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{{Short description|Indo-Greek king (1st century BCE)}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name            =Hermaeus ''Soter'' "the Saviour" 
| succession      =[[Indo-Greek]] king
| image           =Hermaeus profile.jpg
| caption         =Profile of Hermaeus.
| reign           =90–70 BCE
| coronation      =
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| successor       =
| queen           =Kalliope
| spouse          =
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'''Hermaeus Soter''' ({{langx|grc|Ἑρμαῖος ὁ Σωτήρ}}, ''Hermaîos ho Sōtḗr,'' meaning "Hermaeus the Saviour") was a Western [[Indo-Greek]] king of the Eucratid dynasty, who ruled the territory of [[Paropamisadae]] in the [[Hindu-Kush]] region, with his capital in [[Alexandria of the Caucasus]] (near today's [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]]). Bopearachchi dates Hermaeus to {{Circa|90}}–70&nbsp;BCE and R. C. Senior to {{Circa|95}}–80 BCE.

==Biography==
[[File:Hermaios bareheaded.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Hermaeus wearing a [[Diadem|royal diadem]], with [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ, ''Basileōs Sōtēros Hermaiou,'' "(of) Saviour King Hermaeus". The reverse shows radiate [[Zeus]] making a blessing gesture, and with [[Kharosthi|Kharoshti]] legend: ''Maharajasa Tratarasa Heramayasa,'' "(of) Great Saviour King Hermaeus".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Indo-Greeks: Hermaios |url=https://coinindia.com/galleries-hermaios.html |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=coinindia.com}}</ref>]]
Hermaeus' name means "devoted to [[Hermes]]",<ref>{{Cite web |title=User-submitted name Hermaios - Behind the Name |url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/hermaios/submitted |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.behindthename.com}}</ref> and he seems to have been the successor of [[Philoxenus Anicetus|Philoxenus]] or [[Diomedes Soter|Diomedes]], and his wife [[Kalliope (queen)|Kalliope]] ({{langx|el|Καλλιόπη}}) may have been a daughter of Philoxenus, according to Senior. Judging from his coins, Hermaeus' rule was long and prosperous, but came to an end when the [[Yuezhi]], coming from neighbouring [[Bactria]], overran most of his Greek kingdom in the Paropamisade around 70&nbsp;BCE. According to Bopearachchi, these nomads were the [[Yuezhi]], the ancestors of the Kushans, whereas Senior considers them [[Sakas]].

[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] ruler [[Kujula Kadphises]] associated himself to Hermaeus on his coins,<ref>Since R.C. Senior suggests that the original posthumous Hermaeus coins were not struck by the Yuezhi but by Sakas, he suggests that Kujula Kadphises' use of the obverse of Hermaeus coins with his own reverse 
should be seen as Kadphises adapting his coinage to a popular local type after having conquered the Paropamisade. "The Decline of the Indo-Greeks", R. C. Senior, David John MacDonald, (1998), pp. 46-47.</ref> either in attempt to solidify legitimacy or due to the difficulties minting early coins. In any case, the Yuezhi-Kushans preserved a close cultural interaction with the Greeks as late as the 3rd century CE.

Given the importance of Hermaeus to the nomad rulers, it is possible that Hermaeus himself was partially of nomad origin.<ref>Senior, “The Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian king sequences in the second and first centuries BC”, ONS 2004 Supplement.</ref>

==Coins of Hermaeus==
[[File:Hermaios and Kalliope with Hypostratos on horseback 105 BCE.jpg |thumb|300px|Coin of Hermaeus and Kalliope, Greek legend on the obverse reads: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ EPMAIOY KAI KAΛΛIOΠHΣ, ''Basileōs Sōtēros Hermaiou kai Kalliopēs,'' "(of) Saviour King Hermaeus and Kalliope". Reverse shows Hermaeus on horseback and with [[Kharosthi|Kharoshti]] script: ''Maharajasa Tratarasa Heramayasa Kaliyapaya.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Indo-Greeks: Hermaios and Calliope |url=https://coinindia.com/galleries-hermaios-calliope.html |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=coinindia.com}}</ref>]]
Hermaeus issued Indian silver coins of three types. The first type has a diademed or sometimes helmeted portrait, with reverse of sitting Zeus making benediction gesture. Hermaeus also issued a rare series of Attic silver tetradrachms of this type, which were issued for export to Bactria.

The second type was a joint series of Hermaeus with his queen [[Kalliope (queen)|Kalliope]]. The reverse departs from the traditional Hermaeus format, in that it shows the king on a prancing horse. The "king on a prancing horse" is characteristic of the contemporary Greek kings in the eastern Punjab such as [[Hippostratos]], and it has been suggested that the coin represented a marital alliance between the two dynastic lines. The horseman on Hermaeus' version is however portrayed somewhat different, being equipped with a typical Scythian longbow.

The third series combined the reverses of the first series, without portrait.

Hermaeus also issued bronze coins with the head of [[Zeus]]-[[Mithras]] and a prancing horse on the reverse.

