Diodotus I: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{short description|First  Greek  king of  Bactria}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Diodotus I

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| image_size = 250px

| caption = Gold coin of Diodotus c. 245 BC. The reverse legend reads: "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ" – "(of) King Diodotos". Cabinet des Medailles, Paris.

| reign = c. 256 or 245 BC255 – c. 235 BCBCE

| coronation =

| full name =

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| issue = {{plainlist}}

* [[Diodotus II]]

{{endplainlist}}

| royal house =

| dynasty = [[Diodotid dynasty|Diodotid]]

| father = Diodotus

| birth_date = c. 300 BC

| birth_place = [[Bactria]]

| death_date = c. 235 BC

| death_place = [[Balkh]], [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Bactrian KingdomBactria]]

| date of burial =

| place of burial =

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}}

'''Diodotus I Soter''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Διόδοτος Σωτήρ}}, ''Diódotos Sōtḗr''; c. 315-300 BC – c. 235 BC), was the first [[GreeksHellenistic period|GreekHellenistic]] king of [[Bactria]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ramirez-Faria|first=Carlos|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC|title=ConciseDiodotus Encyclopeidawas Ofinitially World[[satrap]] History|date=2007|publisher=Atlanticof Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0775-5|pages=64|language=en|quote=Bactria was sheared of by Diodotus, a Greek viceroy, from the post-Alexandrian Seleucid Empire in 256 BCE.}}</ref> Diodotusbut became independent of the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid empire]] around 255 or 245 BC, and establishedestablishing the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Diodotid Bactrian Kingdom]], which endured in various forms until the beginning of the first century AD. In aroundabout 250 BC, Diodotus repelled a [[Parni|Parthian]] invasion of Bactria by [[Arsaces I of Parthia|Arsaces]], but little is known about this war, except that it resulted in a peace treaty, favourable to Diodotus, and a possible alliance was formed. He also minted an extensive coinage and administered a powerful and prosperous new kingdom. He died around 235 BC of likely natural causes and was succeeded by his son, [[Diodotus II]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Strabo, Geography, Book 11, chapter 11, section 1|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+11.11.1&redirect=true|access-date=2021-06-20|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>[[Justin (historian)|Justin]] XLI, paragraph .1</ref>

His rule was recounted by [[Apollodorus of Artemita]] in the ''Parthian History'', but this text is lost, and surviving literary sources only mention him in passing.<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=55–57}}</ref> Thus, most details of Diodotus' life and career have to be reconstructed from [[numismatics]] and brief mentionsreferences by ancient writers such as [[Justin (historian)|Justin]].<ref>[[Justin (historian)|Justin]] XLI, paragraph .4</ref> and other historians.

==Background and satrapy==

Diodotus was born c. 300 BC to [[Diodotus of Macedon|Diodotus]], a dignitary of [[Alexander the Great]], who was awarded land in Bactria.<ref>Bopearachchi, O. (2005). "La politique mone'taire de la Bactriane sous les Se'leucides". In Chankowski, V.; Duyrat, Frédérique (eds.). Le roi et l'économie: autonomies locales et structures royales dans l'économie de l'empire séleucide : actes des rencontres de Lille, 23 juin 2003, et d'Orléans, 29-30 janvier 2004. pp. 44–49.</ref> By some authors his father was a nephew of [[Seleucus I Nicator]], which seems likely due to prestigious nature of the satrapy of Bactria (traditionally assigned to the crown Prince) of which Diodotus I inherited.<ref>[[Osmund Bopearachchi|Bopearachchi, O.]] (2005). "La politique mone'taire de la Bactriane sous les Se'leucides" </ref>

The [[Bactria (satrapy)|region of Bactria]], which encompassed the [[Oxus river|Oxus river Valley]] in modern [[Afghanistan]] and [[Tajikistan]], was conquered by Alexander between 329 and 327 BC and he settled a number of his veterans in the region. In the [[Wars of the Diadochi|wars]] which followed Alexander's death in 323 BC, the region was largely left to its own devices, but it was incorporated in the Seleucid empire by [[Seleucus I]] between 308 and 305 BC, along with the rest of the territories that Alexander had conquered in [[Iran]] and [[Central Asia]]. Seleucus entrusted the region to his son and co-regent, [[Antiochus I]], around 295 BC. Between 295 and 281 BC, Antiochus I established firm Seleucid control over the region. The region was divided into a number of [[satrapy|satrapies]] (provinces), of which Bactria was one. Antiochus founded or refounded a number of cities on the Greek model in the region and he opened a number of [[Mint (facility)|mints]] to produce coinage on the [[Attic weight standard]]. After Antiochus I succeeded his father as ruler of the Seleucid empire in 281 BC, he entrusted the east to his own son, [[Antiochus II]] who remained in this position until he in turn succeeded to the throne in 261 BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=24–29 & 37–47}}</ref>

