Plato of Bactria

Tetradrachm of Diodotus Platon.
Obv: Diademed bust.
Rev: Sun divinity Helios, riding a four-horse chariot. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ (BASILEOS EPIPHANOYS PLATONOS) "Of King manifest Platon". Coin marked MZ, which possibly is a dating which equals year 47 Yavana era = 138 BCE

Coin of Platon.
Obv: Diademed bust.
Rev: Sun divinity Helios, riding a chariot with four horses. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ (BASILEOS EPIPHANOYS PLATONOS) "Of King manifest Platon". Coin marked MT, which possibly is a dating which equals year 49 Yavana era = 136 BCE

Tetradrachm.
Obv: Diademed bust of Platon.
Rev: Sun divinity Helios, riding a four-horse chariot. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ (BASILEOS EPIPHANOYS PLATONOS) "Of the King, Manifest, Platon". Coin marked MN, which possibly is a dating which equals year 48 Yavana era = 137 BCE

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων) was a Greco-Bactrian king who reigned for a short time in southern Bactria or the Paropamisade during the mid 2nd century BCE. The style of Plato's coins suggests that he was a relative — most likely a brother since Plato is a middle-aged man on his coins — of Eucratides the Great, whose rise to power is dated to around 170–165 BCE.

Some of Plato's coins have inscriptions which may possibly be interpreted as dates using the Indo-Greek era which started around 186 BCE. In that case Plato ruled around 140 BCE. This matches the dating given by numismatician Bopearachchi, who places Plato between 145–140 BCE, since his coins are not found in the ruins of Ai Khanoum, a Bactrian city which was destroyed during the reign of Eucratides.

See also

• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
• Seleucid Empire
• Greco-Buddhism
• Indo-Scythians
• Indo-Parthian Kingdom
• Kushan Empire

References

• "The Shape of Ancient Thought. 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

Preceded by: Eucratides I?

Greco-Bactrian Ruler (Bactria or its tributaries)

Succeeded by: Eucratides II?