King Nicias
Encyclopedia
Nicias was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the Paropamisade. Most of his relatively few coins have been found in northern Pakistan
, indicating that he ruled a smaller principate around the lower Kabul
valley.
He was possibly a relative of Menander I
.
R.C. Senior on the other hand places him as a successor of Menander, ca 135-125 BCE, according to his interpretation of hoard findings.
Regardless of which period is correct, the fact that Nicias ages visibly on his coins seems to indicate some longevity to his rule.
His bronzes feature Zeus/dolphin or portrait / king on prancing horse. Some varieties are crude with lunate sigmas and square omicrons. Even though Nikias ruled in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realm, no Attic coins have been found.
His monograms generally match those of the kings Theophilus
and Philoxenus, though one is shared with Thrason, the short-lived son of Menander I.
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...
, indicating that he ruled a smaller principate around the lower Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
valley.
He was possibly a relative of Menander I
Menander I
Menander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom from either 165 or 155 BC to 130 BC ....
.
Time of reign
Bopearachchi suggests that Nikias ruled ca 90-85 BCE. This late date is supported by the absence of Attic coins (see below).R.C. Senior on the other hand places him as a successor of Menander, ca 135-125 BCE, according to his interpretation of hoard findings.
Regardless of which period is correct, the fact that Nicias ages visibly on his coins seems to indicate some longevity to his rule.
The coinage of Nicias
Nicias struck Indian silver drachms of diademed or helmeted king with three reverses:- A walking king, as seen above right, found on several drachms.
- An en face version of Menander's Athena with thunderbolt is found on a unique tetradrachm.
- The third reverse is the type king on a prancing horse, as used by Antimachus IIAntimachus IIAntimachus II Nikephoros "The Victorious" was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled on a vast territory from the Hindu-Kush to the Punjab around 170 BCE. He was almost certainly identical with the eponymous son of Antimachus I, who is known from a unique preserved tax-receipt...
found on a single drachm.
His bronzes feature Zeus/dolphin or portrait / king on prancing horse. Some varieties are crude with lunate sigmas and square omicrons. Even though Nikias ruled in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realm, no Attic coins have been found.
His monograms generally match those of the kings Theophilus
Theophilos (king)
Theophilos was a minor Indo-Greek king who ruled for a short time in the Paropamisadae. He was possibly a relative of Zoilos I and is only known from coins. It is possible that some of Theophilos' coins in fact belong to another ruler, in Greek Bactria, during approximately the same period.-Time of...
and Philoxenus, though one is shared with Thrason, the short-lived son of Menander I.
| Preceded by: Theophilos Theophilos (king) Theophilos was a minor Indo-Greek king who ruled for a short time in the Paropamisadae. He was possibly a relative of Zoilos I and is only known from coins. It is possible that some of Theophilos' coins in fact belong to another ruler, in Greek Bactria, during approximately the same period.-Time of... |
Indo-Greek Ruler (Paropamisade) (90 - 85 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Hermaeus King Hermaeus Hermaeus Soter "the Saviour" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who ruled the territory of Paropamisade in the Hindu-Kush region, with his capital in Alexandria of the Caucasus... |
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...