Strato II

Strato II
Strato II
	Saka imitation of Strato II
Indo-Greek king
Reign	25 BCE – 10 CE
Predecessor	Menander II (dynastically)
Successor	Strato III
Died	10 CE; Mathura
Religion	Greco-Buddhism

Coin of Strato II.
Obv: Bust of Strato II. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTEROS STRATONOS "Of King Strato the Savior".
Rev: Athena holding a thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA STRATASA "King Strato the Saviour".

Strato II Soter (Ancient Greek: Στράτων B΄ ὁ Σωτήρ, Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr; epithet means "the Saviour") also known as Stratha, was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled c. 25 BCE to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier. He may have been supplanted by the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps, particularly Rajuvula and Bhadayasa, whose coins were often copied on those of the last Indo-Greek kings.^[1] Numerous coins of Rajuvula have been found in company with the coins of the Strato group in the Eastern Punjab (to the east of the Jhelum) and also in the Mathura area:^[2] for example, 96 coins of Strato II were found in Mathura in conjunction with coins of Rajuvula, who also imitated the designs of Strato II in the majority of his issues.^[3]

Rule[]

Monolingual coin of Strato II Soter in Prakrit only. Obv. Apollo standing right, with quiver on back, holding arrow; thick bead-and-reel border. Obv. Diadem with Kharoshthi legend "Maharajasa tratarasa Stratasa" (Saviour King Strato).

Strato II ruled in the eastern Punjab, probably retaining the capital of Sagala (modern Sialkot, Pakistan), or possibly to the city of Bucephala (Plutarch, p. 48 n. 5).

Approximate region of East Punjab and Strato II's capital Sagala.

His territory was invaded by Rajuvula, Indo-Scythian king of Mathura, and he became the last of the Indo-Greek kings, together with his son^[4] Strato III "Philopator" ("the father-loving"), who was included as joint regent on some of his coins and also issued coins on his own.

A few silver coins with a different portrait and the inscription Strato Soter Dikaios ("the just") may also belong to Strato III as sole ruler, or to a fourth king named Strato.^[5]^{[n 1]}

Just like the earlier king Strato I, the last Stratos are thought to belong to the dynasty of Menander I, who also used the epithet Soter and the symbol of standing Pallas Athena.

Coins of Strato II, III and Strato Dikaios[]

Coin of Strato II and Strato III.
Obv: Probable bust of Strato II. Possible Greek legend: ΒΑϹΙΛΕΩΣ ϹΩΤΙΡΟϹ ϹΤΡΑΤΩΝΟϹ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΑ / ϹΤΡΑΤΩΝΟϹ "Of Kings Strato the Saviour and Strato the Father-loving".^[6]
Rev: Athena holding a thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA STRATASA, POTRASA CASA PRIYAPITA STRATASA "King Strato the Saviour, and his grandson Strato the Father-loving.

Coins of Strato II (top) and Rajuvula (bottom) discovered together in a mound in Mathura.^[7]

The chronology of the late Indo-Greek kingdom has been established by Bopearachchi and other scholars from numismatical evidence alone. The coins deteriorated continuously, the Strato coins being the most debased and crude in style, a striking contrast to earlier kings who struck some of the most beautiful coins of antiquity.

The decay was due to the increasing pressure of the Indo-Scythian nomads on the remaining Greek pockets, as well as their long isolation from the rest of the Hellenistic world.

The boxy mint mark characteristic of Strato II and III and late Indo-Greek kings.

Strato II and III used exclusively a single "boxy" mint-mark, which they had in common with late Indo-Greek kings such as Apollophanes and was initiated by Dionysios Soter.^[8]

Strato II, Strato III and Strato Dikaios struck debased silver drachms, which as mentioned portray Pallas on the reverse. Strato II appears as an old man with a sunken jaw on some of his coins, which is not surprising given that his grandson was co-regent.

Strato II also issued bronzes and even lead coins of the common type Apollo/tripod. On some of Strato II's silver drachms the letter sigma is written as C (a lunate sigma), a not uncommon trait on late Hellenistic coins in the east.

Imitations by Indo-Scythian rulers[]

Coin of Northern Satrap Rajuvula (c. 10 CE), an imitation of Strato II, Mathura and Eastern Punjab. This was the main coin type of Rajuvula.

Subsequent Indo-Scythian rulers, who replaced the Stratos in their territories, designed their coins in direct imitation of those of Strato II. This is the case of the Northern Satraps, who ruled in the territories from Sagala in Eastern Punjab to Mathura, such as Rajuvula, Bhadayasa. Just as the Yuezhi had copied the coins of the last Greco-Bactrian ruler Heliocles in Bactria, or the Indo-Scythians had copied the coins of the last western Indo-Greek ruler Hermaios in the area of Kabul, here again the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps relied heavily on the numismatics of their predecessors.^[1] The fact that powerful new rulers such as Rajuvula extensively adopted these coin designs tends to suggest that Strato II had been quite a significant ruler in his eyes.

v t Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology Based on Bopearachchi (1991)^[9]
	Greco-Bactrian kings		Indo-Greek kings
Territories/ dates	West Bactria	East Bactria	Paropamisade	Arachosia	Gandhara	Western Punjab	Eastern Punjab	Mathura^[10]
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 and references[]

Notes

^ Given that the coins of Strato I have lately been attributed to two different kings, there may actually have been as many as five kings named Strato.

