| Strato II | |
|---|---|
 Saka imitation of Strato II | |
| Indo-Greek king | |
| Reign | 25 BCE – 10 CE |
| Predecessor | Menander II (dynastically) |
| Successor | Strato III |
| Died | 10 CE Mathura |
| Religion | Greco-Buddhism |
Strato IISoter (Ancient Greek:Στράτων B΄ ὁ Σωτήρ,Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr;epithet means "the Saviour") also known asStratha, was anIndo-Greek king. He ruledc. 25 BCE to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier. He may have been supplanted by theIndo-ScythianNorthern Satraps, particularlyRajuvula andBhadayasa, whose coins were often copied on those of the last Indo-Greek kings.[1] Numerous coins of Rajuvula have been found in company with the coins of the Strato group in theEastern Punjab (to the east of theJhelum) and also in theMathura area:[2] for example, 96 coins of Strato II were found in Mathura in conjunction with coins ofRajuvula, who also imitated the designs of Strato II in the majority of his issues.[3]
Strato II ruled in the easternPunjab, probably retaining the capital ofSagala (modernSialkot,Pakistan), or possibly to the city of Bucephala (Plutarch, p. 48 n. 5).
His territory was invaded byRajuvula,Indo-Scythian king ofMathura, and he became the last of the Indo-Greek kings, together with his son[4]Strato III"Philopator" ("the father-loving"), who was included as joint regent on some of his coins and also issued coins on his own.
A few silver coins with a different portrait and the inscriptionStrato SoterDikaios ("the just") may also belong to Strato III as sole ruler, or to a fourth king named Strato.[5][n 1]
Just like the earlier king Strato I, the last Stratos are thought to belong to the dynasty ofMenander I, who also used the epithet Soter and the symbol of standingPallas Athena.
The chronology of the late Indo-Greek kingdom has been established byBopearachchi and other scholars from numismatical evidence alone. The coins deteriorated continuously, the Strato coins being the most debased and crude in style, a striking contrast to earlier kings who struck some of the most beautiful coins of antiquity.
The decay was due to the increasing pressure of theIndo-Scythian nomads on the remaining Greek pockets, as well as their long isolation from the rest of the Hellenistic world.
Strato II and III used exclusively a single "boxy" mint-mark, which they had in common with late Indo-Greek kings such asApollophanes and was initiated byDionysios Soter.[8]
Strato II, Strato III and Strato Dikaios struck debased silver drachms, which as mentioned portray Pallas on the reverse. Strato II appears as an old man with a sunken jaw on some of his coins, which is not surprising given that his grandson was co-regent.
Strato II also issued bronzes and even lead coins of the common type Apollo/tripod. On some of Strato II's silver drachms the lettersigma is written as C (alunate sigma), a not uncommon trait on late Hellenistic coins in the east.
Subsequent Indo-Scythian rulers, who replaced the Stratos in their territories, designed their coins in direct imitation of those of Strato II. This is the case of theNorthern Satraps, who ruled in the territories fromSagala in EasternPunjab toMathura, such asRajuvula,Bhadayasa. Just as theYuezhi had copied the coins of the lastGreco-Bactrian rulerHeliocles inBactria, or theIndo-Scythians had copied the coins of the last westernIndo-Greek rulerHermaios in the area ofKabul, here again theIndo-Scythian Northern Satraps relied heavily on the numismatics of their predecessors.[1]
Notes
References
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