1.
King
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King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, in the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the title may refer to tribal kingship. Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo-European traditions of tribal rulership In the context of classical antiquity, king may translate Latin rex or either Greek archon or basileus. In classical European feudalism, the title of king as the ruler of a kingdom is understood as the highest rank in the order, potentially subject. In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies. The title of king is used alongside other titles for monarchs, in the West prince, emperor, archduke, duke or grand duke, in the Middle East sultan or emir, etc. Kings, like other royalty, tend to wear purple because purple was a color to wear in the past. The English term king is derived from the Anglo-Saxon cyning, which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic *kuningaz, the Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time, surviving in these languages as kuningas. The English term king translates, and is considered equivalent to, Latin rēx, the Germanic term is notably different from the word for king in other Indo-European languages. It is a derivation from the term *kunjom kin by the -inga- suffix, the literal meaning is that of a scion of the kin, or perhaps son or descendant of one of noble birth. English queen translates Latin regina, it is from Old English cwen queen, noble woman, the Germanic term for wife appears to have been specialized to wife of a king, in Old Norse, the cognate kvan still mostly refers to a wife generally. Scandinavian drottning, dronning is a derivation from *druhtinaz lord. The English word is of Germanic origin, and historically refers to Germanic kingship, the Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of the former Western Roman Empire into barbarian kingdoms. The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire, in southern Europe, the kingdom of Sicily was established following the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom of Sardinia was claimed as a title held by the Crown of Aragon in 1324. In the Balkans, the Kingdom of Serbia was established in 1217, in eastern-central Europe, the Kingdom of Hungary was established in AD1000 following the Christianisation of the Magyars. The kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198, in Eastern Europe, the Kievan Rus consolidated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern Tsardom of Russia. In northern Europe, the kingdoms of the Viking Age by the 11th century expanded into the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, England
King
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The nine European Monarchs who attended the funeral of King Edward VII of Britain, photographed at Windsor Castle on 20 May 1910. Standing, from left to right: King Haakon VII of Norway, Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria, King Manuel II of Portugal, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King George I of Greece and King Albert I of Belgium. Seated, from left to right: King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George V of Britain and King Frederick VIII of Denmark.
King
King
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Ramesses II, the third Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
2.
Attalid dynasty
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The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great. The Attalid kingdom was the state left after the collapse of the Lysimachian Empire. One of Lysimachus officers, Philetaerus, took control of the city in 282 BC, the later Attalids were descended from his father and they expanded the city into a kingdom. Attalus I proclaimed himself King in the 230s BC, following his victories over the Galatians, the Attalids ruled Pergamon until Attalus III bequeathed the kingdom to the Roman Republic in 133 BC to avoid a likely succession crisis. A war with Eumenes III resulted in the creation of Roman province of Asia over much of the territory, the Greek World After Alexander, 323-30 B. C. Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, London, Cornell University Press Ltd, kosmetatou, Elizabeth The Attalids of Pergamon, in Andrew Erskine, ed. A Companion to the Hellenistic World, text Media related to Attalid dynasty at Wikimedia Commons
Attalid dynasty
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Coat of arms
Attalid dynasty
3.
Religion in ancient Greece
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Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology originating in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or cults in the plural, many ancient Greeks recognized the twelve major gods and goddesses, although philosophies such as Stoicism and some forms of Platonism used language that seems to assume a single transcendent deity. Different cities often worshiped the deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them. Greek religion was tempered by Etruscan cult and belief to form much of the later ancient Roman religion, while there were few concepts universal to all the Greek peoples, there were common beliefs shared by many. Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption there were many gods. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control all the others. Some deities had dominion over aspects of nature. Other deities ruled over abstract concepts, for instance Aphrodite controlled love, while being immortal, the gods were certainly not all-good or even all-powerful. They had to obey fate, known to Greek mythology as the Moirai, which overrode any of their divine powers or wills. For instance, in mythology, it was Odysseus fate to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and the gods could only lengthen his journey and make it harder for him, the gods acted like humans, and had human vices. They would interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them, at times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. In the Iliad, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while Hera, Athena, some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. Athena was associated with the city of Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia, other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece, Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace. The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went after death, one of the most widespread areas of this underworld was ruled over by Hades, a brother of Zeus, and was known as Hades. Other well known realms are Tartarus, a place of torment for the damned, and Elysium, in the early Mycenean religion all the dead went to Hades, but the rise of mystery cults in the Archaic age led to the development of places such as Tartarus and Elysium. Such beliefs are found in the most ancient of Greek sources, such as Homer and this belief remained strong even into the Christian era. For most people at the moment of death there was, however, no hope of anything, some Greeks, such as the philosophers Pythagoras and Plato, also embraced the idea of reincarnation, though this was only accepted by a few. Epicurus taught that the soul was simply atoms which dissolved at death, Greek religion had an extensive mythology
Religion in ancient Greece
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Zeus, the king of the gods, and controller of thunder and the sky.
Religion in ancient Greece
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Aphrodite riding a swan: Attic white-ground red-figured kylix, ca. 460, found at Kameiros (Rhodes)
Religion in ancient Greece
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Poseidon, the god of the sea, as depicted on a statue in Copenhagen, Denmark.
4.
Antalya
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Antalya is the fifth most populous city in Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province. The city that is now Antalya was first settled around 200 BC by the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon, Roman rule saw Antalya thrive, including the construction of several new monuments, such as Hadrians Gate, and the proliferation of neighboring cities. The city has changed several times, including to the Byzantine Empire in 1207. Ottoman rule brought peace and stability for the next five hundred years. The city was transferred to Italian suzerainty in the aftermath of World War I, Antalya is Turkeys biggest international sea resort, located on the Turkish Riviera. Large-scale development and governmental funding has promoted tourism, a record 12.5 million tourists passed through the city in 2014. Antalya was the host city for the 2015 G-20 summit and the EXPO2016, in 2015, the population was 2.288 million. The city was founded as Attaleia, named after its founder Attalos II and this name, still in use in Greek, was later evolved in Turkish as Adalia and then Antalya. Attaleia was also the name of a festival at Delphi and Attalis was the name of an old Greek tribe at Athens, despite the close similarity, there is no relationship to the name Anatolia. King Attalus II of Pergamon is looked on as founder of the city in about 150 BC and it was named Attaleia or Attalia in his honour. The city served as a base for Attalus powerful fleet. Excavations in 2008, in the Doğu Garajı plot, uncovered remains dating to the 3rd century BC, suggesting that Attalea was a rebuilding and expansion of an earlier town. Attalea became part of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when Attalus III, the city grew and prospered during the Ancient Roman period and was part of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, whose capital was Perga. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, some of the bishops attributed to the episcopal see of Attalea in Pamphylia may instead have been bishops of Attalea in Lydia, since Lequien lists them under both sees. No longer a residential bishopric, Attalea in Pamphylia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, the 13th-century Seljuk mosque at Attalea, now in ruins, had been a Christian Byzantine basilica from the 7th century. The Great Mosque had also been a Christian basilica and the Kesik Minare Mosque had been the 5th-century Christian Church of the Panaghia or Virgin and was decorated with carved marble. Antalya was a city in the Byzantine Empire. It was the capital of the Byzantine Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots, besides the local merchants, one could expect to see Armenians, Saracens, Jews, and Italians
Antalya
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Clockwise from top left: 1. Düden Waterfalls, 2. Yivliminare Mosque, 3. Konyaaltı, 4. Hıdırlık Tower, 5. Hadrian's Gate and 6. Falez Park at night.
Antalya
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Hadrian's Gate, built in the honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited Attalea in the year 130.
Antalya
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A panoramic view from Karaalioğlu Park with Historic Hıdırlık Tower.
Antalya
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Yivliminare Mosque (top) Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque (bottom)
5.
Attalus I
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Attalus I, surnamed Soter ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis, first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the cousin and the adoptive son of Eumenes I, whom he succeeded. He was the son of Attalus and his wife Antiochis and this victory, celebrated by the triumphal monument at Pergamon and the liberation from the Gallic terror which it represented, earned for Attalus the name of Soter, and the title of king. A courageous and capable general and loyal ally of Rome, he played a significant role in the first and second Macedonian Wars, Attalus was a protector of the Greek cities of Anatolia and viewed himself as the champion of Greeks against barbarians. During his reign he established Pergamon as a power in the Greek East. He died in 197 BC, shortly before the end of the war, at the age of 72. He and his wife were admired for their rearing of their four sons and he was succeeded as king by his son Eumenes II. Little is known about Attalus early life and he was born a Greek, the son of Attalus, and Antiochis. Attalus was a child when his father died, sometime before 241 BC, after which he was adopted by Eumenes I. Attalus mother, Antiochis, was related to the Seleucid royal family with her marriage to Attalus father likely arranged by Philetaerus to solidify his power. This would be consistent with the conjecture that Attalus father had been Philetaerus heir designate, according to the 2nd century AD Greek writer Pausanias, the greatest of his achievements was the defeat of the Gauls. Since the time of Philetaerus, the first Attalid ruler, the Galatians had posed a problem for Pergamon, indeed for all of Asia Minor, Eumenes I had, along with other rulers, dealt with the Galatians by paying these tributes. Attalus however refused to pay them, being the first such ruler to do so, as a consequence, the Galatians set out to attack Pergamon. The victory brought Attalus legendary fame, for right soon the son of Cronos Shall raise a helper, the dear son of a bull reared by Zeus Who on all the Gauls shall bring a day of destruction. Pausanias adds that by son of a bull the oracle meant Attalus, king of Pergamon, on the acropolis of Pergamon was erected a triumphal monument, which included the famous sculpture the Dying Gaul, commemorating this battle. Attalus defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the battle of Aphrodisium, as a result of these victories, Attalus gained control over all of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains. Achaeus, who had accompanied Seleucus III, assumed control of the army and he was offered and refused the kingship in favor of Seleucus IIIs younger brother Antiochus III the Great, who then made Achaeus governor of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus. Within two years Achaeus had recovered all the lost Seleucid territories, shut up Attalus within the walls of Pergamon, and assumed the title of king
Attalus I
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A Hellenistic portrait bust of Attalus I king of Pergamon
Attalus I
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Coin struck during the reign of Attalus I, depicting Attalus' great uncle, Philetaerus. Reverse shows Greek inscription ΦΙΛΕΤΑΙΡΟΥ, "(coin) of Philetaerus", and Athena.
Attalus I
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The Dying Gaul representing the defeat of the Galatians by Attalus
Attalus I
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Mediterranean at 218 BC
6.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
7.
Battle of Magnesia
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A decisive Roman victory resulted in Roman domination over the internal affairs of a large part of the territory once controlled by the Seleucid Empire. The main historical sources for this battle are Livy and Appian, Antiochus was driven out of Greece following the defeat of his expeditionary force at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Roman navy with the Rhodians and other allies outmaneuvered and defeated the Seleucid navy, the Roman army operated under the commands of the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, younger brother of Scipio Africanus, who accompanied him as legatus. The Carthaginian general and dire enemy of the Roman Republic Hannibal Barca, had fled to Antiochus court after his defeat at the Battle of Zama, some believe that Hannibal was present at Magnesia. This is false, however, because Hannibal, who had commanded the fleet and lost at Eurymedon, had retreated and then fled to Crete for fear that Antiochus would lose and turn him over to the Romans. In anticipation of the battle, Antiochus set up an entrenched camp protecting the approach to Sardis and his base at Ephesus. According to both Livy and Appian, he posted his 16,000 strong phalanx, armed in the Macedonian fashion in the center in brigades of 1,600 men,50 men wide and 32 men deep. He ordered intervals to be formed among the taxeis in which he placed 2 elephants each. On the right wing, next to the phalanx, he arrayed 1,500 Gallograecian infantry,3,000 Galatian mail clad cavalry and 1,000 agema cavalry, behind them he kept 16 elephants in reserve. Next to them, he posted 1,000 heavy horsemen, in front of them, he placed the scythed chariots and a unit of dromedary, camel-borne Arab archers. His left wing was completed with a corps of Tarentines,2,500 Gallograecian cavalry,1,000 newly enlisted Cretans,1,500 Carians and Cilicians similarly armed, and the same number of Tralles. Antiochus retained command of the horse on the wing in person, his son Seleucus. Philip, the master of the elephants, commanded the phalanx, the Romans arrayed in their customary triple line formation with their left wing resting on the river. The Roman reinforced legions occupied the center of formation and the Latins. In all, there were 20,000 men of the legion, behind them, Scipio held his 16 elephants in reserve, fully aware that the African elephants could not face the larger Indian stock on equal terms. On the right Scipio placed the allied Pergamene army under Eumenes, next to them he placed his cavalry, nearly 3,000 strong,800 of them Pergamenes, the rest legionary cavalry. Livy also mentions 2,000 Macedonian and Thracian volunteers, who are left to guard the Roman camp, domitius was stationed with four squadrons of cavalry on the right wing, Scipio kept command of the center and gave command of the left to Eumenes. In all, both agree that the Roman army was about 30,000 strong and the Seleucids about 70,000
Battle of Magnesia
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Silver coin of Antiochus III the Great
Battle of Magnesia
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The Seleucid Empire in 200 BC, (before expansion into Anatolia and Greece).
Battle of Magnesia
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The reduced empire (titled: Syria, Kingdom of the Seleucids) and the expanded states of Pergamum and Rhodes, after the defeat of Antiochus III by Rome. Circa 188 BC.
8.
Roman Army
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The Early Roman army of the Roman Kingdom and of the early Republic. During this period, when warfare chiefly consisted of small-scale plundering raids, it has suggested that the Roman Army followed Etruscan or Greek models of organisation. The early Roman army was based on an annual levy, the infantry ranks were filled with the lower classes while the cavalry were left to the patricians, because the wealthier could afford horses. Moreover, the authority during the regal period was the high king. Until the establishment of the Republic and the office of consul, however, from about 508 BC Rome no longer had a king. The commanding position of the army was given to the consuls, the term legion is derived from the Latin word legio, which ultimately means draft or levy. At first there were only four legions and these legions were numbered I to IIII, with the fourth being written as such and not IV. The first legion was seen as the most prestigious, the latter being a recurring theme in many elements of the Roman army. The bulk of the army was made up of citizens and these citizens could not choose the legion to which they were allocated. Any man from ages 16-46 were selected by ballot and assigned to a legion, until the Roman military disaster of 390 BC at the Battle of the Allia, Romes army was organised similarly to the Greek Phalanx. This was due to Greek influence in Italy by way of their colonies, patricia Southern quotes ancient historians Livy and Dionysius in saying that the phalanx consisted of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry. Each man had to provide his equipment in battle, the equipment which he could afford determined which position he took in the battle. Politically they shared the ranking system in the Comitia Centuriata. The Roman army of the mid-Republic was also known as the army or the Polybian army after the Greek historian Polybius. The latter were required to roughly the same number of troops to joint forces as the Romans to serve under Roman command. Legions in this phase were always accompanied on campaign by the number of allied alae. After the 2nd Punic War, the Romans acquired an overseas empire and these volunteers were mainly from the poorest social class, who did not have plots to tend at home and were attracted by the modest military pay and the prospect of a share of war booty. The minimum property requirement for service in the legions, which had been suspended during the 2nd Punic War, was effectively ignored from 201 BC onward in order to recruit sufficient volunteers
Roman Army
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Recreation of a Roman soldier wearing plate armour, National Military Museum, Romania.
Roman Army
Roman Army
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Emperor John II Komnenos, the most successful commander of the Komnenian army.
9.
Galatia
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Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace, who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC and it has been called the Gallia of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. Galatia was bounded on the north by Bithynia and Paphlagonia, on the east by Pontus and Cappadocia, on the south by Cilicia and Lycaonia, the Galatians originated as a part of the great Celtic migration, which invaded Macedon, led by Brennus. The original Celts who settled in Galatia came through Thrace under the leadership of Leotarios and Leonnorios c and these Celts consisted of three tribes, the Tectosages, the Trocmii, and the Tolistobogii. Brennus invaded Greece in 281 BC with a war band. At the same time, another Gaulish group of men, women and this had split off from Brennus people in 279 BC, and had migrated into Thrace under its leaders Leonnorius and Lutarius. The invaders came at the invitation of Nicomedes I of Bithynia, three tribes crossed over from Thrace to Asia Minor. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the number of women and children. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Celts, while the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated. Instead, the led to the establishment of a long-lived Celtic territory in central Anatolia, which included the eastern part of ancient Phrygia. There they ultimately settled, and strengthened by fresh accessions of the clan from Europe, they overran Bithynia. The Gauls invaded eastern Phrygia on at least one occasion and it is likely it was a sacred oak grove, since the name means sanctuary of the oaks. These Celtic warriors were respected by Greeks and Romans and they were often hired as mercenary soldiers, sometimes fighting on both sides in the great battles of the times. For years, the chieftains and their war bands ravaged the western half of Asia Minor, as allies of one or other of the warring princes, without any serious check. This ended when they sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax ruling in Asia Minor, who tried to defeat Attalus, the theme of the Dying Gaul remained a favorite in Hellenistic art for a generation. Their right to the district was formally recognized, each of the twelve tetrarchs had under him a judge and a general. A council of the nation consisting of the tetrarchs and three hundred senators was periodically held at Drynemeton, the king of Attalid Pergamon hired Galatians in the increasingly devastating wars of Asia Minor. One of the tribes in his service, the Aigosages, refused to obey after an eclipse on 1 September 218 BC
Galatia
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Original location of the Tectosages in Gaul.
Galatia
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Location of Galatia in Anatolia
Galatia
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A Galatian's head as depicted on a gold Thracian objet d'art, 3rd century BC. Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Galatia
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Galatian bronze horse bit, 3rd century BC, Hidirsihlar tumulus, Bolu. Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
10.
Kingdom of Pontus
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The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state founded by the Persian Mithridatic dynasty, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great and the Achaemenid dynasty. The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281 BCE and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE, culturally, the kingdom was Hellenized, with Greek the official language. The Kingdom of Pontus was divided into two areas, the coastal region and the Pontic interior. The coastal region bordering the Black Sea was separated from the inland area by the Pontic Alps. The river valleys of Pontus also ran parallel to the coast and were quite fertile, supporting cattle herds, millet, the coastal region was dominated by Greek cities such as Amastris and Sinope, which became the Pontic capital after its capture. The coast was rich in timber, fishing, and olives, Pontus was also rich in iron and silver, which were mined near the coast south of Pharnacia, steel from the Chalybian mountains became quite famous in Greece. There were also copper, lead, zinc and arsenic, the Pontic interior also had fertile river valleys such as the river Lycus and Iris. The major city of the interior was Amasia, the early Pontic capital, besides Amasia and a few other cities, the interior was dominated mainly by small villages. The kingdom of Pontus was divided into districts named Eparchies, the division between coast and interior was also cultural. The coast was mainly Greek and focused on sea trade, the interior was occupied by the Anatolian Cappadocians and Paphlagonians ruled by an Iranian aristocracy that went back to the Persian empire. The interior also had powerful temples with large estates, the gods of the Kingdom were mostly syncretic, with features of local gods along with Persian and Greek deities. Major gods included the Persian Ahuramazda, who was termed Zeus Stratios, sun gods were particularly popular, with the royal house being identified with the Persian god Ahuramazda of the Achaemenid dynasty, both Apollo and Mithras were worshipped by the Kings. Indeed, the used by the majority of the Pontic kings was Mithridates. Pontic culture represented a synthesis between Iranian, Anatolian and Greek elements, with the two mostly associated with the interior parts, and the latter moreso with the coastal region. By the time of Mithridates VI Eupator, Greek was the language of the Kingdom though Anatolian languages continued to be spoken in the interior. Although the Pontic kings claimed descent from the Persian royal house, they acted as Hellenistic kings and portrayed themselves as such in their coins. The region of Pontus was originally part of the Persian satrapy of Cappadocia, the Persian dynasty which was to found this kingdom had, during the 4th century BCE, ruled the Greek city of Cius in Mysia, with its first known member being Mithridates of Cius. His son Ariobarzanes II became satrap of Phrygia and he became a strong ally of Athens and revolted against Artaxerxes, but was betrayed by his son Mithridates II of Cius
Kingdom of Pontus
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Coin of Pont Amisos
Kingdom of Pontus
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The Kingdom of Pontus at its height: before the reign of Mithridates VI (dark purple), after his early conquests (purple), and his conquests in the first Mithridatic wars (pink)
Kingdom of Pontus
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The Pontic Alps which divided the kingdom.
Kingdom of Pontus
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Bronze shield in the name of King Pharnakes, Getty Villa (80.AC.60)
11.
Pharnaces I
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Pharnaces I, fifth king of Pontus and was of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, Pharnaces had two siblings, a brother called Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called Laodice who succeeded as Pontian monarchs on the throne. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus, the Rhodians sent an embassy to Rome to complain of this aggression, but without effect. Eumenes II opposed him at the head of an army, but hostilities were suspended by the arrival of the Roman Republic deputies. Negotiations were accordingly opened at Pergamon but led to no result, the demands of Pharnaces being rejected by the Romans as unreasonable, the Greek historian Polybius accuses Pharnaces of having an arrogant and violent character, siding with the opinion of Eumenes II and the Romans. Pharnaces married a Seleucid Princess called Nysa, who was the child of princess Laodice IV, Nysa and Pharnaces were related as the parents of Nysa were first cousins with Pharnaces. Pharnaces married Nysa either in 172 BC or 171 BC, through the work of the Seleucid King Demetrius I Soter. Honorific statues and inscriptions have survived that were dedicated to Pharnaces, Pharnaces set about to establish good relations with the citizens of Athens and the Greek island of Delos. Pharnaces made a benefaction to the people of Athens, the exact nature of the benefaction is unknown, Pharnaces may have made some kind of voluntary donation to Athens, possibly soon after 183 BC. A lengthy honorific inscription from the Athenians on Delos honors Pharnaces, Pharnaces and Nysa received a crown of gold from them and bronze statues of themselves were set up on Delos. Their lengthy Athenian honorific inscription is dated in the Archonship of the Athenian Tychandrus or Tychander which is now accepted as 160 BC or 159 BC. Nysa bore Pharnaces two children, a son called Mithridates V of Pontus and a daughter called Nysa of Cappadocia, Nysa died at an unknown date in the 2nd century BC, she is believed to have died during childbirth. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Pharnaces I
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Pharnaces I of Pontus; 185?–169 BC; Son of Mithridates III. The Greek inscription reads: " ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΑΡΝΑΚΟΥ ", which means "[of] King Pharnaces".
Pharnaces I
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Tetradrachm of Pharnaces I of Pontus
Pharnaces I
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Bronze shield in the name of King Pharnakes, Getty Villa (80.AC.60)
12.
Demetrius I Soter
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Demetrius I, surnamed Soter, was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. Demetrius was sent to Rome as a hostage during the reign of his father Seleucus IV Philopator, when his father was murdered by his finance minister Heliodorus in 175 BC. his uncle Antiochus IV Epiphanes killed the usurper, but usurped the throne himself. When Antiochus IV died in 163 BC. his 9-year-old boy son Antiochus V Eupator was made king by Lysias, Demetrius was then 22 years old. He requested the Roman Senate to restore the Syrian throne to him, two years later, Antiochus V was greatly weakened because Rome sent an emissary to sink his ships and hamstring his elephants for his violation of the Peace of Apamea, storing up too much weaponry. Demetrius escaped from confinement and was welcomed back on the Syrian throne in 161 BC and he immediately killed Antiochus V and Lysias. Demetrius I is infamous in Jewish history for his victory over the Maccabees, Demetrius acquired his surname of Soter, or Savior, from the Babylonians, whom he delivered from the tyranny of the Median satrap, Timarchus. His forces were not enough for the legal Seleucid king, Demetrius defeated and killed Timarchus in 160 BC. The Seleucid empire was temporarily united again, Demetrius may have married his sister Laodice V, by whom he had three sons Demetrius II Nicator, Antiochus VII Sidetes and Antigonus. Heracleides convinced the Roman Senate to support the young pretender against Demetrius I, the Jews also had a role in the down fall of Demetrius I. Alexander Balas came with a army, landed and occupied Ptolemais. He appointed Jonathan Maccabaeus, the brother and successor of Judas Maccabaeus, as the high priest of Judea, Jonathan, who was born of a priestly family but not from Zadok, the high priestly stock, took the title in Tishri,152 BC. When Demetrius heard of it, he wrote a letter granting more privileges to Jonathan, the Jews did not believe in him, because of his past persecutions of the Jews. They joined with Balas, who defeated and killed Demetrius I in 150 BC, in 1919 Constantine Cavafy published a poem about Demetriuss time as a hostage in Rome. List of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history
Demetrius I Soter
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Drachma coin depicting Demetrius I
13.
Nicomedes II Epiphanes
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Nicomedes II Epiphanes was the king of Bithynia from 149 to c.127 BC. He was fourth in descent from Nicomedes I, Nicomedes II was the son and successor of Prusias II and Apame IV. His parents were related as they were cousins and he was so popular with the people that his father sent him to Rome to limit his influence. However, in Rome, he gained favor from the Roman Senate. But the emissary revealed the plot, and persuaded the prince to rebel against his father, supported by Attalus II Philadelphus, king of Pergamon, he was completely successful, and ordered his father to be put to death at Nicomedia. During his long reign Nicomedes adhered steadily to the Roman alliance and he was succeeded by his son Nicomedes III. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Nicomedes II Epiphanes
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Silver coin depicting Nicomedes II
14.
Bithynia
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Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast along the Pontic coast, Bithynia was an independent kingdom from the 4th century BC. Its capital Nicomedia was rebuilt on the site of ancient Astacus in 264 BC by Nicomedes I of Bithynia. Bithynia fell to the Roman Republic in 74 BC, and became united with the Pontus region as the province of Bithynia et Pontus and it became a border region to the Seljuk Empire in the 13th century, and was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 1330s. Several major cities sat on the shores of the Propontis, Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Cius. Bithynia also contained Nicaea, noted for being the birthplace of the Nicene Creed, on the west and southwest it was separated from Mysia by the river Rhyndacus and on the south it adjoined Phrygia and Galatia. It is occupied by mountains and forests, but has valleys, the most important mountain range is the Mysian Olympus, which towers above Bursa and is clearly visible as far away as Istanbul. Its summits are covered with snow for a part of the year. East of this the range extends for more than 100 miles, both of these ranges are part of the border of mountains which bound the great tableland of Anatolia, Turkey. At its extremity is situated the town of Gemlik at the mouth of a valley, communicating with the lake of Iznik. The Parthenius, the boundary of the province, is a much less considerable stream. The valleys towards the Black Sea abound in fruit trees of all kinds, such as oranges, while the valley of the Sangarius, extensive plantations of mulberry trees supply the silk for which Bursa has long been celebrated, and which is manufactured there on a large scale. Bithynia is named for the Thracian tribe of the Bithyni, mentioned by Herodotus alongside the Thyni, the Thraco-Phrygian migration from the Balkans to Asia Minor would have taken place at some point following the Bronze Age collapse or during the early Iron Age. Herodotus mentions the Thyni and Bithyni as settling side by side, but the last king, Nicomedes IV, was unable to maintain himself in power against Mithridates VI of Pontus. After being restored to his throne by the Roman Senate, he bequeathed his kingdom through his will to the Roman republic, the coinage of these kings show their regal portraits, which tend to be engraved in an extremely accomplished Hellenistic style. As a Roman province, the boundaries of Bithynia changed frequently, during this period, Bithynia was commonly united for administrative purposes with the province of Pontus. Under the Byzantine Empire, Bithynia was again divided into two provinces, separated by the Sangarius, only the area to the west of the river retained the name of Bithynia. Bithynia attracted much attention because of its roads and its position between the frontiers of the Danube in the north and the Euphrates in the south-east
Bithynia
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Photo of a 15th-century map showing Bithynia.
Bithynia
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Bithynia and Pontus as a province of the Roman empire
15.
Strabo
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Strabo was a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus, Strabos life was characterized by extensive travels. He journeyed to Egypt and Kush, as far west as coastal Tuscany and as far south as Ethiopia in addition to his travels in Asia Minor and the time he spent in Rome. Travel throughout the Mediterranean and Near East, especially for scholarly purposes, was popular during this era and was facilitated by the relative peace enjoyed throughout the reign of Augustus. He moved to Rome in 44 BC, and stayed there, studying and writing, in 29 BC, on his way to Corinth, he visited the island of Gyaros in the Aegean Sea. Around 25 BC, he sailed up the Nile until reaching Philae and it is not known precisely when Strabos Geography was written, though comments within the work itself place the finished version within the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Some place its first drafts around 7 BC, others around 17 or 18 AD, the latest passage to which a date can be assigned is his reference to the death in AD23 of Juba II, king of Maurousia, who is said to have died just recently. He probably worked on the Geography for many years and revised it steadily, on the presumption that recently means within a year, Strabo stopped writing that year or the next, when he died. The first of Strabos major works, Historical Sketches, written while he was in Rome, is completely lost. Strabo studied under several prominent teachers of various specialties throughout his life at different stops along his Mediterranean travels. His first chapter of education took place in Nysa under the master of rhetoric Aristodemus, Strabo was an admirer of Homers poetry, perhaps a consequence of his time spent in Nysa with Aristodemus. At around the age of 21, Strabo moved to Rome, where he studied philosophy with the Peripatetic Xenarchus, despite Xenarchuss Aristotelian leanings, Strabo later gives evidence to have formed his own Stoic inclinations. In Rome, he learned grammar under the rich and famous scholar Tyrannion of Amisus. Although Tyrannion was also a Peripatetic, he was more relevantly a respected authority on geography, the final noteworthy mentor to Strabo was Athenodorus Cananites, a philosopher who had spent his life since 44 BC in Rome forging relationships with the Roman elite. Athenodorus endowed to Strabo three important items, his philosophy, his knowledge, and his contacts, moreover, from his own first-hand experience, Athenodorus provided Strabo with information about regions of the empire which he would not otherwise have known. Strabo is most notable for his work Geographica, which presented a history of people. Although the Geographica was rarely utilized in its antiquity, a multitude of copies survived throughout the Byzantine Empire. It first appeared in Western Europe in Rome as a Latin translation issued around 1469, the first Greek edition was published in 1516 in Venice
Strabo
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Strabo as depicted in a 16th-century engraving
Strabo
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Title page from Isaac Casaubon 's 1620 edition of Geographica.
Strabo
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Statue of Strabo in his hometown (modern-day Amasya, Turkey), beside the Iris (Yeşilırmak) River.
Strabo
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Map of Europe according to Strabo.
16.
Philip II of Macedon
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Philip II of Macedon was the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty of Macedonian kings, the son of King Amyntas III. However, his assassination led to the succession of his son Alexander. Philip was the youngest son of the king Amyntas III and Eurydice I, in his youth, Philip was held as a hostage in Thebes, which was then the leading city of Greece. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon, the deaths of Philips elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philips military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. He first had to remedy a predicament which had greatly worsened by the defeat against the Illyrians in which King Perdiccas himself had died. Using diplomacy, Philip pushed back the Paionians and Thracians promising tributes, momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his internal position and, above all, his army. Philip had married Audata, great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king of Dardania, however, this did not prevent him from marching against the Illyrians in 358 and crushing them in a ferocious battle in which some 7,000 Illyrians died. By this move, Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid, the Athenians had been unable to conquer Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion. So Philip reached an agreement with Athens to lease the city to them after its conquest, however, after conquering Amphipolis, Philip kept both cities. As Athens had declared war against him, he allied Macedon with the Chalkidian League of Olynthus and he subsequently conquered Potidaea, this time keeping his word and ceding it to the League in 356. In 357 BC, Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians, Alexander was born in 356, the same year as Philips racehorse won at the Olympic Games. During 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi and he then established a powerful garrison there to control its mines, which yielded much of the gold he later used for his campaigns. In the meantime, his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrians again, in 355–354 he besieged Methone, the last city on the Thermaic Gulf controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip was injured in his eye, despite the arrival of two Athenian fleets, the city fell in 354. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian coast, Philip was involved in the Third Sacred War which had begun in Greece in 356. In summer 353 he invaded Thessaly, defeating 7,000 Phocians under the brother of Onomarchus, the latter however defeated Philip in the two succeeding battles
Philip II of Macedon
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Bust of Philip II of Macedon.
Philip II of Macedon
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Philip II gold stater, with head of Apollo.
Philip II of Macedon
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Silver tetradrachms dated back to the reign of Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
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Great Tumulus of Aigai
17.
Alexander the Great
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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception
Alexander the Great
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"Alexander fighting king Darius III of Persia ", Alexander Mosaic, Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Alexander the Great
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Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era, British Museum
Alexander the Great
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Aristotle tutoring Alexander, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
Alexander the Great
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Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father.
18.
Alexander IV of Macedon
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Alexander IV, erroneously called sometimes in modern times Aegus, was the son of Alexander the Great and Princess Roxana of Bactria. Alexander IV was the son of a Macedonian father, Alexander the Great and he was Philip II of Macedons grandson. Because Roxana was pregnant when her died and the sex of the baby was unknown. The factions compromised, deciding that Perdiccas would rule the Empire as regent while Philip would reign, if the child was male, then he would be king. Alexander IV was born in August,323 BC and he brought with him Roxana and the two kings to Macedon and gave up the pretence of ruling Alexanders Empire, leaving former provinces in Egypt and Asia in control of the satraps. When Antipater died in 319 BC he left Polyperchon, a Macedonian general who had served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, as his successor, passing over his own son, Cassander. Cassander allied himself with Ptolemy Soter, Antigonus and Eurydice, the wife of king Philip Arrhidaeus. Polyperchon was allied with Eumenes and Olympias, although Polyperchon was successful at first, taking control of the Greek cities, his fleet was destroyed by Antigonus in 318 BC. When, after the battle, Cassander assumed full control of Macedon, Polyperchon was forced to flee to Epirus, followed by Roxana, a few months later, Olympias was able to persuade her relative Aeacides of Epirus to invade Macedon with Polyperchon. When Olympias took the field, Eurydices army refused to fight against the mother of Alexander and defected to Olympias, after which Polyperchon and Aeacides retook Macedon. Philip and Eurydice were captured and executed on December 25,317 BC, leaving Alexander IV king, Cassander returned in the following year, conquering Macedon once again. Olympias was immediately executed, while the king and his mother were taken prisoner, cassanders response was definitive, to secure his rule, in 309 BC he commanded Glaucias to secretly assassinate the 14-year-old Alexander IV and his mother. The orders were carried out, and they were both poisoned, one of the royal tombs discovered by the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos in the so-called Great Tumulus in Vergina in 1977/8 is believed to belong to Alexander IV. Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Alexander IV, livius. org, Alexander IV Wiki Classical Dictionary, Alexander IV
Alexander IV of Macedon
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Alexander IV with his mother, by Alessandro Varotari.
Alexander IV of Macedon
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Tomb III in Vergina, probably belonged to Alexander IV
19.
