Strato II "Soter

Soter

Soter derives from the Greek epithet , meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira...

" was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled circa 25 BCE to 10CE

10

Year 10 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, throughout Roman Empire, it was known as the year of the consulship of Dolabella and Silanus...

 according to Bopearachchi. RC Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier.

Rule

Strato II ruled in the 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...

, probably retaining the capital of Sagala

Sagala

Sagala or Sangala, the ancient Greek name for the modern city of Sialkot in present day Pakistan, was a city of located in northern Punjab, Pakistan...

 (modern Sialkot

Sialkot

Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

), or possibly to the city of Bucephala (Plutarch, p. 48 n. 5).

His territory was invaded by Rajuvula

Rajuvula

Rajuvula was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE. In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE...

, Indo-Scythian king of Mathura, and he became the last of the Indo-Greek kings, together with his son Strato (III) Soter Philopator, who was included as joint regent on some of his coins and also issued coins on his own.

A few silver coins with a different portrait and the inscription Strato Soter Dikaios may also belong to Strato III as sole ruler, or to a fourth king named Strato. (Given that the coins of Strato I have lately been attributed to two different kings, there may actually have been as many as five kings named Strato.)

Just like the earlier king Strato I, the last Stratons I are thought to belong to the dynasty of Menander I

Menander I

Menander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom from either 165 or 155 BC to 130 BC ....

, who also used the epithet Soter and the symbol of standing Pallas Athena.

Coins of Strato II, III and Strato Dikaios

The chronology of the late Indo-Greek kingdom has been established by Bopearachchi and other scholars from numismatical evidence alone. The coins deteriorated continuously, the Strato coins being the most debased and crude in style, a striking contrast to earlier kings who struck some of the most beautiful coins of antiquity.

The decay was due to the increasing pressure of the Indo-Scythian nomads on the remaining Greek pockets, as well as their long isolation from the rest of the Hellenistic world.Subsequent Indo-Scythian rulers, such as Bhadayasa

Bhadayasa

Bhadayasa was a minor Indo-Scythian ruler in the area of Mathura in India, during the 1st century CE.He is mainly known through his coins, which are direct imitations of those of the Indo-Greek king Strato II....

 designed their coins in direct imitation of those of Strato II.

Strato II, III and Strato Dikaios struck debased silver drachms, which as mentioned portray Pallas on the reverse. Strato II appears as an old man with a sunken jaw on some of his coins, which is not surprising given that his grandson was co-regent.

Strato II also issued bronzes and even lead coins of the common type Apollo/tripod. On some of Strato II's silver drachms the letter sigma

Sigma

Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the 'S' sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used, e.g...

 is written as C, a not uncommon trait on late Hellenistic coins in the east.

Preceded by: Apollophanes Apollophanes Apollophanes Soter was an Indo-Greek king in the area of eastern and central Punjab in modern India and Pakistan.-Rule:...

Indo-Greek Ruler (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... ) (25 BCE - 10 CE)

Succeeded by: Indo-Scythian king Rajuvula Rajuvula Rajuvula was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE. In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE...