Antimachus II

Antimachus II
Indo-Greek king
Coin of Antimachus II. Obv: Nike with Greek legend BASILEOS NIKIPHOROS ANTIMACHOI. King on horse, with Kharoshti legend.
Reign	174–165 BCE
Titles	Nikephoros "The Victorious"

Antimachus II Nikephoros "The Victorious" was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled on a vast territory from the Hindu-Kush to the Punjab around 170 BCE. He was almost certainly identical with the eponymous son of Antimachus I, who is known from a unique preserved tax-receipt.^[1] Bopearachchi dated Antimachus II to 160–155 BCE on numismatical grounds, but changed this to 174–165 BCE after the tax-receipt was revealed to synchronise his reign with that of Antimachus I.^[2] R. C. Senior has not dated Antimachus II but thinks that his coins were possibly Indian issues of Antimachus I, despite their different epithets and coin types.

In both of Boperachchi's reconstructions, Antimachus II was succeeded by Menander I who inherited three of his four monograms. Antimachus II probably fought with the Bactrian king Eucratides I, who had dethroned his father in Bactria.

Coins of Antimachus II

Coin Antimachos II Nikephoros with Gorgone and victory wreath.

Just like his predecessor or contemporary Apollodotus I, Antimachus II did not strike a portrait on his coins, likely since this was not custom in India. Neither did the early kings strike tetradrachms. Antimachus II struck a large number of bilingual drachms on the same lighter Indian standard as Apollodotus I, though round in shape. On the obverse is Nike, and on the reverse a king on horseback.

He also issued bilingual bronzes with aegis / laurel wreath and palm. Both these and the goddess Nike seem to allude to his epithet "the Victorious".

Notes

1. ^ Rea, J. R., Senior, R. C. and Hollis, A. S., “A tax receipt from Hellenistic Bactria”, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 104 (1994)
2. ^ Boperarachchi (1991) and (1998), respectively.

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

See also

• Greco-Buddhism
• Indo-Scythians

Sources

• Rea, J. R.; R. C. Senior and A. S. Hollis (1994). "A Tax Receipt from Hellenistic Bactria" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 104: 261–280. http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1994/104pdf/104261.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-13. 
• Tarn, William Woodthorpe (1966). The Greeks in Bactria and India (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
• "Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum 9", American Numismatic Society, New York, 1997.