Back ميناندر الأول Arabic ميناندر الاول ARZ Менандр Сатэр Byelorussian Менандър I Bulgarian প্রথম মেনান্দ্রোস সোতের Bengali/Bangla Menandre I Catalan Menandros I. Sótér Czech Menandros (König) German Μένανδρος ο Δίκαιος Greek Menandro la 1-a Esperanto
| Menander I | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja Basileus | |
 Portrait of Menander I Soter, from his coinage | |
| Indo-Greek King | |
| Reign | 165/155–130 BC |
| Predecessor | Antimachus II |
| Successor | Strato I (Agathoclea as regent) |
| Born | c. 180 BC Kalisi (in present-day Bagram, Afghanistan)[1][2] or Sagala (present-day Sialkot, Pakistan)[3] |
| Died | 130 BC (aged 50) Sagala (present-day Sialkot) |
| Burial | Stupas across the Indo-Greek Kingdom |
| Consort | Agathoclea |
| Issue | Strato I |
| Religion | Greek polytheism (until circa 150 BCE) Greco-Buddhism (from circa 150 BCE) |
Menander I Soter (Ancient Greek: Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, romanized: Ménandros Sōtḗr, lit. 'Menander the Saviour'; Pali: Milinda), sometimes called Menander the Great,[4][5] was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c. 165/155[6] –130 BC) who administered a large territory in the Northwestern regions of the Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia. Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.[7]
Menander might have initially been a king of Bactria. After conquering the Punjab,[2] as far as Taxila, he established an empire which stretched from the Kabul River in the west to the Ravi River in the east, and from the Swat River valley in the north to Arachosia (the Helmand Province). Ancient Indian writers indicate that he possibly launched expeditions southward into Rajasthan and as far east down the Ganges River Valley as Pataliputra (Patna), and the Greek geographer Strabo wrote that he "conquered more tribes than Alexander the Great."
Large numbers of Menander’s coins have been unearthed, attesting to both the flourishing commerce and longevity of his realm. Menander was also a patron of Buddhism, and his conversations with the Buddhist sage Nagasena are recorded in the important Buddhist work, the Milinda Panha ("The Questions of King Milinda"; panha meaning "question" in Pali). After his death in 130 BC, he was succeeded by his wife Agathocleia, perhaps the daughter of Agathocles, who ruled as regent for his son Strato I.[8] Buddhist tradition relates that he handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world, but Plutarch says that he died in camp while on a military campaign, and that his remains were divided equally between the cities to be enshrined in monuments, probably stupas, across his realm.
- ^ "Menander". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Hazel 2013was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Magill 2003was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ḍār, Saifurraḥmān (2006). Historical Routes Through Gandhara (Pakistan): 200 B.C-200 A.D. National College of Arts. p. 88. ISBN 9789690020352.
- ^ Dar, Saifur Rahman; Jan, Zakirullah (2015). "Three Seasons of Excavations at Pir Manakrai, Haripur: Preliminary Report". Ancient Pakistan. 26: 1–44. ISSN 2708-4590.
- ^ Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. The first date is estimated by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, the other Boperachchi
- ^ "Menander | Indo-Greek king". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 406. ISBN 978-0-521-23448-1.