| Menander I | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja Basileus | |
 Portrait of Menander I Soter, from his coinage | |
| Indo-Greek King | |
| Reign | 165/155–130 BC |
| Predecessor | Antimachus II |
| Successor | Strato I (Agathoclea as regent) |
| Born | c. 180 BC Kalisi (in present-dayBagram, Afghanistan)[1][2] orSagala (present-daySialkot,Pakistan)[3] |
| Died | 130 BC (aged 50) |
| Burial | Stupas across theIndo-Greek Kingdom |
| Consort | Agathoclea |
| Issue | Strato I |
| Religion | Greco-Buddhism |
Menander I Soter (Ancient Greek:Μένανδρος Σωτήρ,romanized: Ménandros Sōtḗr,lit. 'Menander theSaviour';Pali:Milinda), sometimes calledMenander the Great,[4][5] was anIndo-Greek king (reignedc. 165/155[6] –130 BC) who administered a large territory in the northwestern regions of theIndian subcontinent andCentral Asia. Menander is noted for having become a patron ofGreco-Buddhism and is regarded as the greatest and most well-known of the Indo-Greek kings.[7][8]
Menander might have initially been a prince orking of Bactria.[9][10][7] After conquering thePunjab,[2] as far asTaxila andSagala, he established an empire which stretched from theKabul River in the west to theRavi River in the east, and from theSwat River valley in the north toArachosia (theHelmand Province). TheGreekgeographerStrabo wrote that he "conquered more tribes thanAlexander the Great." Ancient Indian writers indicate that he possibly launched expeditions southward intoRajputana (Rajasthan,Gujarat andSindh) andcentral India (Gujarat and Malwa) and as far east down theGanges River Valley asPataliputra (Patna).[11][7][10]
Large numbers of Menander’scoins have been unearthed, attesting to both the flourishing commerce and longevity of his realm. Menander was also a patron ofBuddhism. His conversations with the Buddhist sageNagasena are recorded in the influential Buddhist work, theMilinda Panha ("The Questions of King Milinda";panha meaning "question" inPali). After his death in 130 BC, he was succeeded by his wifeAgathocleia (possibly daughter ofAgathocles) who ruled as regent for his sonStrato I.[12] Buddhist tradition relates that he handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world, butPlutarch says that he died in camp while on a military campaign, and that his remains were divided equally between the cities to be enshrined in monuments, probablystupas, across his realm.
Menander was born into aGreek family[13] in a village called Kalasi adjacent toAlexandria of the Caucasus (present dayBagram, Afghanistan).[2][3] Although another source says he was born near Sagala (modernSialkot in the Punjab,Pakistan).[14] His territories coveredBactria (modern-dayBalkh Province) and extended to modern-dayKhyber Pakhtunkhwa andPunjab.Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus andJustin call him aking of India.[8] According toPlutarch he was aking of Bactria, andStrabo includes him among Bactrian Greek conquerers. He may have actually ruled over Bactria and may have helpedDemetrius II Nicator, the Seleucid king, during theSeleucid–Parthian Wars.[7] From theHindu Kush, he expanded his kingdom toGandhara and perhapsKashmir.[15] His capital is supposed to have beenSagala, a prosperous city in northernPunjab (believed to be modernSialkot,Pakistan).[2] According toApollodorus of Artemita, as quoted by Strabo, the conquest of India by the Bactrian Greeks was effected mainly by Menander:[8]
The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only ofAriana, but also of India, asApollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander—by Menander in particular (at least if he actually crossed theHypanis towards the east and advanced as far as theImaus), for some were subdued by him personally and others byDemetrius, the son ofEuthydemus the king of the Bactrians; and they took possession, not only ofPatalena, but also, on the rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom ofSaraostus andSigerdis. In short, Apollodorus says that Bactriana is the ornament of Ariana as a whole; and, more than that, they extended their empire even as far as theSeres and thePhryni.
— Strabo,Geographica[16]
Accounts describe Indo-Greek campaigns toSakala,Mathura,Panchala,Saketa (Ayodhya), and potentiallyPataliputra. The sagePatanjali, in hisMahabhashya around 150 BC, describes a failed campaign of Menander as far as Mathura, this is also later reported inKalidasa's drama,Mālavikāgnimitram. TheHathigumpha inscription inscribed byKharavela the King ofKalinga also places the Yavanas, or Indo-Greeks, in Mathura. Kharavela states to have forced the demoralized Yavana army to retreat back to Mathura:
"Then in the eighth year, (Kharavela) with a large army having sacked Goradhagiri causes pressure on Rajagaha (Rajagriha). On account of the loud report of this act of valour, the Yavana (Greek) King [ta] retreated to Mathura having extricated his demoralized army."
