Agathocles (Bactria)
Agathocles (until around 180 BC) was a Greco-Bactrian king nicknamed "the righteous" (Dikaios).
Little is known about the person of Agathocles. He is not mentioned in extant classical authors. He was possibly only a vassal king of Demetrios I , who ruled an area between Bactria and India .
Agathocles is, however, notable above all for his extensive and sometimes unusual coinage. He had a number of commemorative coins minted, which he and other important Greek rulers, such as Alexander the Great , Antiochus (probably Antiochus II ), the founder of the Bactrian Empire Diodotus I , his son Diodotus II , Euthydemos I , Pantaleon and Demetrius I call. The meaning of these commemorative coins is controversial, it is often assumed that Agathocles was a usurper who wanted to legitimize his power with these coins, to strengthen his insecure position.
In addition to these commemorative coins, he also had those with bilingual inscriptions in Kharoshti or Brahmi and Greek minted . Finally, there are coins with Buddhist symbols and those with Hindu gods. They are the earliest surviving images of Hindu deities. Embossing in nickel is also noteworthy .
literature
- Ulrich Wilcken : Agathocles 20 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, column 758.
- Abodh K. Narain: The Indo-Greeks. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1957, especially pp. 59-62.
- William W. Tarn: The Greeks in Bactria and India. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951, p. 543 (index).
- Frank L. Holt: Alexander the Great and Bactria. The Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia (= Mnemosyne Supplementum. 104). 3rd impression. Brill, Leiden et al. 1993, ISBN 90-04-08612-9 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Agathocles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 180 BC Chr. |