King of Bactria & India - Azes II - Indo-Scythian King-
Reigned: 35 B.C.-5 A.D. -
Bronze 20mm Struck circa 35 B.C. - 5 A.D. -
Azes II on horseback right following star.
Athena standing right with spear and shield.
* Numismatic Note: Azes II is considered to be one of the
three magii that traveled to see Jesus Christ's birth.
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"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King
Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has
been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship
him'
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he
had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he
asked them where the Christ was to be born. 'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they
replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written:
'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the
rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my
people Israel.'
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the
star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and make a careful
search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may
go and worship him.'"
Matthew 2:1-8, NIV
Azes II was King of Bactria, which is present day Afghanistan, from 35 B.C. to 5
A.D. He was so revered that he was referred to as the "Great King," and his
coinage included his image and name 25 years after his death. Azes was a
descendant of Alexander the Great. The reverse of his coins bore an image of him
mounted on a horse, probably resulting from his being an explorer, traveler, and
warrior (some of his coinage depicts him in armor). They also included an Indian
Script on the reverse, making them one of the earliest bulingual coins ever
minted. Much of his coinage was minted prior to the Birth of Jesus Christ, and
some most likely was minted during the year (if not the very day) of Christs
birth. All of this coinage was in circulation during the period of Christs life.
The Magi that visited the Christ Child in Bethlehem were most likely Zorastrian
Astrologer/Astronomers. This accounts for their seeking out the miracle of the
Star of Bethlehem. Most likely, they traveled on horseback. I believe (and plan
a research paper on the subject in the future) that King Azes II was accompanied
by these Astronomers during his trip to seek out this star. They were a part of
the Royal Entourage of the Great King on one of his journies, this time to seek
out the Star of Bethlehem and the Christ Child. This also explains why Herod was
immediately aware of their visit ("Then Herod sent for the Magi secretly...").
He was also most likely quite agitated that a visiting King and his entrourage
sought out this new "King of the Jews" and failed to pay him the courtesy of a
audiance upon his arrival, not to mention the threat he sensed from the idea of
the Jews having a new King. Note that Bactra is located to the east of Bethlehem
and Judea.
.
Azes II (reigned circa 35-12 BCE), may have been the last
Indo-Scythian king in northern
India. After the
death of Azes II, the rule of the Indo-Scythians in northwestern India finally
crumbled with the conquest of the
Kushans, one of the five tribes of the
Yuezhi who had
lived in Bactria for more than a century, and who were then expanding into India
to create a Kushan Empire. Soon after, the
Parthians invaded from the west. Their leader
Gondophares temporarily displaced the
Kushans and founded the
Indo-Parthian Kingdom that was to last until the middle of the 1st century
CE. The
Kushans ultimately regained northwestern India circa 75 CE, where they were
to prosper for several centuries.
The
Bimaran casket
Azes II is also connected to the
Bimaran casket,
one of the earliest representations of the Buddha. The casket, probably Greek
work, was used for the dedication of a
stupa in Bamiran,
near
Jalalabad in
Afghanistan, and placed inside the stupa with several coins of Azes II. This
event may have happened during the reign of Azes (35-12 BCE), or slightly later.
The Indo-Scythians are otherwise connected with Buddhism (see
Mathura
lion capital), and it is indeed possible they would have commendited the
work.
Coinage
Coins attributed to Azes II's use Greek and Kharoshti inscriptions, depict a
Greek goddess as his protector, and thereby essential follow the numismatic
model of the Greek kings if the Indo-Greek kingdom, suggesting a high
willingness to accommodate Greek culture. An originality of the Indo-Scythians
is to show the king on a horse, rather than his bust in profile as did the
Greeks.
Other coins of Azes depict the
Buddhist lion and the
Brahmanic cow
of Shiva,
suggesting religious tolerance towards his subjects. In the coin depicted to the
left Azes is depicted with the inscriptions:
Azes II was long believed to have issued several of the
Indo-Scythian coins struck under the name Azes in northern
India. All these
coins were however likely issued by a single ruler named
Azes, as suggested by Robert Senior, when he found an overstrike of a coin
attributed to Azes I over a coin attributed to Azes II, suggesting that all the
"Azes II" coins were not later than those of "Azes I" and that there was only
one king in the dynasty named Azes.[1].
This idea had long been advocated by Senior with a number of indirect numismatic
arguments, for instance in his encyclopaedia of Indo-Scythian coins
[2]. |