Apollodotos II, 85-65 BC, Drachm

Apollodotos II, AR Drachm, 85–65 BC, 2.41 g, 18 mm. Uncertain mint. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTPOΣ KAI ΦIΛOΠATPOΣ AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY around.  Kharosthi legend Maharajasa tratarasa Apaladatasa around. Struck to the Indian standard on a compact flan, a bilingual issue pairing Greek and Kharosthi legends; mint uncertain. SNG ANS 310.

Apollodotos II ruled portions of Gandhara and the Punjab during the late Indo-Greek period, a time of political fragmentation and pressure from Indo-Scythian groups. His bilingual silver on the Indian weight standard illustrates accommodation to local monetary practice and communication with Greek- and Prakrit-speaking subjects. The pairing of the Greek title “Soter and Philopator” with its Kharosthi equivalent and the continued use of the Macedonian Athena type document the persistence of Hellenistic royal ideology in northwestern South Asia and provide key evidence for the late Indo-Greek chronology and cultural exchange in the region.