Zoilus I
Zoilus I Dicaeus ( "The Just" ) | |
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Indo-Greekking | |
Reign | 130–120 BCE |
Zoilus I Dicaeus(Ancient Greek:Ζωΐλος Δίκαιος,romanized:Zōïlos Dikaios;epithetmeans "the Just" ) was anIndo-Greekking who ruled in Afghanistan and Pakistan and occupied the areas of theParopamisadeandArachosiapreviously held byMenander I.He may have belonged to the dynasty ofEuthydemus I.
Time of reign[edit]
Zoilus used to be dated after the death of Menander, c. 130–120 BCE (Bopearachchi). Two coins of Zoilus I were however overstruck by Menander I[1]so Zoilus came to power while Menander was still alive and was perhaps his enemy. R. C. Senior has suggested some time between 150 and 135 BCE.
Coin types of Zoilos I[edit]
Zoilus I uses a silver coin type similar to that ofEuthydemus II,son ofDemetrius:Crowned Herakles standing, holding a wreath or diadem in his right hand, and a club and the lion skin in his left hand. On some of the coins, which are of lower artistic quality, Herakles is crowned by a small Nike. Zoilus I also struck rare gold-plated silver coins with portrait and Heracles.
In place of his Greek epithet "the just", Zoilus' Indian-standard coins bear thePalititleDhramikasa( "Follower of theDharma"), probably related toBuddhism.This is the first time this epithet appears on Indo-Greek coinage. A few monolingual Attic tetradrachms of Zoilos I have been found. Zoilus inherited (or took) several monograms from Menander I.
His bronze coins are square and original in that they combine the club of Heracles with aScythian-type bowcase (for a shortrecurve bow) inside a victory wreath, suggesting contacts or even an alliance with horse-mounted people originating from the steppes, possibly either the Scythians (futureIndo-Scythians), or theYuezhiwho had invaded Greco-Bactria. This bow can be contrasted to the traditional Hellenistic long bow depicted on the coins of the eastern Indo-Greek queenAgathokleia.
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Zoilos I andHeracles.
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Coin of Zoilus I. Profile of the ruler, with Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΖΩΙΛΟΥ "Of King Zoilus the Just".Metropolitan Museum of Art
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Senior R.C., MacDonald, D.:The Decline of the Indo-Greeks,Monographs of the Hellenic Numismatic Society, Athens (1998)
References[edit]
- The Greeks in Bactria and India,W. W. Tarn,Cambridge University Press