Silver coin of Heliocles (145-130 BCE)
Obv: Bust of Heliocles
Rev: Zeus standing, with thunderbolt and sceptre. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ (BASILEOS DIKAIOU ILIOKLEOUS) "King Heliocles the Just".

Heliocles was a King of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, (R. The Gr(aeco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 ca. 145-130 BCE), and was the son and successor of Eucratides the Great. Eucratides I (or Eukratides I)(reigned ca 170 BCE - 145 BCE was one of the most important Greco-Bactrian kings Heliocles' reign was a troubled one and he may have been the last Greek king of Bactria. "Bactrian" redirects here For the camel see Bactrian camel.

According to Roman historian Justin, King Eucratides was murdered by his son and co-ruler as he returned from a victorious campaign against the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Justin (Latin Marcus Junianius (or Junianus) Justinus) was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries Justin fails to name the perpetrator, but the patricide led to Bactria's division (possibly a civil war) between Eucratides' sons, Eucratides II and Heliocles, significantly weakening the kingdom at a crucial time. Eucratides II was a Greco-Bactrian king who was a successor and probably a son of Eucratides I.

During the fight between the Bactrian Kings, the Indo-Greeks under King Menander I were able to recapture territory the taken by Eucratides I. The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries Menander I Soter "The Saviour" (known as Milinda in Indian sources was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in northern India At the same time nomadic tribes known as the Indo-Scythian or Saka invaded the region, killing Eurcratides II and destroying the city of Alexandria on the Oxus in 140 BCE. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that The Indo-Scythians are a branch of the Indo-Iranian Sakas ( Scythians) who migrated from southern Siberia into Bactria, The Sakas ( English form of Old Iranian Sakā, Nominative plural masculine case; Ancient Greek Σάκαι, Ai-Khanoum or Ay Khanum (lit “Lady Moon” in Uzbek, probably the historical Alexandria on the Oxus, also possibly later named Eucratidia

Around 130 BCE another tribe, the Tocharians or Yuezhi, invade Bactria from the north. The Tocharians were the Tocharian -speaking inhabitants of the Tarim basin, making them the easternmost speakers of an Indo-European language in antiquity The Yuezhi or Rouzhi ( Chinese: 月支 Pinyin: yuè zhī or ròu zhī; also 月氏 Pinyin: yuè shì "Bactrian" redirects here For the camel see Bactrian camel. Heliocles was defeated and evicted from Bactria, though his last years aren't well known. Details from Chinese sources seem to indicate that the invasion did not destroy civilisation in Bactria entirely; Hellenised cities continued to exist for some time, and the well-organised agricultural systems were not demolished. We can only assume that King Heliocles was either killed in battle or he fled to Kabul and re-established his kingdom. } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with

Even though Heliocles is considered the last Greek king to rule in Bactria, his dynasty may have continued to rule parts of the region as the "Western Indo-Greek Kingdom" until ca. 70 BCE. (Several later Indo-Greek king, including Heliocles II and King Hermaeus), struck coins which could be associated with the dynasty. Hermaeus Soter "the Saviour" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty who ruled the territory of Paropamisade in the Hindu-Kush

External links

• Coins of Heliocles
• More coins of Heliocles

References

• "The Shape of Ancient Thought. Eucratides I (or Eukratides I)(reigned ca 170 BCE - 145 BCE was one of the most important Greco-Bactrian kings The Gr(aeco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 "Bactrian" redirects here For the camel see Bactrian camel. Zoilus I Dikaios ("The Just" was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in Northern India and occupied the areas of the Paropamisade and Arachosia Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
• "Buddhism in Central Asia" by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
• "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.