Diodotus became Seleucid [[satrap]] (governor) of Bactria during Antiochus II's reign. The nature of the [[Bactria (satrapy)|Bactrian satrapy]], traditionally assigned to an [[Achaemenid dynasty|Achaemenid]] Crown Prince, suggests Diodotus' prominence. According to some scholars, he may have later married a daughter of Antiochus II (as his second marriage);{{Sfn|Tarn|1938}} although this is uncertain and Tarn's genealogical assertions are controversial.{{Sfn|Holt|1999}} The Babylonian [[Astronomical Diaries]] record that an unnamed Bactrian satrap sent a herd of twenty [[war elephant]]s to [[Babylon]] at the beginning of 273 BC to join the Seleucid forces fighting against [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] in the [[First Syrian War]].<ref>''[[Astronomical Diaries]]'' I, p. 345, No. –273B ‘Rev. 30’- 32’</ref> This satrap may have been Diodotus, or a predecessor.<ref>First proposed by {{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=George |editor1-last=Rapson |editor1-first=E. J. |title=The Cambridge History of India: Volume I |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00raps |date=1922 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=393 |chapter=The Hellenistic Kingdoms of Syria, Bactira, and Parthia}}. {{harvnb|Holt|1999|p=51}} expresses great scepticism.</ref> Archaeological evidence for the period comes largely from excavations of the city of [[Ai-Khanoum]], where this period saw the expansion of irrigation networks, the construction and expansion of civic buildings, and some military activity, probably raiding by nomads from the Central Asian steppe. As satrap, Diodotus was probably involved in these matters, though the specifics are not recoverable.<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=54–55}}</ref>

==Secession from the Seleucid realm==

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At some point, Diodotus seceded from the Seleucid empire, establishing his realm as an independent kingdom, known in modern scholarship as the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. The event is mentioned briefly by the Roman historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]]:

{{quotation|Diodotus,<ref>Justin's text actually reads 'Theodotus'</ref> the governor of the thousand cities of [[Bactria]], defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians [i.e. the Seleucids].|[[Junianus Justinus|Justin]] ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030828143459/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte41.html 41.4]}}}}

The date of this event is unclear. The literary evidence is as follows:

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The limited archaeological evidence reveals no signs of discontinuity or destruction in this period. The transition from Seleucid rule to independence thus seems to have been accomplished peacefully.<ref name=H5860/> Coins of Antiochus I were over sixty times more common than those of Antiochus II in the excavations at [[Ai Khanoum]], which might indicate that Bactria shifted out of the Seleucid orbit early in Antiochus II's reign, or that Antiochus I's coinage continued to be minted posthumously.{{sfn|Kritt|2001|pp=23-26}}{{sfn|Jakobsson|2021|pp=502-503}}

{{Infobox archaeological culture

{{Location map+ |Afghanistan|width=300|float=right|relief=1|caption=Possible Bactrian satrapal capitals▼

|name =Possible Bactrian satrapal capitals

|map=

▲{{Location map+ |Bactria#Afghanistan|width=300|float=rightcenter|relief=1|caption=Possible Bactrian satrapal capitals

|places=

{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=36.705556|long=65.789167|label=[[Emshi Tepe]]|position=left}}

{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=38.101111|long=67.860556|label=[[Dalverzin Tepe]]|position=left}}

{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=38.022341|long=68.328634|label=Kobadian|position=right}}

{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=37.169444|long=69.391667|label=[[Ai-Khanoum]]|position=}}

{{Location map~|Bactria#Afghanistan|lat=36.766667|long=66.9|label=[[Bactra]]|position=}}

}}

| mapcaption =

}}

Whether gradual or quick, the culmination of the process was apparently Diodotus' proclamation of himself as king. He divided the territories under his control into a number of satrapies, each with its own satrap. Two of these satrapies, [[Aspionus]] and Turiva (perhaps [[Tapuria]]) were established on the border with Parthia.<ref>Strabo 11.11.2</ref> Archaeologists have identified a number of other settlements which might be other satrapal capitals, including {{ill|Emshi Tepe|de|Yemschi Tepe}} in [[Sar-e Pol Province|Sar-e Pol]], [[Dalverzin Tepe]] in the [[Surxondaryo River|Surxondaryo river valley]], and [[Kobadian]] in the [[Kofarnihon River|Kofarnihon river valley]]. It is unclear whether Diodotus based himself and his main mint at Ai-Khanoum or [[Bactra]].<ref>Bactra: {{harvnb|Bopearachchi|2005}}</ref>

The literary sources stress the prosperity of the new kingdom. Justin calls it "the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria.",<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030828143459/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte41.html Justin, 41.1 ]}}</ref> while the geographer [[Strabo]] says:

