Gondophares

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Coin of Gondophares in Parthian style

Gondophares I ( Gudapharasa on his coins) was an Indo-Parthian king.

He is considered the founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom and was probably a Parthian local ruler before he became king. Gondophares ruled from AD 20 to around AD 50. Gondophares is only known from coins and an inscription from Takht-i-Bahi (the location of the inscription is not entirely certain), where he appears as Maharaja Guduvhara. A 26th year of reign is attested in this inscription. This year falls in the year 103 of an undisclosed era, but that of the Indo-Scythian ruler Azes I , known as the Vikrama era . This era begins in 57 BC. BC, with which the beginning of the reign of Gondophares can be calculated precisely to AD 20. The inscription refers to a dedication by a local nobleman, but also names a prince Kapa ( erjhuna Kapa ), who can perhaps be identified with the first Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises .

The capital of Gondophares was Taxila in what is now Pakistan . Coin finds suggest that he ruled Punjab and the Kabul Valley . He bears the Hellenistic title Autocrat on his coins, which he minted in silver and copper . They show Greek (e.g. Nike or Pallas ), but also Indian deities such as Shiva . The coins can be divided into three groups. Silver drachms in a typical Parthian format come from Sistan . They show the image of the ruler on the obverse and on the reverse the ruler appears enthroned with a Victoria crowning him. Coins from Taxila show Zeus or Athena on the reverse. Embossings from Kandahar show a winged Victoria.

Gondophares is mainly known from the Apocrypha , where he appears in the files of the Apostle Thomas . The apostle Thomas came to Taxila as a slave to the court of Gondophares and his brother Gad, where he was supposed to build a palace for the king, but spent the money on the poor. When confronted, he said he had built a palace in heaven. Gondophares wanted to punish St. Thomas, but in his sleep Gad had a vision of a heavenly palace. St. Thomas was allowed to move on and became the apostle of the Indians. For a long time the story was dismissed as a legend with no historical basis until coins of Gondophares appeared in the 19th century, the existence of which was thus proven.

The name Gondophares was used by some successors as a royal title.

Gondophares on a horse, drawing from a coin (click on the picture for details).

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Bivar: Gondophares and the Indo-Parthians. In: The Age of the Parthians. 2007, pp. 26–36, here p. 30.
  2. ↑ Bivar: Gondophares and the Indo-Parthians. In: The Age of the Parthians. 2007, pp. 26–36, here p. 31.
  3. ^ Alfred von Gutschmid : The names of kings in the apocryphal stories of the Apostles. A contribution to the knowledge of the historical novel. In: Rheinisches Museum für Philologie . New series Jg. 19, 1864, pp. 161-183, JSTOR 41249661 , pp. 380-401, JSTOR 41249688 ; Hugo Kehrer : The Three Kings in Literature and Art. Volume 1. Seemann, Leipzig 1908, p. 69, (reprint in 1 volume. Olms, Hildesheim et al. 1976, ISBN 3-487-06088-4 ).

literature

  • Adrian DH Bivar: Gondophares and the Indo-Parthians. In: Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Sarah Stewart (Ed.): The Age of the Parthians (= The Idea of ​​Iran. 2). Tauris et al., London et al. 2007, ISBN 978-1-84511-406-0 , pp. 26-36.

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personal data
SURNAME Gondophares
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gudapharasa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian king
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC BC or 1st century
DATE OF DEATH at 50