Artemidoros

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Silver tetradrachm of Artemidoros (c.85 BCE). Obverse shows bust of Artemidoros with Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΙΚΗΤΟΥ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΔΟΡΟΥ (invincible King Artemidoros). Reverse shows Nike standing with a bow. The Kharoshthi legend reads MAHARAJASA APADIHATASA ARTEMIDORASA (invincible King Artemidoros). Pushkalavati mint.

Artemidoros was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Gandhara and Taxila in modern northern Pakistan around 85 BCE.

On a coin described by numismatician R.C. Senior, Artemidoros claims to be the son of the Scythian king Maues. Not only does this coin enable a closer dating of Artemidoros; it also sheds new light on the transient ethnic identities during the decline of the Indo-Greek kingdom. Another possibility is that the paternity is merely a way of expressing vasallage to Maues. Artemidoros uses a reverse featuring a curved bow, which may have been typical of Scythian tribes and further supports his affiliation with them.

Most of his coins were minted in the area of Pushkalavati in Gandhara.

[edit] External links

• Coins of Artemidoros

[edit] See also

• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
• Seleucid Empire
• Greco-Buddhism
• Indo-Scythians
• Indo-Parthian Kingdom
• Kushan Empire

[edit] References

• "The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
• "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.