Sapadbizes (Σαπαδβιζης), also Sapalbizes or Sapaleizis, was a ruler of western Bactria, sometimes linked to the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...

. He is known only from his coins, which are rather rare, and are dated to circa 20 BC - 20 AD. Two clues provide an approximate date for this ruler. He is believed to have overstruck the coins of

Phraates IV Phraates IV (also spelled Frahad IV; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 37 to 2 BC. He was the son and successor of Orodes II (), and was given the throne after the death of his brother Pacorus I. ...

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

, secondly his coins are of good silver. This places him after Phraates IV (40 BC) and before the debasement of coinage in Northwest

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(AD 20). He is not the only ruler of his dynasty known. Several other coins imply that Sapadbizes was preceded by at least one, and possibly two other rulers. It is likely that Sapadbizes and these other rulers were descendants of tribes who had invaded Bactria and imitated the coins of the last

Greco-Bactrian The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the India ...

kings. Though it is clear from the coins, and the evidence of Chinese chroniclers that at this time Sapadbizes was an ally or dependent of

, nothing is known of the succession after Sapadbizes. However, scholars surmise that his kingdom was conquered by

Kujula Kadphises Kujula Kadphises (Kushan language: Κοζουλου Καδφιζου, also Κοζολα Καδαφες; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨂𐨗𐨂𐨫 𐨐𐨯, IAST: ', '; Ancient Chinese: 丘就卻, ''Qiujiuque''; reigned 30–80 CE, or 40-90 CE according to B ...

, during the latter's war with Parthia, and absorbed into the Kushan Empire, probably about the year 30 AD. A coin of Sapadbizes was discovered in the burial site of

Tillya Tepe Tillya tepe, Tillia tepe or Tillā tapa ( fa, طلا تپه, literally "Golden Hill" or "Golden Mound") is an archaeology, archaeological site in the northern Afghanistan province of Jowzjan Province, Jowzjan near Sheberghan, excavated in 1978 by ...

." Coins found in the graves include an aureus of the emperor Tiberius (16-21 A.C.), a gold minted coin which appears to be a local imitation of a Parthian coin (first half of the first century B.C.), a gold coin of undetermined Indian origin, a silver coin of Mithradates II (123-88 B.C.) and finally a Parthian silver coin of Phraates IV with the legend Sapaleizis, who is considered to be one of the Yueh-chih rulers. " in

References

External links

More on Sapadbizes

Kushan Empire 1st-century BC rulers in Asia {{Afghanistan-hist-stub