Archebius
Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros ("The Just and Victorious") | |
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Indo-Greek king | |
Tetradrachm of Archebios. Obv: Helmetted king Archebius. Greek legend: ARCHEBIOU DIKAIOU NIKEPHOROU "Of Archebius the Just and Victorious" Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma. | |
Reign | 90–80 BCE |
![](../I/m/Coin_of_King_Archebios.jpg)
Obv: Bareheaded king Archebius.
Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
![](../I/m/Archebios_with_elephant_and_owl.jpg)
Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros (Greek: Ἀρχέβιος ὁ Δίκαιος, ὁ Νικηφόρος; epithets mean respectively, "the Just", "the Victorious") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Taxila. Osmund Bopearachchi dates him to c. 90–80 BCE, and R. C. Senior to about the same period. He was probably one of the last Indo-Greek kings before the Saka king Maues conquered Taxila, and a contemporary of Hermaeus in the west. He may have been a relative of Heliokles II, who used a similar reverse and also the title Dikaios.
Coin types
Archebius issued silver with diademed or helmeted king, sometimes in spear-throwing pose. On the reverse is Zeus standing facing, holding a thunderbolt or on some issues an aegis.
Archebius also struck a rare series of Attic tetradrachms, found in Bactria.
He issued bronzes with an owl / Nike.
Overstrikes
Archebius overstruck two coins of Peukolaos.
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King thrusting javelin.
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Bust of Zeus, and caps of the Dioscuri with palms.
References
- The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
- Buddhism in Central Asia by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
- The Greeks in Bactria and India by W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
External links
Preceded by Menander II as ruler in Arachosia and Gandhara |
Indo-Greek ruler in Arachosia, Gandhara and Punjab 90–80 BCE |
Succeeded by Maues as Indo-Scythian king |
Preceded by Artemidoros as ruler in Punjab |
- ↑ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453