Agathokleia
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Agathoclea I | |
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Indo-Greek Queen | |
Reign | 130-120 BCE |
Successor | Strato I |
Born | c. 155 BC Bactria |
Died | c.100 BCE Sagala |
Burial | Stupas in Gandhara |
Spouse | Menander I |
Issue | Strato I |
Dynasty | Yavana |
Agathoclea or Agathokleia I Theatropos (Greek: Ἀγαθόκλεια Θεότροπος; the epithet possibly means the Goddess-like) was an Indo-Greek queen married to Menander I, who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son Strato I. Born in Bactria, likely to a noble family (probably royal) with some authors such as Tarn alleging she was a daughter of Eucratides,[1] however this is uncertain and Tarn is often criticised by modern authors for casually creating dynastic relationships. Nonetheless, Agathoclea would become one of the first woman to rule as a sovereign in the Hellenistic world, and she seems to have been relatively significant due to her large presence on the coins of Strato I.
Date and genealogy[]
The traditional view, introduced by Tarn and defended as late as 1998 by Bopearachchi, is that Agathokleia was the widow of Menander I. She may also have been the daughter of Eucratides.[2] In the civil wars after Menander's death, the Indo-Greek empire was divided, with Agathokleia and her young son Strato maintaining themselves in the eastern territories of Gandhara and Punjab.
The modern view, embraced by R. C. Senior and probably more solid since it is founded on numismatical analyses, suggests that Agathokleia was a later queen, perhaps ruling from 110 BC–100 BC or slightly later. In this case, Agathokleia was likely the widow of another king, possibly Nicias or Theophilus. In either case, Agathokleia was among the first women to rule a Hellenistic Kingdom, in the period following the reign of Alexander the Great.
Some of her subjects may have been reluctant to accept an infant king with a queen regent: unlike the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Kingdoms, almost all Indo-Greek rulers were depicted as grown men. This was probably because the kings were required to command armies, as can be seen on their coins where they are often depicted with helmets and spears. Agathokleia seems to have associated herself with Athena, the goddess of war. Athena was also the dynastic deity of the family of Menander, and Agathokleia's prominent position suggests that she was herself the daughter of a king, though she was probably too late to have been a daughter of the Bactrian king Agathocles.
Coinage[]
The coins of Agathokleia and Strato were all bilingual, and Agathokleia's name appears more often in the Greek legend than in the Indian.
(See Strato I for details of legends.)
Most of Agathokleia's coins were struck jointly with her son Strato, though on their first issues, he is not featured on the portrait.
Silver: Bust of Agathokleia/walking king
Bust of Strato and Agathokleia conjoined/Athena Alkidemos
Bronzes: Bust of either helmeted Athena or Agathokleia as a personification of this goddess/sitting Herakles
The later king Heliokles II overstruck some of Agathokleia's coins.
Greco-Bactrian kings | Indo-Greek kings | |||||||||||
Territories/ dates |
West Bactria | East Bactria | Paropamisade |
Arachosia | Gandhara | Western Punjab | Eastern Punjab | Mathura[4] | ||||
326-325 BCE | Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India | Nanda Empire | ||||||||||
312 BCE | Creation of the Seleucid Empire | Creation of the Maurya Empire | ||||||||||
305 BCE | Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war | Maurya Empire | ||||||||||
280 BCE | Foundation of Ai-Khanoum | |||||||||||
255–239 BCE | Independence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom Diodotus I |
Emperor Ashoka (268-232) | ||||||||||
239–223 BCE | Diodotus II | |||||||||||
230–200 BCE | Euthydemus I | |||||||||||
200–190 BCE | Demetrius I | Sunga Empire | ||||||||||
190-185 BCE | Euthydemus II | |||||||||||
190–180 BCE | Agathocles | Pantaleon | ||||||||||
185–170 BCE | Antimachus I | |||||||||||
180–160 BCE | Apollodotus I | |||||||||||
175–170 BCE | Demetrius II | |||||||||||
160–155 BCE | Antimachus II | |||||||||||
170–145 BCE | Eucratides I | |||||||||||
155–130 BCE | Yuezhi occupation, loss of Ai-Khanoum |
Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I |
Menander I | |||||||||
130–120 BCE | Yuezhi occupation | Zoilos I | Agathokleia | Yavanarajya inscription | ||||||||
120–110 BCE | Lysias | Strato I | ||||||||||
110–100 BCE | Antialcidas | Heliokles II | ||||||||||
100 BCE | Polyxenos | Demetrius III | ||||||||||
100–95 BCE | Philoxenus | |||||||||||
95–90 BCE | Diomedes | Amyntas | Epander | |||||||||
90 BCE | Theophilos | Peukolaos | Thraso | |||||||||
90–85 BCE | Nicias | Menander II | Artemidoros | |||||||||
90–70 BCE | Hermaeus | Archebius | ||||||||||
Yuezhi occupation | Maues (Indo-Scythian) | |||||||||||
75–70 BCE | Vonones | Telephos | Apollodotus II | |||||||||
65–55 BCE | Spalirises | Hippostratos | Dionysios | |||||||||
55–35 BCE | Azes I (Indo-Scythians) | Zoilos II | ||||||||||
55–35 BCE | Vijayamitra/ Azilises | Apollophanes | ||||||||||
25 BCE – 10 CE | Gondophares | Zeionises | Kharahostes | Strato II Strato III |
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Gondophares (Indo-Parthian) | Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian) | |||||||||||
Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire) | Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian) |
Sodasa (Indo-Scythian) |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Tarn, W.W. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 406. ISBN 978-0-521-23448-1.
- ^ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453
- ^ Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2 April 2019). "History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE". BRILL – via Google Books.
Sources[]
- W. W. Tarn. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Third Edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1966.
External links[]
- Indo-Greek kings
- 2nd-century BC Indian monarchs
- 2nd-century BC women rulers
- 2nd-century BC Greek people
- Indian female royalty
- Ancient Indian women
- Ancient Greek women rulers