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Diodotus I
Sign in to saveAlso known as Diodotus I Soter, Diodotus I of Bactria
Seleucid satrap of Bactria
Person
- Died
- 0200-00-00
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Reign
- c. 255 – c. 235 BCE
- Predecessor
- Position Established
- Successor
- Diodotus II
- Born
- c. 300 BC
- Died
- c. 235 BC, Bactria
- Spouse
- Daughter of Antiochus II and Laodice I ?
- Issue
- Diodotus II
- Dynasty
- Diodotid
via Wikipedia infobox
Key dates
- Died
- 200 BCE
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Diodotus I Soter (Greek: Διόδοτος Σωτήρ, Diódotos Sōtḗr, "Diodotos the Savior"; c. 300 BC – c. 235 BC) was the first Hellenistic king of Bactria. Diodotus was initially satrap of Bactria, but became independent of the Seleucid empire around 255 BC, establishing the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. In about 250 BC, Diodotus repelled a Parthian invasion of Bactria by Arsaces. He minted an extensive coinage and administered a powerful and prosperous new kingdom. He died around 235 BC and was succeeded by his son Diodotus II.
His rule was recounted by Apollodorus of Artemita in the Parthian History, but this text is lost, and surviving literary sources only mention him in passing. Thus, most details of Diodotus's life have to be reconstructed from numismatics and brief references by Justin and other historians.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Diodotus I” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.