Archebius
Obv: Helmetted king Archebius. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΡΧΕΒΙΟΥ "Of King Archebius the Just and Victorious"
Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
Obv: Bareheaded king Archebius. With Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΡΧΕΒΙΟΥ "Of King Archebius the Just and Victorious"
Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
Obv: Helmetted king Archebius holding a spear. With Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΡΧΕΒΙΟΥ "Of King Archebius the Just and Victorious"
Rev: Zeus, with Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA JAYADHARASA ARKHEBIYASA "Archebios, the victorious king of the Dharma.
Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros (Greek: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; epithets mean respectively, "the Just", "the Victorious"; formerly read as "Archelius"<ref>"In the Masson collection of 1836 were found Archebius ( read at the time as 'Archelius')" in Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) 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.Template:Citation needed
Coin typesEdit
Archebius' name means "ruler of life" deriving from ἄρχω (“to rule”) and βίος ("life”).Template:Citation needed He 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 also issued bronzes with Nike on one side and an owl on the other.
OverstrikesEdit
Archebius overstruck two coins of Peukolaos.
- Coin of Indo-Greek king Archebios.jpg
King thrusting javelin, with Zeus holding thunderbolt.
- Coin of Indo Greek ruler Archebios.jpg
Bust of Zeus, and caps of the Dioscuri with palms.
ReferencesEdit
- The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) Template:ISBN
- Buddhism in Central Asia by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) Template:ISBN
- The Greeks in Bactria and India by W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
External linksEdit
Template:S-start Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-break Template:S-bef Template:S-end Template:Hellenistic rulers