Antigonid dynasty
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The Antigonid dynasty was a dynasty of Hellenistic kings descended from Alexander the Greats general Antigonus I Monophthalmus. Succeeding the Antipatrid dynasty in much of Macedonia, Antigonus ruled mostly over Asia Minor and his attempts to take control of the whole of Alexanders empire led to his defeat and death at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. After a period of confusion, Demetriuss son Antigonus II Gonatas was able to establish the control over the old Kingdom of Macedon, as well as over most of the Greek city-states. It was one of four established by Alexanders successors, the others being the Seleucid dynasty, Ptolemaic dynasty. The ruling members of the Antigonid dynasty were, The Greek rebel against Rome and last King of Macedonia, Andriscus, claimed to be the son of Perseus
Antigonid dynasty
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Coin of Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-eyed") (382 BC - 301 BC).
Antigonid dynasty
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Coin of Demetrius I of Macedon ("The Besieger"), (337 BC – 283 BC), son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Antigonid dynasty
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Coin of Antigonus II Gonatas
20.
Demetrius I of Macedon
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Demetrius I, called Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Stratonice, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, military leader, and finally king of Macedon. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty and was its first member to rule Macedonia, at the age of twenty-two he was left by his father to defend Syria against Ptolemy the son of Lagus. He was defeated at the Battle of Gaza, but soon partially repaired his loss by a victory in the neighbourhood of Myus. In the spring of 310, he was defeated when he tried to expel Seleucus I Nicator from Babylon. As a result of this Babylonian War, Antigonus lost almost two thirds of his empire, all eastern satrapies fell to Seleucus, after several campaigns against Ptolemy on the coasts of Cilicia and Cyprus, Demetrius sailed with a fleet of 250 ships to Athens. He freed the city from the power of Cassander and Ptolemy, expelled the garrison which had been stationed there under Demetrius of Phalerum, after these victories he was worshipped by the Athenians as a tutelary deity under the title of Soter. In the campaign of 306 BC he defeated Ptolemy and Menelaus, Ptolemys brother, in the naval Battle of Salamis, Demetrius conquered Cyprus in 306 BC, capturing one of Ptolemys sons. Following the victory Antigonus assumed the title king and bestowed the same upon his son Demetrius, in 302 BC he returned a second time to Greece as liberator, and reinstated the Corinthian League, but his licentiousness and extravagance made the Athenians long for the government of Cassander. Among his outrages was his courtship of a boy named Democles the Handsome. The youth kept on refusing his attention but one day found himself cornered at the baths, having no way out and being unable to physically resist his suitor, he took the lid off the hot water cauldron and jumped in. His death was seen as a mark of honor for himself, in another instance, Demetrius waived a fine of 50 talents imposed on a citizen in exchange for the favors of Cleaenetus, that mans son. He also sought the attention of Lamia, a Greek courtesan and he demanded 250 talents from the Athenians, which he then gave to Lamia and other courtesans to buy soap and cosmetics. He also roused the jealousy of Alexanders Diadochi, Seleucus, Cassander and Lysimachus united to destroy him, the hostile armies met at the Battle of Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus was killed, and Demetrius, after sustaining severe losses and this reversal of fortune stirred up many enemies against him—the Athenians refused even to admit him into their city. But he soon afterwards ravaged the territory of Lysimachus and effected a reconciliation with Seleucus, in 294 he established himself on the throne of Macedonia by murdering Alexander V, the son of Cassander. He faced rebellion from the Boeotians but secured the region after capturing Thebes in 291 BC, after besieging Athens without success he passed into Asia and attacked some of the provinces of Lysimachus with varying success. Famine and pestilence destroyed the part of his army, and he solicited Seleucus support. His son Antigonus offered all his possessions, and even his own person, in order to procure his fathers liberty, but all proved unavailing and his remains were given to Antigonus and honoured with a splendid funeral at Corinth
Demetrius I of Macedon
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Marble bust of Demetrius I Poliorcetes. Roman copy from 1st century AD of a Greek original from 3rd century BC
Demetrius I of Macedon
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Coin of Demetrius I (337-283 BC). Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ ([coin] of King Demetrius)
Demetrius I of Macedon
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Demetrius I Poliorcetes portrayed on a tetradrachm coin
Demetrius I of Macedon
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Bronze portrait head, as of September 2007 housed in the Prado Museum, Madrid. This head is no longer identified as Hephaestion, and instead may be Demetrius.
21.
Philip V of Macedon
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Philip V was King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philips reign was marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man, the son of Demetrius II and Chryseis, Philip was nine years old at his fathers death in 229 BC. He had a paternal half sister called Apame. His cousin, Antigonus Doson, administered the kingdom as regent until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old, on his ascent to the throne, Philip quickly showed that while he was young, this did not mean that Macedon was weak. In the first year of his rule, he pushed back the Dardani, in the Social War, the Hellenic League of Greek states was assembled at Philip V’s instigation in Corinth. He then led the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia, Sparta, in this way he was able to increase his own authority amongst his own ministers. His leadership during the Social War made him well-known and respected both within his own kingdom and abroad and he first tried to invade Illyria from the sea, but with limited success. His first expedition in 216 BC had to be aborted, while he suffered the loss of his fleet in a second expedition in 214 BC. A later expedition by land met with success when he captured Lissus in 212 BC. In 215 BC, he entered into a treaty with Hannibal and their treaty defined spheres of operation and interest, but achieved little of substance or value for either side. Philip became heavily involved in assisting and protecting his allies from attacks from the Spartans, romes alliance with the Aetolian League in 211 BC effectively neutralised Philips advantage on land. The intervention of Attalus I of Pergamum on the Roman side further exposed Philips position in Macedonia, Philip and his troops sacked Thermum, the religious and political centre of Aetolia. His troops destroyed 2,000 statues and hauled away vast sums of treasure which included some fifteen thousand shields and suits of arms the Aetolians had decorated their stoas with. These shields were the armor taken from the enemies of the Aetolians during their previous military victories, Philip V took immense sums of gold and treasures and then burned down temples and public buildings of the Aetolians. Philip was able to force the Aetolians to accept his terms in 206 BC, the following year he was able to conclude the Peace of Phoenice with Rome and its allies. This expansion of Macedonian influence created alarm in a number of neighbouring states, including Pergamum and their navies clashed with Philip’s off Chios and Lade in 201 BC. At around the time, the Romans were finally the victors over Carthage
Philip V of Macedon
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Didrachm of Philip V of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon
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Mediterranean at 218 BC
Philip V of Macedon
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The ruins of Thermo capital of the Aetolian League, a town which was sacked by the army of Philip V.
22.
Andriscus
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Andriscus, also often referenced as Pseudo-Philip, was the last King of Macedon. A pretender who claimed to be the son of Perseus of Macedon and his reign lasted just a year. In 168 BC, the Romans invaded Macedonia and overthrew king Perseus in the First Battle of Pydna, in 149 BC, Andriskos, claiming to be Perseus son, announced his intention to retake Macedonia from the Romans. As his first attempt, he travelled to Syria to request military help from Demetrius Soter of Syria, Demetrius instead handed him over to the Romans but Andriskos managed to escape from Roman captivity, and raised a Thracian army. With this army, he invaded Macedonia and defeated the Roman praetor Publius Juventius in 149 BC, Andriskos then declared himself King Philip VI of Macedonia. In 148 BC, Andriskos conquered Thessaly and made an alliance with Carthage, Andriscus brief reign over Macedonia was marked by cruelty and extortion. After this, Macedonia was formally reduced to a Roman province, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Andriscus. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Andriscus
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Coin of Andriscus. Greek inscription reads BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΦIΛIΠΠOY (King Philip).
Andriscus
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Death of the "false Philip" in a 15th century miniature.
23.
Ptolemy III Euergetes
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Ptolemy III Euergetes was the third king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Euergetes was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his first wife, Arsinoe I and he married Berenice of Cyrene in the year corresponding to 244/243 BC, and their children were, Arsinoe III, born in c. She later married her brother Ptolemy IV Ptolemy IV Philopator, born c.244 BC Possibly Lysimachus, the name of the son is not known, but he is said to have been born in c.243 BC. Alexander, born in c.242 BC Magas, born in c.241 BC, scalded to death in his bath by Theogos or Theodotus, at the orders of Ptolemy IV. Berenice, probably born in c.239 BC and died a year later, Ptolemy III Euergetes was responsible for the first known example of a series of decrees published as bilingual inscriptions on massive stone blocks in three writing systems. His stone stela is the Canopus Stone of 238 BC, Ptolemy IIIs stone contains decrees about priestly orders, and is a memorial for his daughter Berenice. But two of its 26 lines of hieroglyphs decree the use of a day added to the Egyptian calendar of 365 days. Also, the reliefs on the pylon were only completed in the reign of Ptolemy XII. He, like many Pharaohs before him, also added to the Temple of Karnak, due to a falling out at the Seleucid court, Ptolemys eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus was murdered along with her infant son. In response Ptolemy III invaded Syria, during this war, the Third Syrian War, he occupied Antioch and even reached Babylon. In exchange for a peace in 241 BC, Ptolemy was awarded new territories on the northern coast of Syria, including Seleucia Pieria, from this capture he received fifteen hundred talents of silver, roughly a tenth of his annual income. During his involvement in the Third Syrian War, he managed to regain many Egyptian works of art that had been stolen when the Persians conquered Egypt. While he was fighting, he left his wife, Berenice II, in charge of the country. The Ptolemaic kingdom reached the height of its power during this reign and he maintained his fathers foreign policy of subduing Macedonia by supporting its enemies. He continued his predecessors work on Alexandria, especially in the Great Library and he had every book unloaded in the Alexandria docks seized, had copies made of each one, and gave the copies to the previous owners while the original copies were kept in the Library. He was even more liberal towards Egyptian religion than his predecessors, Ptolemy IIIs reign was also marked by trade with other contemporaneous polities. In the 1930s, excavations by Mattingly at a close to Port Dunford in present-day southern Somalia yielded a number of Ptolemaic coins. Among these pieces were 17 copper mints from the reigns of Ptolemy III to Ptolemy V, as well as late Imperial Rome, history of Ptolemaic Egypt- Ptolemais - towns and cities named after members of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemy III Euergetes
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Gold coin depicting Ptolemy III issued by Ptolemy IV to honor his deified father
Ptolemy III Euergetes
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Statue of Ptolemy III in the guise of Hermes wearing the chlamys cloak. Ptolemaic Egypt.
Ptolemy III Euergetes
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Bronze coin issued by Ptolemy III depicting Zeus-Amun (obverse) and traditional Ptolemaic eagle (reverse). Ptolemy III did not issue coins with his own image.
24.
Ptolemy IV Philopator
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Ptolemy IV Philopator, son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II, was the fourth Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt. The decline of the Ptolemaic dynasty began under the reign of Ptolemy IV, among the children of Ptolemy IV Philopator and his sister-wife Arsinoe III of Egypt was Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who married Cleopatra I Syra, daughter of Antiochus III the Great and Laodice III. Philopator was devoted to orgiastic forms of religion and literary dilettantism and he built a temple to Homer and composed a tragedy, to which his favourite Agathocles added a commentary. He married his sister Arsinoë III, but continued to be ruled by his mistress Agathoclea, in late c.210 BC, Agathoclea may have given birth to a son from her affair with Ptolemy IV, who may have died shortly after his birth. Ptolemy is said to have built a giant ship known as the tessarakonteres and this showpiece galley was described by Callixenus of Rhodes, writing in the 3rd century BC, and quoted by Athenaeus in the 2nd century AD. Plutarch also mentions that Ptolemy Philopator owned this immense vessel in his Life of Demetrios, the current theory is that Ptolemys ship was an oversized catamaran galley, measuring 128 m. Ptolemy IV is a major antagonist of the apocryphal 3 Maccabees, Ptolemy IVs reign was also marked by trade with other contemporaneous polities. In the 1930s, excavations by Mattingly at a close to Port Dunford in present-day southern Somalia yielded a number of Ptolemaic coins. Among these pieces were 17 copper mints from the reigns of Ptolemy III, Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V, as well as late Imperial Rome, chronicles of the Pharaohs, the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Ptolemy IV Philopator
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Gold octadrachm issued by Ptolemy IV Philopator, British Museum
Ptolemy IV Philopator
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Mediterranean in 218 BC.
25.
Ptolemy VI Philometor
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Ptolemy VI Philometor was a king of Egypt from the Ptolemaic period. He reigned from 180 to 145 BC, in 173 BC he married his sister, Cleopatra II, as it was customary for Pharaohs, for the Ptolemaic Greek kings had adopted many customs of the Pharaohs. He had at least four children with her, Ptolemy Eupator, Ptolemy Neos, Cleopatra Thea and Cleopatra III, the outbreak of the Sixth Syrian War in 170 BC saw Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II becoming co-rulers. A period of reconciliation followed, but the invasion of Egypt in 168 created further unrest. In 164 Ptolemy VI was driven out by his brother and went to Rome to seek support, the Romans partitioned the Ptolemaic land, granting Ptolemy VI Cyprus and Egypt, and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Cyrenaica. Around 150 BC he recognized Alexander Balas as the Seleucid king by marrying his daughter Cleopatra Thea to him in a ceremony at Ptolemais Akko and he remarried his daughter to Alexanders rival Demetrius II, and went to Antioch, where he crowned himself King of Asia. Alexander was defeated by Ptolemy when he returned from Cilicia with his army and fled to Arabia, for the first time since the death of Alexander the Great, Egypt and Syria were united. However, Ptolemy died three days later, in unknown circumstances, Ptolemy Philometor at LacusCurtius — Ptolemy VI — Ptolemy VI Philometor entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Ptolemy VI Philometor
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Ptolemy VI
Ptolemy VI Philometor
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Coin of Ptolemy VI Philometor
Ptolemy VI Philometor
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Ring of Ptolemy VI Philometor as Egyptian pharaoh (Louvre)
26.
Cleopatra II of Egypt
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Cleopatra II was a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt. Cleopatra II was the daughter of Ptolemy V and likely Cleopatra I and she was the sister of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon. She would eventually both of her brothers. Her first marriage was with her brother Ptolemy VI in ca.175 BC and they had at least four children, Ptolemy Eupator, born in 166 BC. Became co-regent with his father for a time, but died at a young age in c.152 BC. Cleopatra Thea born in c.164 BC and she married Alexander Balas, Demetrius II Nicator and Antiochus VII Sidetes. Murdered by her son in c.120 BC, born between 163 and 160 BC. Cleopatra III, born between 160 and 155 BC, married to her uncle Ptolemy VIII. Murdered in 130 BC by Ptolemy VIII Cleopatra II married her brother Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon in c.145 BC and they had at least one son, Ptolemy Memphites. Born between 144 and 142 BC, murdered by his own father in 130 BC. Ptolemy Memphites may be identical to Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator, following the death of her mother, she was married to her brother Ptolemy VI Philometor in c.175 BC. Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VI and their brother, Ptolemy VIII, were co-rulers of Egypt from c.171 BC to 164 BC, in c.169 BC, Antiochus IV of Syria invaded Egypt. Ptolemy VI Philometor joined Antiochus IV outside Alexandria, Ptolemy VI was crowned in Memphis and ruled with Cleopatra II. In 164 BC Cleopatra II and her husband were temporarily deposed by their brother Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra II married her other brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II in 145 BC. In 142 BC Ptolemy VIII took Cleopatras younger daughter, his niece, Cleopatra III, Cleopatra II led a rebellion against Ptolemy VIII in 131 BC, and drove him and Cleopatra III out of Egypt. At this time Ptolemy VIII murdered both his stepson Ptolemy and his own son Ptolemy Memphites, Ptolemy VIII is said to have had his son dismembered and his head, hands and feet sent to Cleopatra II in Alexandria as a birthday present. Cleopatra II ruled Egypt from 130 BC to 127 BC when she was forced to flee to Syria, a public reconciliation of Cleopatra and Ptolemy VIII was declared in 124 BC. After this she ruled jointly with her brother and daughter until 116 BC when Ptolemy died, Cleopatra II herself died shortly after
Cleopatra II of Egypt
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Cleopatra II
Cleopatra II of Egypt
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This head of an Egyptian Ptolemaic queen likely depicts Cleopatra II. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Cleopatra II of Egypt
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Wall relief of Cleopatra III, Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII before Horus
27.
