# Artemidoros Aniketos

Artemidorus Anicetus (Greek: Ἀρτεμίδωρος ὁ Ἀνίκητος, Artemídо̄ros ho Aníkētos, meaning "Artemidorus the Invincible") was a king who ruled in the area of Gandhara and Pushkalavati in modern northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

## A son of Maues?

Artemidorus is a Greek name meaning "gift of Artemis", and has traditionally been seen as an Indo-Greek king. His remaining coins generally feature portraits of Artemidorus and Hellenistic deities and are typical of Indo-Greek rulers, but on a coin described by numismatician R. C. Senior, Artemidorus seems to claim to be the son of the Indo-Scythian king Maues. Not only does this coin enable a closer dating of Artemidorus; it also sheds new light on the transient ethnic identities during the decline of the Indo-Greek kingdom.
While Maues was 'Great King of Kings', Artemidorus only styled himself King; it appears as though he ruled only a smaller part of his father's dominions. He was either challenged by or ruled in tandem with other kings such as Menander II, whose coins have been found alongside his, and Apollodotus II.

### New evaluation

In a 2009 article however, Osmund Bopearachchi disputes the interpretation of the coin according to which Artemidorus would be son of Maues. The analysis of several similar coins in good condition reveals that the obverse should be read rajatirajasa moasa putrasa ca artemidorosa, the ca (pronounced "cha") meaning "and", which opens the way to a possible translation being "King of kings Maues, and the son of Artemidorus". This would suggest that the son of Artemidorus would have issued coins in the name of his father, recognizing at the same time the suzerainty of Maues. In that case, Artemidorus would have been a regular Indo-Greek king, whose son simply made a transition with the rule of Maues.

## Time of rule

Bopearachchi has suggested a date of c. 85-80 BCE, but this was before the appearance of the Maues coin. Senior's dating is wider, c. 100–80 BCE, because Senior has given Maues an earlier date.

## Coins

During the 1990s, several new types of Artemidorus' coins appeared, of variable quality. R. C. Senior has suggested that Artemidorus relied mostly on temporary mints, perhaps because he held no major cities. All his coins were Indian bilinguals.
Silver:
Obverse: diademed or helmeted bust of king. Reverse: Artemis facing left or right, Nike facing left or right, or king on horseback.
Artemis, the eponymous goddess of hunting, is seen using a curved bow, which may have been typical of Scythian tribes and further supports his affiliation with them.
Bronzes:
Artemis / humped bull or Artemis / lion.
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. :