{{quote|The Greeks who caused [[Bactria]] to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of [[Ariana]], but also of [[India]], as [[Apollodorus of Artemita]] says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were [[Balkh|Bactra]] (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others.|source=Strabo ''Geography'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.11.1 11.11.1]}}

Diodotus continued to be hostile to the Parthians for the rest of his reign. Justin emphasises Arsaces' precarious position, opposed by the Seleucids to his west and Diodotus to the east—he is unclear about whether this opposition was co-ordinated.<ref name=J414/> Before archaeological evidence became available, it was generally assumed that the Parni conquest of Parthia had decisively cut Bactria off from contact with Seleucid authority and Greek culture.{{Citation needed span|text=However, archaeological evidence makes clear that goods and people continued to move between Bactria and the Seleucid realm.|date=March 2020|reason=}}

Diodotus died during the reign of Seleucus II, sometime around 235 BC, probably of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son [[Diodotus II]].<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|p=62}}</ref> The new king concluded a peace with the Parthians and supported Arsaces when Seleucus II attacked him around 228 BC.<ref name=J414/> Diodotus II was subsequently killed by an usurper, [[Euthydemus I|Euthydemus]], who founded the [[Euthydemid dynasty]].<ref>[[Polybius]] 11.34.2</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|p=64}}</ref>

==Coinage==

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Before Diodotus came to power, there was already a mint in Bactria based at Ai-Khanoum<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kritt |first1=Brian |title=Seleucid Coins of Bactria |date=1996 |publisher=CNG |location=Lancaster}}</ref> or at Bactra,{{sfn|Bopearachchi|2005}} which minted royal coinage in the name of the Seleucid sovereign, with the reigning Seleucid king's portrait on the obverse and an image of [[Apollo]], the Seleucid patron deity, sitting on an [[omphalus]]. As satrap, Diodotus continued to issue these coins, in the name of Antiochus II. This included gold [[stater]]s, silver [[tetradrachm]]s, [[drachm]]s, and [[hemidrachm]]s, and some bronze coins. None of them seem to have been issued in great quantity.<ref name=H87101>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=87–101}}</ref>

On Frank Holt's interpretation, Diodotus introduced a new coinage while still satrap, which consisted of a large number of silver tetradrachms and, later, a small number of gold staters. These coins have the head of a male figure on the obverse, presumably Diodotus himself, shown wearing the [[diadem]]—a band of cloth wrapped around the head, with two strips hanging down the back, which had been the standard symbol of Hellenistic kingship since the time of Alexander the Great. The image seems to gradually age over time, suggesting that it was intended as a realistic portrait of Diodotus. The reverse of these coins abandoned the Seleucid god Apollo in favour of a depiction of [[Zeus]] preparing to throw his thunderbolt. The choice of Zeus may have been intended as a reference to Diodotus himself whose name meant 'Gift of Zeus' in Greek. Alternatively, it may look back to early coinage struck by Seleucus I, from which the reverse image is taken. The legend on the reverse of these coins still reads {{lang-grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ}} ('Of King Antiochus'). The coinage thus clearly proclaimed Diodotus' authority, but retained some ambiguity about the extent of his independence from the Seleucids.<ref name=H87101/> An alternative interpretation advanced by Jens Jakobsson is that this is the coinage of a separate king [[Antiochus Nicator]], whom he interprets as a younger son of grandson of Diodotus, and whose rule he would place around the 220s BC.{{sfn|Jakobsson|20202021}}

Towards the end of this series, a small wreath appears on the reverse to the left of Zeus. The wreath was a Greek symbol of victory. Frank Holt suggests that it commemorated a victory over the Parthians and that this victory was also the source of Diodotus' epithet ''soter'' (savour). Other Hellenistic kings, such as [[Antiochus I Soter]] and [[Attalus I Soter]] of [[Pergamum]] took this title to commemorate victories over existential barbarian threats. Diodotus may have done the same. This may further have been the occasion of Diodotus I's assumption of the royal title of king (''basileus'')—as a similar victory was for Attalus I.<ref name=H87101/>

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A few tetradrachm coins depicting Diodotus I in a more 'idealising' guise were issued late in Diodotus II's reign ('Series B'). Diodotus appears also on coins struck in his memory by the later Graeco-Bactrian kings [[Agathocles]] and [[Antimachus I|Antimachus]]. These coins imitate the original design of the tetradrachms issued by Diodotus I, but with a legend on the obverse identifying the king as {{lang-grc|ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ}} ('Of Diodotus Soter').<ref name=H87101/>