Ptolemy VIII Physcon
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Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, nicknamed Physcon, was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Ptolemy VIIIs complicated political career started in 170 BC and this is when Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire invaded and captured King Ptolemy VI Philometor and all of Egypt, with the exception of the city of Alexandria. Antiochus allowed Ptolemy VI to continue as a puppet monarch, meanwhile, the people of Alexandria chose Ptolemy Euergetes, his younger brother, as king. Euergetes was popularly known as Physkōn, Latinized as Physcon, meaning sausage, potbelly or bladder, instead of taking up arms against one another, the brothers decided to co-rule Egypt. After Antiochus withdrew from the area in 168 BC due to threats from Rome, Physcon agreed to jointly rule Egypt in a triumvirate with Philometor and Cleopatra II. This arrangement led to continuous intrigues, lasting until October 164 BC, when Philometor traveled to Rome to appear before the Senate, who were somewhat agreeable with the arrangement. However, areas under Physcons sole rule were not satisfied with the arrangement and this left Physcon in charge of Cyrenaica. Although the arrangement lasted until Philometors death in 145 BC, it did not end the power struggles, Physcon convinced the Roman Senate to back his claims on Cyprus, but Philometor opposed this. Physcons attempt to conquer the island failed and the Senate sent Philometors ambassadors home, in 156 or 155 BC, Philometor tried to have Physcon assassinated but failed. Physcon went to Rome, displaying the scars he had received in the attempt, despite opposition from Cato the Elder, he received the Senates support and further resources for another attempt on Cyprus. During his time in Rome he met Cornelia Africana, and asked for her hand in marriage, the second attempt on Cyprus also failed. Philometor captured and held Physcon prisoner, but spared him, offering him instead the hand of his daughter, Cleopatra Thea, when Philometor died on a campaign in 145 BC, Cleopatra II quickly had her son proclaimed King Ptolemy VII. Physcon, however, returned from battle and proposed joint rule and marriage with Cleopatra II and he had the younger Ptolemy assassinated during the wedding feast and claimed the throne himself, as Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, and had himself proclaimed pharaoh in 144 BC. In 145 BC, Physcon took his revenge on the intellectuals of Alexandria who had opposed him, including Aristarchus of Samothrace and he engaged in mass purges and expulsions, leaving Alexandria a changed city. Physcon seduced and married Cleopatra III without divorcing Cleopatra II, who became infuriated, many speculate that Physcon only married Cleopatra II because he was plotting to marry Cleopatra III when she became of marrying age. By 132 or 131 BC, the people of Alexandria had rioted, Physcon, Cleopatra III, and their children escaped to Cyprus, while Cleopatra II had their twelve-year-old son, Ptolemy Memphitis, acclaimed as king. Physcon was able to get hold of the boy, killed him, the ensuing civil war pitted Cleopatras city of Alexandria against the rest of the country, who supported Physcon. Growing desperate, Cleopatra offered the throne of Egypt to the Seleucid king Demetrius II Nicator, by 127 BC, Cleopatra fled to Syria
Ptolemy VIII Physcon
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tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII
Ptolemy VIII Physcon
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Stele (monument) attributed to Ptolemy VIII, glorifying his rule and describing his support of Egyptian gods. The stele was written in Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as Greek.
28.
Ptolemy X Alexander I
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Ptolemy X Alexander I was King of Egypt from 110 BC to 109 BC and 107 BC till 88 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon and Cleopatra III, in 110 BC he became King with his mother as co-regent, after his mother had deposed his brother Ptolemy IX Lathyros. However, in 109 BC he was deposed by Ptolemy IX, in 107 BC he became King again, and again with his mother as co-regent. In 101 BC he had his mother killed, and ruled either alone or with his niece/wife, when he died, Ptolemy IX regained the throne. When Ptolemy IX died, Ptolemy Xs wife Berenice III took over the throne for six months, Ptolemy X Alexander entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Ptolemy X Alexander I
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Ptolemy X Alexander I
29.
Ptolemy XII Auletes
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Ptolemy Neos Dionysos Theos Philopator Theos Philadelphos, more commonly known as Auletes or Nothos, was an Egyptian king of Macedonian descent. Auletes means pipes-player, referring to the love of playing the pipes. Ptolemy reigned during the Hellenistic period and he is assumed to have been an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX Soter, perhaps by an Alexandrian woman. But he may instead be the son of Ptolemy IX by Cleopatra IV and his reign as king was interrupted by a general rebellion that resulted in his exile from 58 to 55 BC. Thus, Ptolemy XII ruled Egypt from 80 to 58 BC, Ptolemy XII was generally described as a weak, self-indulgent man, a drunkard, and a music lover. Ptolemy may have had two wives and he married Cleopatra Tryphaena, who may have been either a sister or a cousin. Cleopatra Tryphaena is not mentioned after 69 BC and it is not clear who the mother of Ptolemys three youngest children is and his children include, Possibly a daughter named Cleopatra Tryphaena. Porphyry mentions a daughter Cleopatra Tryphaena who ruled with her sister Berenice, strabo however states that Ptolemy had only three daughters of whom the eldest has been referred to Berenice IV. Suggesting that the Cleopatra Tryphaena referred to by Porphyry may have been Ptolemys wife, many experts now identify Cleopatra VI with Cleopatra V of Egypt, Ptolemys wife. When Ptolemy XI died without a heir, the only available male descendents of the Ptolemy I lineage were the illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX by an unknown Greek concubine. The boys were living in exile in Sinope, at the court of Mithridates VI, as the eldest of the boys Ptolemy XII was proclaimed king as Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos and married his sister, Tryphaena. Ptolemy XII was coregent with his daughter Cleopatra VI Tryphaena and his wife Cleopatra V Tryphaena, however, Ptolemy XI had left the throne to Rome in his will, therefore Ptolemy XII was not the legitimate successor. Nevertheless, Rome did not challenge Ptolemy XIIs succession because the Senate was unwilling to acquire an Egyptian expansion, before Ptolemy XIIs reign, the geographical distance between Rome and Egypt resulted in an indifferent attitude towards each other. Nevertheless, Egyptians asked the Romans to settle dynastic conflicts During his reign, Ptolemy XII attempted to secure his own fate, Pompey accepted the riches but refused the invitation. After paying a bribe of six thousand talents to Julius Caesar and Pompey, in 58 BC, Ptolemy XII failed to comment on the Roman conquest of Cyprus, a territory ruled by his brother, thereby inciting the Egyptian population to start a rebellion. Egyptians were already aggravated by taxes and a substantial increase in the cost of living. Ptolemy XII fled to Rome, possibly with his daughter Cleopatra VII and his daughter Berenice IV became his successor. She ruled as coregent with her sister Cleopatra VI Tryphaena, a year after Ptolemy XIIs exile, Cleopatra VI Tryphaena died and Berenice ruled alone over Alexandria from 57 to 56BC
Ptolemy XII Auletes
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Ptolemy XII smashing his enemies with a royal mace. Relief from the first pylon in the temple at Edfu
Ptolemy XII Auletes
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The first pylon at Edfu Temple was decorated by Ptolemy XII in 57 BC with figures of himself smiting the enemy.
30.
Ptolemy XIV of Egypt
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Ptolemy XIV, was a son of Ptolemy XII of Egypt and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. Following the death of his older brother Ptolemy XIII of Egypt on January 13,47 BC, he was proclaimed Pharaoh and co-ruler by their sister and remaining Pharaoh. He and Cleopatra were married, but Cleopatra continued to act as lover of Roman dictator Julius Caesar, Ptolemy is considered to have reigned in name only, with Cleopatra keeping actual authority to herself. On March 15,44 BC Caesar was murdered in Rome by a group of conspirators whose most notable members were Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, Ptolemy soon followed him in death. An inscription mentioning him as alive was dated at July 26,44 BC, Ptolemy XIV Theos Philopator II entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Ptolemy XIV of Egypt
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Ancestry [edit]
31.
Cleopatra
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Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history simply as Cleopatra, was the last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, briefly survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. After her reign, Egypt became a province of the recently established Roman Empire, Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek family of Macedonian origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Greats death during the Hellenistic period. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis, as queen, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated Caesarion, her son with Caesar, to co-ruler in name, after Caesars assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesars legal heir Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, Antony committed suicide after losing the Battle of Actium to Octavians forces, and Cleopatra followed suit. According to tradition, she killed herself by means of an asp bite on August 12,30 BC and she was outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters, but he was soon killed on Octavians orders. Egypt then became the Roman province of Aegyptus, Cleopatras father Auletes was a direct descendant of Alexander the Greats general Ptolemy I Soter, son of Arsinoe and Lagus, both of Macedon. Centralization of power and corruption led to uprisings in and the losses of Cyprus and Cyrenaica, Ptolemy went to Rome with Cleopatra, Cleopatra VI Tryphaena seized the crown but died shortly afterwards in suspicious circumstances. It is believed that Berenice IV poisoned her so that she could assume sole rulership, regardless of the cause, she ruled until Ptolemy Auletes returned in 55 BC with Roman support, capturing Alexandria aided by Roman general Aulus Gabinius. Berenice was imprisoned and executed afterwards, her head allegedly being sent to the royal court on the decree of her father. Cleopatra now became joint regent and deputy to her father at age 14, Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC. His will made 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs, the first three years of their reign were difficult due to economic failures, famine, deficient floods of the Nile, and political conflicts. Cleopatra was married to her brother, but she quickly made it clear that she had no intention of sharing power with him. In August 51 BC, relations broke down between Cleopatra and Ptolemy. Cleopatra dropped Ptolemys name from official documents and her face appeared on coins. The Gabiniani killed the sons of the Roman governor of Syria Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus when they came to ask the Gabiniani to assist their father against the Parthians, Cleopatra handed the murderers over to Bibulus in chains, whereupon the Gabiniani became bitter enemies of the queen. This conflict was one of the causes of Cleopatras fall from power shortly afterward. The sole reign of Cleopatra was finally ended by a cabal of courtiers led by the eunuch Pothinus, in connection with half-Greek general Achillas, circa 48 BC, Cleopatras younger brother Ptolemy XIII became sole ruler
Cleopatra
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Bust believed to be of Cleopatra VII, Altes Museum, Berlin
Cleopatra
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Ptolemaic Queen (Cleopatra VII?), 50-30 B.C., 71.12, Brooklyn Museum
Cleopatra
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Cleopatra and Caesar (1866). Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Cleopatra
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Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera
32.
Caesarion
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Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, better known by the nicknames Caesarion and Ptolemy Caesar, was the last Pharaoh of Egypt. He was the member of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. It is unknown whether Octavians order was carried out successfully and he was the eldest son of Cleopatra VII, and possibly the only biological son of Julius Caesar, after whom he was named. Caesarion was born in Egypt on June 23,47 BC and his mother Cleopatra insisted that he was the son of Julius Caesar. Caesarion was said to have inherited Caesars looks and manner, Caesars supporter Gaius Oppius wrote a pamphlet which attempted to prove that Caesar could not have fathered Caesarion. Nevertheless, Caesar may have allowed Caesarion to use his name, the matter became contentious when Caesars adopted son Octavian came into conflict with Cleopatra. Caesarion spent two of his infant years, from 46 to 44 BC, in Rome, where he, Cleopatra hoped that her son would eventually succeed his father as the head of the Roman Republic as well as of Egypt. After Caesars assassination on March 15,44 BC, Cleopatra, Caesarion was named co-ruler by his mother on September 2,44 BC at the age of three, although he was pharaoh in name only, with Cleopatra keeping actual authority all to herself. Cleopatra compared her relationship to her son with the Egyptian goddess Isis, during the tense period leading up to the final conflict between Mark Antony and Octavian, the two of them initially shared control of the Republic in a triumvirate with Lepidus. Lepidus was forced into retirement by Octavian in 36 BC, Octavian and Mark Antony were then left in control of the Western and Eastern provinces respectively. There is no record of Caesarion between 44 BC until the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC. Two years later he appears at the Donations of Alexandria. In 34 BC, Antony granted further lands and titles to Caesarion. Caesarion was proclaimed to be a god, a son of god and this grandiose title was unprecedented in the management of Roman client-king relationships and could be seen as threatening the greatness of the Roman people. Antony also declared Caesarion to be Caesars true son and heir and this declaration was a direct threat to Octavian. These proclamations partly caused the breach in Antonys relations with Octavian. After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and she may have intended to go into exile, perhaps with Antony, who may have hoped that he would be allowed to retire as Lepidus had. Caesarion reappears in the record in 30 BC, when Octavian invaded Egypt
Caesarion
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Caesarion, from the "Unravel the Mystery" Cleopatra exhibit
Caesarion
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A relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion at the temple of Dendera, Egypt
33.
Magas of Cyrene
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Magas of Cyrene was a Greek Macedonian nobleman. Through his mother’s second marriage he was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and he became King of Cyrenaica and he managed to wrestle independence for Cyrenaica from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Magas was the son of the noblewoman Berenice and her first husband Philip. He had two sisters, Antigone and Theoxena. His father, Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother, plutarch implies that his father was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. Phillip served as a officer in the service of the Macedonian King Alexander the Great and was known for commanding one division of the Phalanx in Alexander’s wars. His mother Berenice was a noblewoman from Eordeaea and she was the daughter of local obscure nobleman Magas and noblewoman Antigone. Berenice’s mother was the niece of the powerful Regent Antipater and was a distant collateral relative to the Argead dynasty and he was the namesake of his maternal grandfather. About 318 BC, his father died of natural causes, after the death of Magas’ father, Magas’ mother took him and his siblings to Egypt where they were a part of the entourage of his mother’s second maternal cousin Eurydice. Eurydice was then the wife of Ptolemy I Soter, the first Greek Pharaoh, by 317 BC, Ptolemy I fell in love with Berenice and divorced Eurydice to marry her. His mother, through her marriage to Ptolemy, was an Egyptian Queen, through his mother’s marriage to Ptolemy, Magas was a stepson to Ptolemy, he became an Egyptian Prince living in his stepfather’s court and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. His mother bore Ptolemy three children, two daughters, Arsinoe II, Philotera and the future Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Magas received the governorship of Cyrenaica from his mother. Magas then married Apama II, his maternal cousin and one of the daughters of Seleucid King Antiochus I Soter. Antiochus I used his marital alliance to foment a pact to invade Egypt, Apama II and Magas had a daughter called Berenice II, who was their only child. Magas opened hostilities against Ptolemy II in 274 BC, attacking Egypt from the west, however, Magas had to cancel his operations due to an internal revolt of the Libyan nomad Marmaridae. In the east, Antiochus I suffered defeat against the armies of Ptolemy II, Magas at least managed to maintain the independence of Cyrenaica until his death in 250 BC. Over a year after Magas died, his daughter married Ptolemy III Euergetes, through Berenice II’s marriage to her paternal cousin, Magas’ Kingdom was reabsorbed by Ptolemaic Egypt. Magas is mentioned in the Edicts of Ashoka, as one of the recipients of the Indian Emperor Ashokas Buddhist proselytism, Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbalism, for men and animals, in the territories of the Hellenistic Kings
Magas of Cyrene
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Berenice II, was the daughter of Magas of Cyrene.
34.
Ptolemy Apion
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Ptolemy Apion or simply known as Apion was the last Greek Cyrenaean King and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy was Greek and native Egyptian in descent and his second name Apion is a name of ancient Egyptian origin and could be a name from his maternal ancestry. Ptolemy was a son and was the first child among the children of Egyptian Greek prince, Cyrenaean King, Ptolemy’s paternal uncle was the Egyptian Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy VI Philometor and his paternal aunt was the Egyptian Greek princess and queen Cleopatra II of Egypt. His paternal grandparents were Egyptian Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Egyptian Greek Queen who was a Greek princess of the Seleucid Empire Cleopatra I of Egypt, Ptolemy’s mother was a native Egyptian woman called Eirene or according to the Roman Jewish historian Josephus her name was Ithaca. Eirene originated from Cyrenaica and not much is known on her origins and she was a mistress of Physcon’s and was among his concubines. Eirene served as Physcon’s mistress from 150 BC til 127 BC, Eirene accompanied Physcon in 145 BC to Egypt when he became pharaoh and succeeded his brother Ptolemy VI. Ptolemy was most probably born in Cyrene, the capital of Cyrenaica, until 116 BC, he most probably lived in Egypt. Ptolemy never held a royal Egyptian title, in 116 BC, Ptolemy’s father had died. From Physcon’s will, Ptolemy inherited Cyrenaica and in that year, when he became king, Ptolemy succeeded without any political opposition. Unfortunately, little is recorded of Ptolemy’s reign of Cyrenaica, Ptolemy died in 96 BC and he implemented the terms of his father’s will for Cyrenaica. He never married and had no heirs, in Ptolemy’s will, he left Cyrenaica and his ancestral royal estates to the rule of the Roman Republic. Physcon had planned this for Cyrenaica after Ptolemy’s death, Ptolemy’s ancestral estates were occupied by locals in the 1st century. The occupiers of the estates, needed assistance from the Roman Emperor Nero to legalise the land title through their occupations, so they could own the estates
Ptolemy Apion
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Portrait of a Ptolemaic ruler, maybe Ptolemy Apion, 1st century BC, from the temple of Apollo at Cyrene, British Museum
35.
Seleucid Empire
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Seleucus received Babylonia and, from there, expanded his dominions to include much of Alexanders near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and what is now Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The Seleucid Empire was a center of Hellenistic culture that maintained the preeminence of Greek customs where a Greek political elite dominated. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by immigration from Greece, Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt were frustrated by Roman demands, contemporary sources, such as a loyalist degree from Ilium, in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire and as a kingdom. Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia and he refers to either Alexander Balas or Alexander II Zabinas as a ruler. Alexander, who conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III, died young in 323 BC. Alexanders generals jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, Ptolemy, a former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system, this led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemys revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC, Seleucus, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry and appointed first or court chiliarch received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Following his and Lysimachus victory over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia, in the latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes, a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris, north of Babylon, Seleucuss empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachuss lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, nevertheless, even before Seleucus death, it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Seleucus invaded the Punjab region of India in 305 BC, confronting Chandragupta Maurya and it is said that Chandragupta fielded an army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and it is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, an asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandraguptas reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus
Seleucid Empire
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Tetradrachm of Seleucus I, the horned horse, the elephant and the anchor were all used as symbols of the Seleucid monarchy.
Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
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Coin of Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucid Empire
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In Bactria, the satrap Diodotus asserted independence to form the Greco-Bactrian kingdom c.245 BC.
36.
