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Pantaleon, also known as Panteleimon, ( Greek: ) was a Greek king who reigned some time between 190–180 BC in
File:Pantaleon with Lakshmi and Lion.jpg, Pantaleon coin with dancing woman ( Lakshmi?) and lion. Obverse: Brahmi legend ''"Rajane Patalevasa"'' ("King Pantaleon").
File:Lakshmi on Pantaleon coin.jpg, Dancing woman, possibly Lakshmi, on a coin of Pantaleon.
Coins of Pantaleon
{{Hellenistic rulers Indo-Greek kings History of Pakistan 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia Year of birth unknown 180 BC deaths Euthydemid dynasty
Pantaleon, also known as Panteleimon, ( Greek: ) was a Greek king who reigned some time between 190–180 BC in Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
and India. He was a younger contemporary or successor of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, and is sometimes believed to have been his brother and/or subking.
The scarcity of his coinage indicates a short reign. Known evidence suggests that he was replaced by his (probable) brother or son Agathocles, by whom he was commemorated on a "pedigree" coin.
Copper-Nickel coinage
Some of his coins (as well as those of Agathocles andEuthydemus II
Euthydemus II (Greek: ) was a Greco-Bactrian king who ruled in Bactria in 185-180 BCE.
Rule
Son of Demetrius I of Bactria, Euthydemus II became king in the 180s BCE, either after his father's death or as a sub-king to him. The style and rare nick ...
) have another surprising characteristic: they are made of copper-nickel alloy, a technology that would not be developed in the West until the 18th century, but was known by the Chinese at the time. This suggests that exchanges of the metallic alloy or technicians happened between China and the region of Bactria.
Bilingual Indian-standard coinage
He was the first Greek king to strike Indian coins, peculiar irregular bronzes representing a lion with a dancing Indian woman, probably the goddess Lakshmi (a type also known in the Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara), which suggests he had his base in Arachosia andGandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
and wanted support from the native population.
External links
Coins of Pantaleon
{{Hellenistic rulers Indo-Greek kings History of Pakistan 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia Year of birth unknown 180 BC deaths Euthydemid dynasty