“Soter Megas”考辨

A Note on Soter Megas

Soter Megas问题由来已久,近年新发现的碑铭钱币资料为此问题的解决提供了新的契机。通过对公元前后巴克特里亚希腊人、塞人、月氏人、贵霜人互动关系的追溯,以及对贵霜前期钱币类型的比对,可以进一步证明:Soter Megas确实既非《后汉书》中的阎膏珍,也非"Rabatak铭文"中的Vima Taktu,而是那位受命于阎膏珍去"监领""天竺"的将军。他可能是印度-希腊人的后裔,曾任印度西北部的总督。待势力坐大后,割据一方,僭称王号,以"Soter Megas"自居。但他并非一位篡位者。他的钱币造型独特,与贵霜早期诸王钱币差异明显,表明他不可能是贵霜王系中的正式成员。

Recently unearthed stele inscriptions and coins have provided new clues to the long unanswered questions surrounding Soter Megas. An examination of interactions among Bactrian Greeks, Sacae, Scythians and Kushan around the time of the birth of Christ and a comparison of coins in early Kushan Empire further testify to the fact that Soter Megas was indeed neither Yan Gaozhen, a Kushan king recorded in The History of the Later Han (后汉书), nor the Vima Taktu of the Rabatak inscription. Instead, he was a general sent by Yan Gaozhen to 'govern' 'India.' He may have been descended from Indo-Greek stock, and had at one time been appointed as strategos or governor in northwestern India. When he gained enough power to set up a separatist regime, he took the title of king and named himself 'Soter Megas,' or Great Savior. However, he was not a usurper. Soter Megas coins are unique in shape, showing distinct differences from those of the early Kushan Empire. This shows that he could not have been a formal member of the Kushan royal family.