Antiochus I Soter
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Antiochus I Soter, was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned until his death in 261 BC. Antiochus I was half Persian, his mother Apama, daughter of Spitamenes, in 294 BC, prior to the death of his father Seleucus I, Antiochus married his stepmother, Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. His elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying of lovesickness, Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus, Seleucus, Laodice, Apama II, Stratonice of Macedon and Antiochus II Theos, who succeeded his father as king. On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together the empire was a formidable one, a revolt in Syria broke out almost immediately. Antiochus was soon compelled to peace with his fathers murderer, Ptolemy Keraunos, apparently abandoning Macedonia. In Anatolia he was unable to reduce Bithynia or the Persian dynasties that ruled in Cappadocia. In 278 BC the Gauls broke into Anatolia, and a victory that Antiochus won over these Gauls by using Indian war elephants is said to have been the origin of his title of Soter. At the end of 275 BC the question of Coele-Syria, which had been open between the houses of Seleucus and Ptolemy since the partition of 301 BC, led to hostilities and it had been continuously in Ptolemaic occupation, but the house of Seleucus maintained its claim. War did not materially change the outlines of the two kingdoms, though frontier cities like Damascus and the coast districts of Asia Minor might change hands, on March 27268 BC Antiochus I laid the foundation for the Ezida Temple in Borsippa. His eldest son Seleucus had ruled in the east as viceroy from 275 BC till 268/267 BC, circa 262 BC Antiochus tried to break the growing power of Pergamum by force of arms, but suffered defeat near Sardis and died soon afterwards. He was succeeded in 261 BC by his second son Antiochus II Theos and he was asked by the Bindusara to send sweet wine, figs and a philosopher. Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Chandragupta Maurya and his times, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0433-3 Traver, from Polis to Empire, the Ancient World, C.800 B. C. -A. D. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Antiochus I Soter
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Silver coin of Antiochus I. The reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ (of king Antiochus).
Antiochus I Soter
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Gold stater of Antiochus I minted at Alexandria on the Oxus, c. 275 BC. Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus right. Reverse: Nude Apollo seated on omphalos left, leaning on bow and holding two arrows. Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY (of King Antiochos). Δ monogram of Ai-Khanoum in left field.
37.
Antiochus III the Great
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Antiochus III the Great /ænˈtaɪəkəs/ was a Hellenistic Greek king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC and his traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he assumed. He also assumed the title Basileus Megas, the title of the Persian kings. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire, before suffering a setback, towards the end of his reign. He died three years later on campaign in the east, Antiochus III was a member of the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty. He was the son of king Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II and was born around 242 BC near Susa in Persia and he may have borne a non-dynastic name, according to a Babylonian chronicle. He succeeded, under the name Antiochus, his brother Seleucus III Ceraunus, upon the murder in Anatolia. Antiochus III inherited a disorganized state, not only had Asia Minor become detached, but the easternmost provinces had broken away, Bactria under the Greek Diodotus of Bactria, and Parthia under the nomad chieftain Arsaces. Soon after Antiochuss accession, Media and Persis revolted under their governors, the young king, under the influence of the minister Hermeias, headed an attack on Ptolemaic Syria instead of going in person to face the rebels. The attack against the Ptolemaic empire proved a fiasco, and the generals sent against Molon, only in Asia Minor, where the kings cousin, Achaeus, represented the Seleucid cause, did its prestige recover, driving the Pergamene power back to its earlier limits. In 221 BC Antiochus at last went east, and the rebellion of Molon, the submission of Lesser Media, which had asserted its independence under Artabazanes, followed. Antiochus rid himself of Hermeias by assassination and returned to Syria, meanwhile, Achaeus himself had revolted and assumed the title of king in Asia Minor. Since, however, his power was not well grounded to allow an attack on Syria, Antiochus considered that he might leave Achaeus for the present. The campaigns of 219 BC and 218 BC carried the Seleucid armies almost to the confines of Ptolemaic Kingdom and this defeat nullified all Antiochuss successes and compelled him to withdraw north of the Lebanon. Despite the military defeat, Antiochus was able to control of Seleucia pieria. In 216 BC Antiochus army marched into western Anatolia to suppress the rebellion led by Antiochus own cousin Achaeus. Capturing Achaeus, Antiochus had him executed, the citadel managed to hold out until 213 BC under Achaeus widow Laodice who surrendered later. Having thus recovered the central part of Asia Minor Antiochus turned to recovering the outlying provinces of the north and he obliged Xerxes of Armenia to acknowledge his supremacy in 212 BC
Antiochus III the Great
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Bust from the Louvre, possibly Roman copy of Hellenistic portrait of Antiochus III
Antiochus III the Great
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Seleucid Kingdom at the time of Antiochus's accession to the throne.
Antiochus III the Great
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Coin of Antiochos III.
Antiochus III the Great
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Coin of Antiochus the Great. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, of King Antiochus.
38.
Seleucus IV Philopator
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Seleucus IV Philopator, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 187 BC to 175 BC over a realm consisting of Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Nearer Iran. He was the son and successor of Antiochus III the Great. Seleucus IV wed his sister Laodice IV, by whom he had three children, two sons Antiochus, Demetrius I Soter and a daughter Laodice V and he was compelled by financial necessities, created in part by the heavy war-indemnity exacted by Rome, to pursue an ambitious policy. In an effort to collect money to pay the Romans, he sent his minister Heliodorus to Jerusalem to seize the Jewish temple treasury, the Bible tells of a prophecy given by a messenger angel in Daniel 11,20. The text states that Seleucus will be remembered as the king who sent a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor, the deuterocanonical lends more to this in 2 Maccabees 3, 2-3. On his return from Jerusalem, Heliodorus assassinated Seleucus, and seized the throne for himself, the true heir Demetrius, son of Seleucus, was now being retained in Rome as a hostage, and the kingdom was seized by the younger brother of Seleucus, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus managed to oust Heliodorus and an infant son of Seleucus, list of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history Seleucus IV Philopator entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Seleucus IV Philopator
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Coin of Seleucus IV Philopator, stamp Greek: (Β)ΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (ΣΕ)ΛΕΥΚΟΥ
39.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
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Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a Hellenistic Greek king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great and his original name was Mithradates, he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne. Notable events during the reign of Antiochus IV include his near-conquest of Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of Judea and Samaria, and these epithets included Θεὸς Ἐπιφανής manifest god, and, after his defeat of Egypt, Νικηφόρος bringer of victory. His older brother Seleucus IV followed his father onto the throne in 187 BC, King Seleucus was assassinated by the usurper Heliodorus in 175 BC, but Antiochus in turn ousted him. To avoid alarming Rome, Antiochus allowed Ptolemy VI to continue ruling as a puppet king, upon Antiochus withdrawal, the city of Alexandria chose a new king, one of Ptolemys brothers, also named Ptolemy. The Ptolemy brothers agreed to rule Egypt jointly instead of fighting a civil war, in 168 BC, Antiochus led a second attack on Egypt and also sent a fleet to capture Cyprus. This implied Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately, weighing his options, Antiochus decided to withdraw. Only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him, the Seleucids, like the Ptolemies before them, held a mild suzerainty over Judea, they respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions. This policy was reversed by Antiochus IV, resulting in harsh persecutions and a revolt against his rule. According to the authors of the Books of Maccabees, while Antiochus was busy in Egypt, in Judea, the deposed High Priest Jason gathered a force of 1,000 soldiers and made a surprise attack on the city of Jerusalem. Menelaus, the High Priest appointed by Antiochus, was forced to flee Jerusalem during a riot, King Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167 BC, enraged by his defeat, he attacked Jerusalem and restored Menelaus, then executed many Jews. When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt, raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met, there was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the number being sold into slavery. Antiochus decided to side with the Hellenized Jews in order to consolidate his empire and he outlawed Jewish religious rites and traditions kept by observant Jews and ordered the worship of Zeus as the supreme god. This was anathema to the Jews and they refused, so Antiochus sent an army to enforce his decree, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed because of the resistance, many were slaughtered, and Antiochus established a military Greek citadel called the Acra. Traditionally, as expressed in the First and Second Books of the Maccabees, in modern times, however, scholars have argued that the king was instead intervening in a civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem. It seems that the traditionalists, with Hebrew/Aramaic names such as Onias, contested with the Hellenizers, with Greek names such as Jason and Menelaus, over who would be the High Priest
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
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Bust of Antiochus IV at the Altes Museum in Berlin.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
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Traditions
40.
Demetrius II Nicator
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For the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair, Demetrius II, called Nicator, was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter, brother of Antiochus VII Sidetes and his mother could have been Laodice V. He ruled the Seleucid Empire for two periods, separated by a number of years of captivity in Hyrcania in Parthia. As a young boy, he fled to Crete after the death of his father, his mother and his older brother, about 147 BC he returned to Syria, and with the backing of Ptolemy VI Philometor, king of Egypt, regained his fathers throne. The Egyptian king also divorced his daughter Cleopatra Thea from Balas, Alexander fled to the Nabateans who, anxious to stay on good terms with Egypt, cut off his head. However, Demetrius was not a popular king, the people of Syria had little respect for the young boy, who had come to power with the help of Egypt and Cretan mercenaries led by the ruthless condottiere Lasthenes. The Antiochenians offered the Seleucid throne to Ptolemy VI, who had conquered most of southern Syria for his own interest. The Egyptian troops marched home, leaderless and disillusioned, and with Balas dead as well Demetrius became sole master of the Seleucid kingdom, the pillaging of the Cretan soldiers caused the Antiochenians to rise in rebellion, and only after terrible massacres was order restored. Soon after, the general Diodotus conquered Antioch and had his protégé Antiochus VI Dionysus, Demetrius proved unable to retake the capital, instead establishing himself in Seleucia. Diodotus had Antiochus VI deposed a few later, and made himself king as Tryphon. In 139 BC, Parthian activity forced Demetrius to take action and he marched against Mithradates I, king of Parthia and was initially successful, but was defeated in the Iranian mountains and taken prisoner the following year. King Mithradates had kept Demetrius II alive and even married him to a Parthian princess named Rhodogune, when the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured when he tried to escape, Mithradates humiliated him by giving him a set of dice. It was however for reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly. In 130 BC Antiochus Sidetes felt secure enough to march against Parthia, now Phraates II made what he thought was a powerful move, he released Demetrius, hoping that the two brothers would start a civil war. However, Sidetes was defeated soon after his brothers release and never met him, Phraates II set people to pursue Demetrius, but he managed to safely return home to Syria and regained his throne and his queen as well. However, the Seleucid kingdom was now but a shadow of its former glory, recollections of his cruelties and vices – along with his humiliating defeat – caused him to be greatly detested. The Egyptian queen Cleopatra II set up an army for Demetrius, hoping to engage him in her wars against her brother king Ptolemy VIII
Demetrius II Nicator
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Coin of Demetrius II. The reverse shows Zeus bearing Nike. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΝΙΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ i.e. "of king Demetrius God victorious". The date ΔΠΡ is year 184 of the Seleucid era, corresponding to 129–128 BC.
Demetrius II Nicator
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Demetrius Nicator, King of Syria, Killed as He Attempts to Land at Tyre
41.
Diodotus Tryphon
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Originally from Casiana, a dependent town of the city of Apamea, he had served as a general for Alexander Balas and along with the Egyptian Heirax was given command of the city of Antioch. Demetrius on the hand held sway in the outer regions of the empire, including Cilicia. It was made easier for Jonathan to ally with Antiochus VI due to his association with his father Balas, in 142 or 141 BC Antiochus VI Dionysus died, supposedly during a medical operation, however accusations were made against Diodotus that he was himself behind the young king’s death. Despite this he convinced the army to elect him king, taking the titles of Basileus, as was tradition for Hellenistic kings, but also that of Autokrator. The term Autokrator is unique in the fact that it is not included on the coinage of any other Greek ruler from this period, as king he took the regal name of Tryphon. Having been made king Diodotus, Tryphon expanded his control to at least Ptolemais-Akke, to further legitimize his position and extend his connection to the army, many of his coins depicted on their obverse the national helmet of the Greco-Macedonian soldiery. Luring Jonathan to Ptolemais with a guard, Diodotus kidnapped him. He eventually had Jonathan executed and initiated an invasion of Judea, Demetrius, meanwhile, had journeyed east to combat the encroachment of the Parthians, but in 139 BC was captured and forced into captivity in Parthia. With the detested Demetrius gone, his brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes, left his home in Rhodes and married the wife of Demetrius, Cleopatra Thea, Tryphon’s support began to deteriorate with Antiochus now the leader of the Seleucid dynastic faction in the empire. Antiochus successfully pushed back Tryphon’s forces and besieged him in the fortress-city of Dor on the coast, Tryphon escaped by sea to Orthosia and made his way to his home-region of Apamea, where, being chased by Antiochus, he was either put to death or committed suicide
Diodotus Tryphon
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Coin of Diodotus Tryphon. British Museum.
Diodotus Tryphon
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Coin of Diodotus Tryphon.
42.
Antiochus VII Sidetes
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Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature, after Antiochus VII Sidetes was killed in battle, the Seleucid realm was restricted to Syria. He was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter, the brother of Demetrius II Nicator and he married Cleopatra Thea, who had been the wife of Demetrius. Their offspring was Antiochus IX, who became both half-brother and cousin to Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII. Sidetes defeated the usurper Tryphon at Dora and laid siege to Jerusalem in 132, during the siege he allowed a seven-day truce for the Jews to celebrate a religious festival, impressing the Jewish leadership. According to Josephus the Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus opened King Davids sepulchre, nevertheless, King Antiochus respectful treatment of the Jews, and respect for their religion, earned him their gratitude and added name, Euergetes. With no Jewish sources of that time it is if the siege of Jerusalem ended with a decisive Seleucid victory or simply a peace treaty. Furthermore, the fact is that Jewish forces later assisted Sidetes in his wars, all in all it indicates a renewal of the friendly relations from the time of Demetrius II. Antiochus spent the years of his life attempting to reclaim the lost eastern territories, overrun by the Parthians under their Great King. Marching east, with what would prove to be the last great Seleucid royal army and he restored Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media to the Seleucid empire, before dispersing his army into winter quarters. The Seleucid king and army spent the winter feasting, hunting, as with any time an army is quartered upon a population, tensions soon grew between the locals and the Syrian troops. The new Parthian ruler, Phraates II, had not been idle, hoping to further sow dissension amongst his foes, Phraates also released his long-held prisoner, Demetrius II, Antiochus older brother, to return to Syria and reclaim the throne. That winter, several Median towns rose in rebellion and attacked their Seleucid garrisons, Antiochus marched to support one such isolated garrison with only a small force. In a barren valley, he was ambushed and killed by Phraates II and a force of Parthians. The last great Seleucid king died in battle, an end for the heir of Seleucus I Nicator. After Antiochus VII Sidetes, the Parthians regained the territory briefly lost, list of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history Antiochus VII Sidetes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Antiochus VII Sidetes
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Coin of Antiochus VII Sidetes. British Museum.
Antiochus VII Sidetes
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Coin of Antiochus VII, depicting the Dioscuri.
43.
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
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Antiochus IX Eusebes Cyzicenus, ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Cleopatra Thea. After the death of his mother Cleopatra Thea ca.118 BCE, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus challenged his half-brother, Antiochus VIII Grypus, for power of Syria. Antiochus IX Cyzicenus was first married to Cleopatra IV, who was killed in 112 BC by her sister and rival Syrian Queen Tryphaena. After the death of Grypus and capturing the capital, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus married Cleopatra Selene I and he was killed in battle by the son of Grypus, Seleucus VI Epiphanes in 96 BC. The epithets he took much of his story, Eusebes. After that, he ruled Antioch and its surroundings, fighting endlessly against the four brothers of Seleucus VI, the Nabataeans, list of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history Antiochus IX Cyzicenus entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
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Coin of Antiochus IX. The reverse shows Athena bearing Nike. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ (king Antiochus Philopatros).
44.
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus
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Antiochus XIII Philadelphus, known as Asiaticus was one of the last rulers of the Macedonian Seleucid kingdom. He was son of king Antiochus X Eusebes and the Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra Selene I, some time after Tigranes had conquered Syria, she traveled to Rome to have her sons recognized as kings of Egypt, but to no avail. They were there between at least between 75 BC and 73 BC, recognized as Kings of Syria, and maintained a royal state, in 64 BC, Pompey had him deposed and killed by a Syrian chieftain, Sampsiceramus I. Antiochus death is said to have ended the Seleucid dynasty
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus
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Coin of Antiochus XIII.
45.
Cassander
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Cassander, was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 305 BC until 297 BC, and de facto ruler of much of Greece from 317 BC until his death. Eldest son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the Great, in his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and his family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty. Whatever the truth of this suggestion, Cassander stood out amongst the Diadochi in his hostility to Alexanders memory, cassanders decision to restore Thebes, which had been destroyed under Alexander, was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased King. It was later said that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint. Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him, Cassander rejected his father’s decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, after Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city two years later, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxanne confined at Amphipolis. Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander’s half-sister, Thessalonica, by 309 BC, Polyperchon began to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed him to have the boy killed. After this, Cassander’s position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC. After the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, in which Antigonus was killed, he was undisputed in his control of Macedonia, however, he had time to savour the fact. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexanders appeal for aid and ousted Antipater II, killed Alexander V, the remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne. Of more lasting significance was Cassander’s refoundation of Therma into Thessalonica, Cassander also founded Cassandreia upon the ruins of Potidaea. In the Oliver Stone film Alexander, he is portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca chapters xviii, xix, xx Green, Peter, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, Weidenfeld & Nicolson,2007. ISBN9780297852940 Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Demetrius,18,31, Phocion,31 Franca Landucci Gattinoni, vita e opere di Cassandro di Macedonia. ISBN 3-515-08381-2 A genealogical tree of Cassander
Cassander
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stater of Cassander. The reverse depicts a lion and an inscription in Ancient Greek reading "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΣΣΑΝΔΡΟΥ", King Cassander.
46.
