Theophilos (king)
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Obv: Bust of king Theophilos. Greek legend: BASILEOS DIKAIOU TEOPHILOU "King Theophilos, The Just".
Rev: Herakles with club. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA DHRAMIKASA THEUPHILASA King Teophilos, of the Dharma.
Theophilos was an Indo-Greek king who ruled for a short time in the Paropamisadae. He was possibly a relative of Zoilos I.
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[edit] Time of reign
While Bopearachchi suggests c.90 BCE, R.C. Senior believes that Theophilos ruled in the 130s BCE. Both numismatics do however suggest that Theophilos' and Nicias' reigns were adjacent.
[edit] Coins of Theophilos
Just like Zoilos I, Theophilos struck Indian silver coins with Herakles, a common symbol of the house of Euthydemos I, and the epithet Dikaios/Dharmikasa "The Just/Follower of the Dharma". The monograms are mostly the same as those of Nicias. The bronzes have similar inscriptions.
Bronzes of Theophilos:
 Herakles with lion skin, and his club on the reverse. |
 Bust of Herakles, with cornucopia on reverse. |
However, there is a wholly different, and very rare, Attic coinage of a king Theophilos. Found in Bactria, these coins feature a reverse with a seated Athena with Nike, a different title "Autocrat King", and also a separate monogram. Although this is not a very common occurrence on Indo-Greek coins, according to Bopearachchi this should be considered as one and unique king, a proposition reinfored by the similarity between the portraits and the identical treatment of the diadem (one end straight, one end crooked).
| Preceded by: Diomedes |
Indo-Greek Ruler (Paropamisadae) (c. 90 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Nicias |
[edit] See also
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
[edit] References
- "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
