- Hippostratos
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thumb|350px|Tetradrachm_of_Hippostratus.
Obv: Bust of Hippostratus with Greek legend BASILEOS MEGALOU SOTEROS / IPPOSTPATOU "Great Saviour King Hippostratos".
Rev: King on horseback, galloping.Kharoshthi [
thumb|350px|Tetradrachm_of_Hippostratus.
Obv: Bust of Hippostratus with Greek legend BASILEOS MEGALOU SOTEROS / IPPOSTPATOU "Great Saviour King/ Hippostratos".
Rev: King on horseback, walking, making a gesture of benediction.Kharoshthi
thumb|350px|Tetradrachm_of_Hippostratus.
Obv: Bust of Hippostratus with Greek legend BASILEOS SOTEROS / IPPOSTPATOU "Saviour King Hippostratos".
Rev: Goddess withcornucopia in left hand, making a gesture of benediction with right hand, similar to the Buddhist vitarkamudra . KharoshthiHippostratus was an
Indo-Greek king who ruled central and north-western Punjab andPushkalavati . Bopearachchi dates Hippostratos to 65 to55 BCE whereas R.C. Senior suggests 60 to50 BCE .In Bopearachchi's reconstruction Hippostratus came to power as the successor to Apollodotus II, in the western part of his kingdom, while the weak Dionysius ascended to the throne in the eastern part. Senior assumes that the reigns of Apollodotus II and Hippostratus overlapped somewhat; in that case Hippostratos first ruled a kingdom was to the west of Apollodotus dominions.
Just like Apollodotus II, Hippostratus calls himself "Soter", "Saviour", on all his coins, and on some coins he also assumes the title "Basileos Megas", "Great King", which he inherited from Apollodotus II. This may support Senior's scenario that Hippostratus extended his kingdom after Apollodotus' death. The relationship between these two kings remains uncertain due to lack of sources. Hippostratus did however not use the symbol of standing Athena Alkidemos, which was common to all other kings thought to be related to Apollodotus II. The two kings share only one monogram.
The quantity and quality of the coinage of Hippostratus indicate a quite powerful king. Hippostratus seems to have fought rather successfully against the
Indo-Scythian invaders, led by the Scythian kingAzes I , but was ultimately defeated and became the last western Indo-Greek king.Coins of Hippostratus
Hippostratus issued silver coins with a diademed portrait on the obverse, and three reverses. The first is the image of a king on prancing horse, a common type which was most frequently used by the earlier kings
Antimachus II andPhiloxenus . The second reverse also portrays a king on horseback, but the horse is walking and the king making a benediction gesture - this type resembles a rare type of Apollodotus II. The third is a standing goddess, perhaps Tyche.Hippostratus struck several bronzes of types used by several kings:Serpent-legged deity (as used by Telephus) / standing goddess.Apollo/tripod (Apollodotus II, several earlier kings)Sitting Zeus-Mithras / horse, reminiscent of coins of
Hermaeus .Overstrikes
Azes I overstruck several of Hippostratus' coins.
ee also
*
Indo-Greek Kingdom
*Greco-Buddhism
*Indo-Scythians References
* "The Greeks in Bactria and India" W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press
External links
* [http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=Hippostratos&Thumb=1 Main coins of Hippostratus]
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