Antialcidas
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| Antialcidas Nikephoros | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Antialcidas | |
| Indo-Greek king | |
| Reign | 130–120 BC (R. C. Senior) 115–95 BC (Boppearachchi) |
Antialcidas Nikephoros (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιαλκίδας ὁ Νικηφόρος; epithet means "the Bearer of Victory" or "the Victorious", Brahmi: 𑀅𑀁𑀢𑀮𑀺𑀓𑀺𑀢𑀲 Aṃtalikitasa, in the Heliodorus Pillar) was a king of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca. 115 to 95 BC in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas R. C. Senior places him around 130 to 120 BC and also in eastern Punjab (which seems better supported by coin findings). Senior does however believe that he ruled in tandem with King Lysias.
The Heliodorus inscription
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Though there are few sources for the late Indo-Greek history, Antialcidas is known from an inscription left on a pillar (the Heliodorus pillar), which was erected by his ambassador Heliodorus at the court of the Shunga king Bhagabhadra at Vidisha, near Sanchi. It states that he was a devotee of Vishnu, the Hindu god.[2]
A part of the inscription says:
"This Garuda-standard was made by order of the Bhagavata ... Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a man of Taxila, a Greek ambassador from King Antialkidas, to King Bhagabhadra, the son of the Princess from Benares, the saviour, while prospering in the fourteenth year of his reign."[3]
The Indo-Greeks and the Shungas seem to have reconciled and exchanged diplomatic missions around 113 BCE, as indicated by the Heliodorus pillar, which records the dispatch of a Greek ambassador named Heliodorus, from the court of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas, to the court of the Shunga emperor Bhagabhadra at the site of Vidisha in central India.[4][failed verification] The text of the inscriptions is in the Brahmi script of the Sunga period, the language is Monumental Prakrit, with a few Sanskritized spellings.[5] The first inscription describes the private religious dedication of Heliodorus (Translations: Richard Salomon):
Line 1. This Garuda-standard of Vāsudeva, the god of gods
Line 2. was constructed here by Heliodora (Heliodoros), the Bhagavata,
Line 3. son of Dion, a man of Takhkhasila (Taxila),
Line 4. the Greek ambassador who came from the Great King
Line 5. Amtalikita (Antialkidas) to King
Line 6. Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior,
Line 7. prospering in (his) fourteenth regnal year.[6]
Unsourced
Gallery
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Antialcidas with Zeus directly giving wreath of victory to the elephant. With Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ, Basileōs Nikēphorou Antialkidou, "Of Victorious King Antialcidas". Obverse with Kharoshti legend: Maharajasa Jayadharasa Antialikitasa.
References
[edit]- ↑ Avari, Burjor (2016). India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from C. 7000 BCE to CE 1200. Routledge. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-317-23673-3.
- ↑ Greek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveries Shane Wallace, 2016, p.222-223
- ↑ Archaeological Survey of India, Annual report 1908-1909 p.129
- ↑ Ravindran, T.K. (1973). Journal of Indian History. Vol. 51. Department of Modern Indian History. p. 441.
- ↑ Richard Salomon 1998, pp. 265–267
- ↑ Richard Salomon 1998, pp. 266–267.
Sources
[edit]- 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
- Buddhism in Central Asia by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
- The Greeks in Bactria and India, W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
- The Indo-Greeks, A. K. Narain, B.R Publications
- The Decline of the Indo-Greeks, R. C. Senior & D. MacDonald, the Hellenistic Numismatic Society
- Richard Salomon (1998). Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-535666-3.