Diodotus I
Diodotus I | |
---|---|
Basileus | |
King of Bactria | |
Reign | c. 256 or 245 BCE – c. 235 BCE |
Predecessor | Position Established |
Successor | Diodotus II |
Born | c. 300 BC Bactria |
Died | 235 BC Balkh, Bactria |
Issue | |
Dynasty | Diodotid |
Father | Diodotus |
Diodotus I Soter (Greek: Διόδοτος Σωτήρ, Diódotos Sōtḗr; c. 315/300 BCE – c. 235 BCE) was the first Hellenistic king of Bactria. Diodotus was initially satrap of Bactria, but became independent of the Seleucid empire around 255 or 245 BCE, establishing the Diodotid Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, which endured in various forms until the beginning of the first century CE. In about 250 BCE, Diodotus repelled a Parthian invasion of Bactria by Arsaces. He also minted an extensive coinage and administered a powerful and prosperous new kingdom. He died around 235 BCE and was succeeded by his son Diodotus II.[1][2]
His rule was recounted by Apollodorus of Artemita in the Parthian History, but this text is lost, and surviving literary sources only mention him in passing.[3] Thus, most details of Diodotus' life have to be reconstructed from numismatics and brief references by Justin.[4] and other historians.
Background and satrapy
The
Diodotus became Seleucid
Secession from the Seleucid realm
At some point, Diodotus seceded from the Seleucid empire, establishing his realm as an independent kingdom, known in modern scholarship as the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. The event is mentioned briefly by the Roman historian Justin:
Diodotus,
Justin Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.4
The date of this event is unclear. The literary evidence is as follows:
- Justin says that the rebellion occurred 'around the same time' as the Seleucus II (246-225 BCE).[10]
- Strabo further claims that Arsaces, the leader of the Parni, had been based in Bactria before the conquest. He says that Diodotus drove Arsaces out of Bactria and maintained hostilities against the Parni.[11]
- Ammianus Marcellinus places the Parthian rebellion in the reign of a Seleucus (II?).[12]
- Arrian's lost Parthian History seems to have claimed that the Seleucid satrap who was overthrown by the Parthians was appointed to that position by Antiochus II.[13]
- Ptolemy III's conquest of Seleucid Syria and Babylon.[14] The Adulis inscription set up by Ptolemy III to celebrate this event claims that Bactria was among Ptolemy's conquests, which is hyperbole but might indicate that Bactria had been part of the Seleucid empire up to this point.[15]
Different scholars have argued for a 'High Chronology' which places Diodotus' independence around 255 BCE in the reign of Antiochus II, or a 'Low Chronology' which dates the secession around 245 BCE at the beginning of the reign of Seleucus II.
The limited archaeological evidence reveals no signs of discontinuity or destruction in this period. The transition from Seleucid rule to independence thus seems to have been accomplished peacefully.
Bactra |
Whether gradual or quick, the culmination of the process was apparently Diodotus' proclamation of himself as king. He divided the territories under his control into a number of satrapies, each with its own satrap. Two of these satrapies,
The literary sources stress the prosperity of the new kingdom. Justin calls it "the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria.",[23] while the geographer Strabo says:
The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were Bactra (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others.
— Strabo Geography 11.11.1
Diodotus continued to be hostile to the Parthians for the rest of his reign. Justin emphasises Arsaces' precarious position, opposed by the Seleucids to his west and Diodotus to the east—he is unclear about whether this opposition was co-ordinated.[10] Before archaeological evidence became available, it was generally assumed that the Parni conquest of Parthia had decisively cut Bactria off from contact with Seleucid authority and Greek culture.However, archaeological evidence makes clear that goods and people continued to move between Bactria and the Seleucid realm.[citation needed]
Diodotus died during the reign of Seleucus II, sometime around 235 BCE, probably of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son Diodotus II.[24] The new king concluded a peace with the Parthians and supported Arsaces when Seleucus II attacked him around 228 BCE.[10] Diodotus II was subsequently killed by an usurper, Euthydemus, who founded the Euthydemid dynasty.[25][26]
Coinage
Before Diodotus came to power, there was already a mint in Bactria based at Ai-Khanoum
On Frank Holt's interpretation, Diodotus introduced a new coinage while still satrap, which consisted of a large number of silver tetradrachms and, later, a small number of gold staters. These coins have the head of a male figure on the obverse, presumably Diodotus himself, shown wearing the
Towards the end of this series, a small wreath appears on the reverse to the left of Zeus. The wreath was a Greek symbol of victory. Frank Holt suggests that it commemorated a victory over the Parthians and that this victory was also the source of Diodotus' epithet soter (savour). Other Hellenistic kings, such as
The date at which this coinage began is not clear. Frank Holt suggests it was around 250 BCE. The coinage seems to have been minted simultaneously at two mints—one with a more aged portrait ('Series A') and the other with a younger portrait ('Series C and E'). The mint of 'Series A & C' is generally identified with the Ai-Khanoum/Bactra mint, that of 'Series E' has not been localised. Holt proposes that the younger portrait depicts Diodotus II, perhaps junior co-regent with Diodotus I. After a break, both mints produce coins with the younger portrait and with the legend now reading
A few tetradrachm coins depicting Diodotus I in a more 'idealising' guise were issued late in Diodotus II's reign ('Series B'). Diodotus appears also on coins struck in his memory by the later Graeco-Bactrian kings
Diodotus also issued a bronze coinage ('Series G'). This coinage consisted of two denominations: a 'double' (c. 8.4 grammes, 20-24 millimetres in diameter) and a 'single' (4.2 g, 14–18 mm)—possibly worth 1/48 of a silver drachm.
