The Treasure of Alexander the Great narrates a fabulous treasure hunt. From the Indus Valley to Europe and then to Japan, Osmund Bopearachchi, Professor, Sorbonne University, Paris, and member of the Royal Numismatic Society, Great Britain, has, during the past ten years, tracked down the fate of the Mir Zakah hoard, discovered by Afghan tribesmen in their land.
Summer 1992, four tons of gold, silver and bronze coins, masses of jewelry, ornaments, golden plates, precious stones, minted or chiseled, from the golden age of the Achemenid Empire (V th century BC) to the end of the Kushan's (III thd century AD) spread from the depth of a well near the village of Mir Zakah, Paktya Province, Afghanistan. Warlords criminals and traffickeers seize the treasure and sold it counterfeiting its provenance, to Moghul-rich collectors, such as Mrs. Mihoko Koyama, a Japanese billionnaire from Osaka. When, in October 2004, in the hands of a man coming from Peshawar, a golden medal, minted depicting the effigy of Alexander the Great, appears in London market, Osmund Bopearachchi immediately understood the historical value of the coin: It is, nowadays, certainely, the only available portrait minted during the lifetime of the Macedonian King. In, 326 BC, victor of the Persian Empire, Alexander crossed the Indus river and defeated King's Porus, with his formidable elephant's cavalry on the banks of the Jelhum River. Hence, four centuries of Greek rule over Central Asia and India may begin. On this victory medallion Alexander wearing the scalp of the Elephant, appears equal to Jupiter. A few samples of the coin were presented by Alexander to his generals. Hidden from ordinary men, during more than 24 centuries, this great present has come out from ages to become the most coveted treasure of our time in London, and was presented to the scientific community in Paris on June the 17th 2005.
