Heliocles I
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Obv: Bust of Heliocles
Rev: Zeus standing, with thunderbolt and sceptre. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ (BASILEOS DIKAIOU ILIOKLEOUS) "King Heliocles the Just".
Heliocles was a King of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, (R. ca. 145-130 BCE), and was the son and successor of Eucratides the Great. Heliocles' reign was a troubled one and he may have been the last Greek king of Bactria.
According to Roman historian Justin, King Eucratides was murdered by his son and co-ruler as he returned from a victorious campaign against the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Justin fails to name the perpetrator, but the patricide led to Bactria's division (possibly a civil war) between Eucratides' sons, Eucratides II and Heliocles, significantly weakening the kingdom at a crucial time.
During the fight between the Bactrian Kings, the Indo-Greeks under King Menander I were able to recapture territory the taken by Eucratides I. At the same time nomadic tribes known as the Indo-Scythian or Saka invaded the region, killing Eurcratides II and destroying the city of Alexandria on the Oxus in 140 BCE.
Around 130 BCE another tribe, the Tocharians or Yuezhi, invade Bactria from the north. Heliocles was defeated and evicted from Bactria, though his last years aren't well known. Details from Chinese sources seem to indicate that the invasion did not destroy civilisation in Bactria entirely; Hellenised cities continued to exist for some time, and the well-organised agricultural systems were not demolished. We can only assume that King Heliocles was either killed in battle or he fled to Kabul and re-established his kingdom.
Even though Heliocles is considered the last Greek king to rule in Bactria, his dynasty may have continued to rule parts of the region as the "Western Indo-Greek Kingdom" until ca. 70 BCE. (Several later Indo-Greek king, including Heliocles II and King Hermaeus), struck coins which could be associated with the dynasty.
| Preceded by: Eucratides |
Greco-Bactrian Ruler (Eastern Bactria) (150-130 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Zoilos I |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- "The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
- "Buddhism in Central Asia" by B.N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
- "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