==Contacts with China==
A Chinese historical record from the [[Hanshu]] Chap. 96A could possible be related to Hermaeus, even though this is very speculative and the record more likely refers to later Saka kings. The chronicle tells how a king who may possibly be identified as Hermaeus received the support of the Chinese against [[Indo-Scythian]] occupants, and may explain why his kingdom was suddenly so prosperous despite the general decline of the Indo-Greeks during the period. The Chinese records would put Hermaeus's dates later, with his reign ending around 40 BCE.

According to the [[Hanshu]], Chap. 96A, Wutoulao ([[Spalirises]]?), king of Jibin (Kophen, upper [[Kabul]] Valley), killed some Chinese envoys. After the death of the king, his son (Spaladagames) sent an envoy to China with gifts. The Chinese general Wen Zhong, commander of the border area in western [[Gansu]], accompanied the escort back. Wutoulao's son plotted to kill Wen Zhong. When Wen Zhong discovered the plot, he allied himself with Yinmofu (Hermaeus?), "son of the king of Rongqu" ([[Yona|Yonaka]], the Greeks). They attacked Jibin (possibly with the support of the [[Yuezhi]], themselves allies of the Chinese since around 100 BCE according to the Hanshu) and killed Wutoulao's son. Yinmofu (Hermaeus?) was then installed as king of Jibin, as a vassal of the Chinese Empire, and receiving the Chinese seal and ribbon of investiture.

Later Yinmofu (Hermaeus?) himself is recorded to have killed Chinese envoys in the reign of [[Emperor Yuan of Han|Emperor Yuandi]] (48–33 BCE), then sent envoys to apologize to the Chinese court, but he was disregarded. During the reign of [[Emperor Cheng of Han|Emperor Chengdi]] (51–7 BCE) other envoys were sent, but they were rejected as simple traders. According to Lucas Christopoulos, Wutoulao (烏頭勞)was in fact Apollodotes (180-160 BC), the Indo-Greek king. According to the author, Hermaeus had allied with the Yuezhi, and then attacked and killed Apollodotes II to gain control of the region of Gandhara.<ref>Lucas Christopoulos, Hellenes and Romans in ancient China, Sino-Platonic Papers, 2012. Chap. 6 pp.50-57</ref>

==Imitations by Indo-Scythian and Yuezhi invaders==
[[File:Hermaios posthumous issue struck by Indo-Scythians near Kabul, circa 80-75 BCE.jpg|thumb|300px|Hermaeus posthumous issue struck by [[Indo-Scythians]] near [[Kabul]], {{Circa|80-75 BCE}}.]]
[[Image:Coin of the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises.jpg|thumb|300px|Tetradrachm of [[Kujula Kadphises]] (c. 30-80 CE) in the style of Hermaeus. Obverse with Hermaeus-style diademed bust. Corrupted Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΤΗΡΟΣΣΥ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ, "(of) Saviour King Hermaeus". Reverse with [[Heracles]] standing with club and lion skin. [[Kharoṣṭhī]] legend reads: "Kujula Kadphises ruler of the Kushans, steadfast in the Law ("[[Dharma]]"). [[British Museum]].]]
These events may have initiated an alliance between the Greeks and the Yuezhi (even possibly a dynastic alliance), explaining why the Yuezhi gained pre-eminence after the reign of Hermaeus. However the Yuezhi invaders imitated Hermaeus' coinage style possibly after taking over his kingdom, thereby depicting themselves as his successors. The early Kushan ruler [[Heraios]] even imitated Hermaeus' name on his coins but misspelled it by leaving out the letter 'M'.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} Therefore the name Heraios is a corrupted version of Hermaios. The first true Kushan emperor [[Kujula Kadphises]] associated himself with Hermaeus on his coins, but it is also possible that this ruler was identical to the aforementioned Heraios.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

== Gallery of coinage ==
<gallery widths="180" heights="180">
File:Helmetted Hermaios.jpg|Silver coin of Hermaeus with obverse showing king wearing a Bactrian helmet. Reverse showing radiate Zeus making a blessing gesture.
File:Hermaios with radiate Zeus Mithra.jpg|Indian standard square coin of Hermaeus. Obverse with the head of radiate Zeus-Mithra. Reverse shows a standing horse.
</gallery>

{{Indo-Greek kings}}

==See also==
* [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]
* [[Seleucid Empire]]
* [[Greco-Buddhism]]
* [[Indo-Scythians]]
* [[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]]
* [[Kushan Empire]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'', W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
* ''The Coin Types of the Indo-Greek Kings, 256-54 B.C.'', A. K. Narain
* ''China in Central Asia, the Early Stage: 125 B.C.-A.D. 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty'', A. F. P. Hulsewé, and M. A. N. Loewe, 1979. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

==External links==
*[http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/baktria/kings/hermaios/t.html Coins of Hermaeus]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[King Nicias|Nicias]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Indo-Greek|Indo-Greek Ruler]]<br>(in [[Paropamisade]])|years=90 – 70 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Yuezhi|Yuezhi rulers]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Hellenistic rulers}}

[[Category:Indo-Greek kings]]
[[Category:1st-century BC monarchs in Asia]]