In his vision of the Battle of Actium, Virgil writes, “Hinc ope barbarica variisque Antonius armis, victor ab Aurorae populis et litore rubro, Aegyptum viresque Orientis et ultima secum Bactra vehit. (Antony, with barbarous wealth and strange weapons, conqueror of eastern peoples and the Indian shores, bringing Egypt, and the might of the Orient, with him, and furthest Bactria).” [The Aeneid, Bk.VIII, 688] The Bactrian ally of Marc Antony may very well have been Zoilos II, who ruled in eastern Punjab from 55-35 BC. Zoilos succeeded the last important Bactrian king Apollodotus II The Great. He appears as a balding man with hollow cheeks on drachms that follow the earlier Bactrian designs with Athena Alkidemos, the goddess in a fighting stance. I received this coin in a consignment recently. It’s the first of its type I’ve handled and it’s beautifully struck from brand new dies, with no circulation wear that I can discern. Just gorgeous... BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Zoilos II. Circa 50-40/35 BC. AR drachm, Indian standard, 17mm, 2.2g, 12h. Obv.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΖΩΙΛΟΥ; Diademed and draped bust right. Rev.: MAHARAJASA TRATARASA JHOILASA in Kharosthi; Athena Alkidemos advancing left; monograms in left and right field. Reference: Bopearachchi Série 1A; SNG ANS 1654-1658. King Z also minted some small bronze coins with Apollo and tripod and/or elephant, which come in a handful of varieties that include round and square flans. These appear to be much scarcer than the drachms, and not generally well-preserved... There are also drachms with a youthful bust with the inscription ΖΩΙΛΟΥ, which have led scholars to posit a Zoilos III, perhaps the son of Zoilos II... Does anyone else have coins of Zoilos II or III to share?
Cool Z's @John Anthony ! I have none of Zoillos I , II , or III to share. I do have a couple funky Baktrians: Baktria Greco-Baktrian Kingdom Eukratides I Megas 170-145 BCE Dioscuri AE Quadruple Unit Sogdiana - Hyrcodes 3rd-4thCE AR Scyphate Obol or Reduced Drachm 12mm 0.56g Bukhara mint Male-Deity BMC Baktria p118
Fascinating area about which I know little! It's always a pleasure to learn about something outside of one's collecting focus. Very cool!
That's a cool coin JA, I don't have any of this fellow. I have several Indo-Greek coins, here's the first one I picked up. (Appolodotus I).
Nice opening post coin ! It looks brandnew. Note that i have seen several of these which had modern resilvering. Without restarting an old discussion, i would prefer not to call Zoilos II a Bactrian king. Bactria was a totally different area to the west of the Hindu Kush mountains. At the time of Zoilos, control over Bactria had been lost to the Kushan for almost a century already. So Zoilos was not really the last of the Bactrians. Here some different types. I am currently undecided in the Zoilos II/III debate. A different young one (for example no ear visible) A young Adult: A Bop-2 type with totally different style: After Zoilos II still came the rule of Strato II. This is a version of Strato II in co-rule with his son Strato III:
the kushan did not form their kingdom until around the time of christ. if you mean c. 130 bc, this would have been a different kingdom
Thanks for your addition Norenxaq. You are partly right in your remark. I simplified matters in my earlier post. To be a bit more specific: The Graeco-Bactrians are generally thought to have lost control over Bactria due to the invasion of the Yuezhi from central Asia and China. The Yuezhi were a group of multiple tribes with varying clan relations among the tribes. The Kushana likely were one of the dominant tribes among the Yuezhi. The beginning of the Kushan empire is usually defined as the moment when the Kushan king Heraios united the Yuezhi tribes under one central ruler. That is around the beginning of the first millenium AD.
I only have one Bactrian, not from the period discussed, but I love the type: Baktria, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom, Demetrios I, 200 – 185 BC Æ Triple Unit, 31mm, 12.49 grams Obverse: Head of Elephant three quarters facing with raised trunk and wearing bell. Reverse: BASILEWN DHMHTPIOY, Caduceus, monogram in inner left field. References: Bopearachchi 5E // SNG ANS 209 // MIG 108b
Here's one I really like. It's supposed to be the largest gold coin minted in antiquity weighing an eye-popping 169.2 grams and measuring 55mm. It's a 20-stater piece of Eucratides I. Boy I'd love to add one of these to my collection! Ha-ha, ain't gonna happen.
