| Cleophis | |
|---|---|
 Queen Cleophis Offers Alexander the Great Wine after Conquering Massaga | |
| Queen of Assacani | |
| Reign | 326 BC – ? |
| Predecessor | Assacanus |
| Issue | Assacanus |
Cleophis (Sanskrit: Kripa[1] ) was an Assacani queen and key figure in the war between the Assacani people and Alexander the Great. Cleophis was the mother of Assacanus, the Assacanis' war-leader at the time of Alexander's invasion in 326 BCE. After her son's death in battle, Cleophis assumed command and negotiated a settlement that allowed her to retain her status. Later accounts claim Cleophis had a son by Alexander, a notion dismissed by historians.[2]
The Assacani (called Ashvakas in Sanskrit, from the word Ashva, meaning "horse") were an independent people who lived in parts of the Swat and Buner valleys in ancient Gandhara. These highlanders were rebellious, fiercely independent clans who resisted subjugation.[3]
- ^ According to scholars, Indian equivalent of classical name Cleophis is Kripa: See e.g: Chandragupta Maurya and His times, 1988, p 25, Dr R. K. Mukerjee; Ancient India, 2003, p 261, Dr V. D. Majan; History of Punjab, Vol I, 1997, p 229 Editors Dr L. M. Joshi, Dr Fauja Singh; Bhavan's Journal, 1960, p 90, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; Archaeology of Punjab, 1992, p 76, Bālā Madhu, Punjab (India); Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 284, Dr J. L. Kamboj; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, p 149, K. D. Sethna.
- ^ Cf: The story of Cleophis' relations with the Macedonian king is heavily romanticized (Ref: The Greek World in the Fourth Century: From the Fall of the Athenian Empire to the Successors of..., 1997, p 211, Lawrence A. Tritle).
- ^ The Achaemenids in India, 1950, p 48, Dr Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya; The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1949, p 104, India.