Archebius Explained

Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros ("The Just and Victorious")
Succession:Indo-Greek king
Reign:90–80 BCE

Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros (Greek: Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἀρχέβιος ὁ Δίκαιος, ὁ Νικηφόρος; epithets mean respectively, "the Just", "the Victorious"; formerly read as "Archelius"[1] [2]) was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Taxila. Osmund Bopearachchi dates him to c. 90–80 BCE, and R. C. Senior to about the same period. He was probably one of the last Indo-Greek kings before the Saka king Maues conquered Taxila, and a contemporary of Hermaeus in the west. He may have been a relative of Heliokles II, who used a similar reverse and also the title Dikaios.

Coin types

Archebius' name means "ruler of life" deriving from ἄρχω (“to rule”) and βίος ("life”). He issued silver with diademed or helmeted king, sometimes in spear-throwing pose. On the reverse is Zeus standing facing, holding a thunderbolt or on some issues an aegis.

Archebius also struck a rare series of Attic tetradrachms, found in Bactria.

He also issued bronzes with Nike on one side and an owl on the other.

Overstrikes

Archebius overstruck two coins of Peukolaos.

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. "In the Masson collection of 1836 were found Archebius (read at the time as 'Archelius')" in Book: Imam . Abu . Sir Alexander Cunningham and the Beginnings of Indian Archaeology . 1966 . Asiatic Society of Pakistan . 134 . en.
  2. Book: Prinsep . James . Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol V 1836 . 548–549 . English.