References

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, John M. Rosenfield, University of California Press, 1967, p.135 [1]
^ Mathurā and Its Society: The ʼSakæ-Pahlava Phase, Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, Firma K.L.M., 1981, p.9
^ Bibliography of Greek coin hoards, p. 194-195 [2]
^ R.C. Senior, Indo-Scythian coins and history. Volume IV. The Greek legend clearly implies that the two kings were father and son, and Senior dismisses the older reading "grandson" on the Kharosthi legend.
^ Senior, ibid.
^ Rapson, E.J. (1906). "Coins of the Graeco-Indian sovereigns agathokleia, Strato I Soter, and Strato II Philopator". Corolla Numismatica. Numismatic essays in honour of Barclay V. Head. With a portrait and eighteen plates. Oxford. At the Internet Archive.
^ The journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Bishop's College Press. 1854. pp. 689–691 Plate XXXV.
^ Jakobsson, J (2010). "A Possible New Indo-Greek King Zoilos III, and an Analysis of Realism on Indo-Greek Royal Portraits". Numismatic Chronicle. JSTOR article
^ 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.

Bibliography[]

Whitehead, R.B. (1914). Catalogue of coins in the Punjab museum, Lahore. I Indo-Greek Coins. Oxford. At the Internet Archive.

External links[]

Coin India Strato II and III
(in French) Les Rois Straton II et III

Preceded by Apollophanes	Indo-Greek ruler (Eastern Punjab) 25 BCE – 10 CE	Succeeded by Strato III

[6] Given that the coins of Strato I have lately been attributed to two different kings, there may actually have been as many as five kings named Strato.

[Rosenfield-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, John M. Rosenfield, University of California Press, 1967, p.135 [1]

[2] Mathurā and Its Society: The ʼSakæ-Pahlava Phase, Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, Firma K.L.M., 1981, p.9

[3] Bibliography of Greek coin hoards, p. 194-195 [2]

[4] R.C. Senior, Indo-Scythian coins and history. Volume IV. The Greek legend clearly implies that the two kings were father and son, and Senior dismisses the older reading "grandson" on the Kharosthi legend.

[5] Senior, ibid.

[7] Rapson, E.J. (1906). "Coins of the Graeco-Indian sovereigns agathokleia, Strato I Soter, and Strato II Philopator". Corolla Numismatica. Numismatic essays in honour of Barclay V. Head. With a portrait and eighteen plates. Oxford. At the Internet Archive.

[8] The journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Bishop's College Press. 1854. pp. 689–691 Plate XXXV.

[JJ-9] Jakobsson, J (2010). "A Possible New Indo-Greek King Zoilos III, and an Analysis of Realism on Indo-Greek Royal Portraits". Numismatic Chronicle. JSTOR article

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

[11] 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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show v t Hellenistic rulers
Argeads	Philip II Alexander III the Great Philip III Arrhidaeus Alexander IV
Antigonids	Antigonus I Monophthalmus Demetrius I Poliorcetes Antigonus II Gonatas Demetrius II Aetolicus Antigonus III Doson Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender)
Ptolemies	Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra (regent) Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soter Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion
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
Antipatrids	Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes
Attalids	Philetaerus Eumenes I Attalus I Eumenes II Attalus II Attalus III Eumenes III
Greco-Bactrians	Diodotus I Diodotus II Euthydemus I Demetrius I Euthydemus II Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Demetrius II Eucratides I Plato Eucratides II Heliocles I
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
Kings of Bithynia	Boteiras Bas Zipoetes I Nicomedes I Zipoetes II Etazeta (regent) Ziaelas Prusias I Prusias II Nicomedes II Nicomedes III Nicomedes IV Socrates Chrestus
Kings of Pontus	Mithridates I Ctistes Ariobarzanes Mithridates II Mithridates III Pharnaces I Mithridates IV Philopator Philadephos Mithridates V Euergetes Mithridates VI Eupator Pharnaces II Darius Arsaces Polemon I Pythodorida Polemon II
Kings of Commagene	Ptolemaeus Sames II Mithridates I Antiochus I Mithridates II Antiochus II Mithridates III Antiochus III Antiochus IV
Kings of Cappadocia	Ariarathes I Ariarathes II Ariamnes II Ariarathes III Ariarathes IV Ariarathes V Orophernes Ariarathes VI Ariarathes VII Ariarathes VIII Ariarathes IX Ariobarzanes I Ariobarzanes II Ariobarzanes III Ariarathes X Archelaus
Kings of the Cimmerian Bosporus	Paerisades I Satyros II Prytanis Eumelos Spartokos III Hygiainon (regent) Paerisades II Spartokos IV Leukon II Spartokos V Paerisades III Paerisades IV Paerisades V Mithridates I Pharnaces Asander with Dynamis Mithridates II Asander with Dynamis Scribonius’ attempted rule with Dynamis Dynamis with Polemon Polemon with Pythodorida Aspurgus Mithridates III with Gepaepyris Mithridates III Cotys I
Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories.