Antimachus II
Antimachus II Nikephoros "The Victorious" | |
---|---|
Indo-Greek king | |
Reign | 174–165 BCE |
Dynasty | Euthydemid |
Father | Antimachus I or Demetrius II |
Antimachus II Nikephoros (Greek: Ἀντίμαχος Β΄ ὁ Νικηφόρος; the epithet means "the Victorious") was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled a vast territory from the Hindu-Kush to the Punjab around 170 BCE. He was almost certainly the eponymous son of Antimachus I, who is known from a unique preserved tax receipt.[1] Bopearachchi dated Antimachus II to 160–155 BCE on numismatical grounds, but changed this to 174–165 BCE after the tax receipt was revealed to synchronise his reign with that of Antimachus I.[2] R. C. Senior has not dated Antimachus II but thinks that his coins were possibly Indian issues of Antimachus I, despite their different epithets and coin types.
In both of Boperachchi's reconstructions, Antimachus II was succeeded by Menander I who inherited three of his four monograms. Antimachus II probably fought against the Bactrian king Eucratides I, who had dethroned his father in Bactria.
Coins of Antimachus II[]
Antimachus II did not strike a portrait on his coins, likely since this was not custom in India. Neither did the early kings strike tetradrachms. Antimachus II struck a large number of bilingual drachms on the same lighter Indian standard as Apollodotus I, though round in shape. On the obverse is Nike, and on the reverse a king on horseback.
He also issued bilingual bronzes with aegis / laurel wreath and palm. Both these and the goddess Nike seem to allude to his epithet "the Victorious".
See also[]
Notes[]
Sources[]
- Rea, J. R.; Senior, R. C.; Hollis, A. S. (1994). "A Tax Receipt from Hellenistic Bactria" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 104: 261–280. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- Tarn, William Woodthorpe (1966). The Greeks in Bactria and India (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- "Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum 9", American Numismatic Society, New York, 1997.
Greco-Bactrian kings | Indo-Greek kings | |||||||||||
Territories/ dates |
West Bactria | East Bactria | Paropamisade |
Arachosia | Gandhara | Western Punjab | Eastern Punjab | Mathura[2] | ||||
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) |
- ^ 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.
- Greco-Bactrian kings
- 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia