Epander

Indo-Greek king
Epander Nikephoros ("Victorious")
Portrait of Epander.
Indo-Greek king
Reign95–90 BC
Coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ "Of the Victorious King Epander".
Coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ "Of the Victorious King Epander".
Indian-standard coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ "Of the Victorious King Epander".

Epander (Greek: Ἔπανδρος) was one of the Indo-Greek kings. He may have been a relative of Menander I, and the findplaces of his coins seem to indicate that he ruled in the area of Punjab.

Time of reign

Bopearachchi dates Epander to c. 95–90 BC and R. C. Senior to c. 80 BC. The scarcity of his coins indicate that his reign was short and/or his territory limited.

Coins of Epander

Epander's silver drachms portray the king in diadem with a reverse of Athena fighting which was the type of Menander I. Epander probably claimed ancestry from this important king, but his epithet Nikephoros (Victorious) was unique to kings using this reverse: their title was usually Soter (Saviour). He struck no Attic (monolingual) coins.

Overstrikes

Epander overstruck coins of Strato I and Philoxenus.

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Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology
Based on Bopearachchi (1991)[t 1]
Greco-Bactrian kings Indo-Greek kings
Territories/
dates
West Bactria East Bactria Paropamisade
Arachosia Gandhara Western Punjab Eastern Punjab Mathura[t 2]
326-325 BCE Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India Nanda Empire
312 BCE Creation of the Seleucid Empire Creation of the Maurya Empire
305 BCE Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war Maurya Empire
280 BCE Foundation of Ai-Khanoum
255–239 BCE Independence of the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom
Diodotus I
Emperor Ashoka (268-232 BCE)
239–223 BCE Diodotus II
230–200 BCE Euthydemus I
200–190 BCE Demetrius I Sunga Empire
190-185 BCE Euthydemus II
190–180 BCE Agathocles Pantaleon
185–170 BCE Antimachus I
180–160 BCE Apollodotus I
175–170 BCE Demetrius II
160–155 BCE Antimachus II
170–145 BCE Eucratides I
155–130 BCE Yuezhi occupation,
loss of Ai-Khanoum
Eucratides II
Plato
Heliocles I
Menander I
130–120 BCE Yuezhi occupation Zoilus I Agathoclea Yavanarajya
inscription
120–110 BCE Lysias Strato I
110–100 BCE Antialcidas Heliocles II
100 BCE Polyxenus Demetrius III
100–95 BCE Philoxenus
95–90 BCE Diomedes Amyntas Epander
90 BCE Theophilus Peucolaus Thraso
90–85 BCE Nicias Menander II Artemidorus
90–70 BCE Hermaeus Archebius
Yuezhi occupation Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BCE Vonones Telephus Apollodotus II
65–55 BCE Spalirises Hippostratus Dionysius
55–35 BCE Azes I (Indo-Scythians) Zoilus II
55–35 BCE Vijayamitra/ Azilises Apollophanes
25 BCE – 10 CE Gondophares Zeionises Kharahostes Strato II
Strato III
Gondophares (Indo-Parthian) Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)
Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire) Bhadayasa
(Indo-Scythian)
Sodasa
(Indo-Scythian)
  1. ^ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453
  2. ^ Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2 April 2019). "History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE". BRILL – via Google Books.

See also

References

  • The Greeks in Bactria and India, W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.

External links

  • Coins of Epander
  • Le Roi Epandre le Victorieux
Preceded by Indo-Greek ruler in Punjab
95–90 BCE
Succeeded by
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Argeads
Antipatrids
Antigonids
Ptolemies
Monarchs of Cyrene
Seleucids
Lysimachids
Attalids
Greco-Bactrians
Indo-Greeks
Monarchs of Bithynia
Monarchs of Pontus
Monarchs of Commagene
Monarchs of Cappadocia
Monarchs of the
Cimmerian Bosporus
Monarchs of Epirus
Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories.