Elephant and rider left / Three-arched hill (chaitya) with crescent. 14mm, 1.90 grams. Pieper-204.

The Śuṅga Empire was founded around 185 BCE by Puṣyamitra Śuṅga, who overthrew the last Mauryan emperor and established control over much of northern and central India. Based around Pāṭaliputra and Vidiśā, the Śuṅgas resisted Indo-Greek incursions and presided over a revival of Brahmanical traditions, while Buddhism continued to flourish. Śuṅga power gradually declined after Puṣyamitra, and the dynasty ended around 73 BCE, when the last ruler, Devabhūti, was overthrown by Vasudeva Kāṇva.