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Diodotus (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ???????S), was Seleucid
Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire /s?'lus?d/ was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir Mountains and parts of Pakistan....
 satrap
Satrap

Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Medes and Persian Empire empires, including the Achaemenid Empire and in several of their heirs, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic civilization empires....
 of Bactria
Bactria

Bactria is a historical region of Greater Iran. Known by the ancient Greeks as "Bactriana" the region is located between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya ; in later times, the region became known as Tokharistan. The name of the region has survived to present time in the name of Afghan province "Balkh"....
, rebelled against Greek rule soon after the death of Antiochus II
Antiochus II Theos

Antiochus II Theos , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom who reigned 261 BC–246 BC). He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262-61 BC....
 in 246 BCE, and wrested independence for his territory.

This event is recorded by Trogus
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus, known as Pompeius Trogus, Pompey Trogue, or Trogue Pompey, was a 1st century BC Roman historian of the Celtic tribe of the Vocontii in Gallia Narbonensis, flourished during the age of Augustus Caesar, nearly contemporary with Livy....
, Prol. 41; Justin
Junianus Justinus

'Justin' was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. His name is mentioned only in the title of his own history, and there it is in the genitive, which would be M....
 xli. 4, 5, where he is called Theodotus; Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
 xi.






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Diodotusgoldcoin
Diodotus (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ???????S), was Seleucid
Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire /s?'lus?d/ was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir Mountains and parts of Pakistan....
 satrap
Satrap

Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Medes and Persian Empire empires, including the Achaemenid Empire and in several of their heirs, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic civilization empires....
 of Bactria
Bactria

Bactria is a historical region of Greater Iran. Known by the ancient Greeks as "Bactriana" the region is located between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya ; in later times, the region became known as Tokharistan. The name of the region has survived to present time in the name of Afghan province "Balkh"....
, rebelled against Greek rule soon after the death of Antiochus II
Antiochus II Theos

Antiochus II Theos , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom who reigned 261 BC–246 BC). He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262-61 BC....
 in 246 BCE, and wrested independence for his territory.

This event is recorded by Trogus
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus, known as Pompeius Trogus, Pompey Trogue, or Trogue Pompey, was a 1st century BC Roman historian of the Celtic tribe of the Vocontii in Gallia Narbonensis, flourished during the age of Augustus Caesar, nearly contemporary with Livy....
, Prol. 41; Justin
Junianus Justinus

'Justin' was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. His name is mentioned only in the title of his own history, and there it is in the genitive, which would be M....
 xli. 4, 5, where he is called Theodotus; Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
 xi. 515). The name apparently is related to the title Soter he uses for himself. His power seems to have extended over the neighbouring provinces. Diodotus was a contemporary, a neighbour, and probably an ally of Andragoras, the satrap of Parthia, who at about the same time also proclaimed independence from the Seleucid Empire.

Independence and prosperity

Diodotuscoinfront
Diodotus wrestled independence for his territory after the deathof the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II, who had been embroiled in a war against Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic

Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy.This adjective is usually used in one of three ways:*To describe the Egyptian dynasty founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter...
 Egypt:

Diodotus, the governor of the thousand cities of Bactria
Bactria

Bactria is a historical region of Greater Iran. Known by the ancient Greeks as "Bactriana" the region is located between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya ; in later times, the region became known as Tokharistan. The name of the region has survived to present time in the name of Afghan province "Balkh"....
 (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: "Theodotus, mille urbium Bactrianarum praefectus"), defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians. (Justin
Junianus Justinus

'Justin' was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. His name is mentioned only in the title of his own history, and there it is in the genitive, which would be M....
, XLI,4 )


The new kingdom, highly urbanized and considered as one of the richest of the Orient (opulentissimum illud mille urbium Bactrianum imperium "The extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria" Justin, XLI,1 ), was to further grow in power and engage into territorial expansion to the east and the west:

"The Greeks who caused Bactria
Bactria

Bactria is a historical region of Greater Iran. Known by the ancient Greeks as "Bactriana" the region is located between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya ; in later times, the region became known as Tokharistan. The name of the region has survived to present time in the name of Afghan province "Balkh"....
 to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana
Ariana

Arianna is a feminine name that comes from the italian root word "aria" which means song. . See Ariana .Other uses of Ariana include:...
, but also of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, as Apollodorus of Artemita
Apollodorus of Artemita

Apollodorus of Artemita was a Greek writer of the 1st century BCE.Apollodorus wrote a history of the Parthian Empire in at least four books. He is quoted by Strabo and Athenaeus....
 says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were Bactra (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others. Among these was Eucratidia, which was named after its ruler." (Strabo, XI.XI.I )


Conflict with Arsaces

Arsaces
Arsaces I of Parthia

Arsaces I was the 3rd century BCE founder of the Arsacid dynasty, and after whom all 30+ monarchs of the Arsacid empire officially named themselves....
, the chieftain of the nomadic (Dahan) tribe of the Parni
Parni

The Parni were an "Eastern Iranian language people" of the Ochos/Ochus River valley, south-east of the Caspian Sea. The Parni were one of the three tribes of the Dahae confederacy....
, fled before him into Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
 and there eliminated Andragoras, the former satrap and self-proclaimed king of Parthia, and became the founder of the Parthian Empire
Parthian Empire

The Arsacid Empire , was a significant political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region....
 (Strabo l.c.). The Greco-Bactrians became cut from direct contacts with the Greek world. Overland trade continued at a reduced rate, while sea trade between Greek Egypt and Bactria developed. When Seleucus II
Seleucus II Callinicus

Seleucus II Callinicus or Pogon , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 to 225 BC. After the death of this father, Antiochus II Theos, he was proclaimed king by his mother, Laodice I in Ephesos, while her partisans at Antioch murdered Berenice and her son....
 in 239 BC attempted to subjugate the rebels in the east, it appears he and Diodotus united together against the Parthians (Justin xli. 4, 9).

