Abdagases I (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Ἀβδαγάσης, epigraphically ΑΒΔΑΓΑΣΟΥ;

Kharosthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...

: 𐨀𐨬𐨡𐨒𐨮 ', 'Gardner, Percy, ''The Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India in the British Museum'', p. 107-108) was an

Indo-Parthian 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 ...

king, who ruled

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

and possibly over most of the Indus region from c. 46 to 60 AD. He was a nephew and successor of

Gondophares Gondophares I ( Greek: Γονδοφαρης ''Gondopharēs'', Υνδοφερρης ''Hyndopherrēs''; Kharosthi: 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪𐨿𐨣 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨂𐨵𐨪 ', ') was the founder of the Indo-Parthian K ...

, who had laid foundations for the Indo-Parthian kingdom after revolting against his

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

overlords in c. 19 AD. Abdagases was succeeded by Orthaghnes or

Pacores Pacores or Pakores (Greek: ΠΑΚΟΡΗϹ ''Pakorēs''; Kharosthi: 𐨤𐨐𐨂𐨪 ', '; Aramaic: pkwry) (100–135 AD) was a king who ruled the remnants of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom in Arachosia from 100–130 AD following Ubouzanes. He wa ...

Life

Abdagases' origins are unknown. It has been argued that he belonged to the

House of Suren House of Suren or Surenas.. ( Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn, Middle Persian: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.. History The head of Sure ...

, a prominent and influential family within the Arsacid Empire. Because the title Gondophernes has been attributed to that dynasty without sufficient proof. But no other proof related to this argument has been found. He succeeded his uncle Gondophares as the ruler of

in c. 46 AD, whilst Orthagnes succeeded him at

Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana (, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprises territory around Ham ...

and

Arachosia Arachosia (; ), or Harauvatis ( ), was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Mainly centred around the Arghandab River, a tributary of the Helmand River, it extended as far east as the Indus River. The satrapy's Persian-language name is the et ...

. The figure of Abdagases is obscure; according to Gazerani, it is likely that Abdagases may have been the same person as another Abdagases, an influential and powerful Suren noble in the Arsacid Empire, who belonged to a faction of Parthian magnates that were dissatisfied with the Parthian king Artabanus II. The Parthian magnates had at first favoured a grandson of

Phraates IV Phraates IV (also spelled Frahad IV; ''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. Phraates IV soon mur ...

, also named Phraates as a better choice for king. However, he met an abrupt death in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The Parthian magnates then turned to another prince, Tiridates III, who was crowned by Abdagases. Some of the Parthian magnates, however, were supporters of Artabanus II, due to their concern that Abdagases would become the '' de facto'' ruler of the Arsacid Empire, with Tiridates as a

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

. As a result, Abdagases and his son Sinnacus withdrew their support from Tiridates as well. This event seems to have coincided with the declaration of independence in

Sakastan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspon ...

by the Suren family under Gondophares. The identification of the two Abdagases figures, although supported by some scholars, nevertheless still remains indecisive, due to the lack of numismatic evidence. Abdagases ruled as king till c. 60 AD, and was succeeded by Orthagnes or

Notes

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Sources

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External links

Coins of Abdagases
Indo-Parthian kings 1st-century monarchs in Asia 60 deaths Year of birth unknown 1st-century Iranian people {{Indo-Parthian kings