Thraso was an Indo-Greek king in Western Punjab, unknown until the 1982 discovery of one of his coins by R.C. Senior in the Surana hoard. The coin is in a style similar to those of Menander I, has the same type of Athena, and shares one of Menander's mint marks. On the coin, the title of Thraso is "Basileus Megas" ("Great King"), a title which only Eucratides the Great had dared take before him and which is seemingly misplaced on the young boy Thraso, whose single preserved coin indicates a small and insignificant reign.

Bopearachchi suggests a preliminary dating of 95-80 BC, but Senior himself concludes that Thraso was the son and heir of Menander (c.155-130 BC), since his coin was found in a hoard with only earlier coins. The title "Basileus Megas" might reflect an effort from Menander's dynasty to rule in Bactria as well as India, but the effort was obviously short-lived, and the legitimacy of Thraso's claims to the throne must be doubted, since he was apparently not recognised as an heir.

It seems possible that the child was briefly raised to the throne in the turmoil following the death of Menander, by a general who thought the grandiloquent title might strengthen his case.

Indo-Greek Ruler (Punjab) possibly c. 130 BC

References

• RC Senior, The Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian King Sequences in the Second and First Centuries BC, ONS 179 Supplement