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
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".

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.

History

Coin of Azes I, portrait of the king (detail).

Although Maues and his successors had conquered the areas of Gandhara, as well as the area of Mathura from 85 BCE, they were unsuccessful against the Indo-Greek kings remaining behind the Jhelum River in eastern Punjab.

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. However, a recently discovered 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.[2]

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.

Other coins

Preceded by:
Indo-Scythian king
Spalirises

(In Arachosia and Gandhara)
Indo-Greek king:
Telephos

(In the western Punjab)
Indo-Greek king:
Hippostratos		 Indo-Scythian Ruler
57–35 BCE		 Succeeded by:
Azilises

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Falk and Bennett (2009), pp. 197-215.
  2. ↑ 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

See also

References

External links

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