Zoilos I

"Zoilos" redirects here. For other uses, see Zoilos (disambiguation).

Zoilos I Dikaios ("The Just")
Indo-Greek king
Coin of Zoilos I. Profile of the ruler, with Greek legend BASILEOS DIKAIOU ZOILOU "Of King Zoilos the Just".
Reign	130–120 BCE

Zoilus I Dikaios (Greek: Ζωίλος Α΄ ὁ Δίκαιος; epithet means "the Just") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in Afghanistan and Pakistan and occupied the areas of the Paropamisade and Arachosia previously held by Menander I. He may have belonged to the dynasty of Euthydemus I.

Time of reign

Zoilos used to be dated after the death of Menander, c. 130–120 BCE (Bopearachchi). Two coins of Zoilus I were however overstruck by Menander I so Zoilos came to power while Menander was still alive and was perhaps his enemy. R. C. Senior has suggested some time between 150–135 BCE.

Coin types of Zoilos I

Zoilos I uses a silver coin type similar to that of Euthydemus II, son of Demetrius: Crowned Herakles standing, holding a wreath or diadem in his right hand, and a club and the lion skin in his left hand. On some of the coins, which are of lower artistic quality, Herakles is crowned by a small Nike. Zoilos I also struck rare gold-plated silver coins with portrait and Heracles.

The Indian-standard coins of Zoilos I also bear the Pali title "Dhramikasa" ("Follower of the Dharma"), probably related to Buddhism, appearing for the first time on Indo-Greek coinage. A few monolingual Attic tetradrachms of Zoilos I have been found. Zoilos inherited (or took) several monograms from Menander I.

His bronze coins are square and original in that they combine the club of Herakles with a Scythian-type bowcase (for a short recurve bow) inside a victory wreath, suggesting contacts or even an alliance with horse-mounted people originating from the steppes, possibly either the Scythians (future Indo-Scythians), or the Yuezhi who had invaded Greco-Bactria. This bow can be contrasted to the traditional Hellenistic long bow depicted on the coins of the eastern Indo-Greek queen Agathokleia.

• ZoilosI-524.jpg

  Zoilos I and Herakles.

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  Zoilos I and Herakles, with Nike on his shoulder crowning him.

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Preceded by: Heliocles

Indo-Greek king (Paropamisade, Arachosia) 130–120 BCE

Succeeded by: Lysias

INDO-GREEK KINGS AND THEIR TERRITORIES Based on Bopearachchi (1991)
Territories/ Dates	PAROPAMISADE	ARACHOSIA	GANDHARA	WESTERN PUNJAB	EASTERN PUNJAB
200–190 BC	Demetrius I
190–180 BC	Agathocles	Pantaleon
185–170 BC	Antimachus I
180–160 BC	Apollodotus I
175–170 BC	Demetrius II
170–145 BC	Eucratides
160–155 BC	Antimachus II
155–130 BC	Menander I
130–120 BC	Zoilos I		Agathokleia
120–110 BC	Lysias		Strato I
110–100 BC	Antialcidas		Heliokles II
100 BC	Polyxenos		Demetrius III
100–95 BC	Philoxenus
95–90 BC	Diomedes	Amyntas		Epander
90 BC	Theophilos	Peukolaos		Thraso
90–85 BC	Nicias	Menander II		Artemidoros
90–70 BC	Hermaeus	Archebios
	Yuezhi tribes		Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BC			Telephos	Apollodotus II
65–55 BC				Hippostratos	Dionysios
55–35 BC				Azes I (Indo-Scythian)	Zoilos II
55–35 BC					Apollophanes
25 BC – 10 AD					Strato II & III
					Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)

See also

• Indo-Greek Kingdom
• Greco-Buddhism
• Indo-Scythians

References

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

External links

• Main coins of Zoilus I
• Catalog of the coins of Zoilus I