Indo-Greek Kingdom

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The Indo-Greek Kingdom, with the furthest advance of the empire, up to the city of Pataliputra , today's Patna
A coin depicting Menander , the most powerful ruler of the Indo-Greek Empire
Banquet scene from Gandhara , 1st century

The Indo-Greek Kingdom was the successor to the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom with a focus on Gandhara . It existed in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The chronology of the rulers and individual events is very uncertain and controversial, as the reconstruction of the history of this outermost outpost of Hellenism , which is partly based on hypotheses, is largely based on the coin finds, which are the only sources for most of the known kings, and a few scattered Statements based in the written sources.

Noteworthy, however, are the beautifully designed coins and the ethnic and cultural diversity of the empire (e.g. Graeco Buddhism ). Nevertheless, the influence of the Greeks (called Yavana by the Indians , derived from the Persian name Yauna , i.e. Ionians ) on Indian culture and history is classified as being of secondary importance, even if decisive impulses came from the area of ​​coinage.

history

The Greco-Bactrian kings from Demetrios I (approx. 200–182 BC) had until the middle of the 2nd century BC. BC extended their sphere of influence south of the Hindu Kush. They took over Gandhara and adjacent areas. Soon after, however, their empire disintegrated as a result of throne disputes, and the old heartland of Bactria became around 135 BC. Conquered by the Yüe-chi . Thus, Greek- Hellenistic dominions only existed south of the Hindu Kush. On the basis of the coins from the Peschawar, Taxila and Gardes area and despite sparse sources, a fundamental, but now controversial, succession of rulers in India is traditionally reconstructed: Apollodotos I - Menander - Antialkidas - Straton and Archebios. Other researchers assume that Menander's predecessor on the throne was Eucratides I.

King Menander (approx. 165 / 55–130 BC), a man with an unclear period of reign and of unknown origin (so it is unclear whether he was related to Demetrios I), led the remainder of the empire to an early climax. He must have been a general of King Demetrios I of Bactria and perhaps married to his daughter Agathokleia. He apparently came to power young, presumably as a usurper, and his power base was Gandhara. From there the Greeks tried one last time to conquer India, but after taking Pataliputra in alliance with two Indian princes, a dispute apparently broke out and the Greeks had to vacate the Ganges area again. Even so, Menander went down as a hero in both the Greek ( Strabo claims that he subjugated more Indian cities and tribes than Alexander the Great ) and the Indian tradition - he is the Milinda of the Buddhist Milindapanha . Menander bears the typical Hellenistic nickname Soter ("Savior") on coins .

There is also uncertainty about the religion of the rulers. Some of Menander's coins bear symbols, some of which are interpreted as referring to Buddha . His probable successor Antialkidas, on the other hand, was already portrayed as a pious Hindu in retrospect and is probably mentioned in an inscription by the Shunga king Bhagabhadra (= Bhagavata?).

King Straton apparently had different times and places of reign, as a minor also together with his mother Agathokleia . He was driven out by Heliokles (II., Perhaps the one from Bactria) and later replaced Amyntas , who is considered worth mentioning because of his large coins. In general, the Indo-Greek rulers annihilated each other in destructive civil wars between around 35 rulers attested to by coins. These fights apparently intensified after Menander's death. It can be seen that several kings minted the coins of others.

These civil wars were exploited by the Saks . These were driven by pressure from the Yüe-chi into what is now Afghanistan (Sakastana = Sistan , around 139 BC). There they probably appeared initially as allies or mercenaries of the Greeks (e.g. Zoilus I ). Under their king Maues , the Saks ( "Indo-Scythians" ) subjugated from around 70 BC. Most of the fragmented and mutually hostile dominions of the Indo-Greeks under their supremacy and then spread to India, where they quickly dissolved a few decades later. During this weak phase of their Sako-Scythian suzeraines, local Indo-Greek masters renewed their power. The last independent Indo-Greek ruler is Straton II .

The founder of the Kushan -rich saw later as successors of the Indo-Greeks and Greek made the administrative language of his kingdom.

See also

literature

  • Osmund Bopearachchi: Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques. Catalog raisonné. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-7177-1825-7 (considered a seminal work on the period).
  • Rachel Mairs: The Hellenistic Far East. Archaelogy, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia. University of California Press, Oakland CA 2014, ISBN 978-0-520-28127-1 .
  • Rachel Mairs (Ed.): The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World. Routledge, London 2020, ISBN 978-1-138-09069-9 .
  • Abodh K. Narain: The Indo-Greeks. Revisited and Supplemented. 4th reprint with supplement. BR Publishing Corporation, Delhi 2003, ISBN 81-7646-349-3 (Original edition: Clarendon Press, Oxford 1957; argues partly explicitly against Tarn's views).
  • Hatto H. Schmitt : India. In: Hatto H. Schmitt, Ernst Vogt : Small Lexicon Hellenism. Study edition (reprint of the 2nd revised and expanded edition 1993). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-447-04727-5 , pp. 267-270, (brief overview with literature).
  • Hatto H. Schmitt: India. In: Hatto H. Schmitt, Ernst Vogt: Lexicon of Hellenism. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-447-04842-5 , pp. 470-472, (brief overview with literature).
  • Richard Stoneman: The Greek Experience of India. From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks. Princeton University Press, Princeton 2019.
  • William W. Tarn: The Greeks in Bactria and India. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951 (basic, although partially outdated standard work; Digital Library of India ).
  • Werner Widmer: Hellas in the Hindu Kush. Greek culture in the far east of the ancient world. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2015.
  • Osmund Bopearachchi: Indo-Greek Dynasty . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica , Paragraph supp4, as of November 9, 2004, accessed on June 6, 2011 (English, including references)
  • Pierre Leriche, Franz Grenet: Bactria . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica , as of December 15, 1988, accessed on June 6, 2011 (English, including references)

Web links

Commons : Indo-Greek Kingdom  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Coins of the Indo-Greek Kingdom  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The information on the reigns are only estimates, which are mainly based on coins and also vary greatly in modern research.
  2. ↑ David Bivar: Nomad empires and expansion of Buddhism. In: Gavin Hambly (Ed.): Zentralasien (= Fischer Weltgeschichte . Vol. 16). Fischer Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1966, pp. 46–60.
  3. ↑ An interpretation of Indian literary texts. See Propylaea World History , Vol. 2, p. 423.
  4. ↑ Str. Geogr. 11,11,1.

Coordinates: 31 °  N , 70 °  E