Zoilus I Dicaeus (;

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

means "the Just") was an

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 ruled in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and occupied the areas of the Paropamisade and Arachosia previously held by Menander I. He may have belonged to the dynasty of Euthydemus I.

Time of reign

Zoilus used to be dated after the death of Menander, c. 130–120 BCE (Bopearachchi). Two coins of Zoilus I were however overstruck by Menander I,Senior R.C., MacDonald, D.: ''The Decline of the Indo-Greeks'', Monographs of the Hellenic Numismatic Society, Athens (1998) so Zoilus came to power while Menander was still alive and was perhaps his enemy. R. C. Senior has suggested some time between 150 and 135 BCE.

Coin types of Zoilos I

Zoilus I uses a silver coin type similar to that of Euthydemus II, son of

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

: Crowned Herakles standing, holding a wreath or diadem in his right hand, and a club and the lion skin in his left hand. On some of the coins, which are of lower artistic quality, Herakles is crowned by a small Nike. Zoilus I also struck rare gold-plated silver coins with portrait and Heracles. In place of his Greek epithet "the just", Zoilus' Indian-standard coins bear the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

title ''Dhramikasa'' ("Follower of the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

"), probably related to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. This is the first time this epithet appears on Indo-Greek coinage. A few monolingual Attic tetradrachms of Zoilos I have been found. Zoilus inherited (or took) several monograms from Menander I. In

language, written in Kharoshti script, his name was written as either ''Jhoila'' or ''Jhahila'' (transliterated)'','' as the Z sound was foreign to Pali (see 'Catalog of the coins of Zoilus I' link below). His bronze coins are square and original in that they combine the club of Heracles with a

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

-type bowcase (for a short

recurve bow In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main Bow shape, shapes a bow (weapon), bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent strai ...

) inside a victory wreath, suggesting contacts or even an alliance with horse-mounted people originating from the steppes, possibly either the Scythians (future Indo-Scythians), or the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, 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 defea ...

who had invaded Greco-Bactria. This bow can be contrasted to the traditional Hellenistic long bow depicted on the coins of the eastern Indo-Greek queen Agathokleia.

Gallery

File:Zoilos I the Just bilingual coin.jpg, Silver coin of Zoilus I. Obverse shows the King wearing royal

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

, with

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 ...

legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΖΩΙΛΟΥ, ''Basileōs Dikaiou Zōilou,'' "Of King Zoilus the Just". Reverse with standing

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, and

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 ...

legend: ''Maharajasa Dhramikasa Jhoilasa,'' "Of the Great King Zoilus, the Follower of the

". Image: Zoilos I coin alliance of the Heraklean club and the Scythian bow.jpg, Indian square coin of Zoilus I. The obverse shows the head of Heracles, with Greek legend. The reverse shows the Heraclean club and the Scythian bow, within a circular

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

, with Kharosthi legend on the outside. File:Zoilos I coin.jpg, Another silver coin of Zoilus I. The Obverse, showing the King wearing a royal diadem, and with the Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΖΩΙΛΟΥ, ''Basileōs Dikaiou Zōilou,'' "Of King Zoilus the Just".

Notes

References

* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'', W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press

External links