Philetaerus
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Philetaerus was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. He was born in Tieium, a town which is situated in the geographical region of Pontus Euxinus on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia between Bithynia to the west and Paphlagonia to the east. His father Attalus was Greek and his mother Boa was Paphlagonian, seleucus himself was killed by Ptolemy Ceraunus, a brother of Arsinoë at Lysimachia a few months later. There are numerous records of Philetaerus as benefactor to neighboring cities and temples, including the temples at Delphi and he also contributed troops, money and food to the city of Cyzicus for defense against the invading Gauls. As a result, Philetaerus gained prestige and goodwill for himself, Philetaerus was a eunuch, though scholars differ on the reason for his castration. Attalus I, the first Attalid king of Pergamon, explained that when Philetaerus was a baby, he was brought into a crowd where he was pressed upon and he was a eunuch, therefore, but he was well trained and proved worthy of this trust. Philetaerus never married and, since he was a eunuch, had no children and he adopted his nephew Eumenes I, who succeeded him as ruler of Pergamon, upon his death in 263 BC. With the exception of Eumenes II, all future Attalid rulers depicted the bust of Philetaerus on their coins, ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, London, Cornell University Press Ltd. Kosmetatou, Elizabeth The Attalids of Pergamon, in Andrew Erskine, a Companion to the Hellenistic World. Text Junianus Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, translated, with Footnotes, by the Rev. John Selby Watson, London, Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Convent Garden. Pausanias, Description of Greece, Books I-II, translated by W. H. S. Jones, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann Ltd. Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, Books 10-12, ISBN 0-674-99233-4, Books 13-14, ISBN 0-674-99246-6
Philetaerus
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Marble bust of Philetaerus. Roman copy from 1st century AD of the Greek original. Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Philetaerus
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Coin, depicting the head of Philetaerus on the obverse and seated Athena, Greek goddess of war and wisdom, on the reverse, struck during the reign of Eumenes I (263 BC–241 BC)
47.
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
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The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was – along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom – the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC. It was centered on the north of present-day Afghanistan, the expansion of the Greco-Bactrians into present-day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan from 180 BC established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, which was to last until around 10 AD. Diodotus, the satrap of Bactria founded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom when he seceded from the Seleucid Empire around 250 BC, the preserved ancient sources are somewhat contradictory, and the exact date of Bactrian independence has not been settled. Somewhat simplified, there is a chronology and a low chronology for Diodotos’ secession. The high chronology has the advantage of explaining why the Seleucid king Antiochus II issued very few coins in Bactria, as Diodotos would have become independent there early in Antiochus reign. On the other hand, the low chronology, from the mid-240s BC, has the advantage of connecting the secession of Diodotus I with the Third Syrian War, a catastrophic conflict for the Seleucid Empire. Diodotus, the governor of the cities of Bactria, defected and proclaimed himself king, all the other people of the Orient followed his example. Their cities were Bactra, and Darapsa, and several others, among these was Eucratidia, which was named after its ruler. In 247 BC, the Ptolemaic empire captured the Seleucid capital, in the resulting power vacuum, the satrap of Parthia proclaimed independence from the Seleucids, declaring himself king. A decade later, he was defeated and killed by Arsaces of Parthia and this cut Bactria off from contact with the Greek world. Overland trade continued at a rate, while sea trade between Greek Egypt and Bactria developed. Euthydemus, a Magnesian Greek according to Polybius and possibly satrap of Sogdiana, overthrew the dynasty of Diodotus I around 230-220 BC, and the Iaxartes forms also the boundary between the Sogdians and the nomads. Euthydemus was attacked by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III around 210 BC, although he commanded 10,000 horsemen, Euthydemus initially lost a battle on the Arius and had to retreat. Following the departure of the Seleucid army, the Bactrian kingdom seems to have expanded, in the west, areas in north-eastern Iran may have been absorbed, possibly as far as into Parthia, whose ruler had been defeated by Antiochus the Great. These territories possibly are identical with the Bactrian satrapies of Tapuria, the Greek historian Strabo too writes that, they extended their empire even as far as the Seres and the Phryni. Several statuettes and representations of Greek soldiers have been north of the Tien Shan, on the doorstep to China. Greek influences on Chinese art have also been suggested, designs with rosette flowers, geometric lines, and glass inlays, suggestive of Hellenistic influences, can be found on some early Han dynasty bronze mirrors. The practice of exporting Chinese metals, in iron, for trade is attested around that period
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
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Approximate maximum extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 180 BC, including the regions of Tapuria and Traxiane to the West, Sogdiana and Ferghana to the north, Bactria and Arachosia to the south.
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
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History of Afghanistan
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
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Gold coin of Diodotus c. 245 BC. The Greek inscription reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ – "(of) King Diodotus".
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
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Remains of a Hellenistic capital found in Balkh, ancient Bactra.
48.
Diodotus I
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Diodotus I Soter was Seleucid satrap of Bactria, rebelled against Seleucid rule soon after the death of Antiochus II in c.255 or 246 BC, and wrested independence for his territory. This event is recorded by Trogus, Prol,4,5, where he is called Theodotus, Strabo xi.515. The name apparently is related to the title Soter he uses for himself and his power seems to have extended over the neighbouring provinces. Diodotus was a contemporary, a neighbour, and probably an ally of Andragoras, the satrap of Parthia and their cities were Bactra, and Darapsa, and several others. Among these was Eucratidia, which was named after its ruler. The newly declared King married a daughter, born c.266 BC, of Antiochus II Theos, the Greco-Bactrians became cut from direct contacts with the Greek world. Overland trade continued at a rate, while sea trade between Greek Egypt and Bactria developed. When Seleucus II in 239 BC attempted to subjugate the rebels in the east, it appears he, of Diodotus I we possess gold, silver and bronze coins, some of which are struck in the name of Antiochos. Diodotus Soter appears also on coins struck in his memory by the later Graeco-Bactrian kings Agathocles, cf. AV Sallet, Die Nachfolger Alexanders d. Gr. in Baktrien und Indien, Percy Gardner, Catal. of the Coins of the Greek and Scythian Kings of Bactria and India
Diodotus I
–
"Pedigree" coin of Agathocles, with the effigy of Diodotus, the Greek inscription reads: ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ - "(of) Diodotus the Saviour".
Diodotus I
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Diodotus c. 250 BC.
Diodotus I
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Gold coin of Diodotus I c. 250 BC. The Greek inscription reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ - "(of) King Diodotus".
Diodotus I
–
Gold stater of Diodotus in the name of the Seleucid emperor Antiochus I Soter, c. 250 BCE. Diodotus effectively declared his independence from Seleucid control by placing his own portrait on the obverse of the coin, and replacing Antiochos's preferred deity Apollo with the Zeus shown on this coin.
49.
Antimachus I
–
Anthimachus I Theos was one of the Greco-Bactrian kings, generally dated from around 185 BC to 170 BC. Tarn and numismatist Robert Senior place Antimachus as a member of the Euthydemid dynasty and probably as a son of Euthydemus, other historians, like Narain, mark him as independent of Euthydemid authority, and probably a scion of some relation to the Diodotid dynasty. He was king of an area covering parts of Bactria and probably also Arachosia in southern Afghanistan, Antimachus I was either defeated during his resistance to the usurper Eucratides, or his main territory was absorbed by the latter upon his death. Apparently adding to the argument against direct Euthydemid familial connections, is a unique tax-receipt that states, In the reign of Antimachos Theos and Eumenes, the fourth year, month of Olous, in Asangorna, the guardian of the law being. The tax collector Menodotus, in the presence of, who was also sent out by Demonax, the former. By the agency of Diodorus, controller of revenues, acknowledges receipt from, the son of Dataes from the priests. The dues relating to the purchase, a tax receipt from Hellenistic Bactria. Eumenes and Antimachus could be his heirs, it was standard by Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings to include their sons as joint regents, while Eumenes never issued any coins, a king named Antimachus II Nikephoros later appeared in India. It seems plausible that the Indian Antimachus was identical with the son of Antimachus I, Antimachus I issued a numerous silver coinage on the Attic standard, with his own image in a flat Macedonian kausia hat, and on the reverse Poseidon with his trident. On his coinage, Antimachus called himself Theos, The God, just like his colleague Agathocles, he issued commemorative coinage, in his case silver tetradrachms honouring Euthydemus I, also called The God, and Diodotus I, called The Saviour. This indicates that Antimachus I might have been instrumental in creating a state cult. Antimachus I also issued round bronzes depicting an elephant on the obverse, the elephant could be a Buddhist symbol. These coins are reminiscent of those of Demetrius I, as well as Apollodotus I, other bronzes, square and rather crude, also portray a walking elephant, but with a reverse of a thunderbolt. These have been attributed by Bopearachchi to Arachosia and they are Indian in their design, but the legend is only in Greek. The Greek in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press The Decline of the Indo-Greeks, Senior and D. MacDonald, Hellenistic Numismatic Society The Indo-Greeks, A. K. Narain, B. R. Publications Coins of Antimachus More coins of Antimachus
Antimachus I
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Coin of Antimachus I. British Museum.
Antimachus I
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The tax receipt, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum.
Antimachus I
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Silver coin of Antimachus I (171–160 BC). Obv: Bust of Antimachus I. Rev: Depiction of Poseidon, with Greek legend BASILEOS THEOU ANTIMACHOU "of God-King Antimachus".
Antimachus I
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Coin of Antimachus, Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.
50.
Demetrius II of India
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Demetrius II was a Greco-Bactrian/Indo-Greek king who ruled brieftly during the 2nd century BC. Little is known about him and there are different views about how to date him, earlier authors such as Tarn and Narain saw him as a son and sub-king of Demetrius I, but this view is now abandoned. Osmund Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled in Bactria and Arachosia c, 175–170 BC, but this has been challenged by later authors. 175–140 BC, and this is supported by L M Wilson who also assumes from numismatical clues and portrait likeness that Demetrius II was a relative of Eucratides the Great. The later dating is supported by the circumstance that no coins of Demetrius II have been found in the ruins of Ai Khanoum, history records keep one reference to a king Demetrius contemporary with Eucratides, and this reference is highly problematic. Roman historian Justin names a Demetrius, king of the Indians and this episode is referred to as occurring at the end of the reign of Eucratides, hence dating the death of Justins Demetrius around 150 BC. Justins Demetrius may have been a relative of the Indian king Apollodotus I or a prince of the Euthydemid dynasty. However, the king of Justins quote is not easily reconciled with the numismatical evidence, Bopearachchi has singled out three kings named Demetrius. 200-185 BC, well before the rise of Eucratides, and Demetrius III was an Indian king who is thought to have ruled much later, there remains Demetrius II, who Bopearachchi suggested reigned around 170 BC. Bopearachchi continues to identify Demetrius II with Justin’s Demetrius of India, furthermore, Bopearachchi’s Demetrius II reigned in Bactria and not in India, as he struck no coins with Indian legends. Therefore, the identity of Justins Demetrius, king of the Indians, remains uncertain, the following hypotheses may be considered, The account of Justin, who is a second-hand source, is confused. Bopearachchis Demetrius III could be placed earlier - this kings coins are few and rather peculiar -, even if Justins Demetrius, king of the Indians existed, this does not exclude that Eucratides also had a son named Demetrius, which was a common dynastic name at the time. The prince may have named after the Seleucid Demetrius I Soter. Demetrius II issued only silver and mostly tetradrachms, another trait which he has in common with the last Bactrian kings, the obverse shows a diademed portrait, with a standing Pallas Athene holding a spear on the reverse. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he has no epithet, Demetrius II is depicted as a young man, though his features differs considerably between different issued. Several coins are struck off-center and crude, this suggests that Demetrius II used a number of temporary mints, indo-Greek Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W
Demetrius II of India
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Coin of Demetrius II. Obv: Profile of Demetrius II. Rev: Standing Athena with legend "(of) King Demetrius".
51.
Plato of Bactria
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Plato was a Greco-Bactrian king who reigned for a short time in southern Bactria or the Paropamisade during the mid 2nd century BCE. Some of Platos coins have inscriptions which may be possibly be interpreted as using the Indo-Greek era which started around 186 BCE. In that case Plato ruled around 140 BCE, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley ISBN 1-58115-203-5 Buddhism in Central Asia by B. N. Puri ISBN 81-208-0372-8
Plato of Bactria
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Coin of Plato. Obv: Diademed bust of Plato. Rev: Sun divinity Helios, riding a four-horse chariot. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ (BASILEOS EPIPHANOYS PLATONOS) "Of King Plato, God-manifest".
52.
Heliocles I
–
Heliocles was a Greco-Bactrian king, relative and successor of Eucratides the Great, and probably the last Greek king to reign over the Bactrian country. His reign was a one, according to Roman historian Justin, Eucratides was murdered by his son and co-ruler. The patricide might have led to instability, even civil war, from 130 BCE a nomadic people, the Yuezhi, started to invade Bactria from the north and we could assume that Heliocles was killed in battle during this invasion. Details from Chinese sources seem to indicate that the invasion did not end civilisation in Bactria entirely. Hellenised cities continued to exist for some time, and the agricultural systems were not demolished. The Yuezhi would copy and adapt the coin types of Heliokles for a long time, even if this was the end of the original Greco-Bactrian kingdom, the Greeks continued to rule in northwestern India to the end of the 1st century BCE, under the Indo-Greek Kingdom. It is unclear whether the dynasty of Eucratides was extinguished with the death of Heliocles I or if members of the family emigrated eastwards, several later Indo-Greek king, including Heliocles II, struck coins which could be associated with the dynasty. Coins of Heliocles More coins of Heliocles Catalogue of the Coins of Heliocles I and Scythian Imitations
Heliocles I
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Silver coin of Heliocles (145–130 BCE) Obv: Bust of Heliocles Rev: Zeus standing, with thunderbolt and sceptre. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ (BASILEOS DIKAIOU HELIOKLEOUS) "Of King Heliocles the Just".
53.
Apollodotus I
–
Apollodotus was not the first to strike bilingual coins outside Bactria, but he was the first king who ruled in India only, and therefore the founder of the proper Indo-Greek kingdom. According to W. W. Tarn, Apollodotus I was one of the generals of Demetrius I of Bactria, Tarn was uncertain whether he was a member of the royal house. Later authors largely agree with Tarns analysis, though with even more uncertainty regarding who the king was. Apollodotus was either succeeded in India by Antimachus II, or the two kings were contemporary, Antimachus II ruling the more western territories closer to Bactria, eventually Apollodotus I was succeeded by Menander I, and the two kings are mentioned by Pompejus Trogus as important Indo-Greek rulers. The coinage of Apollodotus is, together with that of Menander and it is found mainly in the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat, indicating the southern limit of the Indo-Greek expansion in India. This is also suggested by the Periplus, a 1st-century CE document on trade in the Indian Ocean, strabo also describes the occupation of Patalene. While Sindh may have come under his possession, it is not known as to whether Apollodotus advanced to Gujarat, Apollodotus also issued a great number of bilingual Indian-standard square coins. Beside the usual title, the exact significance of the animals depicted on the coins is unclear. Similarly, the bull on the reverse may be a symbol of a city, or a depiction of Shiva, making it a symbol of Hinduism. The bull is often represented in an erectile state, which reinforces its interpretation as a representation of Shiva. Conversely, this reinforces the interpretation of the elephant as a religious symbol. The enlightenment and passing of the Buddha also occurred during the Taurus full moon, the nandipada and the zebu bull are generally associated with Nandi, Shiva s humped bull in Hinduism. The same association was later on coins of Zeionises or Vima Kadphises. He issued a number of bronzes with Apollo /tripod, that also were repeated for centuries, Apollodotus also issued a small series of monolingual Attic tetradrachms, intended for export into Bactria. On these coins, he used no epithet, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire Tarn, William Woodthorpe. The Greeks in Bactria and India, coins of Apollodotus More coins of Apollodotus
Apollodotus I
54.
Antimachus II
–
Antimachus II Nikephoros was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled on a vast territory from the Hindu-Kush to the Punjab around 170 BCE and he was almost certainly identical with the eponymous son of Antimachus I, who is known from a unique preserved tax-receipt. Bopearachchi dated Antimachus II to 160–155 BCE on numismatical grounds, 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 Boperachchis 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. 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 number of bilingual drachms on the same lighter Indian standard as Apollodotus I. On the obverse is Nike, and on the reverse a king on horseback and 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, greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Rea, J. R. Senior, R. C. A Tax Receipt from Hellenistic Bactria, the Greeks in Bactria and India. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum 9, American Numismatic Society, New York,1997
Antimachus II
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Coin of Antimachus II. Obv: Nike with Greek legend BASILEOS NIKEPHOROU ANTIMACHOU. King on horse, with Kharoshti legend.
Antimachus II
–
Coin Antimachos II Nikephoros with Gorgone and victory wreath.
55.
