Menander I, c. 165/55-130 BC, Drachm

Menander I, Drachm, AR, c. 165/155–130 BC, 2.31 g, 17 mm. Uncertain mint. Obv: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY; diademed and draped bust of Menander right. Rev: “Maharajasa tratarasa Menamdrasa” in Kharosthi; Athena Alkidemos standing left, hurling thunderbolt and holding shield. Bilingual issue struck on the Indo-Greek drachm standard. Bopearachchi 7B; HGC 12, 187.

Menander I (Soter) was the leading Indo-Greek ruler in the mid-2nd century BC, whose domain extended across Gandhara and the Punjab. His silver coinage established a durable bilingual format, pairing Greek and Kharosthi legends to facilitate circulation across Hellenistic and Indian communities, with the epithet Soter precisely mirrored by Kharosthi tratarasa. His identification with the “Milinda” of the Buddhist Milindapañha and the scale of his issues make his coins a primary source for the political reach and cultural integration of the Indo-Greek kingdoms.