Agathokleia
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP - For the 3rd century BC mistress of Ptolemy IV Philopator, see Agathoclea.
| Agathokleia | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Agathokleia | |
Indo-Greek queen | |
| Reign | 110–100 BCE |
| Successor | Strato I |
| Born | Gandhara |
| Died | Gandhara or Punjab |
| Burial | Stupas in Gandhara |
| Spouse | Menander I or Nicias |
| Issue | Strato I |
Drachm of Agathokleia, with Strato I standing in armour.
Coin of Agathokleia.
Obv: Queen Agathokleia in profile.
Rev:: Greek straight bow and arrow container.
Gold coin of Strato I, with the "Divine Agathokleia".
Agathokleia Theotropos (Greek: Ἀγαθόκλεια Θεότροπος; the epithet possibly means the Goddess-like) was an Indo-Greek queen who ruled in parts of northern India in the 2nd-century BC as regent for her son Strato I.
Contents
1 Date and genealogy
2 Coinage
3 See also
4 Sources
5 External links
Date and genealogy
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 Menander's death, the Indo-Greek empire was divided, with Agathokleia and her young son Strato maintaining themselves in the eastern territories of Gandhara and Punjab.
Coin of Straton and Agotokleia.
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, possibly Nicias or Theophilus. 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 queen regent: unlike the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Kingdoms, almost all Indo-Greek rulers were depicted as grown men. This was probably because the kings were required to command armies, as can be seen on their coins where they are often depicted with helmets and spears. Agathokleia seems to have associated herself with Athena, the goddess of war. Athena was also the dynastic deity of the family of Menander, and Agathokleia's prominent position suggests that she was herself the daughter of a king, though she was probably too late to have been a daughter of the Bactrian king Agathocles.
Coinage
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")".
The coins of Agathokleia and Strato were all bilingual, and Agathokleia's name appears more often in the Greek legend than in the Indian.
(See Strato I for details of legends.)
Most of Agathokleia's coins were struck jointly with her son Strato, though on their first issues, he is not featured on the portrait.
Silver: Bust of Agathokleia/walking king
Bust of Strato and Agathokleia conjoined/Athena Alkidemos
Bronzes: Bust of either helmeted Athena or Agathokleia as a personification of this goddess/sitting Herakles
The later king Heliokles II overstruck some of Agathokleia's coins.
Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology Based on Bopearachchi (1991)[1] | ||||||||||||
Greco-Bactrian kings | Indo-Greek kings | |||||||||||
| Territories/ dates | West Bactria | East Bactria | Paropamisade | Arachosia | Gandhara | Western Punjab | Eastern Punjab | Mathura[2] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326-325 BCE | Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India | Nanda Empire | ||||||||||
| 312 BCE | Creation of the Seleucid Empire | Creation of the Maurya Empire | ||||||||||
| 305 BCE | Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war | Maurya Empire | ||||||||||
| 280 BCE | Foundation of Ai-Khanoum | |||||||||||
| 255–239 BCE | Independence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom Diodotus I | Emperor Ashoka (268-232) | ||||||||||
| 239–223 BCE | Diodotus II | |||||||||||
| 230–200 BCE | Euthydemus I | |||||||||||
| 200–190 BCE | Demetrius I | Sunga Empire | ||||||||||
| 190-185 BCE | Euthydemus II | |||||||||||
| 190–180 BCE | Agathocles | Pantaleon | ||||||||||
| 185–170 BCE | Antimachus I | |||||||||||
| 180–160 BCE | Apollodotus I | |||||||||||
| 175–170 BCE | Demetrius II | |||||||||||
| 160–155 BCE | Antimachus II | |||||||||||
| 170–145 BCE | Eucratides I | |||||||||||
| 155–130 BCE | Yuezhi occupation, loss of Ai-Khanoum | Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I | Menander I | |||||||||
| 130–120 BCE | Yuezhi occupation | Zoilos I | Agathokleia | Yavanarajya inscription | ||||||||
| 120–110 BCE | Lysias | Strato I | ||||||||||
| 110–100 BCE | Antialcidas | Heliokles II | ||||||||||
| 100 BCE | Polyxenos | Demetrius III | ||||||||||
| 100–95 BCE | Philoxenus | |||||||||||
| 95–90 BCE | Diomedes | Amyntas | Epander | |||||||||
| 90 BCE | Theophilos | Peukolaos | Thraso | |||||||||
| 90–85 BCE | Nicias | Menander II | Artemidoros | |||||||||
| 90–70 BCE | Hermaeus | Archebius | ||||||||||
Yuezhi occupation | Maues (Indo-Scythian) | |||||||||||
| 75–70 BCE | Vonones | Telephos | Apollodotus II | |||||||||
| 65–55 BCE | Spalirises | Hippostratos | Dionysios | |||||||||
| 55–35 BCE | Azes I (Indo-Scythians) | Zoilos II | ||||||||||
| 55–35 BCE | Vijayamitra/ Azilises | Apollophanes | ||||||||||
| 25 BCE – 10 CE | Gondophares | Zeionises | Kharahostes | Strato II Strato III | ||||||||
Gondophares (Indo-Parthian) | Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian) | |||||||||||
Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire) | Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian) | Sodasa (Indo-Scythian) | ||||||||||
See also
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
Sources
- W. W. Tarn. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Third Edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1966.
External links
- Main coins of Agathokleia
| Preceded by Menander I | Indo-Greek ruler in Gandhara and Punjab | Succeeded by Strato I |
^ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453
^ History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE, Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, BRILL, 2007, p.9 [1]