The study of the Hellenistic period has produced a historical construction of the various relationships that formed between the Greco-Macedonian settlers and the natives they came into contact with. Hellenic kings established kingdoms as far as modern day Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, bringing them into contact with the Persian and Indian natives. The study herein is focused on the relationship that formed between the Greco-Macedonian descendants and the Buddhist group that emerged out of India. Numismatic evidence shows that Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings held political control over regions bordering the Hindu Kush; furthermore, the Indo-Greek coins indicate a relationship between their kings and the Buddhists. Artistic representations found in various cities, such as Ai-Khanoum, illuminate on the cultural blending that occurred as Greek themes began to be represented through local techniques and material. Ancient literature and archeological remains provide further proof of interaction and help to give an identity to key Greek and Indian monarchs. With regard to Buddhism, these monarchs played an important role in the growth of the religion as, alongside artistic expression, the religion had prospered since its beginnings through the aid of royal patronage. In the Greek kingdoms the Buddhists found new mediums of artistic expression and kings that supported their monastic and lay lives; in turn the Greeks saw a pacifist religious group that attracted merchants and wealth. The relationship was mutually beneficial and numismatic evidence from the Indo-Greeks shows that their kings showed favoritism towards the Buddhists. The conclusion herein is that the Greeks provided the structural foundations for the growth of Buddhism who in turn attracted wealth and provided a medium for cooperation between the Greek monarchs and parts of the native population.

La présence des Grecs en Asie Centrale et en Inde est la conséquence directe des expéditions d’Alexandre le Grand, lesquelles donneront naissance vers 250 avant J.-C. au royaume gréco-bactrien et vers 180 avant J.-C. au royaume indo-grec, séparés par l’Hindu Kush. 260 ans plus tard, le dernier souverain grec tombe sous les assauts indo-scythes. L’étude des monnaies frappées par les 45 rois de ces deux royaumes est fondamentale pour comprendre leur évolution économique et politique.A partir d’un corpus majoritairement inédit, fondé sur les monnaies issues du marché de l’art, nos travaux de thèse se sont focalisés sur six souverains présentant des problématiques intéressantes : la division du monnayage des souverains homonymes Diodote I et II, l’évolution typologique de l’Héraclès au revers des monnaies d’Euthydème I, les liens existants entre les monnayages d’Eucratide I et de Ménandre I, la place d’Hippostrate dans les souverains indo-grecs et indo-scythes.La méthodologie retenue, l’étude de coins, nous a permis d’apporter de nouvelles et précieuses informations sur les ateliers monétaires et le sens que l’on peut attribuer aux monogrammes. / The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms find their origins in the consequences following Alexander the Great’s expeditions in Central Asia and India. Circa 250 BC, the Seleucid satrap seceded from the Seleucid kingdom and became king under the name Diodotus I; the Indo-greek kingdom appears circa 180 BC when the Greeks cross the Hindu Kush. 260 years later, the Indo-Scythians put an end to their presence. The coins struck by the 45 Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kings are the main data available to historians.Mostly based on unpublished coins sold on the art market, our PhD focuses on six kings, each of them offering a specific problematic: the coinages of Diodotus I and II, that presents the same title and typology; the evolution of the Heracles on the reverse of Euthydemus I’s coins; the links regarding especially the position of the legend on Eucratides I’s and Menander I’s coins; the position of Hippostratos among the last Indo-Greek kings in the West Panjab and the Indo-Scythians.The data provided by the die-studies allows us to dismiss or sustain the many hypotheses concerning the mints and their locations, as well as the meaning of monograms.