The Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("14588")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sagala">Sagala
-References in Mahabharata:There is a town of the name of Sakala, a river of the name of Apaga, and a clan of the Vahikas known by the name of the Jarttikas...
(modern
SialkotSialkot is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan at the feet of the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District and, formerly, it has been the winter-capital of the State of Kashmir...
,
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
), or possibly to the city of Bucephala (Plutarch, p. 48 n. 5).
His territory was invaded by
RajuvulaRajuvula was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE. In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE...
, Indo-Scythian king of Mathura, and he became the last of the Indo-Greek kings, together with his son
Strato (III) Soter Philopator, who was included as joint regent on some of his coins and also issued coins on his own.
A few silver coins with a different portrait and the inscription
Strato Soter Dikaios may also belong to Strato III as sole ruler, or to a fourth king named Strato.. (Given that the coins of Strato I have lately been attributed to two different kings, there may actually have been as many as five kings named Strato.)
Just like the earlier king Strato I, the last Stratons I are thought to belong to the dynasty of
Menander IMenander I Soter "The Saviour" was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in present-day Pakistan from either 165 or 155 BC to 130 BC...
, who also used the epithet Soter and the symbol of standing Pallas Athena.
Coins of Strato II, III and Strato Dikaios
The chronology of the late Indo-Greek kingdom has been established by Bopearachchi and other scholars from numismatical evidence alone. The coins deteriorated continuously, the Strato coins being the most debased and crude in style, a striking contrast to earlier kings who struck some of the most beautiful coins of antiquity.
The decay was due to the increasing pressure of the Indo-Scythian nomads on the remaining Greek pockets, as well as their long isolation from the rest of the Hellenistic world.Subsequent Indo-Scythian rulers, such as
BhadayasaBhadayasa was a minor Indo-Scythian ruler in the area of Mathura in India, during the 1st century CE.He is mainly known through his coins, which are direct imitations of those of the Indo-Greek king Strato II....
designed their coins in direct imitation of those of Strato II.
Strato II, III and Strato Dikaios struck debased silver drachms, which as mentioned portray Pallas on the reverse. Strato II appears as an old man with a sunken jaw on some of his coins, which is not surprising given that he had his grandson was co-regent.
Strato II also issued bronzes and even lead coins of the common type Apollo/tripod. On some of Strato II's silver drachms the letter
sigmaSigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the /s/ sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used. Sigma (upper case Σ, lower case σ; Greek Σιγμα, lower case in...
is written as C, a not uncommon trait on late Hellenistic coins in the east.
Preceded by:
ApollophanesApollophanes Soter was an Indo-Greek king in the area of eastern and central Punjab in modern India and Pakistan. Little is known about him, except for some of his remaining coins. The dating is Osmund Bopearachchi's, but RC Senior suggests approximately the same dates. Earlier scholars, such as...
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Indo-Greek Ruler
(Eastern PunjabThe Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab (25 BCE - 10 CE) |
Succeeded by:
Indo-Scythian king
RajuvulaRajuvula was an Indo-Scythian Great Satrap who ruled in the area of Mathura in northern India in the years around 10 CE. In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE...
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