Soon afterwards Diodotus died and was succeeded by his son Diodotus II
Diodotus II

Diodotus II was a Greco-Bactrian king, son of Diodotus of Bactria. He is known for concluding a peace treaty with the Parthian king Arsaces, in order to forestall the Seleucid Empire reconquest of both Parthia and Bactria:...
, who concluded a peace with the Parthians (Justin l.c.). Diodotus was succeeded by his son Diodotus II
Diodotus II

Diodotus II was a Greco-Bactrian king, son of Diodotus of Bactria. He is known for concluding a peace treaty with the Parthian king Arsaces, in order to forestall the Seleucid Empire reconquest of both Parthia and Bactria:...
, who allied himself with the Parthian Arsaces
Arsaces I of Parthia

Arsaces I was the 3rd century BCE founder of the Arsacid dynasty, and after whom all 30+ monarchs of the Arsacid empire officially named themselves....
 in his fight against Seleucus II
Seleucus II Callinicus

Seleucus II Callinicus or Pogon , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 to 225 BC. After the death of this father, Antiochus II Theos, he was proclaimed king by his mother, Laodice I in Ephesos, while her partisans at Antioch murdered Berenice and her son....
:
"Soon after, relieved by the death of Theodotus [Justin uses a erroneous version of the name], Arsaces made peace and concluded an alliance with his son, also by the name of Theodotus; some time later he fought against Seleucus who came to punish the rebels, and he prevailed: the Parthians celebrated this day as the one that marked the beginning of their freedom" (Justin
Junianus Justinus

'Justin' was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. His name is mentioned only in the title of his own history, and there it is in the genitive, which would be M....
, XLI,4 )
At the All-India Oriental Conference held at Pune in 1993, Dr. Ranajit Pal has suggested that Diodotus I was the great Ashoka. The bilingual Kandahar Edict shows Ashoka as the master of Arachosia but the coins point to Diodotus as the ruler. According to Dr. Pal the names Diodotus and Devanam (piya) are synonymous (‘nam’=’dat’=’law’). Significantly, while Diodotus has only coins but no inscriptions, his contemporary Ashoka has many inscriptions but no coins, which shows that they complement each other. Ashoka never refers to his neighbor Diodotus because he was Diodotus himself. Both were fierce warriors in their youth but later became saviors, sôtêr. Diodotus II was subsequently killed by a usurper, Euthydemus
Euthydemus I

Euthydemus I was allegedly a native of Magnesia and possible Satrap of Sogdiana, who overturned the dynasty of Diodotus of Bactria and became a Greco-Bactrian king in about 230 BCE according to Polybius....
, founder of the Greco-Bactrian Euthydemid dynasty (Polyb.
Polybius

Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories covering in detail the period of 220–146 BC....
 xi. 34, 2).

Coinage

Of Diodotus I we possess gold, silver and bronze coins, some of which are struck in the name of Antiochos. As the power of the Seleucids was weak and continually attacked by Ptolemy II, the eastern provinces and their Greek cities were exposed to the invasion of the nomadic barbarians and threatened with destruction (Polyb.
Polybius

Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories covering in detail the period of 220–146 BC....
 xi. 34, 5); thus the erection of an independent kingdom may have been a necessity and indeed an advantage to the Greeks, and this epithet well deserved. Diodotus Soter appears also on coins struck in his memory by the later Graeco-Bactrian kings Agathocles
Agathocles

Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily and king of Sicily ....
 and Antimachus
Antimachus

Antimachus, of Colophon or Claros, Greece poet and grammarian, flourished about 400 BC.Scarcely anything is known of his life. His poetical efforts were not generally appreciated, although he received encouragement from his younger contemporary Plato ....
. Cf. AV Sallet, Die Nachfolger Alexanders d. Gr. in Baktrien und Indien; Percy Gardner
Percy Gardner

Percy Gardner , English classical archaeologist, was born in London, and was educated at the City of London school and Christ's College, Cambridge ....
, Catal. of the Coins of the Greek and Scythian Kings of Bactria and India (Brit. Mus.
British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London. Its collections, which number more than 7 million Object , are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present....
).

Preceded by:
Antiochus II
Antiochus II Theos

Antiochus II Theos , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom who reigned 261 BC–246 BC). He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262-61 BC....

(Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire /s?'lus?d/ was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir Mountains and parts of Pakistan....
)		 Greco-Bactrian
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BCE....
 Ruler		 Succeeded by:
Diodotus II
Diodotus II

Diodotus II was a Greco-Bactrian king, son of Diodotus of Bactria. He is known for concluding a peace treaty with the Parthian king Arsaces, in order to forestall the Seleucid Empire reconquest of both Parthia and Bactria:...