Azes I

Azes I
Indo-Scythian king
Coin of Azes I. Obv: Azes I in military dress, on a horse, with couched spear. Greek legend: BASILEOS BASILEON MEGALOU AZOU "of the Great King of Kings Azes". British Museum.
Reign	c. 48/47 – 25 BCE
Predecessor	Spalirises
Successor	Azilises

Coin of Azes I (c. 48/47 – 25 BCE).
Obv: Azes I in military dress, on a horse, with couched spear. Greek legend: BASILEOS BASILEON MEGALOU AZOU "of the Great King of Kings Azes".

Coin of Azes with Demeter and Hermes.

Azes I (Greek: Ἄζης; c. 48/47 BCE – 25 BCE)^[1] was an Indo-Scythian ruler who completed the domination of the Scythians in Gandhara.

History

Coin of Azes I, portrait of the king (detail).

Although Maues and his successors had conquered the areas of Gandhara, as well as the area of Mathura from 85 BCE, they were unsuccessful against the Indo-Greek kings remaining behind the Jhelum River in eastern Punjab.

The Azes Era

Coin from Azes Era depicting the king. British Museum.

Azes's most lasting legacy was the foundation of the Azes era. It was widely believed that the era was begun by Azes's successors by simply continuing the counting of his regnal years. However, Prof. Harry Falk has recently presented an inscription at several conferences which dates to Azes's reign, and suggests that the era may have been begun by Azes himself. Most popular historians date the start of the Azes era to 58 BC and believe it is the same as the later era known as the Malwa or Vikrama era. However, a recently discovered inscription dated in both the Azes and the Greek era suggests that actually this is not the case. The inscription gives the relationship Azes = Greek + 128. It is believed that the Greek era may have begun in 173 BCE, exactly 300 years before the first year of the Era of Kanishka. If that is the case then the Azes era would begin in about 45 BC.^[2]

According to Senior, Azes I may have been identical with Azes II, due to the discovery of an overstrike of the former over the latter.

Territories/ dates	West Bactria	East Bactria	Paropamisade	Arachosia	Gandhara	Western Punjab	Eastern Punjab
Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology Based on Bopearachchi (1991)^[3]
	Greco-Bactrian kings		Indo-Greek kings
326-325 BCE	Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India
312 BCE	Creation of the Seleucid Empire
305 BCE	Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war
280 BCE	Foundation of Ai-Khanoum
255–239 BCE	Independence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom Diodotus I
239–223 BCE	Diodotus II
230–200 BCE	Euthydemus I
200–190 BCE	Demetrius I
190-185 BCE	Euthydemus II
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 I
155–130 BCE	Yuezhi occupation, loss of Ai-Khanoum	Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I	Menander I
130–120 BCE	Yuezhi occupation		Zoilos I		Agathokleia
120–110 BCE			Lysias		Strato I
110–100 BCE			Antialcidas		Heliokles II
100 BCE			Polyxenos		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	Archebius
			Yuezhi occupation		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 and Strato III
							Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)
							Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian)

Notes

↑ Falk and Bennett (2009), pp. 197–215.
↑ For discussions refer to Bracey, R. (2005) 'The Azes Era' (http://www.kushan.org/essays/chronology/azesvikrama.htm), Cribb, J (2005) 'The Greek Kingdom of Bactria, its coinage and collapse' in Afghanistan, Ancien Carrefour entre l'est et l'ouest (ed. Bopearachichi O & Boussac, M-F), Turnhout: 207–225, Falk, H. & C. J. Bennett 'Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes' Acta Orientalia 70 (2009) 197–216
↑ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453

References

Harry Falk and Chris Bennett (2009). "Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes". Acta Orientalia (70): 197–215. ISSN 0001-6438. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
McEvilley, Thomas (2002). The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts. ISBN 1-58115-203-5. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
W.W. Tarn (2010). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-00941-6. Retrieved 11 April 2014.

External links

Preceded by: Indo-Scythian king Spalirises (In Arachosia and Gandhara) Indo-Greek king: Telephos (In the western Punjab) Indo-Greek king: Hippostratos	Indo-Scythian Ruler 57–35 BCE	Succeeded by: Azilises

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