— Hathigumpha inscription, lines 7-8, probably in the 1st century BCE-1st century CE. The original text is in Brahmi script.
Menander may have campaigned as far as theShunga capitalPataliputra resulting in a conflict. The religious scriptureYuga Purana, which describes events in the form of a prophecy, states:
After having conquered Saketa, the country of the Panchala and theMathuras, theYavanas (Greeks), wicked and valiant, will reach Kusumadhvaja. The thick mud-fortifications atPataliputra being reached, all the provinces will be in disorder, without a doubt. Ultimately, a great battle will follow, with tree-like engines (siege engines).
— Gargi-Samhita,Yuga Purana, ch. 5
Strabo also suggests that Indo-Greek conquests went up to theShunga capitalPataliputra in northeastern India (todayPatna):
Those who came after Alexander went to theGanges andPataliputra
— Strabo, 15.698
The events and results of these campaigns are unknown. Surviving epigraphical inscriptions during this time such as the Hathigumpha inscription states that Kharavela sacked Pataliputra. Furthermore, numismatics from theMitra dynasty are concurrently placed inMathura during the time of Menander. Their relationship is unclear, but the Mithra may potentially be vassals.
In the West, Menander seems to have repelled the invasion of the dynasty ofGreco-Bactrian usurperEucratides, and pushed them back as far as theParopamisadae, thereby consolidating the rule of the Indo-Greek kings in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
TheMilinda Panha gives some glimpses of his military methods:[citation needed]
– Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents?
– Yes, certainly.
– Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food collected?
– Not at all. All that had been prepared beforehand.
– Or you had yourself trained in the management of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in the use of the war chariot, and in archery and fencing?
– Not at all. I had learnt all that before.
– But why?
– With the object of warding off future danger.
— Milinda Panha, Book III, ch. 7
Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extent of his empire: (with finds as far as Britain)[citation needed] the finds of his coins are the most numerous and the most widespread of all the Indo-Greek kings.[citation needed] Precise dates of his reign, as well as his origin, remain elusive, however. Guesses among historians have been that Menander was either a nephew or a former general of theGreco-Bactrian kingDemetrius I, but the two kings are now thought to be separated by at least thirty years. Menander's predecessor in Punjab seems to have been the kingApollodotus I.
Menander's empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last Greek kingStrato II disappeared around 10 AD.
The 1st-2nd century ADPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea further testifies to the reign of Menander and the influence of the Indo-Greeks in India:
To the present day ancient drachmae are current inBarygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander,Apollodorus [sic] and Menander.
— Periplus, ch. 47.[17]
According tonumismatistJoe Cribb, the accounts of Menander’s kingdom stretching as far asSialkot, is hard to believe, as there is no numismatic evidence of him east of Taxila,[18] even more hard is to believe is stretching even further east as thought earlier by historians based upon Indian references, which most likely are referring toKushans.[18] However, numerous silver and copper coins (andHellenistic pottery shards) of Menander have been found, including theSiranwalihoard found near Sialkot,[19] and in theSonipat hoard from present-dayHaryana.[20] Additional corroboration for mentions of Indo-Greek expeditions into the Gangetic plains may be furnished by theYavanarajya inscription discovered inMathura, and discoveries of Menander's coins in westernUttar Pradesh[21] including the Pachkhura hoard of coins unearthed near theYamuna River inHamirpur district, Uttar Pradesh,[22][23] and the unearthing of a clay pot filled with coins of preceding kings (Diodotus I,Diodotus II, andEuthydemus I) inVaishali district,Bihar.[19]
Bajaur is the only place where inscriptions of Menander have been found.[7] However, large numbers of Menander’s coins have been unearthed, mostly of silver and bronze, attesting to both the duration of his reign and the flourishing commerce of his realm. According to Buddhist tradition he handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world, but Plutarch relates that he died in camp while on a military campaign.
According to tradition, Menander embraced theBuddhist faith, as described in theMilinda Panha, a classicalPaliBuddhist text on the discussions between Milinda and the Buddhist sageNāgasena, theMilinda Panha's style may have been influenced byPlato'sDialogues.[7] He is described as constantly accompanied by an elite guard of 500 Greek ("Yavana") soldiers, and two of his counsellors are named Demetrius and Antiochus.
