Hermaeus
Hermaeus Soter "the Saviour" | |
---|---|
Indo-Greek king | |
Reign | 90–70 BCE |
Consort | Kalliope |
Hermaeus Soter or Hermaios Soter (
Biography
Hermaeus seems to have been successor of
Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises associated himself to Hermaeus on his coins,[1] either in attempt to solidify legitimacy or due to the difficulties minting early coins. In any case, the Yuezhi-Kushans preserved a close cultural interaction with the Greeks as late as the 3rd century CE.
Given the importance of Hermaeus to the nomad rulers, it is possible that Hermaeus himself was partially of nomad origin.[2]
Coins of Hermaeus
Hermaeus issued Indian silver coins of three types. The first type has a diademed or sometimes helmeted portrait, with reverse of sitting Zeus making benediction gesture. Hermaeus also issued a rare series of Attic silver tetradrachms of this type, which were issued for export to Bactria.
The second type was a joint series of Hermaeus with his queen
The third series combined the reverses of the first series, without portrait.
Hermaeus also issued bronze coins with the head of
Contacts with China
A Chinese historical record from the
According to the
Later Yinmofu (Hermaeus?) himself is recorded to have killed Chinese envoys in the reign of Emperor Yuandi (48–33 BCE), then sent envoys to apologize to the Chinese court, but he was disregarded. During the reign of Emperor Chengdi (51–7 BCE) other envoys were sent, but they were rejected as simple traders.
Imitations by Indo-Scythian and Yuezhi invaders
These events may have initiated an alliance between the Greeks and the Yuezhi (even possibly a dynastic alliance), explaining why the Yuezhi gained pre-eminence after the reign of Hermaeus, why their rulers such as Heraios then minted coins in a way very faithful to the Greek type, and why the first Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises associated himself with Hermaeus on his coins, in a way characteristic of a ruler asserting his pedigree.
Gallery
-
Another coin of Hermaeus and Calliope.
-
Early posthumous coin (70–50 BCE)
See also
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
References
- ^ Since R.C. Senior suggests that the original posthumous Hermaeus coins were not struck by the Yuezhi but by Sakas, he suggests that Kujula Kadphises' use of the obverse of Hermaeus coins with his own reverse should be seen as Kadphises adapting his coinage to a popular local type after having conquered the Paropamisade. "The Decline of the Indo-Greeks", R. C. Senior, David John MacDonald, (1998), pp. 46-47.
- ^ Senior, “The Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian king sequences in the second and first centuries BC”, ONS 2004 Supplement.
Sources
- The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
- The Coin Types of the Indo-Greek Kings, 256-54 B.C., A. K. Narain
- China in Central Asia, the Early Stage: 125 B.C.-A.D. 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty, A. F. P. Hulsewé, and M. A. N. Loewe, 1979. Leiden: E. J. Brill.