Saladin? bad idea

[Kuciwalker]

Yeah, people want to cool off in Mingapulco.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by MarkG
i dont understand

of the two coins you posted, the parthian coin doesnt have any greek on it and the indian coin shows the greek post-alexander influence of the area

The Parthian coin says 'ARSAKES', the Greek for the non-Greek ruler's dynastic name.
Early legends were in Greek but as time passed these letters become increasingly illegible.

The Kushan coin:

This silver drachm of the sub-king Menander (160-145 BC) shows the mixing of Greek legend on the obverse and local Karosthi on the reverse. Menander is best known for his conversion to Buddhism where he is remembered under the name Milinda. Portraits on the Indo-Greek issues include heroic and helmeted varieties that would have been considered unusual in the Greek homeland. The reverse type shows the Greek goddess Athena.

In other words, it's like the coins of the British Celt Togidubnus or other Roman client kings- Latin inscriptions on them no more prove the local rulers' ethnicity than the Germanic Maria Theresa thaler does that of the Arab Omanis.

Of course Macedonia had the advantage of being closer to true Greek centres of civilization than the Kushan kingdoms or Parthia- although it was also closer to non-Greek influences like Illyria.

Presumably how Alexander ended up with a snake-handling Epirote princess as mother, and a Lyncestian paternal grandmother.

[MarkG]

The Parthian coin says 'ARSAKES'

i cant read anything like that on it, but anyway....

Latin inscriptions on them no more prove the local rulers' ethnicity than the Germanic Maria Theresa thaler does that of the Arab Omanis.

Of course Macedonia had the advantage of being closer to true Greek centres of civilization than the Kushan kingdoms or Parthia- although it was also closer to non-Greek influences like Illyria.

so Macedons of 500BC had a greek-named King, coins with their King's name written in greek, but werent greek?

Presumably how Alexander ended up with a snake-handling Epirote princess as mother, and a Lyncestian paternal grandmother

both of which were greek

[MarkG]

Olympias

She was the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus, through whom she traced her descent to Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles.

http://www.ancientlibrary.com/wcd/Olympias

[MarkG]

on Lyncestis

the regions of Macedon prior to the reign of Philip II can generally be listed as:

* Upper Macedonia: Orestis, Tymphaea, Elimaea, Eordaea, Lyncestis, Pelagonia.
* Lower Macedonia: Amphaxitis, Almopia, Pieria, Bottiaea, Krestonia, Mygdonia, Anthemous.

http://www.ancientlibrary.com/wcd/Macedon

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by MarkG

....so Macedons of 500BC had a greek-named King, coins with their King's name written in greek, but werent greek?

Yeah, like the Celts of Gaul and Britain had Celtic rulers with Latin names and Latin on their coinage too.

Didn't make them any more ethnicly Roman than being ruler of Egypt made Ptolemy a member of the Egyptian fellaheen.


Oh, and as for Olympias tracing her descent to Achilles- I always find those genealogies linked to mythological figures so amusing don't you ?

I plan to show my descent from such real people as King Arthur, Venus Anadyomene, the Jolly Green Giant and Santa Claus and the Celtic goddess Mebhdh. Of course they won't show on my birth certificate, and as far as ethnicity goes they won't prove anything, but it sure should impress the gullible.

Oh, and Epirus ?

At the time of Homer, Epirus was known as the home of the oracle of Dodona. It was inhabited from very early times by Epirote tribes, barely known to the Greeks. The tribes were moulded into a state under the hegemony of one of them (the Molossi), whose chiefs became the paramount rulers in the 4th cent. B.C. A Molossian ruler, Neoptolemus, married his daughter to Philip II of Macedon, who placed Neoptolemus' son Alexander on the throne of Molossia (most of Epirus).

http://www.answers.com/topic/epirus

[MarkG]

Neoptolemus is a greek name

from the same page

Epirus was ruled from the 6th century by a dynasty, the Molossians, who claimed to be descended from Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. The main importance of Epirus to the Greek cities (polis) was that it was the location of the shrine and oracle at Dodona, second in importance only to Delphi. In the 5th century Epirus was drawn more closely into the Greek political and cultural orbit. Arymbas II was a respected figure in the Greek world, and his niece, Olympias, married Philip II of Macedon and was the mother of Alexander the Great.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Well i still like the idea of Salah ad-Din as an Arab leader

[Vince278]

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Well i still like the idea of Salah ad-Din as an Arab leader

Back to topic already?

I can readily agree to Saladin as a leader of the Arabs. Anyone who can flip off two legendary Western leaders (Richard Lionheart and Phillip Augustus) and make it look easy deserves the honor. The only one who came closest in my lifetime would probably be Nasser.

[Kuciwalker]

Plus, I think the biggest point is name recognition.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Plus, I think the biggest point is name recognition.

True. He became a legend in his own right.