Diodotus also issued a bronze coinage ('Series G'). This coinage consisted of two denominations: a 'double' (c. 8.4 grammes, 20-24 millimetres in diameter) and a 'single' (4.2 g, 14–18&nbsp;mm)—possibly worth 1/48th48 of a silver drachm.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Alexander |title=Coins of ALexander's Successors in the East (Bactria, Ariana, and India) |date=1884 |location=London |pages=305–337}}</ref> All denominations bore the head of [[Hermes]] wearing a [[petasus]] hat on the obverse, and two [[caduceus|caducei]] (winged staffs, an attribute of Hermes) crossing one another on the reverse, with a legend reading {{lang-grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ}} ('Of King Antiochus'). There is a similar break to the silver and gold coins, after which the bronzes are issued with the legend {{lang-grc|ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ}} ('Of Diodotus', 'Series H'). These bronze coins were found in very large numbers in the excavations of Ai-Khanoum.<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|pp=107–125}}</ref>

==Issue==

The only attested relative of Diodotus I is his son and successor, [[Diodotus II|Diodotus II Theos]]. A younger son may have been [[Antiochus Nicator|Antiochus I Nicator]].{{Sfn|Jakobsson|2010}} [[William Woodthorpe Tarn|Tarn]] interpreted later Bactrian coinage as indicating that DiodotosDiodotus had a daughter who married [[Euthydemus I|Euthydemus]], and was involved in the assassination of Diodotus and usurpation of the throne, and; then became Queen regent until her son, [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] ascended to the throne.<ref name=T73>{{Cite bookSfn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=Diodotus|title=The Greeks in Bactria and India|last=Tarn|first=William Woodthorpe1938|date=2010-06-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108009416|pagesp=73|language=en}}</ref> There is no explicit evidence for this daughter's existence and the speculative nature of Tarn's genealogical reconstructions has been criticised in subsequent scholarship.{{sfn|Lerner|1999|pp=56-59}}<ref>{{harvnb|Holt|1999|ppp=68-69}}</ref>

==References==

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==Bibliography==

*{{cite book |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=O. |editor1-last=Chankowski |editor1-first=V. |editor-link1=Véronique Chankowski |editor2-last=Duyrat |editor2-first=Frédérique |title=Le roi et l'économie: autonomies locales et structures royales dans l'économie de l'empire séleucide : actes des rencontres de Lille, 23 juin 2003, et d'Orléans, 29-30 janvier 2004 |date=2005 |pages=349–69 |chapter=La politique monétaire de la Bactriane sous les Séleucides|volume=6 |issue=1 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1764-0733_2004_act_6_1_2950}}

*{{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Frank L. |title=Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria |date=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=0520211405}}

*{{cite book |last1=Jakobsson |first1=Jens |editor1-last=Mairs |editor1-first=Rachel |title=The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek world |date=2021 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=9781138090699|chapter=Dating Bactria's Independence to 246/5 BC?|pages=499-509499–509}}

*{{cite journal |last1=Jakobsson |first1=Jens |date=2010 |title=Antiochus Nicator, a third king of Hellenistic Bactria? |journal=Numismatic Chronicle |volume=170 |pages=17–33}}

*{{cite book |last1=Kritt|first1=Brian |title=Dynastic Transitions in the Coinage of Bactria|date=2001 |publisher=CNG |location=Lancaster}}

*{{cite book |last1=Lerner |first1=Jeffrey D. |title=The impact of Seleucid decline on the eastern Iranian plateau : the foundations of Arsacid Parthia and Graeco-Bactria |date=1999 |publisher=Steiner |location=Stuttgart |isbn=3515074171}}

*{{cite book |last1=Musti |first1=Domenico |editor1-last=Walbank |editor1-first=F. W. |editor2-last=Astin |editor2-first=A. E. |editor3-last=Frederiksen |editor3-first=M. W. |editor4-last=Ogilvie |editor4-first=R. M. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 7, Part 1: The Hellenistic World |date=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781139054348 |pages=220–221 |chapter=The Date of the Secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Kingdom}}

*{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=Diodotus |title=The Greeks in Bactria and India |last=Tarn |first=William Woodthorpe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1938 |isbn=9781108009416 |language=en}}

==External links==

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{{s-bef| before = [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochus II]]<br> ([[Seleucid Empire]])}}

{{s-ttl|title=[[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]] Ruler|years=c. 255 or 245 – c. 235 BCE}}▼

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{{s-aft|after=[[Diodotus II]]}}▼

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▲{{s-ttl| title = [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]] Ruler|years=c. 255 or 245 – c. 235 BCE}}

| years = c. 255 – c. 235 BC

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[[Category:Greco-Bactrian kings|Diodotus 1]]

[[Category:3rd-century BC rulersmonarchs]]

[[Category:Seleucid satraps]]

[[Category:280s BC births]]▼

[[Category:230s BC deaths]]

▲[[Category:280sDiodotid BC birthsdynasty]]