Heliocles I ( grc, Ἡλιοκλῆς, Helioklēs; reigned 145–120 BCE) was a
Greco-Bactrian
The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the India ...
king, brother and successor of
Eucratides the Great, and considered (along with his co-ruler and son/nephew
Heliocles II
Heliocles II Dicaeus ( Greek: ; epithet means "the just") is thought to have been one of the later Indo-Greek kings and a relative of the Bactrian king Heliocles I. Current scholarly consensus is that he ruled ca 95–80 BCE.
Heliocles II se ...
) the last Greek king to reign over the
Bactrian country. His reign was a troubled one; according to Roman historian
Justin
Justin may refer to: People
* Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin
* Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire
* Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...
, Eucratides was murdered crossing the
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...
by one of his sons, although this is highly disputed and Justin fails to name the perpetrator. Eucratides’ death led to instability, even civil war, which caused the Indian parts of the empire to be lost to Indo-Greek king
Menander I
Menander I Soter ( grc, Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, Ménandros Sōtḗr, Menander the Saviour; pi, मिलिन्दो, Milinda), was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c.165/155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectivel ...
and southern
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...
to be lost to the
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
.
Yuezhi invasion
From 130 BCE a
nomadic
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
people, the
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
, started to invade
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...
from the north and we could assume that Heliocles was killed in battle during this invasion. Details from Chinese sources seem to indicate that the nomad invasion did not end civilisation in Bactria entirely. Hellenised cities continued to exist for some time, and the well-organised agricultural systems were not demolished.
The Yuezhi would copy and adapt the coin types of Heliokles for a long time.
Continuation of the Indo-Greek kingdom
Even if this was the end of the original Greco-Bactrian kingdom, the
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
continued to rule in northwestern India to the beginning of the 1st century AD, under the
Indo-Greek Kingdom
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent (p ...
. It is unclear whether the
Diodotid dynasty of Eucratides was extinguished with the death of Heliocles I or if members of the family emigrated eastwards. Several later Indo-Greek kings, including
Heliocles II
Heliocles II Dicaeus ( Greek: ; epithet means "the just") is thought to have been one of the later Indo-Greek kings and a relative of the Bactrian king Heliocles I. Current scholarly consensus is that he ruled ca 95–80 BCE.
Heliocles II se ...
, struck coins which could be associated with the dynasty.
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)
* ''Buddhism in Central Asia'' by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000)
* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'',
W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
External links
Coins of Heliocles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heliocles 01
Greco-Bactrian kings
2nd-century BC rulers in Asia
Diodotid dynasty
Greek Buddhist monarchs