In theMilinda Panha, Menander is introduced as:
King of the city ofEuthymedia in India, Milinda by name, learned, eloquent, wise, and able; and a faithful observer, and that at the right time, of all the various acts of devotion and ceremony enjoined by his own sacred hymns concerning things past, present, and to come. Many were the arts and sciences he knew--holytradition andsecularlaw; theSânkhya,Yoga,Nyâya, andVaisheshika systems ofphilosophy;arithmetic;music;medicine; the fourVedas, thePurânas, and theItihâsas;astronomy,magic,causation, andmagic spells; theart of war;poetry;conveyancing in a word, the whole nineteen. As a disputant he was hard to equal, harder still to overcome; the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. And as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India. He was rich too, mighty in wealth and prosperity, and the number of his armed hosts knew no end.
— The Questions of King Milinda, Translation byT. W. Rhys Davids, 1890
Buddhist tradition relates that, following his discussions with Nāgasena, Menander adopted the Buddhist faith:
May the venerable Nâgasena accept me as a supporter of the faith, as a true convert from to-day onwards as long as life shall last!
— The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890
He then handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world:
And afterwards, taking delight in the wisdom of the Elder, he handed over his kingdom to his son, and abandoning the household life for the houseless state, grew great in insight, and himself attained toArahatship!
— The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890
There is however little besides this testament to indicate that Menander in fact abdicated his throne in favour of his son. Based on numismatic evidence, William Tarn believed that he in fact died, leaving his wife Agathocleia to rule as a regent, until his son Strato could rule properly in his stead.[26] Despite the success of his reign, it is clear that after his death, his "loosely hung" empire splintered into a variety of Indo-Greek successor kingdoms, of various sizes and stability.
His legacy as a Buddhist arhat reached the Greco-Roman world andPlutarch writes:
But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him."
— Moralia 28.6
The above seems to corroborate the claim:
It is unlikely that Menander’s support of Buddhism was a pious reconstruction of a Buddhist legend, for his deification by later traditions resonates with Macedonian religious trends that granted divine honours to monarchs and members of their family and worshipped them, like Alexander, as gods. It is no coincidence that similar motifs highlight the Buddha’s deification and his funereal rituals are commensurate with those of Macedonian kings and universal monarchs. The evidence is in favour of the conversion of King Menander to Buddhism, which is neither an isolated historical incident nor an invention of later traditions."[27]
Minadrasa maharajasa Katiassa divasa 4 4 4 11 pra[na]-[sa]me[da]... (prati)[thavi]ta pranasame[da]... Sakamunisa
From Alasanda the city of theYonas came the Thera ("Elder") Yona Mahadhammarakkhita with thirty thousandbhikkhus.
A coin of Menander I was found in the second oldest stratum (GSt 2) of theButkara stupa suggesting a period of additional constructions during the reign of Menander.[30] It is thought that Menander was the builder of the second oldest layer of the Butkara stupa, following its initial construction during theMaurya empire.[31]
These elements tend to indicate the importance of Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern India, and the prominent role Greek Buddhist monks played in them, probably under the sponsorship of Menander.
Menander has left behind an immense corpus of silver and bronze coins, more so than any other Indo-Greek king, indicating the length of his long reign and a flourishing trade during it, and are the main source of his history.[8][15] During his reign, the fusion between Indian andGreek coin standards reached its apogee. The wheel engraved on some of Menander’s coins may be the BuddhistDharmachakra.[7] The coins feature the legend (Ancient Greek:ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ,romanized: BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU /Kharoshthi: MAHARAJA TRATARASA MENADRASA).
These alterations were possibly an adaption on Menander's part to the Indian coins of the BactrianEucratides I, who had conquered the westernmost parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, and are interpreted by Bopearachchi as an indication that Menander recaptured these western territories after the death of Eucratides.
Menander was the first Indo-Greek ruler to introduce the representation ofAthena Alkidemos ("Athena, saviour of the people") on his coins, probably in reference to a similar statue of Athena Alkidemos inPella, capital ofMacedon. This type was subsequently used by most of the later Indo-Greek kings.
A king named Menander with the epithetDikaios, "the Just", ruled in Punjab after 100 BC. Earlier scholars, such asA. Cunningham andW. W. Tarn, believed there was only one Menander, and assumed that the king had changed his epithet and/or was expelled from his western dominions. A number of coincidences led them to this assumption:
However, modern numismatists such as Bopearachchi and R.C. Senior have shown, by differences in coin findings, style, and monograms, that there were two distinct rulers. The second Menander could have been a descendant of the first, and his Buddhist symbols may have been a means of alluding to his ancestor's conversion. However, Menander I struck a rare bronze series with a Buddhist wheel (coin 3).[citation needed]
Buddhist tradition holds that he was succeeded his son and retired.[7] ThoughPlutarch reports that Menander died in camp while on campaign, thereby differing with the version of theMilinda Panha. Plutarch gives Menander as an example of benevolent rule, contrasting him with disliked tyrants such asDionysius, and goes on to explain that his subject towns fought over the honour of his burial, ultimately sharing his ashes among them and placing them in "monuments" (possiblystupas), in a manner reminiscent of the funerals of the Buddha. This has been taken as an evidence of his conversion to Buddhism, though modern scholars doubt Plutarch’s account and he may have actually confused Menander’s death with the account of the Buddha.[32]
But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him.
