Far East Kingdoms

Indo-Greek Kingdom of India

When Alexander the Great's Macedonian forces smashed the Persian empire in 330 BC, they inherited a vast territory which stretched eastwards towards India. One of those regions, Bactria, became an independent kingdom in 256 BC, and for a while it flourished and conquered territory further south and east following the collapse of the Indian Mauryans, creating a kingdom that briefly covered all of Afghanistan, Pakistan and large swathes of India. Internecine wars and usurpations split the kingdom, creating an Indo-Greek state (or Greco-Indian state) which dominated in the east.

The kingdom's borders fluctuated considerably, as it and Bactria conquered and re-conquered territory from each other. At its height it could include the following: Paropamisadae (immediately east of Bactria proper, modern Kabul); Arachosia (modern southern Afghanistan and northern and central Pakistan, and perhaps extending as far as the Indus); and east to the Ganges and Pataliputra (modern Patna). Arachosia's capital was Alexandria in Arachosia (the modern form of which is Kandahar).

Argead Dynasty

The Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who reached their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his two successors before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic sections. Following Alexander's conquest of central and eastern Persia in 331-330 BC, the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's death in 323 BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in 310 BC. Alexander's successors held no real power, being mere figureheads for the generals who really held control of Alexander's empire. Following that latter period and several wars, the region was left in the hands of the Seleucid empire from 312 BC.

330 - 323 BC

Alexander III the Great

King of Macedonia. Conquered Persia.

323 - 317 BC

Philip III Arrhidaeus

Feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander the Great.

317 - 310 BC

Alexander IV of Macedonia

Infant son of Alexander the Great and Roxana.

327 - 326 BC

Philip

Greek satrap of northern Punjab (and later of Bactria?).

326 - 323 BC

Eudamus

Greek satrap of northern Punjab. Commander of Greek army.

326 - 321? BC

Taxiles / Ambhi

King of Taxila. Satrap of northern Punjab.

326 - 317? BC

Porus

King of Paurava. Satrap of northern Punjab.

? - 316 BC

Eudamus

Restored in northern Punjab. Killed by Antigonus.

325 - 316 BC

Peithon

Greek satrap of southern Punjab. Left for Babylon.

316 - 312 BC

The Wars of the Diadochi decide how Alexander the Great's empire is carved up between his generals, but the period is very confused, especially in the east. These provinces appear to be invaded and controlled by Antigonus of Phrygia for a period, with the general responsible for the death of Eudamus.

312 - 305 BC

Bactria is taken by the Seleucids in around 312 BC, with the eastern provinces probably also being under their control.

305 - 185 BC

The regions of Paropamisadae (immediately east of Bactria proper), Arachosia (modern southern Afghanistan and northern and central Pakistan), Gandhara (northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan), and Punjab are handed to the Mauryan empire in India by the Seleucids as part of an alliance agreement.

Macedonian kings

The Mauryan empire fell apart in 185 BC, and Demetrius of Bactria annexed the western half of the empire, including Paropamisadae and Arachosia (including modern Punjab, Kashmir and Pakistan). He advanced as far as the Ganges and Pataliputra, although this advance is usually ascribed to the later king, Menander I. Gandhara (northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan), and Western Punjab were also added to the territory.

Upon Demetrius' death in about 180 BC, many successors appeared in several regions of the enlargened kingdom. Some of them may have been co-regents, but civil wars and territorial divisions were very likely, and the split between Bactria and the Indo-Greek kingdom can be placed at this point. The Indo-Greek kingdom itself was rarely immune from internal division, with a second split usually forming between eastern and western sections. For clarification, in this list 'western' kings are shown in the lefthand column of kings, while 'eastern' kings are shown on the right.

(Where information conflicts regarding the Indo-Greek territories, Osmund Bopearachchi's Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Catalogue Raisonné (1991) has been followed. Additional information by David Kelleher.)

WESTERN KINGS

EASTERN KINGS

200/195 - c.180 BC

Demetrius I

Euthydemid king of Bactria and Indo-Greek territories.

c.185/180 BC

A whole rash of rulers appears after the death of Demetrius. Some of them may be sub-rulers, but equally, some of them may be rulers of domains carved out of the kingdom itself, with shifting alliances and fortunes. Indo-Greek territory is pushed as far as Pataliputra.

c.185 - 175 BC

Pantaleon

Brother? In Arachosia.

c.180 - 165 BC

Agathocles

Brother? In Paropamisadae.

180? - 165? BC

Antimachus I Theos

Brother? In Bactria, Paropamisadae and Arachosia.

c.180/175 - 160 BC

Apollodotus I

In Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara, & Western Punjab.

175 - 170/165 BC

Demetrius II

Son of Antimachus I. In Paropamisadae & Arachosia.

c.175 BC

Demetrius II rules in Paropamisadae & Arachosia as a sub-king or joint ruler with his father, the Bactrian king, Antimachus I. While he is campaigning in the east, a usurper arises in the west in about 170 BC.

c.170? BC

Following the attack of Eucratides I in Bactria on their rule, the Euthydemid kings pull in their eastern border to Mathura. Eucratides is opposed by Demetrius II, who apparently returns to Bactria with 60,000 men to oust the usurper, but he is defeated and killed in the encounter. Antimachus I also fights against Eucratides, but ultimately loses in around 160 BC and Eucratides seems to occupy territory as far as the Indus. The Euthydemids are pushed out of Bactria, but they retain most of their Indo-Greek territories.

171 - 145 BC

Eucratides I / Eukratides I

Bactrian. In Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara, W Punjab.

160 - 155 BC

Antimachus II Nikephoros

In Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara & Western Punjab.

Eumenes

Co-regent. Otherwise unknown.

c.160 BC

Antimachus II is either the son of Demetrius II or Antimachus I, and serves as co-regent until the deaths of both rulers. It is possible that Apollodotus I becomes the senior ruler until he too dies in 160 BC, at which point Antimachus II heads the kingdom.

c.155 BC

In the west, Menander seems to repel the invasion by Eucratides from Bactria, and pushes him back as far as Paropamisadae, thereby consolidating the rule of the Indo-Greek kings in northern India. After this, the Indo-Greek kingdom is permanently divided from Bactria.

Menander is the most famous Indo-Greek king, although his relationship to the other kings is unknown (he may have been one of Demetrius II's generals). He rules from Taxila (Sirkap) and later from Sagala, a very prosperous city in northern Punjab (modern Sialkot), and he rebuilds Taxila and Pushkalavati. His rule includes areas of the Panjshir and Kapisa, and extends to Punjab with diffuse tributaries to the south and east, probably as far as Mathura. He may also occupy Sunga Saraostus (modern Saurashtra and parts of south-western Gujarat) and Sigerdis (probably modern Sindh, the Indus Delta) for a short period. He becomes a Buddhist, further promoting the always-friendly relations between the faith and the Indo-Greeks, and in India he is known as the great King Milinda who debates Buddhist doctrines with Nagasena.

c.155 - 130 BC

Menander I Soter

In Gandhara, Western Punjab & Eastern Punjab.

c.130 BC

At around the time of Menander's death, the Central Asian Yuezhi overrun Bactria and end Greek rule there, isolating the remaining Greeks east of the Hindu Kush. Probable members of Menander's dynasty include Queen Agathokleia, her son Strato I, and Nicias, though it is uncertain whether they rule directly after Menander. Menander is briefly succeeded by his infant son, Thrason, as witnessed by a single surviving coin, but after Thrason is murdered, other kings emerge, usually in the western territories, such as Zoilos I, Lysias, Antialcidas and Philoxenos, and these rulers may be relatives of either the Euthydemids or surviving Eucratids who are forced eastwards by the collapse of Bactria.

A coin issued by Menander

There are no historical records of events in the Indo-Greek kingdom after Menander's death, since the Indo-Greeks have by now become very isolated from the rest of the Greco-Roman world. Events from this point are reconstructed almost entirely from archaeological and numismatic analyses.

c.130 BC

Thrason

Son. In Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara & W Punjab.

c.150? - 125? BC

Zoilus / Zoilos I

Euthydemid? In Paropamisadae & Arachosia.

According to numismatic evidence, Zolius rules during the reign of Menander, as the latter king overstrikes two of his coins. Upon Menender's death his queen, Agathokleia, apparently manages to flee east with her child (the future Strato I) in the face of Zoilus' appropriation of much of her husband's realm, and establishes a realm of her own there. Alternatively, Menander himself may have previously relocated east to the Punjab, where the mint marks on his coins changed, and this territory was then handed onto his wife and son upon his death.

c.150? - 125? BC

Agathokleia

Queen. In Gandhara & W Punjab.

c.130 - 120 BC

Lysias Aniketos (the Invincible)

In Paropamisadae & Arachosia (& Gandhara & W Punjab?).

Probably the son of Heliocles I of Bactria, coins for Lysias have been found in the Punjab and it seems likely that he extends his control to both halves of the Indo-Greek kingdom for a period, placing his son as regent in Taxila. This makes understandable the fact that Lysias imitates Demetrius before him, claiming that he is also a conqueror of 'India' - the Greek term for Gandhara and Punjab.

c.120? BC

Antialcidas

Son? Co-ruler. In northern Punjab. King from c.115 BC.

c.120 - 110 BC

Strato I Epiphanes

Son of Menander. In Gandhara & W Punjab.

c.115 - 100 BC

Antialcidas

In Paropamisadae & Arachosia.

110 BC

The Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha in central India records that the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas sends an ambassador to the court of the Sunga king Bhagabhadra at or before this date.

c.110 - 100 BC

Heliocles II

In Gandhara & W Punjab.

c.100 BC

Polyxenios

In Paropamisadae & Arachosia.

c.100 BC

Demetrius III

In Gandhara & W Punjab. Known from coin evidence only.

100 - 95 BC

Philoxenus

In Paropamisadae, Arachosia, Gandhara, W & E Punjab.

c.100 - 70 BC

Philoxenus briefly rules the whole of the remaining Indo-Greek territory. He may even extend his rule as far as the city of Mathura (in modern Uttar Pradesh), according to an inscription there. From 95 BC the territories fragment again, with the western kings regaining their territory as far west as Arachosia. Some time after 70 BC, Mathura is lost to Indian kings, as is south-eastern Punjab.

c.95 - 90 BC

Diomedes

In Paropamisadae.

c.95 - 90 BC

Amyntas

In Arachosia & Gandhara.

c.95 - 90 BC

Epander

In W Punjab.

c.90 BC

Theophilos

In Paropamisadae.

c.90 BC

Peukolaos

In Arachosia & Gandhara.

c.90 BC

Thraso

In W Punjab.

c.90 - 85 BC

Nicias

In Paropamisadae.

c.90 - 85 BC

Menander II

In Arachosia & Gandhara.

c.90 - 85 BC

Artemidoros

In W Punjab. (Son of Maues of the Sakas?)

c.90 - 70 BC

Hermaeus Soter

In Paropamisadae. Last Indo-Greek king here.

c.90 - 70 BC

Hermaeus, or Hermaios, seems to share the throne with his wife, Kalliope, in the early days of his reign. He pursues an aggressive foreign policy and re-conquers some territories which his predecessors had lost. However, his success is only transitory and the Indo-Greeks find themselves surrounded by powerful enemies. Eventually Hermaios is defeated by the Kushans, bringing to an end any Indo-Greek efforts to regain Paropamisadae.

A Hermaios coin from Gandhara at the beginning of the first century AD. The rear of the coin shows Zeus enthroned and facing three quarters to the left, right hand extended, and holding a sceptre in his left hand, with a monogram in the field to the left

c.90 - 70 BC

Archebios

In Arachosia, Gandhara, & W Punjab.

c.80 BC

Maues, an Indo-Scythian king of the Sakas (cousins to the Parthians who are diverted by them from Iran), takes control in Gandhara before the Indo-Greeks regain control there after his death. The Indo-Greeks progressively lose ground to the Indians in the east, and the Indo-Scythians, Tocharians/Yuezhi, and Parthians in the west.

c.75 - 70 BC

Telephos

In Gandhara.

c.75 - 70 BC

Apollodotus II

In Western & Eastern Punjab.

c.70 BC

The Indo-Scythians expel the Indo-Greeks from Arachosia but subsequently lose it to the Parthians. Parthian rule seems to be limited and perhaps doesn't include the entire region. Paropamisadae is also permanently lost to the Tocharians upon the death of Hermaeus Soter.

c.65 - 55 BC

Hippostratus

In Western Punjab.

c.55 BC

Hippostratus is one of the most successful late Indo-Greek kings, until he loses to the Indo-Scythian king, Azes I, who establishes his own dynasty in Western Punjab. An alliance between Azes and the Indo-Greeks may be agreed after this, as they continue to rule Eastern Punjab.

c.65 - 55 BC

Dionysios

In Eastern Punjab.

c.55 - 35 BC

Zoilus / Zoilos II

In Eastern Punjab.

c.55 - 35 BC

Apollophanes

In Eastern Punjab.

c.25 BC - AD 10

Strato II

In Punjab. Last Indo-Greek king.

c.AD 10

The Indo-Greek kingdom disappears under Indo-Scythian pressure. Pockets of Greek population probably remain for some centuries under the subsequent rule of the Kushans and Indo-Parthians.

1st century AD

Theodamus

In Bajaur area of Gandhara.

Theodamus is the last Indo-Greek ruler of any kind to be noted, but only by an inscription on a signet ring. Possibly he governs as a vassal in this last stronghold of Indo-Greek influence in the region.

c.100

The Kushans, descendants of the Yuezhi who had conquered Bactria in around 130 BC, capture Arachosia (south-eastern Afghanistan) from the Indo-Parthians, although the dating is very uncertain.

c.200 - 400

The descendants of Greek artists who entered the region with Alexander the Great and who had subsequently settled there during the Hellenistic period construct the Bamiyan Bhuddas.

2001

The Bamiyan Bhuddas are destroyed by the Taleban rulers of Afghanistan. By 2008 a project to rebuild one of them is underway, to be completed in 2009.