King Dionysios
Encyclopedia
Dionysios Soter "Saviour" was an Indo-Greek king in the area of eastern Punjab
.
, he reigned ca circa 65 - 55 BCE and inherited the eastern parts of the kingdom of the important late ruler Apollodotus II
. The kings share the same epithet and use the common reverse of fighting Pallas Athene, and it seems plausible that they were closely related, but relationships between the last Indo-Greek kings remain uncertain since the only sources of information are their remaining coins. R C Senior dates him approximately ten years later.
Earlier scholars like Professor Ahmad Hasan Dani
have dated Dionysius much earlier, between the years 115 and 100 BCE, making him the ruler of the Swat and Dir Valleys and the weak successor of Polyxenos.
Dionysius was probably pressured by the invasions of the Indo-Scythians
, and also had to deal with Hippostratos
, a more important king who had inherited the western part of the kingdom of Apollodotus II.
Dionysios' name echoes the Olympic wine-god Dionysos, who according to Greek mythology was also an ancient king of India.
He also issued bronzes with Apollo on the reverse and a tripod on the obverse. Both these types were inherited from Apollodotus II. The quality of the portraits is inferior to most earlier kings. According to Bopearachchi, Dionysius inherited only the inferior celators of Apollodotus II, which he associates with mints in eastern Punjab.
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
.
Reign
According to Osmund BopearachchiOsmund Bopearachchi
Osmund Bopearachchi is an historian and numismatist who has been specializing in the coinage of the Indo-Greek and Greco-Bactrian kingdoms.Originally from Sri Lanka, he finished his studies in France. In 1983 he joined a team of the CNRS at the Ecole Normale Supérieure to further his studies...
, he reigned ca circa 65 - 55 BCE and inherited the eastern parts of the kingdom of the important late ruler Apollodotus II
Apollodotus II
Apollodotus II , was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the western and eastern parts of Punjab. Bopearachchi dates him to circa 80-65 BCE, and RC Senior to circa 85-65 BCE. Apollodotos II was an important ruler who seems to have re-established the Indo-Greek kingdom to some extent of its former glory...
. The kings share the same epithet and use the common reverse of fighting Pallas Athene, and it seems plausible that they were closely related, but relationships between the last Indo-Greek kings remain uncertain since the only sources of information are their remaining coins. R C Senior dates him approximately ten years later.
Earlier scholars like Professor Ahmad Hasan Dani
Ahmad Hasan Dani
Professor Ahmad Hasan Dani FRAS, SI, HI , was a Pakistani intellectual, archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology and history. He introduced archaeology as a discipline in higher education in Pakistan and Bangladesh...
have dated Dionysius much earlier, between the years 115 and 100 BCE, making him the ruler of the Swat and Dir Valleys and the weak successor of Polyxenos.
Dionysius was probably pressured by the invasions of the Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
, and also had to deal with Hippostratos
Hippostratos
Hippostratos was an Indo-Greek king who ruled central and north-western Punjab and Pushkalavati. Bopearachchi dates Hippostratos to 65 to 55 BCE whereas R.C...
, a more important king who had inherited the western part of the kingdom of Apollodotus II.
Dionysios' name echoes the Olympic wine-god Dionysos, who according to Greek mythology was also an ancient king of India.
Coins of Dionysius
Dionysius was the first in the line of late kings who issued only silver drachms, but no tetradrachms, which was likely due to his limited resources. On their obverse is a diademed portrait of the king, with Athena Alkidemos on the reverse.He also issued bronzes with Apollo on the reverse and a tripod on the obverse. Both these types were inherited from Apollodotus II. The quality of the portraits is inferior to most earlier kings. According to Bopearachchi, Dionysius inherited only the inferior celators of Apollodotus II, which he associates with mints in eastern Punjab.
See also
- Greco-Bactrian KingdomGreco-Bactrian KingdomThe Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BC...
- Seleucid EmpireSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
- Greco-BuddhismGreco-BuddhismGreco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE in the area covered by the Indian sub-continent, and modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-western...
- Indo-ScythiansIndo-ScythiansIndo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
- Indo-Parthian KingdomIndo-Parthian KingdomThe Gondopharid dynasty, and other so-called Indo-Parthian rulers, were a group of ancient kings from present day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan who ruled India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD...
- Kushan EmpireKushan EmpireThe Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...