Despite his many successes, Menander's last years may have been fraught with another civil war, this time againstZoilos I who reigned in Gandhara. This is indicated by the fact that Menander probably overstruck a coin of Zoilos.
The Milinda Panha might give some support to the idea that Menander's position was precarious, since it describes him as being somewhat cornered by numerous enemies into a circumscribed territory:
After their long discussion Nagasaka asked himself "though king Milinda is pleased, he gives no signs of being pleased". Menander says in reply: "As a lion, the king of beasts, when put in a cage, though it were of gold, is still facing outside, even so, do I live as the master in the house but remain facing outside. But if I were to go forth from home into homelessness I would not live long, so many are my enemies".
— Quoted in Bopearachchi,Milinda Panha, Book III, Chapter 7[34]
Menander was the last Indo-Greek king mentioned by ancient historians, and developments after his death are therefore difficult to trace.
a) The traditional view, supported by W.W. Tarn and Bopearachchi, is that Menander was succeeded by his queen Agathoclea, who acted as regent to their infant sonStrato I until he became an adult and took over the crown. Strato I used the same reverse as Menander I, Athena hurling a thunderbolt, and also the title Soter.
According to this scenario, Agathoclea and Strato I only managed to maintain themselves in the eastern parts of the kingdom, Punjab, and at timesGandhara.Paropamisadae andPushkalavati were taken over byZoilos I, perhaps because some of Agathokleia's subjects may have been reluctant to accept an infant king with a queen regent.
b) On the other hand, R.C. Senior and other numismatics such as David Bivar have suggested that Strato I ruled several decades after Menander: they point out that Strato's and Agathoclea's monograms are usually different from Menander's, and overstrikes and hoard findings also associate them with later kings.
In this scenario, Menander was briefly succeeded by his sonThrason, of whom a single coin is known. After Thrason was murdered, competing kings such asZoilos I orLysias may have taken over Menander's kingdom. Menander's dynasty was thus dethroned and did not return to power until later, though his relativeNicias may have ruled a small principality in the Kabul valley.
For the family tree that illustrates these relationships, see Family tree of the Indo-Greek kings (see the Menanderid dynasty).
After the reign of Menander I,Strato I and several subsequent Indo-Greek rulers, such asAmyntas, Nicias,Peucolaus,Hermaeus, andHippostratus, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a symbolicgesture identical to the Buddhist vitarkamudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of the Buddha's teaching. At the same time, right after the death of Menander, several Indo-Greek rulers also started to adopt on their coins thePali title of "Dharmikasa", meaning "follower of theDharma" (the title of the great Indian Buddhist kingAshoka wasDharmaraja "King of the Dharma"). This usage was adopted by Strato I, Zoilos I,Heliocles II,Theophilus, Peucolaus andArchebius.
Altogether, the conversion of Menander to Buddhism suggested by theMilinda Panha seems to have triggered the use of Buddhist symbolism in one form or another on the coinage of close to half of the kings who succeeded him. Especially, all the kings after Menander who are recorded to have ruled inGandhara (apart from the little-knownDemetrius III) display Buddhist symbolism in one form or another.
Menander may have contributed to the expansion of Buddhism in Central Asia. Although the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and Northern Asia is usually associated with theKushans, a century or two later, there is a possibility that it may have been introduced in those areas fromGandhara "even earlier, during the time ofDemetrius and Menander" (Puri, "Buddhism in Central Asia").
A frieze inSanchi executed during or soon after the reign of Menander depicts Buddhist devotees in Greek attire. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with aheadband of the type commonly seen on Greek coins. The clothing too is Greek, complete withtunics, capes and sandals. The musical instruments are also quite characteristic, such as the double flute calledaulos. Also visible areCarnyx-likehorns. They are all celebrating at the entrance of the stupa. These men would probably be nearbyIndo-Greeks from northwest India visiting the Stupa.[35]
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The anthropomorphic representation of theBuddha is absent from Indo-Greek coinage, suggesting that the Indo-Greek kings may have respected the Indian an-iconic rule for depictions of the Buddha, limiting themselves to symbolic representation only. Consistently with this perspective, the actual depiction of the Buddha would be a later phenomenon, usually dated to the 1st century, emerging from the sponsorship of the syncreticKushan Empire and executed by Greek, and, later, Indian and possibly Roman artists. Datation ofGreco-Buddhist statues is generally uncertain, but they are at least firmly established from the 1st century.
