Telephus Euergetes (; '' Euergetes'' means "the Benefactor") was a late

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

king who seems to have been one of the weak and brief successors of

Maues Maues (Greek language, 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 Indi ...

. 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 Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

origin. His epithet was also unprecedented.

Coinage

The silver coinage of Telephus is rare and mostly consists of drachms; only a few

tetradrachm The tetradrachm () 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 Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...

s are known. On the Greek side is a serpent-footed monster holding the stems of two plants, and on the

Kharoshthi 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 ...

side two deities that probably should be identified with

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

and

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

, 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

Overstrikes

Telephos overstruck the earlier king Archebius.

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
{{Hellenistic rulers Indo-Greek kings 1st-century monarchs in Asia

Coinage

Overstrikes

See also

References

External links