Plato of Bactria
Obv: Diademed bust of Plato.
Rev: Sun divinity Helios, riding a four-horse chariot. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ (BASILEOS EPIPHANOYS PLATONOS) "Of King Plato, God-manifest".
Plato (Greek: Πλάτων) was a Greco-Bactrian king who reigned for a short time in southern Bactria or the Paropamisade during the mid 2nd century BCE. The style of Plato's coins suggests that he was a relative — most likely a brother since Plato is a middle-aged man on his coins — of Eucratides the Great, whose rise to power is dated to around 170–165 BCE.
Some of Plato's coins have inscriptions which may be possibly be interpreted as dates using the Indo-Greek era which started around 186 BCE. In that case Plato ruled around 140 BCE. This matches the dating given by numismatician Bopearachchi, who places Plato between 145–140 BCE, since his coins are not found in the ruins of Ai Khanoum, a Bactrian city which was destroyed during the reign of Eucratides.
See also
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
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
| Preceded by: Eucratides I? |
Greco-Bactrian Ruler (Bactria or its tributaries) |
Succeeded by: Eucratides II? |
| Greco-Bactrian kings | ||||||||||||
| Territories/ dates | Dynastic lineage | Bactrian domain | Expansion into India | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 280 BCE | Foundation of the Hellenistic city of Ai-Khanoum in Bactria (280 BCE) | |||||||||||
| 255 BCE | Independence of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom from the Seleucid Empire (255 BCE) | |||||||||||
| 255–239 BCE | House of Diodotus. | Diodotus I | ||||||||||
| 239–223 BCE | Diodotus II | |||||||||||
| 230–200 BCE | House of Euthydemus. | Euthydemus I | ||||||||||
| 200–180 BCE | Demetrius I | Pantaleon | ||||||||||
| 180 BCE | Euthydemus II | Agathokles | ||||||||||
| 180–170 BCE | Antimachus I | Apollodotus I | ||||||||||
| 170–145 BCE | House of Eucratides | Eucratides | Demetrius II | |||||||||
| 145 BCE | (Destruction of Ai-Khanoum by the Yuezhi in 145 BCE) | (Succession of | ||||||||||
| 145–140 BCE | Plato Eucratides II | Indo-Greek kings | ||||||||||
| 140–130 BCE | Heliocles I | to the | ||||||||||
| 130 BCE- | Complete occupation of Bactria by the Yuezhi. | 1st century CE) | ||||||||||