Heliokles II

Heliokles II
Heliokles II
Basileus
King of Bactria
Reign	c.110-100 BCE
Predecessor	Heliokles I
Born	c.130 BC; Ai-Khanoum, Bactria
Died	c.80 BC
Dynasty	Diodotid
Father	Heliokles I

Coin of Heliokles II. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"

Heliokles II with spear. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"

Bronze coin of Heliocles II
Obv: Bust of diademed king. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"
Rev: Kharoshti (Indian) translation, elephant.

Heliocles or Heliokles II Dikaios (Greek: Ἡλιοκλῆς Β΄ ὁ Δίκαιος; epithet means "the Righteous") was the last reigning Hellenistic King of Bactria and possibly later an Indo-Greek ruler. The son of Heliocles I or Eucratides the Great, Heliocles II is thought to have ruled as a sub-king of Heliocles I in Bactria, until was overrun by Yuezhi and Saka incursions around 120-100 BC. Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior seem to agree that he ruled ca 95–80 BCE in the area south of the Hindu-Kush. (see Overstrikes).

Heliocles II seems to have been engaged in a series of wars with Strato I in Gandhara and Punjab; the two share several mintmarks and Heliocles II overstruck many of his coins. During this period, a number of kings fought for hegemony in the Indo-Greek territories. Some of them were likely supported by nomad Saka rulers such as Maues.

Genealogy[]

Coin of Heliokles II. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just", Indian Museum, Kolkata.

Heliocles II used a reverse of standing Zeus, who was a common deity among the later Indo-Greek kings. J. Jakobsson^[1] sees Heliocles as the son of the important king Antialcidas Nikephoros (whose type was sitting Zeus) and perhaps the grandson of Heliocles I.

He goes on to suggest that Heliocles was the older brother of the king Archebius Nikephoros Dikaios, who seems to have succeeded Heliocles II in Gandhara (perhaps after his death from disease; Heliocles I looks emaciated on his later portraits). Archebius uses a very similar reverse and combines the epithets of Heliocles II and Antialcidas; in addition, their coin portraits are similar, with hooked noses and fierce expressions.

R.C. Senior has instead suggested a connection with Demetrius III, who used a similar reverse of standing Zeus.

Coins of Heliocles II[]

Heliocles II issued Indian silver with portrait (diademed, helmeted or spear-throwing) / standing Zeus and bronzes with bearded diademed portrait (Heliocles or Zeus) / elephant.

It is uncertain whether he struck Attic coins. A number of posthumous coins for Heliocles I have been found in Bactria; possibly some of these may have been struck by Heliocles II, though there are no similar monograms.

Gallery[]

King Heliokles II as an older man.
Coin of Heliokles II. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"
Coin of Heliokles II. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"
Coin of Heliokles II. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ "Of King Heliocles the Just"

Overstrikes[]

The existence of numerous overstrikes helps locate the reign of Heliokles II in relation to other Indo-Greek kings. Heliokles overstruck coins of Agathokleia, Strato I, and Hermaeus. Conversely, Amyntas overstruck coins of Heliokles II. These overstrikes would suggest that Heliokles II reigned around 95–85 BCE, and was a contemporary of Amyntas and Hermaios ^[2]

v t Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology Based on Bopearachchi (1991)^[3]
	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
				Gondophares (Indo-Parthian)			Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)
			Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire)				Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian)	Sodasa (Indo-Scythian)

Notes[]

^ Jakobsson, J. Relations between the Indo-Greek kings after Menander I, part 2, Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 193, 2007
^ Bopearachchi, "De l'Indus à l'Oxus", p129
^ 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.

References[]

Tarn, W. W. (1984). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Chicago: Ares. ISBN 0-89005-524-6.
Narain, A.K. The Coin Types of the Indo-Greek Kings, 256-54 B.C.
Bopearachchi, Osmund (2003). De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale (in French). Lattes: Association imago-musée de Lattes. ISBN 2-9516679-2-2.

Preceded by Strato I	Indo-Greek ruler in Gandhara and Punjab 110–100 BCE	Succeeded by Demetrius III

[1] Jakobsson, J. Relations between the Indo-Greek kings after Menander I, part 2, Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 193, 2007

[2] Bopearachchi, "De l'Indus à l'Oxus", p129

[3] O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453

[4] Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2 April 2019). "History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE". BRILL – via Google Books.

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[2]

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Kings of Cyrene	Magas Demetrius the Fair Ptolemy VIII Physcon Ptolemy Apion
Seleucids	Seleucus I Nicator Antiochus I Soter Antiochus II Theos Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus III Ceraunus Antiochus III the Great Seleucus IV Philopator Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus V Eupator Demetrius I Soter Alexander I Balas Demetrius II Nicator Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes Alexander II Zabinas Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus
Lysimachids	Lysimachus Ptolemy Epigonos
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Indo-Greeks	Demetrius I Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Apollodotus I Demetrius II Antimachus II Menander I Zoilos I Agathokleia Lysias Strato I Antialcidas Heliokles II Polyxenos Demetrius III Philoxenus Diomedes Amyntas Epander Theophilos Peukolaos Thraso Nicias Menander II Artemidoros Hermaeus Archebius Telephos Apollodotus II Hippostratos Dionysios Zoilos II Apollophanes Strato II Strato III
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