Agathokles commemorative coin for Pantaleon

Pantaleon ( grc, Πανταλέων; likely from πάν-, 'all' and λέων, 'lion') was a Greek king who reigned some time between 190 and 180 BC in

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, southwe ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was a younger contemporary or successor of the

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

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

, and is sometimes believed to have been his brother and/or subking. The scarcity of his coinage indicates a short reign. Known evidence suggests that he was replaced by his (probable) brother or son

Agathocles Agathocles (Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles, ...

, by whom he was commemorated on a "pedigree" coin.

Copper-Nickel coinage

Some of his coins (as well as those of Agathocles and

Euthydemus II Euthydemus II (Greek: ) was a Greco-Bactrian king who ruled in Bactria in 185-180 BCE. Rule Son of Demetrius I of Bactria, Euthydemus II became king in the 180s BCE, either after his father's death or as a sub-king to him. The style and rare nick ...

) have another surprising characteristic: they are made of

copper-nickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

alloy, a technology that would not be developed in the West until the 18th century (some 1,890 years later), but was known by the Chinese at the time. This suggests that exchanges of the metallic alloy or technicians happened between China and the region of Bactria.

Bilingual Indian-standard coinage

He was the first Greek king to strike Indian coins, peculiar irregular bronzes representing a lion with a dancing Indian woman, probably the goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

(a type also known in the

Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara The Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara refers to the period of coinage production in Gandhara, following the breakup of the Maurya Empire (321-185 BCE). When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which sta ...

), which suggests he had his base in

Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...

and

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

and wanted support from the native population. File:Pantaleon with Lakshmi and Lion.jpg, Pantaleon coin with dancing woman (

?) and lion. Obverse:

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

legend ''"Rajane Patalevasa"'' ("King Pantaleon"). File:Lakshmi on Pantaleon coin.jpg, Dancing woman, possibly

, on a coin of Pantaleon.

References

External links

Coins of Pantaleon
{{Hellenistic rulers Indo-Greek kings 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown 180 BC deaths Euthydemid dynasty