Antialcidas
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| Antialcidas Nikephoros "Victorious" | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Antialcidas | |
Indo-Greek king | |
| Reign | 130–120 BCE (R. C. Senior) 115–95 BCE (Boppearachchi) |
Silver tetradrachm of King Antialcidas.
Obv: Bust of Antialcidas wearing aegis and holding a spear, with Greek legend BASILEOS NIKEPHOROU ANTIALKIDOU "Of Victorious King Antialcidas".
Rev: Zeus with lotus-tipped sceptre, in front of an elephant with a bell (symbol of Taxila), surmouted by Nike holding a wreath, crowning the elephant. Kharoshti legend: MAHARAJASA JAYADHARASA ANTIALIKITASA "Victorious King Antialcidas". Pushkalavati mint.
Antialcidas Nikephoros (Greek: Ἀντιαλκίδας ὁ Νικηφόρος; epithet means "the Victorious") was an Indo-Greek king of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca. 115 to 95 BCE in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas R. C. Senior places him around 130 to 120 BCE and also in eastern Punjab (which seems better supported by coin findings). Senior does however believe that he ruled in tandem with King Lysias.
Contents
1 Genealogy
2 The Heliodorus inscription
3 Coins
4 "Mule coins" (overstrikes)
5 References
6 Sources
7 External links
Genealogy
Antialcidas may have been a relative of the Bactrian king Heliocles I, but ruled after the fall of the Bactrian kingdom. Several later kings may have been related to Antialcidas: Heliokles II, Amyntas, Diomedes and Hermaeus all struck coins with similar features.
The Heliodorus inscription
Inscription on the Heliodorus pillar made by Antialcidas' Ambassador Heliodorus in 110 BCE.
Though there are few sources for the late Indo-Greek history, Antialcidas is known from an inscription left on a pillar (the Heliodorus pillar), which was erected by his ambassador Heliodorus at the court of the Shunga king Bhagabhadra at Vidisha, near Sanchi. It states that he was a devotee of Vishnu, the Hindu god.[1]
A part of the inscription says:
- "This Garuda-standard was made by order of the Bhagavata ... Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a man of Taxila, a Greek ambassador from King Antialkidas, to King Bhagabhadra, the son of the Princess from Benares, the saviour, while prospering in the fourteenth year of his reign."[1]
Coins
Silver drachm of King Antialcidas.
Obv: Bust of Antialcidas wearing a helmet, with Greek legend BASILEOS NIKEPHOROU ANTIALKIDOU "Of Victorious King Antialcidas".
Rev: Seated Zeus holding sceptre, with Nike on his extended arm, holding out a wreath to a baby elephant with bell. Kharoshti legend: MAHARAJASA JAYADHARASA ANTIALIKITASA "Victorious King Antialcidas".
Otherwise, Antialcidas is also known through his plentiful coins. He issued a number of bilingual Indian silver types: diademed, wearing a helmet with bull's horns or a flat kausia. He also appears throwing a spear. According to some interpretations (Grousset), the baby elephant may symbolize the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, who took the shape of a small elephant to enter the womb of his mother Queen Maya, a scene often depicted in Greco-Buddhist art. In that case the coin scene would represent a victory of Buddhism. According to other interpretations the elephant was the symbol of the city of Taxila.
"Mule coins" (overstrikes)
Antialcidas wearing the kausia. Japan Currency Museum.
Lysias was a contemporary of Antialcidas.
Gandhara seal of king on elephant receiving wreath of victory, a motif with some similarity to the coins of Antialcidas.
There is a bronze which features the obverse of Lysias and the reverse of Antialcidas. This was interpreted by Tarn and other earlier scholars as though the two kings might have forged some kind of alliance, but later, a bronze with the opposite arrangement was found.
Modern scholarship has however largely accepted that what was originally supposed to be a "joint issue" was in fact a mule; in other words, a mistake occurred in the process of overstriking the original coin, and it was accidentally issued with both king's standards.
Antialkidas with Zeus directly giving wreath of victory to the elephant.
References
^ ab Greek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveries Shane Wallace, 2016, p.222-223
Sources
The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
ISBN 1-58115-203-5
Buddhism in Central Asia by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass, January 1, 2000)
ISBN 81-208-0372-8
The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
The Indo-Greeks, A. K. Narain, B.R Publications
The Decline of the Indo-Greeks, R. C. Senior & D. MacDonald, the Hellenistic Numismatic Society
External links
- Coins of Antialcidas
- More coins of Antialcidas
- Catalog of the coins of Antialcidas
| Preceded by Lysias | Indo-Greek king (in Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara) 115 – 95 BC | Succeeded by Polyxenios or Philoxenus |
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) | ||||||||||
^ 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]