Another possibility is that just as the Indo-Greeks routinely represented philosophers in statues (but certainly not on coins) in Antiquity, the Indo-Greek may have initiated anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha in statuary only, possibly as soon as the 2nd-1st century BC, as advocated byFoucher and suggested by Chinese murals depictingEmperor Wu of Han worshipping Buddha statues brought from Central Asia in 120 BC (See picture). An Indo-Chinese tradition also explains thatNagasena, also known as Menander's Buddhist teacher, created in 43 BC in the city ofPataliputra a statue of the Buddha, theEmerald Buddha, which was later brought toThailand.
Stylistically, Indo-Greek coins generally display a very high level ofHellenistic artistic realism, which declined drastically around 50 BC with the invasions of theIndo-Scythians,Yuezhi andIndo-Parthians. The first known statues of the Buddha are also very realistic and Hellenistic in style and are more consistent with the pre-50 BC artistic level seen on coins.
This would tend to suggest that the first statues were created between 130 BC (death of Menander) and 50 BC, precisely at the time when Buddhist symbolism appeared on Indo-Greek coinage. From that time, Menander and his successors may have been the key propagators of Buddhist ideas and representations: "the spread of Gandhari Buddhism may have been stimulated by Menander's royal patronage, as may have the development and spread of Gandharan sculpture, which seems to have accompanied it" (Mcevilley, "The Shape of Ancient Thought", p. 378).
TheMilind College in the city ofAurangabad,India, is named after King Menander I using thePali translation of his name,Milind. The college was founded in part byBhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an Indian leader of theDalit Buddhist movement and writer to the constitution of theRepublic of India.
In Classical Antiquity, from at least the 1st century, the "Menander Mons", or "Mountains of Menander", came to designate the mountain chain at the extreme east of the Indian subcontinent, today'sNaga Hills andArakan, as indicated in thePtolemy world map of the 1st century geographerPtolemy.[36]
Menander king in India, known locally as Milinda, born at a village named Kalasi near Alasanda (Alexandria-in-the-Caucasus), and who was himself the son of a king. After conquering the Punjab, where he made Sagala his capital, he made an expedition across northern India and visited Patna, the capital of the Mauraya empire, though he did not succeed in conquering this land as he appears to have been overtaken by wars on the north-west frontier with Eucratides.
MENANDER Born: c. 210 B.C.; probably Kalasi, Afghanistan Died: c. 135 B.C.; probably in northwest India Areas of Achievement: Government and religion Contribution: Menander extended the Greco-Bactrian domains in India more than any other ruler. He became a legendary figure as a great patron of Buddhism in the Pali book the Milindapanha. Early Life – Menander (not to be confused with the more famous Greek dramatist of the same name) was born somewhere in the fertile area to the south of the Paropamisadae or the present Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan. The only reference to this location is in the semi-legendary Milindapanha (first or second century A.D.), which says that he was born in a village called Kalasi near Alasanda, some two hundred yojanas (about eighteen miles) from the town of Sagala (probably Sialkot in Punjab). The Alasanda refers to the Alexandria in Afghanistan and not the one in Egypt.
MENANDER Born: c. 210 B.C.; probably Kalasi, Afghanistan Died: c. 135 B.C.; probably in northwest India Areas of Achievement: Government and religion Contribution: Menander extended the Greco-Bactrian domains in India more than any other ruler. He became a legendary figure as a great patron of Buddhism in the Pali book the Milindapanha. Early Life – Menander (not to be confused with the more famous Greek dramatist of the same name) was born somewhere in the fertile area to the south of the Paropamisadae or the present Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan. The only reference to this location is in the semi-legendary Milindapanha (first or second century A.D.), which says that he was born in a village called Kalasi near Alasanda, some two hundred yojanas (about eighteen miles) from the town of Sagala (probably Sialkot in Punjab). The Alasanda refers to the Alexandria in Afghanistan and not the one in Egypt.
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| Preceded by | Indo-Greek ruler (inParopamisadae,Arachosia,Gandhara,Punjab) 155/150 – 130 BC | Succeeded by |
| Succeeded by |
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