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Menander II "The Just" was an Indo-Greek King who ruled in the areas of Arachosia
Arachosia

Arachosia or Arachotae is the latinized form of Greek language name of an Achaemenid Empire and Seleucid Empire governorate in the eastern part of their respective empires, and that was inhabited by the Iranian peoples Arachosians or Arachoti ....
 and Gandhara
Gandhara

Gandhara is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River....
 in the north of modern Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
.

arachchi has suggested that Menander II reigned circa 90-85 BCE, whereas R.C.






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Menanderdikaiou
Menanderiichakra
Menanderiio
Menanderiiq


Menander II "The Just" was an Indo-Greek King who ruled in the areas of Arachosia
Arachosia

Arachosia or Arachotae is the latinized form of Greek language name of an Achaemenid Empire and Seleucid Empire governorate in the eastern part of their respective empires, and that was inhabited by the Iranian peoples Arachosians or Arachoti ....
 and Gandhara
Gandhara

Gandhara is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River....
 in the north of modern Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
.

Time of reign

Bopearachchi has suggested that Menander II reigned circa 90-85 BCE, whereas R.C. Senior has suggested circa 65 BCE. In that case, Menander II ruled remaining Indo-Greek territories in Gandhara the invasion of Maues
Maues

Maues was an Indo-Scythian king from modern Afghanistan who reigned circa 85 BCE-60 BCE, and invaded the Indo-Greek territories of modern Pakistan....
.

Relations to other kings

Menander II Dikaios may have belonged to the dynasty of Menander I Soter, the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings. It was long believed that there was only one king named Menander.(see discussion under Menander I
Menander I

Menander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in northern India and present-day Pakistan from either 165 BC or 155 BC to 130 BC ....
)as their portraits were rather similar and Menander II seems to have been a devout Buddhist, just as Menander I according to the ancient Buddhist scripture the Milindapanha.

On the other hand, the name Menander could well have been popular in the Indo-Greek kingdom, and the coins of Menander II are not very like those of Menander I nor of those other kings (such as Strato I
Strato I

Strato I , was an Indo-Greek king who was the son of the Indo-Greek queen Agathokleia, who presumably acted as his regent during his early years after Strato's father, another Indo-Greek king, was killed....
)who are believed to have belonged to his dynasty. R.C. Senior links Menander II with the Indo-Greek king Amyntas, with whom he shares several monograms and also facial features such as a pointed nose and receding chin. He also suggests a close relation to the semi-Scythian king Artemidorus
Artemidoros

Artemidoros Aniketos was a king who ruled in the area of Gandhara and Pushkalavati in modern northern Pakistan and Afghanistan....
, son of Maues, since their coins use similar types and are often found together.

There is a small possibility that Menander II, rather than Menander I
Menander I

Menander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in northern India and present-day Pakistan from either 165 BC or 155 BC to 130 BC ....
, is actually the Buddhist Greek king referred to in the Milinda Panha
Milinda Panha

The Milinda Pa?ha is a Buddhist text which dates from approximately 100 BCE. It is sometimes included in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism as a book of the Khuddaka Nikaya....
. This point is unsolved however, since Greek sources (Plutarch (Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6)) relate that the great conqueror Menander I is the one who received the honour of burial in what could be interpreted as Buddhist stupas.

More likely, Menander I may indeed have first supported Buddhism, like the other Indo-Greek kings, and was probably the main protagonist of the Milindapanha, on account of his described fame, whereas Menander II, a minor king, may have wholeheartedly embraced Buddhism, as exemplified by his coins.

Coins of Menander II

The coins of Menander II bear the mention "Menander the Just", and "King of the Dharma
Dharma

The term , is an Indian Indian philosophy and Indian religions term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term....
" in Kharoshti, suggesting that he adopted the Buddhist faith. Menander II struck only Indian silver. These depict the king in diadem or helmet of the type of Menander I, with a number of reverses: a king on horseback, Nike and a sitting Zeus of the type of Antialkidas and Amyntas
Amyntas

Amyntas Nikator was an Indo-Greek king. His coins have been found both in eastern Punjab and Afghanistan, indicating that he ruled a considerable territory....
, but with an added eight-spoked Buddhist wheel.

His bronzes feature Athena standing, with spear and palm-branch, shield at her feet, making a benediction gesture with the right hand, similar to the Buddhist vitarka mudra
Mudra

A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers....
. Other varieties feature a king performing the same gesture.

On the reverse is a lion, symbol of Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
, as also seen on the pillars of the Mauryan King Ashoka
Ashoka

Ashoka was an Indian emperor, of the Maurya Empire who ruled from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. Often cited as one of India's as well as world's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests....
. In general, the coins of Menander II are quite few, which tends to indicate a rather small rule.

A contemporary king to represent the Buddhist lion on his coins is the Indo-Scythian king Maues
Maues

Maues was an Indo-Scythian king from modern Afghanistan who reigned circa 85 BCE-60 BCE, and invaded the Indo-Greek territories of modern Pakistan....
, around 85 BCE.




Preceded by:
Peukolaos
Peukolaos

Peucolaus Soter Dikaios was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Gandhara c. 90 BCE. His reign was probably short and insignificant, since he left only a few coins, but the relations of the latter Indo-Greek kings remain largely obscure....
 Indo-Greek Ruler
(Arachosia
Arachosia

Arachosia or Arachotae is the latinized form of Greek language name of an Achaemenid Empire and Seleucid Empire governorate in the eastern part of their respective empires, and that was inhabited by the Iranian peoples Arachosians or Arachoti ....
, Gandhara
Gandhara

Gandhara is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River....
)
(90 - 85 BCE)		 Succeeded by:
Archebios
Archebios

Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros "The Fair/Follower of the Dharma and Victorious" was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Taxila. Osmund Bopearachchi dates him to circa 90-80 BCE, and R C Senior to about the same period....


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