Theophilus (Indo-Greek)

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Theophilos (king)
)
Theophilos
Indo-Greek
king
Reign130 BCE or 90 BCE
Herakles
.
Indian-standard coin of Theophilus, with bust of Herakles, and his club on reverse.

Theophilus Dicaeus (

Indo-Greek king who ruled for a short time in the Paropamisadae. He was possibly a relative of Zoilus I
and is only known from coins. It is possible that some of Theophilus' coins in fact belong to another ruler, in Greek Bactria, during approximately the same period.

Time of reign

While Bopearachchi suggests c. 90 BCE, R. C. Senior believes that Theophilus ruled in the 130s BCE. Both numismatics do however suggest that the reigns of Theophilus and

Nicias
were adjacent.

Coins of Theophilos

Just like Zoilus I, Theophilus struck Indian silver coins with Heracles, a common symbol of the house of

Nicias
. The bronzes have similar inscriptions.

Bronzes of Theophilos:

  • Heracles with lion skin, and his club on the reverse.
    Heracles with lion skin, and his club on the reverse.

A Bactrian king Theophilus?

There is a wholly different, and very rare,

Bopearachchi
has supported this proposition by pointing at the similarity between the portraits and the identical treatment of the diadem (one end straight, one end crooked).

Against this, Jakobsson

Hellenistic kingdom there
had been vanquished by nomads, presumably in the 120s BCE.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jakobsson, J: Theophilos Autokrator, a last Bactrian king? ONS Journal 202 (2010).

References

  • The Greeks in Bactria and India, W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
Preceded by Indo-Greek ruler in Paropamisadae
c. 90 BCE
Succeeded by