MENANDER II DIKAIOS ~ GREEK KING IN INDIA

Menander II Dikaios (Greek: Μένανδρος Β΄ ο Δίκαιος; epithet means "the Just") was an Indo-Greek King who ruled in the areas of Arachosia and Gandhara in the north of modern Pakistan.

Time of reign

Bopearachchi has suggested that Menander II reigned c. 90–85 BCE.

Menander II Dikaios may have belonged to the dynasty of Menander I Soter, the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings. It was long believed that there was only one king named Menander (see discussion under Menander I) as their portraits were rather similar and Menander II seems to have been a devout Buddhist, just as Menander I was, according to the ancient Buddhist scripture the Milindapanha.

The name Menander could well have been popular in the Indo-Greek kingdom, and the coins of Menander II are not very like those of Menander I nor of those other kings (such as Strato I) who are believed to have belonged to his dynasty. R. C. Senior links Menander II with the Indo-Greek king Amyntas, with whom he shares several monograms and also facial features such as a pointed nose and receding chin. He also suggests a close relation to the king Artemidorus, son of Maues, since their coins use similar types and are often found together.

The coins of Menander II bear the mention "Menander the Just", and "King of the Dharma" in Kharoshti, suggesting that he adopted the Buddhist faith. Menander II struck only Indian silver. These depict the king in diadem or helmet of the type of Menander I, with a number of reverses: a king on horseback, Nike and a sitting Zeus of the type of Antialkidas and Amyntas Nikator, but with an eight-spoked Buddhist wheel instead of the small elephant.

His bronzes feature Goddess Athena standing, with spear and palm-branch, shield at Her feet, making a benediction gesture with the right hand, similar to the Buddhist vitarka mudra. Other varieties feature a king performing the same gesture.

On the reverse there is a Greek lion , as also seen on the pillars of the Mauryan King Ashoka. In general, the coins of Menander II are quite few, which tends to indicate a rather small rule.

A contemporary king who used the image of a lion on his coins is the Indo-Scythian king Maues, around 85 BCE.

Edited from: Wikipedia, coinindia