Menander I
–
Menander I Soter was an Indo-Greek King of the Indo-Greek Kingdom who established a large empire in Northwestern regions of South Asia and became a patron of Buddhism. Menander was initially a king of Bactria, large numbers of Menander’s coins have been unearthed, attesting to both the flourishing commerce and duration of his realm. Menander was also a patron of Buddhism, and his conversations with the Buddhist sage Nagasena are recorded in the important Buddhist work, after his death in 130 BC, he was succeeded by his wife Agathokleia who ruled as regent for his son Strato I. Menander was born to a Greek family in a village called Kalasi adjacent to Alexandria of the Caucasus and his territories covered the eastern dominions of the divided Greek empire of Bactria and extended to India. His capital is supposed to have been Sagala, a city in northern Punjab. He subsequently travelled across northern India and visited the Maurayan capital of Patna, any plans of conquering the capital were put aside as Eucratides I king of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom began warring with the Indo-Greeks in the north-western frontier. In short, Apollodorus says that Bactriana is the ornament of Ariana as a whole, and, more than that, they extended their empire even as far as the Seres, the thick mud-fortifications at Pataliputra being reached, all the provinces will be in disorder, without doubt. Ultimately, a battle will follow, with tree-like engines. The Milinda Panha gives some glimpses of his methods, His reign was long. Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extension of his empire, the finds of his coins are the most numerous, precise dates of his reign, as well as his origin, remain elusive however. Menanders predecessor in Punjab seems to have been the king Apollodotus I, Menanders empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last Greek king Strato II disappeared around 10 AD. Menander was the first Indo-Greek ruler to introduce the representation of Athena Alkidemos on his coins, probably in reference to a statue of Athena Alkidemos in Pella. This type was used by most of the later Indo-Greek kings. According to tradition, Menander embraced the Buddhist faith, as described in the Milinda Panha and he is described as constantly accompanied by a guard of 500 Greek soldiers, and two of his counsellors are named Demetrius and Antiochus. As a disputant he was hard to equal, harder still to overcome, and as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India. He was rich too, mighty in wealth and prosperity, there is however little besides this testament to indicate that Menander in fact abdicated his throne in favour of his son. Based on numismatic evidence, Sir William Tarn believes that he in fact died, leaving his wife Agathocleia to rule as a regent, until his son Strato could rule properly in his stead. Despite the success of his reign, it is clear that after his death, his loosely hung empire splintered into a variety of Indo-Greek successor kingdoms, of various size, in his right hand, he holds a branch of ivy, symbol of Dionysos
Menander I
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Silver coin of Menander Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU) lit. "Of Saviour King Menander". British Museum.
Menander I
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Indo-Greek Kingdoms in 100 BC.
Menander I
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2. Silver drachm of Menander I (155-130 BC). Obv: Greek legend, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU) lit. "Of Saviour King Menander". Rev: Kharosthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA MENAMDRASA "Saviour King Menander". Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield. Taxila mint mark.
Menander I
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King Milinda asks questions.
56.
Agathokleia
–
For the 3rd century BC mistress of Ptolemy IV Philopator, see Agathoclea. Agathokleia Theotropos was an Indo-Greek queen who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son Strato I, the traditional view, introduced by Tarn and defended as late as 1998 by Bopearachchi, is that Agathokleia was the widow of Menander I. In the civil wars after Menanders death, the Indo-Greek empire was divided, with Agathokleia and her young son Strato maintaining themselves in the territories of Gandhara. The modern view, embraced by R. C, senior and probably more solid since it is founded on numismatical analyses, suggests that Agathokleia was a later queen, perhaps ruling from 110 BC–100 BC or slightly later. In this case, Agathokleia was likely the widow of another king, in either case, Agathokleia was among the first women to rule a Hellenistic Kingdom, in the period following the reign of Alexander the Great. Some of her subjects may have been reluctant to accept an infant king with a regent, unlike the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Kingdoms. This was probably because the kings were required to command armies, as can be seen on their coins where they are depicted with helmets. Agathokleia seems to have associated herself with Athena, the goddess of war, the coins of Agathokleia and Strato were all bilingual, and Agathokleias name appears more often in the Greek legend than in the Indian. Most of Agathokleias coins were struck jointly with her son Strato, though on their first issues, the Greeks in Bactria and India
Agathokleia
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Coin of Agathokleia. Obv: Queen Agathokleia in profile. Rev:: Greek straight bow and arrow container.
Agathokleia
–
Coin of Strato I and Agathokleia. Obv: Conjugate busts of Strato and Agathokleia. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTEROS STRATONOS KAI AGATOKLEIAS "Of Saviour King Strato, and Agathokleia". Rev: Athena throwing thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATASARA DHARMIKASA STRATASA "King Strato, Saviour and Just (="of the Dharma")".
57.
Strato I
–
Until recently, consensus was that he ruled between c. 130–110 BCE in Northern India and that his father was the great king Menander I and this view was introduced by Tarn and defended as recently as 1998 by Bopearachchi. The modern view, embraced by R. C, senior and probably more solid since it is founded on numismatical analyses, suggests that Strato I was a later king, perhaps ruling from 110–85 BCE, though perhaps still a descendant of Agathokleia. In this case, Agathokleia was the widow of another king, a third hypothesis was presented in 2007 by J. Strato Epiphanes Soter, was a middle-aged king who may have been Agathokleias brother and ruled in western Punjab. This theory was based on difference in titles, in monograms, agathocleias importance was gradually downplayed on the coins, so presumably her guardianship ended when Strato came of age. Strato I was also the only Indo-Greek king to appear bearded, Strato I, or the two Stratos, fought for hegemony in Punjab with the king Heliokles II, who overstruck several of their coins. There were very likely wars with other kings as well, the middle-aged Strato, according to the third theory, was succeeded by his son Polyxenios, who ruled only for a short time. A hoard of Stratos coins was found in Mathura outside New Delhi, the coins of Strato show portraits aging from a youth to middle-aged. They have been divided into the periods, where period 8 may belong to the second king. ^ Period 1, Bronzes, Athena / seated Heracles. W, Tarn, Cambridge University Press Coins of Strato I More coins of Strato I
Strato I
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Coin of Strato I and Agathokleia. Obv: Conjugate busts of Strato and Agathokleia. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTΕROS STRATONOS KAI AGATOKLEIAS "Of Saviour King Strato, and Agathokleia". Rev: Athena throwing thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATASARA DHARMIKASA STRATASA "King Strato, Saviour and Just (="of the Dharma")".
Strato I
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Coin of Strato I.
58.
Diomedes Soter
–
Diomedes Soter was an Indo-Greek king. The places where his coins have been found seem to indicate that his rule was based in the area of the Paropamisadae, Diomedes depicted the Dioscurion his coins, either on horseback or standing, both types were previously used by Eucratides I. It is however uncertain how the two were related, since Eucratides I died long before Diomedes, Diomedes minted both Attic-type coins, and bilingual coins, indicating that he was ruling in the western part of the Indo-Greek territory. One overstrike is known, of a coin of Strato and Agathokleia over a coin of Diomedes and this overstrike could indicate that Diomedes fought over the central areas of the Indo-Greek territories with Strato and Agathokleia. Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Greco-Buddhism Indo-Parthian Kingdom Indo-Scythians Kushan Empire Seleucid Empire Tarn, the Greeks in Bactria and India. De lIndus à lOxus, Archéologie de lAsie Centrale, coins of Diomedes Other coins of Diomedes Le roi Diomède
Diomedes Soter
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Coin of Diomedes. Obv: Helmetted king Diomedes. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTEROS DIOMEDOY "Of King Diomedes, The Saviour". Rev: Dioscuri. Kharoshti translation of legend.
59.
Theophilos (king)
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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 known from coins. It is possible some of Theophilos coins in fact belong to another ruler, in Greek Bactria. While Bopearachchi suggests c.90 BCE, R. C, senior believes that Theophilos ruled in the 130s BCE. Both numismatics do however suggest that the reigns of Theophilos and Nicias were adjacent, just like Zoilos I, Theophilos struck Indian silver coins with Herakles, a common symbol of the house of Euthydemus I, and the epithet Dikaios/Dhramikasa The Just/Follower of the Dharma. The monograms are mostly the same as those of Nicias, bronzes of Theophilos, However, there is a wholly different, and very rare, Attic coinage of a king Theophilos. Found in Bactria, these feature a reverse with a seated Athena with Nike, a different title Autokrator Autocrat King. Although this is not a common occurrence on Indo-Greek coins. Bopearachchi has supported this proposition by pointing at the similarity between the portraits and the treatment of the diadem. Against this, Jakobsson argues that the coins issued by the later Indo-Greek kings for export into Bactria were consistently similar to these kings regular Indian coinage, consequently, the coins of Theophilos Autokrator were not such export issues, but should belong to a Bactrian ruler. Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W
Theophilos (king)
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Herakles with lion skin, and his club on the reverse.
Theophilos (king)
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Bust of Herakles, with cornucopia on reverse.
60.
Nicias (Indo-Greek king)
–
Nicias was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the Paropamisade. Most of his relatively few coins have found in northern Pakistan. He was possibly a relative of Menander I, bopearachchi suggests that Nikias ruled c. This late date is supported by the absence of Attic coins, senior on the other hand places him as a successor of Menander, c. 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. 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 Menanders Athena with thunderbolt is found on a unique tetradrachm. The third reverse is the king on a prancing horse. 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 parts of the Indo-Greek realm. His monograms generally match those of the kings Theophilus and Philoxenus, though one is shared with Thrason, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley ISBN 1-58115-203-5 The Greeks in Bactria and India, Indo-Greek history and coins Ancient coinage of the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms Le Roi indo-grec Nicias Le Sauveur
Nicias (Indo-Greek king)
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Coin of king Nicias (c. 90–85 BCE) Obv: Bust of Nicias with Greek legend BASILEOS SOTEROS NIKIOU "Of Saviour King Nicias". Rev: King in armour, holding a palm of victory in his left hand, and making a gesture of benediction with his right hand, similar to the Buddhist vitarka mudra. Kharoshti legend MAHARAJA TRATARASA NIKIASA "Saviour King Nicias".
61.
Archebius
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Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Taxila. Osmund Bopearachchi dates him to c, senior to about the same period. He was probably one of the last Indo-Greek kings before the Saka king Maues conquered Taxila, and he may have been a relative of Heliokles II, who used a similar reverse and also the title Dikaios. Archebius issued silver with diademed or helmeted king, sometimes in spear-throwing pose, on the reverse is Zeus standing facing, holding a thunderbolt or on some issues an aegis. Archebius also struck a series of Attic tetradrachms, found in Bactria. He issued bronzes with an owl / Nike, Archebius overstruck two coins of Peukolaos. Coins of Archebius More Coins of Archebios
Archebius
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Coin of Archebios. Obv: Helmetted king Archebius. Greek legend: ARCHEBIOU DIKAIOU NIKEPHOROU "Of Archebius the Just and Victorious" Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
Archebius
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Coin of Archebius. Obv: Bareheaded king Archebius. Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
Archebius
–
King thrusting javelin.
Archebius
–
Bust of Zeus, and caps of the Dioscuri with palms.
62.
Apollodotus II
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Apollodotus II was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the western and eastern parts of Punjab. Apollodotos II was an important ruler who seems to have re-established the Indo-Greek kingdom to some extent of its former glory, Taxila in western Punjab was reconquered from nomad Scythian rule, and according to Bopearachchi, eastern territory was taken back from Indian kingdoms. Apollodotus II seems to have been a member of the dynasty of Menander I, since he used their typical deity Athena Alkidemos on most of his silver, on some coins, he also calls himself Philopator, which proves that his father had been king before him. R C Senior guesses that Amyntas or Epander could have been his father, Apollodotus reign possibly began in the Punjab, when the Scythian king Maues ruled in Gandhara and its capital Taxila. The late Indo-Greeks may have been mixed with both Indians and Scythians. R C Senior suggests that Apollodotus had struck an alliance with another Scythian king, Azes I. The Scythian hold of Gandhara loosened after the death of Maues and these kings posed no threat to Apollodotus II, who on some of his coins assumed the title Basileus Megas, in echo of Maues boastful title Great King of Kings. After the death of Apollodotus II, the Indo-Greek kingdom fragmented once more, Apollodotus II issued a large number of coins. He struck bronzes with Apollo/tripod, an introduced by his namesake Apollodotus I. The coins of Apollodotus II are of different qualities, some still have the realistic portraits characteristic of the earlier Indo-Greek coins, and Bopearachchi attributes these series to the western part of his kingdom. On some of his coins there are both extra monograms in shape of Kharosthi letters and these monograms are interpreted, which was suggested already by W. W. Tarn, to have belonged to officials with Indian names, the coins therefore indicate that Apollodotus II relied more on his Indian subjects than earlier kings, and also opened new mints in eastern Punjab where Greek presence was scarce. Apollodotus II overstruck a bronze of Maues, zoilos II overstruck some of the coins of Apollodotus II, as did Azes I. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley ISBN 1-58115-203-5 The Greeks in Bactria and India, coins of Apollodotus II More coins of Apollodotus II
Apollodotus II
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Indo-Greek king Apollodotus II (80–65 BC). Obv.: Bust of king Apollodotus II. Greek legend ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ "Of Apollodotus the Great, Saviour & Fatherloving King". Rev.: Athena Alkidemos standing left, thunderbolt in raised right hand, holding out aegis with left arm. Legend in Kharoshthi script Tratarasa Maharajasa Apalatasa "Saviour King Appolodotus".
Apollodotus II
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Indo-Greek king Apollodotus II (80-65 BC). Obv.: Greek legend reads ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ, "of Apollodotus King Great Saviour and Fatherloving". Rev.: Legend in Kharoshthi script Tratarasa Maharajasa Apalatasa "Saviour King Appolodotus", with goddess Athena (type of Menander I).
63.
Hippostratos
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Hippostratos was an Indo-Greek king who ruled central and north-western Punjab and Pushkalavati. Bopearachchi dates Hippostratos to 65 to 55 BCE whereas R. C, senior suggests 60 to 50 BCE. In Bopearachchis reconstruction Hippostratos came to power as the successor to Apollodotus II, in the part of his kingdom. Senior assumes that the reigns of Apollodotus II and Hippostratos overlapped somewhat, just like Apollodotus II, Hippostratos calls himself Soter, Saviour, on all his coins, and on some coins he also assumes the title Basileos Megas, Great King, which he inherited from Apollodotus II. This may support Seniors scenario that Hippostratos extended his kingdom after Apollodotus death, the relationship between these two kings remains uncertain due to lack of sources. Hippostratos did however not use the symbol of standing Athena Alkidemos, the two kings share only one monogram. The quantity and quality of the coinage of Hippostratos indicate a powerful king. Hippostratos seems to have fought rather successfully against the Indo-Scythian invaders, led by the Scythian king Azes I, Hippostratos issued silver coins with a diademed portrait on the obverse, and three reverses. The first is the image of a king on prancing horse, the second reverse also portrays a king on horseback, but the horse is walking and the king making a benediction gesture - this type resembles a rare type of Apollodotus II. The third is a goddess, perhaps Tyche. Hippostratos struck several bronzes of types used by kings, Serpent-legged deity / standing goddess. Apollo/tripod Sitting Zeus-Mithras / horse, reminiscent of coins of Hermaeus, Azes I overstruck several of Hippostratos coins. Indo-Greek Kingdom Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W, tarn, Cambridge University Press Main coins of Hippostratos
Hippostratos
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Tetradrachm of Hippostratos. Obv: Bust of Hippostratos with Greek legend BASILEOS MEGALOU SOTEROS / HIPPOSTRATOU "Of Great Saviour King Hippostratos". Rev: King on horseback, galloping. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATASA MAHATASA JAYAMTASA HIPUSTRATASA "King Hippostratos, the Great Saviour and Conqueror.
64.
Dionysios Soter
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Dionysios Soter was an Indo-Greek king in the area of eastern Punjab. According to Osmund Bopearachchi, he reigned ca circa 65–55 BCE, senior dates him approximately ten years later. Dionysios name echoes the Olympic wine-god Dionysos, who according to Greek mythology was also an ancient king of India, Dionysios was the first in the line of late kings who issued only silver drachms, but no tetradrachms, which was likely due to his limited resources. On their obverse is a portrait of the king, with Athena Alkidemos on the reverse. He also issued bronzes with Apollo on the reverse and a tripod on the obverse, both these types were inherited from Apollodotus II. The quality of the portraits is inferior to most earlier kings, according to Bopearachchi, Dionysios inherited only the inferior celators of Apollodotus II, which he associates with mints in eastern Punjab. He is also the first king known to have used this mint-mark, the Bactrian and Indus-Greeks, Ahmed Hasan Dani, Lahore Museum. The Indo-Greeks Revisited and Supplemented, A. K
Dionysios Soter
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Coin of Dionysios Soter
Dionysios Soter
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Coins of Dionysios.
65.
Zoilos II
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Zoilos II Soter was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in eastern Punjab. Bopearachchi dates his reign to c, 55–35 BCE, a date approximately supported by R. C. The name is often Latinized as Zoilus and it is possible that some of his coins were issued by a separate king, Zoilos III. He seems to have one of the rulers who succeeded the last important Indo-Greek king Apollodotus II the Great in the eastern parts of his former kingdom. All these kings use the symbol as Apollodotus II, the fighting Pallas Athene introduced by Menander I. The portraits attributed to Zoilos II could be divided into two groups, one depicting a man with hollow cheeks, the other a seemingly younger man with a fringe. This mint-mark however was never used by the balding Zoilos II, the Indo-Scythian king Bhadayasa also copied coins of the Zoilos II, or the hypothetical Zoilos III, only mentioning his own name on the Kharoshthi legend of his coins. Many of the monograms on the coins of Zoilos II are in Kharoshti and this is a characteristic of several of the Indo-Greek kings of the eastern Punjab, such as Strato I, Apollodotus II, and sometimes Apollophanes and Dionysios. Furthermore, the monogram is often identical on their coins, indicating that the moneyer, the coins of Zoilos II combine Greek monograms with Kharoshthi ones, indicating that some of the celators may have been native Indians. The Kharoshthi monograms are the letters for, sti, ji, ra, ga, gri, ha, stri, ri, bu, a, di, stra, and śi. The Apollo and tripod and Elephant and tripod types only have Kharoshthi monograms, while the portrait types usually have combinations of Greek, the monogram 62 has been shown to be the last Indo-Greek monogram, and only appears on the younger portraits that may be belong to Zoilus III. The coins of Zoilos II have been found in the Sutlej and Sialkot II hoards, also,25 coins of Zoilos II were found under the foundations of a 1st century BCE rectangular chapel in the monastery of Dharmarajika, near Taxila. Two coins of Zoilos II were also found in the Bara hoard near Peshawar, together with coins of the Indo-Scythian kings Azes I, a coin of Zoilus II was overstruck on a coin of Apollodotus II. Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Seleucid Empire Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthian Kingdom Kushan Empire The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press
Zoilos II
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Coin of king Zoilos II (55–35 BCE). Obv: Bust of Zoilos II with Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΖΩΙΛΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS ZOILOU) "Of King Zoilos the Saviour". Rev: Athena advancing left, with thunderbolt and shield covered with aegis (type of Menander I). Kharosthi legend: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA JHOILASA "King Zoilos the Saviour".
