ment of these and the following rulers is based solely on the coinage; in the present case Azes, as the elder, appears on the obverse with a Greek inscription, and Azilises, on the reverse, with one in Kharosthi.[1]
Shortly after the first Saca king commenced his rule in India, a monarch with the Parthian name of Vonones established himself in eastern Iran and took the imperial title. His reign cannot be dated, and it seems impossible to identify him with Vonones I of Parthia (a.d. 8–11).[2] The dynasty established by Vonones is often called "Pahlava" to distinguish it from the contemporary ruling family of Parthia. Azilises as king of kings in India made further conquests in the Punjab; but either voluntarily or perforce he relinquished Arachosia, which came under the control of Vonones. It was ruled by Vonones' brother Spalahores, who held the territory conjointly with his son Spalagadames.[3] One of the Indian princes, Azes II, became associated with Azilises in the Indian kingship and eventually succeeded to the supreme power.
- ↑ Gardner, Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings, p. 173 and Pl. XXXII 9.
- ↑ Rapson in CHI, I, 573. But cf. Konow in CII, II 1, pp. xl–xliii.
- ↑ This is based on the assumption that Spalahores is the equivalent of the Greek Spalyris; so Whitehead, Cat. of Coins in the Pan. Mus., I, 143, followed by Rapson in CHI, I, 574.
dence against the identity of the two N. G. Majumdar, "Notes on the Coin of Azes," in Ann. Rep. Archaeol. Survey of India, 1928/29, pp. 169–74 and PL. LXIV, and Marshall, "Excavations at Taxila," ibid., 1929/30, pp. 72 ff.
