Apollodotos II, 85-65 BC, Drachm

Apollodotos II, Drachm, AR, c. 85–65 BC, 2.40 g, 18 mm

Uncertain mint. Obverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTPOΣ KAI ΦIΛOΠATPOΣ AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY, Greek legend naming the king as Soter and Philopator. Reverse: Maharajasa tratarasa Apaladatasa in Kharosthi, the local rendering of the same titulature. Bilingual silver issue struck on a compact flan in the late Indo-Greek tradition. Bopearachchi 2D; Mitchiner 424c. Apollodotos II ruled parts of the Indo-Greek realm in the mid-1st century BC, likely in Punjab–Gandhara. His bilingual coinage, pairing Greek and Kharosthi legends, reflects administration over mixed Hellenic and South Asian populations and the continued use of Hellenistic monetary standards in the region. The titles Soter and Philopator attest to standard royal epithets of the period, and the series illustrates the persistence of Indo-Greek authority on the eve of expanding Indo-Scythian power.