Polyxenos Epiphanes Soter

Polyxenos Epiphanes Soter (Greek: Πολύξενος ὁ Ἐπιφανῆς, ὁ Σωτήρ; epithets mean respectively, "the Illustrious", "the Saviour") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled briefly in western Punjab or Gandhara.

Polyxenos Epiphanes Soter
Portrait Polyxenus.
Indo-Greek king
Reign	c. 100 BCE
Burial	Swat Valley

Coin of Polyxenus. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΠΟΛΥΞΕΝΟΥ "Of Illustrious and Saviour King Polyxenos".

Coin of Polyxenos. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΠΟΛΥΞΕΝΟΥ "Of Illustrious and Saviour King Polyxenos".

Indian-standard coin of Polyxenos. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΠΟΛΥΞΕΝΟΥ "Of Illustrious and Saviour King Polyxenos".

Time of reign

Bopearachchi places Polyxenos c. 100 BCE[1] and R. C. Senior c. 85–80 BCE.

Coins of Polyxenos

Coin of Polyxenos.

Polyxenos, whose portraits depict a diademed young man, struck silver coins which closely resemble those of Strato I. Both kings used the epithets Soter Epiphanes and the reverse of Athena Alkidemos (fighting Pallas Athene), the emblem of the dynasty of Menander I. Polyxenos also struck bronzes with Athena on the obverse and her aegis on the reverse. He issued no Attic silver.

His bronzes depict the head of Athena with a reverse of her aegis.

Polyxenos' coins are few and feature only three monograms: these he shares with Straton I as well as the kings Heliokles II and Archebios, according to Bopearachchi and RC Senior.

He was therefore likely to have been a brief contestant for power in the central Indo-Greek kingdom after the presumably violent death of Straton I, who was possibly his father.

Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology Based on Bopearachchi (1991)[2]
	Greco-Bactrian kings		Indo-Greek kings
Territories/ dates	West Bactria	East Bactria	Paropamisade	Arachosia	Gandhara	Western Punjab	Eastern Punjab	Mathura[3]
326-325 BCE	Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India						Nanda Empire
312 BCE	Creation of the Seleucid Empire						Creation of the Maurya Empire
305 BCE	Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war		Maurya Empire
280 BCE	Foundation of Ai-Khanoum
255–239 BCE	Independence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom Diodotus I		Emperor Ashoka (268-232)
239–223 BCE	Diodotus II
230–200 BCE	Euthydemus I
200–190 BCE	Demetrius I				Sunga Empire
190-185 BCE	Euthydemus II
190–180 BCE	Agathocles			Pantaleon
185–170 BCE	Antimachus I
180–160 BCE			Apollodotus I
175–170 BCE	Demetrius II
160–155 BCE			Antimachus II
170–145 BCE	Eucratides I
155–130 BCE	Yuezhi occupation, loss of Ai-Khanoum	Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I	Menander I
130–120 BCE	Yuezhi occupation		Zoilos I		Agathokleia			Yavanarajya inscription
120–110 BCE			Lysias		Strato I
110–100 BCE			Antialcidas		Heliokles II
100 BCE			Polyxenos		Demetrius III
100–95 BCE			Philoxenus
95–90 BCE			Diomedes	Amyntas		Epander
90 BCE			Theophilos	Peukolaos		Thraso
90–85 BCE			Nicias	Menander II		Artemidoros
90–70 BCE			Hermaeus	Archebius
			Yuezhi occupation		Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BCE				Vonones	Telephos	Apollodotus II
65–55 BCE				Spalirises		Hippostratos	Dionysios
55–35 BCE					Azes I (Indo-Scythians)		Zoilos II
55–35 BCE					Vijayamitra/ Azilises		Apollophanes
25 BCE – 10 CE				Gondophares	Zeionises	Kharahostes	Strato II Strato III
				Gondophares (Indo-Parthian)			Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)
			Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire)				Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian)	Sodasa (Indo-Scythian)

Notes

1. Bopearachchi (1998)
2. O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453
3. Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2 April 2019). "History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE". BRILL – via Google Books.

References

• Osmund Bopearachchi, Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum: American Numismatic Society, part 9, Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Coins, 1998, American Numismatic Society, ISBN 0-89722-273-3.

Preceded by Heliokles II (?)

Indo-Greek ruler in Paropamisade, Arachosia c. 100 BCE

Succeeded by Philoxenus