Apollophanes
Encyclopedia
Apollophanes Soter was an Indo-Greek king in the area of eastern and central Punjab
in modern India
and Pakistan
.
.
He may have been a relative of Apollodotus II Soter
since both kings share the epithet Soter (Saviour), have names related to Apollo and use Pallas Athene as their reverse.
ian helmet of the type seen on the Alexander Mosaic
which he was the last Indo-Greek ruler to use.
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
in modern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Rule
Little is known about him, except for some of his remaining coins. The dating is Osmund Bopearachchi's, but RC Senior suggests approximately the same dates. Earlier scholars, such as Professor Ahmed Hasan Dani, W.W. Tarn and A.K. Narain dated Apollophanes considerably earlier, but the style and finding places of his coins make it clear that he belonged to the last line of eastern Indo-Greek kings, not long before they were overcome completely by pressure from the Indo-ScythiansIndo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
.
He may have been a relative of Apollodotus II Soter
Apollodotus II
Apollodotus II , was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the western and eastern parts of Punjab. Bopearachchi dates him to circa 80-65 BCE, and RC Senior to circa 85-65 BCE. Apollodotos II was an important ruler who seems to have re-established the Indo-Greek kingdom to some extent of its former glory...
since both kings share the epithet Soter (Saviour), have names related to Apollo and use Pallas Athene as their reverse.
Coins of Apollophanes
Apollophanes issued a few debased silver drachms of the type seen above, struck with a single monogram and of little artistic quality. He seems to have been an insignificant local ruler. Apollophanes wears what appears to be a MacedonMacedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian helmet of the type seen on the Alexander Mosaic
Alexander Mosaic
The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a famous Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia and measures 5.82 x 3.13m .-Battle:The mosaic illustrates a battle in which...
which he was the last Indo-Greek ruler to use.
| Preceded by: Zoilos II Zoilos II Zoilos II Soter "Saviour" was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in eastern Punjab. Bopearachchi dates his reign to c. 55–35 BCE, a date approximately supported by RC Senior.-Rule:... |
Indo-Greek Ruler (Eastern Punjab Punjab region The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi... ) (35 - 25 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Strato II and III |
See also
- Greco-Bactrian KingdomGreco-Bactrian KingdomThe Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC...
- Seleucid EmpireSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
- Greco-BuddhismGreco-BuddhismGreco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE in the area covered by the Indian sub-continent, and modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-western...
- Indo-ScythiansIndo-ScythiansIndo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
- Indo-Parthian KingdomIndo-Parthian KingdomThe Gondopharid dynasty, and other so-called Indo-Parthian rulers, were a group of ancient kings from present day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan who ruled India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD...
- Kushan EmpireKushan EmpireThe Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...