| Azes II | |
|---|---|
| Indo-Scythian king | |
 Azes II in armour, riding a horse, on one of his silvertetradrachms, minted inGandhara | |
| Reign | Scythians: perhaps 35–12 BC |
| Predecessor | Azilises |
| Successor | Zeionises/Kharahostes |
Azes II (Greek:ἌζηςAzēs, epigraphicallyΑΖΟΥAzou;Kharosthi:𐨀𐨩A-ya,Aya[1]), may have been the lastIndo-Scythian king, speculated to have reigned circa 35–12 BCE, in what is nowPakistan. His existence has been questioned; if he did not exist, artefacts attributed to his reign, such as coins, are likely to be those ofAzes I.[2]
After the death of Azes II, the rule of the Indo-Scythians in northwestern India and Pakistan finally crumbled with the conquest of theKushans, one of the five tribes of theYuezhi who had lived in Bactria for more than a century, and who were then expanding into India to create a Kushan Empire. Soon after, theParthians invaded from the west. Their leaderGondophares temporarily displaced theKushans and founded theIndo-Parthian Kingdom that was to last until the middle of the 1st century CE. TheKushans ultimately regained northwestern India circa 75 CE, where they were to prosper for several centuries.
Azes's name is attested on his coins in theGreek formAzēs (Ἄζης) and theKharosthi formAya (𐨀𐨩),[1] which are both derived from theSaka name*Aza, meaning "leader".[3]
Azes II is also connected to theBimaran casket, one of the earliest representations of the Buddha. The casket was part of the deposit of Stupa 2 in Bimaran, nearJalalabad inAfghanistan, and placed inside the stupa with several coins of Azes II. This event may have happened during the reign of Azes (35–12 BCE), or slightly later. The Indo-Scythians are otherwise connected with Buddhism (seeMathura lion capital and the multiple Buddhist dedications of theApracas), and it is indeed possible they would have commended the work. However it now thought that a later king, issuing coins in the name of Azes, such asKharahostes, made the dedication.
A coin of Azes II was found under a pillar with anIndo-Corinthian capital and sculpture of a Buddhist devotee in theButkara Stupa, suggesting the involvement of Azes II in Buddhist dedications, and a datation for the sculpture corresponding to the reign of Azes II.[4]
Coins attributed to Azes II use Greek and Kharoshti inscriptions, depict a Greek goddess as his protector, and thereby essentially follow the numismatic model of the Greek kings of the Indo-Greek kingdom, suggesting a high willingness to accommodate Greek culture. A novel difference of the Indo-Scythians was to show the king on a horse, rather than his bust in profile as did the Greeks.
Other coins of Azes depict theBuddhist lion and theBrahmanic cow ofShiva, suggesting religious tolerance towards his subjects. In the coin depicted to the left Azes is depicted with the inscriptions:
Azes II was long believed to have issued several of theIndo-Scythian coins struck under the name Azes in northernIndia. All these coins were however likely issued by a single ruler namedAzes, as suggested by Robert Senior, when he found an overstrike of a coin attributed toAzes I over a coin attributed to Azes II, suggesting that all the "Azes II" coins were not later than those of "Azes I" and that there was only one king in the dynasty named Azes.[2][5] This idea had long been advocated by Senior with a number of indirect numismatic arguments, for instance in his encyclopaedia of Indo-Scythian coins.[6]
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| Preceded by | Indo-Scythian Ruler (35–12 BCE) | Succeeded by |