Issue
The only attested relative of Diodotus I is his son and successor, Diodotus II. William Woodthorpe Tarn interpreted later Bactrian coinage as indicating that Diodotos had a daughter who married Euthydemus, was involved in the assassination of Diodotus and usurpation of the throne, and then became Queen regent until her son, Demetrius I ascended to the throne.[32] There is no explicit evidence for this daughter's existence and the speculative nature of Tarn's genealogical reconstructions has been criticised in subsequent scholarship.[33][34]
References
- ^ "Strabo, Geography, Book 11, chapter 11, section 1". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ Justin XLI.1
- ^ Holt 1999, pp. 55–57
- ^ Justin XLI.4
- ^ Holt 1999, pp. 24–29 & 37–47
- Astronomical DiariesI, p. 345, No. –273B ‘Rev. 30’- 32’
- ^ First proposed by MacDonald, George (1922). "The Hellenistic Kingdoms of Syria, Bactira, and Parthia". In Rapson, E. J. (ed.). The Cambridge History of India: Volume I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 393.. Holt 1999, p. 51 expresses great scepticism.
- ^ Holt 1999, pp. 54–55
- ^ Justin's text actually reads 'Theodotus'
- ^ a b c Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.4
- ^ Strabo 11.9.3
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus 23.6.2-3
- FGrHF30a
- ^ Appian Syriaca 65
- ^ a b Holt 1999, pp. 58–60
- ^ Musti 1986
- ^ Holt 1999, pp. 63–64
- ^ a b Jakobsson 2021.
- ^ Kritt 2001, pp. 23–26.
- ^ Jakobsson 2021, pp. 502–503.
- ^ Strabo 11.11.2
- ^ Bactra: Bopearachchi 2005
- ^ Justin, 41.1
- ^ Holt 1999, p. 62
- ^ Polybius 11.34.2
- ^ Holt 1999, p. 64
- ^ Kritt, Brian (1996). Seleucid Coins of Bactria. Lancaster: CNG.
- ^ Bopearachchi 2005.
- ^ a b c d e Holt 1999, pp. 87–101
- ^ Cunningham, Alexander (1884). Coins of ALexander's Successors in the East (Bactria, Ariana, and India). London. pp. 305–337.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Holt 1999, pp. 107–125
- ISBN 9781108009416.
- ^ Lerner 1999, pp. 56–59.
- ^ Holt 1999, pp. 68–69
Bibliography
- Bopearachchi, O. (2005). "La politique monétaire de la Bactriane sous les Séleucides". In Chankowski, V.; Duyrat, Frédérique (eds.). Le roi et l'économie: autonomies locales et structures royales dans l'économie de l'empire séleucide : actes des rencontres de Lille, 23 juin 2003, et d'Orléans, 29-30 janvier 2004. Vol. 6. pp. 349–69.
- Holt, Frank L. (1999). Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520211405.
- Jakobsson, Jens (2021). "Dating Bactria's Independence to 246/5 BC?". In Mairs, Rachel (ed.). The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek world. Abingdon, Oxon. pp. 499–509. ISBN 9781138090699.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Kritt, Brian (2001). Dynastic Transitions in the Coinage of Bactria. Lancaster: CNG.
- Lerner, Jeffrey D. (1999). The impact of Seleucid decline on the eastern Iranian plateau : the foundations of Arsacid Parthia and Graeco-Bactria. Stuttgart: Steiner. ISBN 3515074171.
- Musti, Domenico (1986). "The Date of the Secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Kingdom". In Walbank, F. W.; Astin, A. E.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 7, Part 1: The Hellenistic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 220–221. ISBN 9781139054348.