Heliokles II

Heliokles II Dikaios ("The Just")
Indo-Greek king
Bronze coin of Heliocles II Obv: Bust of diademed king. Greek legend: BASILEOS DIKAIOU HELIOKLEOUS "Of King Heliocles the Just" Rev: Kharoshti (Indian) translation, elephant holding victory wreath.
Reign	95–80 BCE

Heliocles II Dikaios (Greek: Ἡλιοκλῆς Β΄ ὁ Δίκαιος; epithet means "the Righteous") is thought to have been one of the later Indo-Greek kings and a relative of the Bactrian king Heliocles I. Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior seem to agree that he ruled ca 95–80 BCE (see Overstrikes).

Heliocles II seems to have been engaged in a series of wars with Strato I in Gandhara and Punjab; the two share several mintmarks and Heliocles II overstruck many of his coins. During this period, a number of kings fought for hegemony in the Indo-Greek territories. Some of them were likely supported by nomad Saka rulers such as Maues.

Genealogy

Heliocles II used a reverse of standing Zeus, who was a common deity among the later Indo-Greek kings. J. Jakobsson sees Heliocles as the son of the important king Antialcidas Nikephoros (whose type was sitting Zeus) and perhaps the grandson of Heliocles I.

He goes on to suggest that Heliocles was the older brother of the king Archebius Nikephoros Dikaios, who seems to have succeeded Heliocles II in Gandhara (perhaps after his death from disease; Heliocles I looks emaciated on his later portraits). Archebius uses a very similar reverse and combines the epithets of Heliocles II and Antialcidas; in addition, their coin portraits are similar, with hooked noses and fierce expressions.

R.C. Senior has instead suggested a connection with Demetrius III, who used a similar reverse of standing Zeus.

Coins of Heliocles II

Heliocles II issued Indian silver with portrait (diademed, helmeted or spear-throwing) / standing Zeus and bronzes with bearded diademed portrait (Heliocles or Zeus) / elephant.

It is uncertain whether he struck Attic coins. A number of posthumous coins for Heliocles I have been found in Bactria; possibly some of these may have been struck by Heliocles II, though there are no similar monograms.

Overstrikes

The existence of numerous overstrikes helps locate the reign of Heliokles II in relation to other Indo-Greek kings. Heliokles overstruck coins of Agathokleia, Strato I, and Hermaeus. Conversely, Amyntas overstruck coins of Heliokles II. These overstrikes would suggest that Heliokles II reigned around 95–85 BCE, and was a contemporary of Amyntas and Hermaios

INDO-GREEK KINGS AND THEIR TERRITORIES Based on Bopearachchi (1991)
Territories/ Dates	PAROPAMISADE	ARACHOSIA	GANDHARA	WESTERN PUNJAB	EASTERN PUNJAB
200–190 BC	Demetrius I
190–180 BC	Agathocles	Pantaleon
185–170 BC	Antimachus I
180–160 BC	Apollodotus I
175–170 BC	Demetrius II
170–145 BC	Eucratides
160–155 BC	Antimachus II
155–130 BC	Menander I
130–120 BC	Zoilos I		Agathokleia
120–110 BC	Lysias		Strato I
110–100 BC	Antialcidas		Heliokles II
100 BC	Polyxenos		Demetrius III
100–95 BC	Philoxenus
95–90 BC	Diomedes	Amyntas		Epander
90 BC	Theophilos	Peukolaos		Thraso
90–85 BC	Nicias	Menander II		Artemidoros
90–70 BC	Hermaeus	Archebios
	Yuezhi tribes		Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BC			Telephos	Apollodotus II
65–55 BC				Hippostratos	Dionysios
55–35 BC				Azes I (Indo-Scythian)	Zoilos II
55–35 BC					Apollophanes
25 BC – 10 AD					Strato II & III
					Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)

See also

• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
• Seleucid Empire
• Greco-Buddhism
• Indo-Scythians
• Indo-Parthian Kingdom
• Kushan Empire

References

Preceded by Strato I

Indo-Greek ruler in Gandhara and Punjab 110–100 BCE

Succeeded by Demetrius III