# Hermaeus

Hermaeus Soter (Ancient Greek: Ἑρμαῖος ὁ Σωτήρ, Hermaîos ho Sōtḗr, meaning "Hermaeus the Saviour") was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid dynasty, who ruled the territory of Paropamisadae in the Hindu-Kush region, with his capital in Alexandria of the Caucasus (near today's Kabul, Afghanistan). Bopearachchi dates Hermaeus to c. 90–70 BCE and R. C. Senior to c. 95–80 BCE.

## Biography

Hermaeus' name means "devoted to Hermes", and he seems to have been the successor of Philoxenus or Diomedes, and his wife Kalliope (Greek: Καλλιόπη) may have been a daughter of Philoxenus, according to Senior. Judging from his coins, Hermaeus' rule was long and prosperous, but came to an end when the Yuezhi, coming from neighbouring Bactria, overran most of his Greek kingdom in the Paropamisade around 70 BCE. According to Bopearachchi, these nomads were the Yuezhi, the ancestors of the Kushans, whereas Senior considers them Sakas.
Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises associated himself to Hermaeus on his coins, either in attempt to solidify legitimacy or due to the difficulties minting early coins. In any case, the Yuezhi-Kushans preserved a close cultural interaction with the Greeks as late as the 3rd century CE.
Given the importance of Hermaeus to the nomad rulers, it is possible that Hermaeus himself was partially of nomad origin.

## Coins of Hermaeus

Hermaeus issued Indian silver coins of three types. The first type has a diademed or sometimes helmeted portrait, with reverse of sitting Zeus making benediction gesture. Hermaeus also issued a rare series of Attic silver tetradrachms of this type, which were issued for export to Bactria.
The second type was a joint series of Hermaeus with his queen Kalliope. The reverse departs from the traditional Hermaeus format, in that it shows the king on a prancing horse. The "king on a prancing horse" is characteristic of the contemporary Greek kings in the eastern Punjab such as Hippostratos, and it has been suggested that the coin represented a marital alliance between the two dynastic lines. The horseman on Hermaeus' version is however portrayed somewhat different, being equipped with a typical Scythian longbow.
The third series combined the reverses of the first series, without portrait.
Hermaeus also issued bronze coins with the head of Zeus-Mithras and a prancing horse on the reverse.

## Contacts with China

A Chinese historical record from the Hanshu Chap. 96A could possible be related to Hermaeus, even though this is very speculative and the record more likely refers to later Saka kings. The chronicle tells how a king who may possibly be identified as Hermaeus received the support of the Chinese against Indo-Scythian occupants, and may explain why his kingdom was suddenly so prosperous despite the general decline of the Indo-Greeks during the period. The Chinese records would put Hermaeus's dates later, with his reign ending around 40 BCE.
According to the Hanshu, Chap. 96A, Wutoulao (Spalirises?), king of Jibin (Kophen, upper Kabul Valley), killed some Chinese envoys. After the death of the king, his son (Spaladagames) sent an envoy to China with gifts. The Chinese general Wen Zhong, commander of the border area in western Gansu, accompanied the escort back. Wutoulao's son plotted to kill Wen Zhong. When Wen Zhong discovered the plot, he allied himself with Yinmofu (Hermaeus?), "son of the king of Rongqu" (Yonaka, the Greeks). They attacked Jibin (possibly with the support of the Yuezhi, themselves allies of the Chinese since around 100 BCE according to the Hanshu) and killed Wutoulao's son. Yinmofu (Hermaeus?) was then installed as king of Jibin, as a vassal of the Chinese Empire, and receiving the Chinese seal and ribbon of investiture.
Later Yinmofu (Hermaeus?) himself is recorded to have killed Chinese envoys in the reign of Emperor Yuandi (48–33 BCE), then sent envoys to apologize to the Chinese court, but he was disregarded. During the reign of Emperor Chengdi (51–7 BCE) other envoys were sent, but they were rejected as simple traders.

## Imitations by Indo-Scythian and Yuezhi invaders

These events may have initiated an alliance between the Greeks and the Yuezhi (even possibly a dynastic alliance), explaining why the Yuezhi gained pre-eminence after the reign of Hermaeus. However the Yuezhi invaders imitated Hermaeus' coinage style possibly after taking over his kingdom, thereby depicting themselves as his successors. The early Kushan ruler Heraios even imitated Hermaeus' name on his coins but misspelled it by leaving out the letter 'M'. Therefore the name Heraios is a corrupted version of Hermaios. The first true Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises associated himself with Hermaeus on his coins, but it is also possible that this ruler was identical to the aforementioned Heraios.

## Gallery of coinage

* Silver coin of Hermaeus with obverse showing king wearing a Bactrian helmet. Reverse showing radiate Zeus making a blessing gesture.
* Indian standard square coin of Hermaeus. Obverse with the head of radiate Zeus-Mithra. Reverse shows a standing horse.
vteGreco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings, territories and chronology :
Based on Bopearachchi (1991) :
Greco-Bactrian kings
Indo-Greek kings
Territories/ datesWest BactriaEast BactriaParopamisade ArachosiaGandharaWestern PunjabEastern PunjabMathura
326-325 BCE
Campaigns of Alexander the Great in India
Nanda Empire
312 BCE
Creation of the Seleucid Empire
Creation of the Maurya Empire
305 BCE
Seleucid Empire after Mauryan war
Maurya Empire
280 BCE
Foundation of Ai-Khanoum
255–239 BCE
Independence of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom Diodotus I
Emperor Ashoka (268-232 BCE)
239–223 BCE
Diodotus II
230–200 BCE
Euthydemus I
200–190 BCE
Demetrius I
Sunga Empire
190-185 BCE
Euthydemus II
190–180 BCE
Agathocles
Pantaleon
185–170 BCE
Antimachus I
180–160 BCE
Apollodotus I
175–170 BCE
Demetrius II
160–155 BCE
Antimachus II
170–145 BCE
Eucratides I
155–130 BCE
Yuezhi occupation, loss of Ai-Khanoum
Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I
Menander I
130–120 BCE
Yuezhi occupation
Zoilus I
Agathoclea
Yavanarajya inscription
120–110 BCE
Lysias
Strato I
110–100 BCE
Antialcidas
Heliocles II
100 BCE
Polyxenus
Demetrius III
100–95 BCE
Philoxenus
95–90 BCE
Diomedes
Amyntas
Epander
90 BCE
Theophilus
Peucolaus
Thraso
90–85 BCE
Nicias
Menander II
Artemidorus
90–70 BCE
Hermaeus
Archebius
Yuezhi occupation
Maues (Indo-Scythian)
75–70 BCE
Vonones
Telephus
Apollodotus II
65–55 BCE
Spalirises
Hippostratus
Dionysius
55–35 BCE
Azes I (Indo-Scythians)
Zoilus II
55–35 BCE
Vijayamitra/ Azilises
Apollophanes
25 BCE – 10 CE
Gondophares
Zeionises
Kharahostes
Strato II Strato III
Gondophares (Indo-Parthian)
Rajuvula (Indo-Scythian)
Kujula Kadphises (Kushan Empire)
Bhadayasa (Indo-Scythian)
Sodasa (Indo-Scythian)
↑ O. Bopearachchi, "Monnaies gréco-bactriennes et indo-grecques, Catalogue raisonné", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1991, p.453
↑ Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2 April 2019). "History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE". BRILL – via Google Books. :