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Gondophares
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Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. He seems to have ruled from 21 CE for at least 26 years. He took over the Kabul valley and the Punjab area from the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises. The extent of his territory is indicated by the distribution of 19th century finds of his coins. He assumed the Hellenistic title autokratôr that was adopted by his Arsacid rivals to the West.
The name 'Gondophares' is a latinization of Greek ????F????S with gen. -??, from Old Persian Vindafarna "May he find glory." Indian names include 'Gondapharna', 'Guduvhara' and Pali 'Gudaphara'.
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Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. He seems to have ruled from 21 CE for at least 26 years. He took over the Kabul valley and the Punjab area from the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises. The extent of his territory is indicated by the distribution of 19th century finds of his coins. He assumed the Hellenistic title autokratôr that was adopted by his Arsacid rivals to the West.
The name 'Gondophares' is a latinization of Greek ????F????S with gen. -??, from Old Persian Vindafarna "May he find glory." Indian names include 'Gondapharna', 'Guduvhara' and Pali 'Gudaphara'. Gondophares is 'Gastaphar' in Armenian.
Chronology
On the coins of Gondophares, the royal names are Parthian, but the other legends of the coins are in Greek and Kharo??hi. A votive inscription of the 26th year of Gudavhara or Gondophares, is reported to have been found on a stone at Takht-i-Bahi, northeast of Peshawar with a date in the year 103 of an unspecified era reckoning. This era is likely to have been the Malva or Vikrama era, founded in 57 BCE, this would give a date of 20 CE for his ascension (see Hindu calendar). The stone was formerly in the museum at Lahore. The point is especially important for those Christians who consider that a germ of history is embedded in the Acts of Thomas.
"Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of Gondophares represented the house of Suren." cf.
The Indo-Parthian kingdom with its capital at Kabul barely lasted one century. It started to fragment under Gondophares' successor Abdagases I. The eastern part was conquered by the Kushans around 75 CE.
After that point the kingdom was essentially restricted to Afghanistan. The last Indo-Parthian king, Pacores (100-135 CE), only ruled Sakastan and Turan.
Visit of St Thomas
Gondophares is connected to St Thomas in early Christian traditions embodied in the Acts of Thomas. In it Thomas was sold in Syria to Habban, an envoy of Gondophares, and travelled in slavery by sea to India, was presented to Gondophares to undertake the erection of the building the king required:
- "According to the lot, therefore, India fell unto Judas Thomas... And while he thus spake and thought, it chanced that there was there a certain merchant come from India whose name was Abbanes, sent from the King Gundaphorus, and having commandment from him to buy a carpenter and bring him unto him." Acts of Thomas, I, 1-2
- "Now when the apostle was come into the cities of India with Abbanes the merchant, Abbanes went to salute the king Gundaphorus, and reported to him of the carpenter whom he had brought with him. And the king was glad, and commanded him to come in to him." Acts of Thomas I, 17
Thomas instead spent all the king's money on alms, and as a consequence was imprisoned by him. Allegedly, Gondophares ultimately rehabilitated Thomas and recognized the validity of Christianity.
Passing on to the realm of another king, named in the Syrian versions as "Mazdai" (thought to refer to the Kushan king Vasudeva), he allegedly suffered martyrdom before being redeemed. St Thomas thereafter went to Kerala and baptized the natives, whose descendants form the Saint Thomas Christians.
The magnificent cathedral at Troyes in France is famous for its exquisite architecture and magnificent stained glass windows, one of which, apparently, has a representation of the famous Indo-Parthian king Gondophares.
The material of much of the Acts as well as some of its unmistakably unorthodox theology, made its historicity dismissible for many centuries. "Gondophares" was dismissed as an invention. Then in 1854 General Alexander Cunningham reported (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal vol.xxiii. pp.679-712) that since the British had been in Afghanistan an estimated 30,000 coins bearing Greek and Indian legends had been found in Afghanistan and the Punjab. The mintings covered three centuries after the conquests of Alexander: coins in the hoards were minted for Scythian conquerors and for Parthian kings such as Gondophares, who thereby emerged from pious legend into history (Medlycott 1905).
The Biblical Magi "Gaspar"
The name of Gondaphares was translated in Armenian in "Gastaphar", and then in Western languages into "Gaspard". He may be the "Gaspard, King of India", who, according to apocryphal texts and eastern Christian tradition, was one of the three Biblical Magi who attended the birth of Christ.
Phraotes
It has also been suggested that Gondophares may be identical with Phraotes, a Greek-speaking Indo-Parthian king of the city of Taxila, met by the Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana around 46 CE according to the Life of Apollonius Tyana written by Philostratus. Like the Acts of Thomas it is doubted if there is any truth in the story given by Philostratus, and most scholars see Phroates as a stock name deployed by Philostratus in what is otherwise an opportunity for him to deploy his sophist training.
Coin types
See also
Further reading
- : Chapter i: "The Apostle Thomas and Gondophares the Indian king"
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