Theophilos (king)

This article is about the 1st century BC Indo-Greek king. For other uses, see Theophilus.

Theophilos
Indo-Greek king
Reign	130 BCE or 90 BCE

Theophilos (Greek: Θεὀφιλος) was a minor Indo-Greek king who ruled for a short time in the Paropamisadae. He was possibly a relative of Zoilos I and is only known from coins. It is possible that some of Theophilos' coins in fact belong to another ruler, in Greek Bactria, during approximately the same period.

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 the reigns of Theophilos and Nicias were adjacent.

Coins of Theophilos

Just like Zoilos I, Theophilos struck Indian silver coins with Herakles, a common symbol of the house of Euthydemus I, and the epithet Dikaios/Dhramikasa "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.

• Theophilos.jpg

  Bust of Herakles, with cornucopia on reverse.

A Bactrian king Theophilos?

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 Autokrator "Autocrat King", and also a separate monogram. Although this is not a very common occurrence on Indo-Greek coins, the coins of Theophilos have generally been accepted as belonging to one unique king. Bopearachchi has supported this proposition by pointing at the similarity between the portraits and the identical treatment of the diadem (one end straight, one end crooked).

Against this, Jakobsson argues that the coins issued by the later Indo-Greek kings for export into Bactria were consistently similar to these kings' regular Indian coinage. Consequently, the coins of Theophilos Autokrator were not such export issues, but should belong to a Bactrian ruler. Jakobsson suggests that Theophilos Autokrator was a Bactrian princelet who briefly maintained himself in some part of Bactria, after the Hellenistic kingdom there had been vanquished by nomads, presumably in the 120s BCE.

INDO-GREEK KINGS AND THEIR TERRITORIES Based on Bopearachchi (1991)
Territories/ Dates	PAROPAMISADE	ARACHOSIA	GANDHARA	WESTERN PUNJAB	EASTERN PUNJAB
200–190 BC	Demetrius I
190–180 BC	Agathocles	Pantaleon
185–170 BC	Antimachus I
180–160 BC	Apollodotus I
175–170 BC	Demetrius II
170–145 BC	Eucratides
160–155 BC	Antimachus II
155–130 BC	Menander I
130–120 BC	Zoilos I		Agathokleia
120–110 BC	Lysias		Strato I
110–100 BC	Antialcidas		Heliokles II
100 BC	Polyxenos		Demetrius III
100–95 BC	Philoxenus
95–90 BC	Diomedes	Amyntas		Epander
90 BC	Theophilos	Peukolaos		Thraso
90–85 BC	Nicias	Menander II		Artemidoros
90–70 BC	Hermaeus	Archebios
	Yuezhi tribes		Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BC			Telephos	Apollodotus II
65–55 BC				Hippostratos	Dionysios
55–35 BC				Azes I (Indo-Scythian)	Zoilos II
55–35 BC					Apollophanes
25 BC – 10 AD					Strato II & III
					Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)

See also

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

References

• "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.

Notes

Preceded by Diomedes

Indo-Greek ruler in Paropamisadae c. 90 BCE

Succeeded by Nicias