Azes I

Azes I
Indo-Scythian king
Coin of Azes I.
Obv: Azes I in military dress, on a horse, with couched spear. Greek legend: BASILEOS BASILEON MEGALOU AZOU "of the Great King of Kings Azes". British Museum.
Reign c. 48/47 – 25 BCE
Predecessor Spalirises
Successor Azilises

Azes I (Greek: Ἄζης; c. 48/47 BCE – 25 BCE)[1] was an Indo-Scythian ruler who completed the domination of the Scythians in Gandhara.

Coin of Azes I (c. 48/47 – 25 BCE).
Obv: Azes I in military dress, on a horse, with couched spear. Greek legend: BASILEOS BASILEON MEGALOU AZOU "of the Great King of Kings Azes".

History

Coin of Azes I, portrait of the king (detail).
Coin of Azes with Demeter and Hermes.

Maues and his successors had conquered the areas of Gandhara, as well as the area of Mathura from 85 BCE forming the Northern Satraps.

The Azes Era

Coin from Azes Era depicting the king. British Museum.

Azes's most lasting legacy was the foundation of the Azes era. It was widely believed that the era was begun by Azes's successors by simply continuing the counting of his regnal years. However, Prof. Harry Falk has recently presented an inscription at several conferences which dates to Azes's reign, and suggests that the era may have been begun by Azes himself. Most popular historians date the start of the Azes era to 58 BC and believe it is the same as the later era known as the Malwa or Vikrama era.[2]

However, a recently discovered inscription, the Bajaur reliquary inscription, dated in both the Azes and the Greek era suggests that actually this is not the case. The inscription gives the relationship Azes = Greek + 128. It is believed that the Greek era may have begun in 173 BCE, exactly 300 years before the first year of the Era of Kanishka. If that is the case then the Azes era would begin in about 45 BC.[3]

Azes I and Azes II identical?

According to Senior, Azes I may have been identical with Azes II, due to the discovery of an overstrike of the former over the latter.[4]

A drachma of Azes I (about 57-35 BC). Diameter: 16 mm. Weight: 2.4 g.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Falk and Bennett (2009), pp. 197–215.
  2. ↑ Richard Salomon (1998). Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 182–183, 194–195. ISBN 978-0-19-509984-3.
  3. ↑ For discussions refer to Bracey, R. (2005) 'The Azes Era' (http://www.kushan.org/essays/chronology/azesvikrama.htm), Cribb, J (2005) 'The Greek Kingdom of Bactria, its coinage and collapse' in Afghanistan, Ancien Carrefour entre l'est et l'ouest (ed. Bopearachichi O & Boussac, M-F), Turnhout: 207–225, Falk, H. & C. J. Bennett 'Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes' Acta Orientalia 70 (2009) 197–216
  4. ↑ Coin India

References

  • Harry Falk and Chris Bennett (2009). "Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes". Acta Orientalia (70): 197–215. ISSN 0001-6438. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  • McEvilley, Thomas (2002). The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts. ISBN 1-58115-203-5. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  • W.W. Tarn (2010). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-00941-6. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
Preceded by
Spalirises
(Indo-Scythian king)		 Indo-Scythian Ruler
57 – 35 BCE		 Succeeded by
Azilises
Preceded by
Telephos
(Indo-Greek king in
Arachosia and Gandhara)
Preceded by
Hippostratos
(Indo-Greek king in
Western Punjab)
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