Epander

Epander (Greek: Ἔπανδρος Épandros meaning "above man"^[1]) was one of the Indo-Greek kings. He may have been a relative of Menander I, and the findplaces of his coins seem to indicate that he ruled in the area of Punjab.

Epander Nikephoros ("Victorious")
Portrait of Epander.
Indo-Greek king
Reign	95–90 BC

Coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ Basileos Nikephorou Epandrou, "Of the Victorious King Epander".

Coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ Basileos Nikephorou Epandrou, "Of the Victorious King Epander".

Indian-standard coin of Epander. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΕΠΑΝΔΡΟΥ Basileos Nikephorou Epandrou, "Of the Victorious King Epander".

Time of reign

Bopearachchi dates Epander to c. 95–90 BC and R. C. Senior to c. 80 BC. The scarcity of his coins indicate that his reign was short and/or his territory limited.

Coins of Epander

Epander's silver drachms portray the king in diadem with a reverse of Athena fighting which was the type of Menander I. Epander probably claimed ancestry from this important king, but his epithet Nikephoros (Victorious) was unique to kings using this reverse: their title was usually Soter (Saviour). He struck no Attic (monolingual) coins.

Overstrikes

Epander overstruck coins of Strato I and Philoxenus.

See also

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