King Telephos on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Telephus Euergetes ( grc, Τήλεφος Εὐεργέτης, Tēlephos Euergetēs; ''
Coins of Telephus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telephos Indo-Greek kings 1st-century BC rulers in Asia
Telephus Euergetes ( grc, Τήλεφος Εὐεργέτης, Tēlephos Euergetēs; ''Euergetes ( grc, Εὐεργέτης, ), meaning "the Benefactor" (from , "good", + , "doer, worker"), was an epithet, an honoring title, given to various benefactors. Euergetism (literally "doing good deeds") was the practice of high-status and wealthy in ...
'' means "the Benefactor") was a late Indo-Greek
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent ( ...
king who seems to have been one of the weak and brief successors of Maues
Maues (Greek: ; (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , called , on the Taxila copper plate; also called , in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded India and establi ...
. Bopearachchi dates Telephus between 75–70 BCE and places him in Gandhara, Senior to c. 60 BCE and suggests that he ruled in some parts of Pushkalavati or even further west.
Nothing is known about his dynastic connections. His few coins are rather singular and none of them bear his likeness, a rare occurrence in Indo-Greek coinage. Despite his Greek name, Telephus might therefore have been a ruler of Saka
The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
origin. His epithet was also unprecedented.
Coinage
The silver coinage of Telephus is rare and mostly consists of drachms; only a fewtetradrachm
The tetradrachm ( grc-gre, τετράδραχμον, tetrádrachmon) was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the An ...
s are known. On the Greek side is a serpent-footed monster holding the stems of two plants, and on the Kharoshthi
The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and e ...
side two deities that probably should be identified with Helios and Selene
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of ...
, the sun and moon. Both types were unique in the area, though the monster would later appear on bronzes of Hippostratus.
An example of one of his bronzes is seen above, The obverse is the common type of sitting Zeus making a benediction gesture, whereas on the reverse is the unique type of a squatting man holding what on some specimens looks like a spear, on others a palm branch.
Telephus used only two monograms, which he inherited from Maues
Maues (Greek: ; (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , called , on the Taxila copper plate; also called , in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded India and establi ...
.
Overstrikes
Telephos overstruck the earlier king Archebius.See also
* Greco-Bactrian Kingdom *Greco-Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BC and the fifth century AD in Gandhara, in present-day north-western Pakistan and parts of nort ...
* Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centu ...
* Indo-Parthian Kingdom
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian s ...
* Kushan Empire
References
* ''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.External links
Coins of Telephus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telephos Indo-Greek kings 1st-century BC rulers in Asia