the Hephtalits, who lived on the territory of Central Asia and neighboring territories in the 4th-6th centuries AD. This nation managed in the 5th-6th centuries AD to establish its dominance on a fairly wide area. At the peak of its power, the boundaries of the Hephtalite state stretched from east to west, from Khotan (East Turkestan) to the borders of Iran, and from north to south, from the steppes of present-day Kazakhstan to the north-western India. The empire stretched on a large area in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India and China (a number of oases of Eastern Turkestan). The period of the 4th-6th centuries BC in the history of Central Asia is poorly known. This is explained by the very scarce and fragmentary data of written sources about this period. This analysis does not give us a full picture. Archaeological materials are also very limited, and their dating is often inaccurate. Numismatic finds in some way reveal some unknown moments in history, especially in regard to the circulation of money. However, the totality of the facts makes it possible to more or less recreate the picture of the political and social-economic life of the region.