Zoilos II
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Coin of Zoilos II.
Zoilos II
66.
Strato II
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Strato II Soter was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled c.25 BCE to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi, 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, Strato II ruled in the eastern Punjab, probably retaining the capital of Sagala, or possibly to the city of Bucephala. A few silver coins with a different portrait and the inscription Strato Soter Dikaios may also belong to Strato III as sole ruler, or to a fourth king named Strato. Just like the earlier king Strato I, the last Stratos are thought to belong to the dynasty of Menander I, who used the epithet Soter. The chronology of the late Indo-Greek kingdom has been established by Bopearachchi, 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 pressure of the Indo-Scythian nomads on the remaining Greek pockets. 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, 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 jaw on some of his coins. Strato II also issued bronzes and even lead coins of the common type Apollo/tripod, on some of Strato IIs silver drachms the letter sigma is written as C, a not uncommon trait on late Hellenistic coins in the east. Subsequent Indo-Scythian rulers, who replaced the Stratos in their territories and this is the case of the Northern Satraps, who ruled in the territories from Sagala in Eastern Punjab to Mathura, such as Rajuvula, Bhadayasa. The fact that new rulers such as Rajuvula adopted extensively these coin designs tends to suggest that Strato II had been quite a significant ruler in his eyes. Indo-Greek Kingdom Greco-Buddhism Indo-Scythians Notes References Whitehead, R. B, catalogue of coins in the Punjab museum, Lahore. Straton II, roi indo-grec Coin India Strato II and III
Strato II
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Coin of Strato II. Obv: Probable 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
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Coin of Strato II and Strato III. Obv: Probable bust of Strato II. Possible Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTEROS STRATONOS KAI PHILOPATOROS STRATONOS "Of Kings Strato the Saviour and Strato the Father-loving". 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.
67.
Nicomedes II of Bithynia
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Nicomedes II Epiphanes was the king of Bithynia from 149 to c.127 BC. He was fourth in descent from Nicomedes I, Nicomedes II was the son and successor of Prusias II and Apame IV. His parents were related as they were cousins and he was so popular with the people that his father sent him to Rome to limit his influence. However, in Rome, he gained favor from the Roman Senate. But the emissary revealed the plot, and persuaded the prince to rebel against his father, supported by Attalus II Philadelphus, king of Pergamon, he was completely successful, and ordered his father to be put to death at Nicomedia. During his long reign Nicomedes adhered steadily to the Roman alliance and he was succeeded by his son Nicomedes III. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Nicomedes II of Bithynia
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Silver coin depicting Nicomedes II
68.
Mithridates III of Pontus
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Mithridates III was the fourth King of Pontus, son of Mithridates II of Pontus and Laodice. Mithridates had two sisters who were Laodice III the first wife of the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great and he may have ruled in an uncertain period between 220 BC and 183 BC. Nothing is known of him since the years just cited, because the kingdom of Pontus disappears from history, Mithridates married an obscure Seleucid Princess called Laodice. By his wife, he had three children, Mithridates IV of Pontus, Pharnaces I of Pontus and Laodice, whos Who in the Greek World
Mithridates III of Pontus
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Tetradrachm di Mithridates III of Pontus
69.
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene
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Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen was an Armenian king from the Kingdom of Commagene and the most famous king of that kingdom. The ruins of the tomb-sanctuary of Antiochus atop Mount Nemrut in Turkey were named to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987, several sandstone bas reliefs discovered at the site contain some of the oldest known images of two figures shaking hands. Antiochus I was the son and probably the child of King Mithridates I Callinicus. Antiochus was half Armenian, a distant member of the Orontid Dynasty, antiochus’ father Mithridates was the son of King of Commagene Sames II Theosebes Dikaios and an unidentified woman. More certain are his dynastic connections to the Diadochi, antiochus’ mother, Laodice VII Thea, was a Greek princess of the Seleucid Empire. Laodice’s father was the Seleucid King Antiochus VIII Grypus, while her mother was a Ptolemaic princess and these five men, the Diadochi successors, had served as generals under Macedonian King, Alexander the Great. Antiochus’ parents had married as part of an alliance between their kingdoms. Little is known of his life and education, aside from its philhellenic aspect, however, it seems that when his father died in 70 BC. Antiochus married Princess Isias Philostorgos of Cappadocia, daughter of King Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia, Antiochus is first mentioned in the ancient sources in 69 BC, when Lucullus campaigned against the Armenian King Tigranes the Great. Antiochus made peace with the general Pompey in 64 BC, when Pompey successfully invaded Syria, Antiochus and Pompey then became allies. Antiochus in 59 BC was granted the toga praetexta and given official recognition from the Roman Senate as an ally to Rome, Antiochus received an ivory sceptre and an embroidered triumphal robe, and he was greeted as king, ally and friend. This recognition was a way of recognising and rewarding the allies to Rome. From his reign onwards, monarchs from Commagene proved to be the most loyal Roman allies, when Marcus Tullius Cicero was Roman governor of Cilicia in 51 BC, Antiochus provided Cicero with intelligence of the movements of the Parthians. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, Antiochus provided troops for Pompey, in 38 BC, a legate of Triumvir Mark Antony, Publius Ventidius Bassus, after campaigning against the Parthians, wanted to attack Antiochus and his kingdom. Antony and Bassus were attracted by Commagenes wealth, yet as they were preparing to march against Commagene and its capital Samosata, Antiochus negotiated a peaceful settlement with them. Antiochus is famous for building the impressive religious sanctuary of Nemrud Dagi or Mount Nemrut, when Antiochus reigned as king he was creating a royal cult for himself and preparing to be worshipped after his death. Antiochus was inspired to create his own cult in the Greek form of the religion Zoroastrianism, Antiochus left many Greek inscriptions revealing many aspects of his religion and explaining his purpose of action. In one inscription, Antiochus directed that his tomb should be built in a high and holy place, remote from people and close to the gods, Antiochus wanted his body to be preserved for eternity
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene
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Antiochus I of Commagene, shaking hands with Heracles, 70–38 BC, Arsameia
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene
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Statues of gods and the pyramid-like tomb-sanctuary of King Antiochus Theos of Commagene rising behind, atop Mount Nemrut
70.
Orophernes of Cappadocia
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Orophernes Nicephorus was one of the two false sons whom Antiochis imposed upon her husband, Ariarathes IV, king of Cappadocia. On the birth, however, of a son, named Mithradates, Orophernes. When Ariarathes V refused to marry the sister of Demetrius I Soter, king of Syria, in 157 BC, when Ariarathes had been deposed and had fled to Rome, Orophernes sent two ambassadors to the capital city to join the emissaries of Demetrius in opposing his brother. According to Appian the Romans decided that the two claimants should share the throne between them, to supply his lavish extravagance, he oppressed and pillaged his subjects, putting many to death and confiscating their property. He deposited 400 talents with the citizens of Priene as a resource in case of a reversal of fortune, but the Priennians later returned the money. When Orophernes business affairs were on the decline, he became alarmed that his soldiers might mutiny over unpaid wages so he plundered an ancient temple of Zeus to pay them off. Orophernes was forced at the end to return to Syria, where he entered into a conspiracy with the people of Antioch to dethrone Demetrius, the latter threw Orophernes into chains, but spared his life that he might still keep Ariarathes in alarm with his pretensions. Today Orophernes is mainly known for a written by the celebrated modern Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy in 1915. In meditating on a found in Priene, the poet wrote Orophernes, on the pretenders life. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Orophernes of Cappadocia
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Coin of Orophernes, king of Cappadocia. British Museum.
71.
Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
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Ariarathes VI Epiphanes Philopator, King of Cappadocia, was the youngest son of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and Nysa of Cappadocia. He was a child at his succession, and for this reason the power was kept by his mother who acted as his regent. At some point her mother seems to have poisoned all of Ariarathes’ five brothers and these facts were a good pretext for his maternal uncle King Mithridates V Euergetes of Pontus, for trying to assert control over the country. For this he married Ariarathes to his maternal cousin Laodice of Cappadocia, Laodice bore Ariarathes one daughter and two sons, Nysa who married King Nicomedes III Euergetes of Bithynia, Ariarathes VII Philometor and Ariarathes VIII Epiphanes. Since this wasnt deemed enough to transform Cappadocia in a satellite of Pontus, Mithridates V Euergetes son, Mithridates VI, murdered Ariarathes using Gordius, a Cappadocian nobleman. On his death the kingdom was ruled by Ariarathes widow and then seized by King Nicomedes III of Bithynia, who married Laodice. Nicomedes III was soon expelled by Mithridates VI, who placed upon the throne Ariarathes VII. article name needed, dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
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O: Diademed head of Ariarathes VI
Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
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Woodcut illustration of Berenice (or Laodice) of Cappadocia, wife of Ariarathes VI
72.
Ariarathes VII of Cappadocia
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Ariarathes VII Philometor, King of Cappadocia, was the first son of King Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia and his wife Laodice of Cappadocia. Ariarathes VII had a sister called Nysa and a younger brother called Ariarathes VIII of Cappadocia. In his first years he reigned under the regency of his mother Laodice, during this period the kingdom was seized by King Nicomedes III of Bithynia, who married Laodice. Hazel, John, Whos Who in the Greek World, Ariarathes VII, Head, Barclay, Historia Numorum, Cappadocia
Ariarathes VII of Cappadocia
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O: Diademed head of Ariarathes VII
73.
Archelaus of Cappadocia
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Archelaus was a Roman client prince and the last king of Cappadocia. Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent and his full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia. Archelaus’ father served as the High Priest of the Roman Goddess of War, Archelaus had a brother called Sisines. The paternal grandfather of Archelaus, also known as Archelaus, was the first in his family to be High Priest and Roman Client Ruler of the state of Comana. His paternal grandfather claimed to be descended from King Mithridates VI of Pontus and his father was replaced by another Greek nobleman called Lycomedes. Pompey was their patron and it was he that appointed his paternal grandfather as High Priest Ruler of the temple state of Comana. Years later the mother of Archelaus, Glaphyra, became one of the mistresses to the Roman Triumvir Mark Antony, Glaphyra was a Hetaera, or courtesan. His mother was famed and celebrated in antiquity for her beauty, charm, through their affair, Glaphyra had influenced and induced Antony to designate and install her son Archelaus as king of Cappadocia. In 36 BC, Antony removed from his throne and then executed the former Cappadocian King Ariarathes X and his mother appeared to be a powerful lady at the Royal Court and was involved with internal politics in Cappadocia. After Archelaus assumed the Cappadocian throne, his title was in Greek, Ἀρχέλαος Φιλοπατρίς Κτίστης. Philopatris Ktistes, means in Greek lover and founder of his country and his royal title is known from surviving inscriptions, in particular from coinage. In his early reign Archelaus married his first wife, whom through her marriage to him became Queen of Cappadocia, the identity of an earlier wife or wives has not been recorded. His first wife was an unnamed Princess from Armenia, who died by 8 BC, there is a possibility that his first wife may have been a distant relative of his. His first wife may have been a daughter of King Artavasdes II of Armenia of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artavasdes II was the father of the future Armenian Kings Artaxias II and Tigranes III. With his first wife, Archelaus had two children, a daughter called Glaphyra through whom he had descendants, and a son called Archelaus of Cilicia. Archelaus was an ally to Antony, until his defeat at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, before Archelaus became an ally to Octavian, he was Antony’s beneficiary. By Archelaus making peace with Octavian, he was able to retain his crown, when Octavian became the first Roman Emperor Augustus, Archelaus became an important client monarch to Rome
Archelaus of Cappadocia
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Silver Drachm of Archaelaus of Cappadocia. The Greek inscription reads "ΒΑΣΙΛΈΩΣ ΑΡΧΕΛΟΥ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΤΙΣΤΟΥ."
74.
Bosporan Kingdom
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The Bosporan Kingdom was the longest surviving Roman client kingdom. The 1st and 2nd centuries BC saw a period of renewed golden age of the Bosporan state and it was a Roman province from 63 to 68 AD, under Emperor Nero. At the end of the 2nd century AD, King Sauromates II inflicted a defeat on the Scythians. The prosperity of the Bosporan Kingdom was based on the export of wheat, fish and these include gold work, vases imported from Athens, coarse terracottas, textile fragments and specimens of carpentry and marquetry. These Greek colonies were settled by Milesians in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Phanagoria was a colony of Teos, and the foundation of Nymphaeum may have had a connection with Athens, at least it appears to have been a member of the Delian League in the 5th century. The Bosporan Kingdom was centred around the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, known in antiquity as the Cimmerian Bosporus from where the name derived. Spartocus founded a dynasty which seems to have endured until c.110 BC, surviving material do not supply enough information to reconstruct a complete chronology of kings of the region. Satyrus son Leucon eventually took the city and he was succeeded jointly by his two sons, Spartocus II, and Paerisades, Spartocus died in 342, allowing Paerisades to reign alone until 310. After Paerisades death, a war between his sons Satyrus and Eumelus was fought. Satyrus defeated his younger brother Eumelus at the Battle of the River Thatis in 310 BC but was killed in battle. Eumelus successor was Spartocus III and after him Paerisades II, succeeding princes repeated the family names, so it is impossible to assign them a definite order. Paerisades was killed by a Scythian named Saumacus who led a rebellion against him and they maintained close relations with Athens, their best customer for the Bosporan grain exports, Leucon I of Bosporus created privileges for Athenian ships at Bosporan ports. The Attic orators make numerous references to this, in return the Athenians granted Leucon Athenian citizenship and made decrees in honour of him and his sons. His eldest living son, Machares, regent of Cimmerian Bosporus, was unwilling to aid his father, so Mithridates had Machares killed, Mithridates then ordered the conscriptions and preparations for war. In 63 BC, Pharnaces, the youngest son of Mithridates, led a rebellion against his father, Mithridates VI withdrew to the citadel in Panticapaeum, where he committed suicide. Pompey buried Mithridates VI in a tomb in either Sinope or Amasia. Before the death of Pharnaces II, Asander had married Pharnaces II’s daughter Dynamis, Asander and Dynamis were the ruling monarchs until Caesar commanded a paternal uncle of Dynamis, Mithridates II to declare war on the Bosporan Kingdom and claimed the kingship for himself
Bosporan Kingdom
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Bosporan Phiale (top view), 4th century BC
Bosporan Kingdom
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Map showing the early growth of the Bosporan Kingdom, before its annexation by Mithridates VI of Pontus.
Bosporan Kingdom
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The stele of Staphhilos from the Panticapaeum, depicting a soldier with the traditional Bosporan long hair and beard.
Bosporan Kingdom
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Ruins of Panticapaeum, modern Kerch, the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom.
75.
Tiberius Julius Mithridates
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Tiberius Julius Mithridates Philogermanicus Philopatris, sometimes known as Mithridates III of the Bosporan was a Roman Client King of the Bosporan Kingdom. Mithridates was the first son of Roman Client Monarchs Aspurgus and Gepaepyris and his younger brother was prince and future King Cotys I. He was a prince of Greek, Iranian and Roman ancestry and he was the first grandchild and grandson of Bosporan Monarchs Asander and Dynamis and Roman Client Rulers of Thrace, Cotys VIII and Antonia Tryphaena. Through his maternal grandmother Antonia Tryphaena, he was a descendant of Roman triumvir Mark Antony, Tryphaena was the first great granddaughter born to the triumvir. Through Tryphaena, Mithridates was also related to members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Through Aspurgus, Mithridates was a descendant of the Greek Macedonian Kings, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Seleucus I Nicator and Regent and these three men served under King Alexander the Great. Mithridates was named in honor of his ancestor King Mithridates VI of Pontus, Mithridates VI was the paternal grandfather, of his paternal grandmother Dynamis. Little is known on the life of Mithridates. When Aspurgus died in 38, Mithridates had become joint ruler with his mother, sometime before 45, the Roman Emperor Claudius, had given Mithridates the whole Bosporan Kingdom to rule. Claudius recognised and appointed him as the legitimate Bosporan King, in 45 for unknown reasons Claudius, deposed Mithridates from the Bosporan throne and replaced him with his younger brother Cotys I. Claudius had withdrawn the Roman garrison under Aulus Didius Gallus from the Bosporan Kingdom and he mistrusted Cotys I, Aquila and attempted to regain his throne. Mithridates was able to entice the leaders of the local tribes and he was able to seize control of the local tribes and collect an army to declare war on Cotys I and Aquila. When Cotys I and Aquila heard news of war, they feared that the invasion was imminent. Both men knew they had the support of Claudius, Mithridates with his army, engaged in war with Cotys I’s army and Aquila’s battalions, in a three-day war, which Cotys I and Aquila won unscathed and triumphant at the Don River. Mithridates knew that resistance was hopeless and considered an appeal to Claudius, Mithridates turned to a local tribesman called Eunones, to help him. Eunones, sent envoys to Rome to Claudius with a letter from Mithridates, in Mithridates’ letter to the Emperor, Mithridates greeted and addressed him with great honor and respect from one ruler to another ruler. Mithridates asked Claudius for a pardon and to be spared from a procession or capital punishment. Claudius wasn’t sure how to punish or deal with Mithridates, Mithridates was captured and brought to Rome as a prisoner
Tiberius Julius Mithridates
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Tiberius Julius Mithridates
