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Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I Megas. Circa 170-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.96 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY around, EYKPATIΔOY in exergue, the Dioskouroi, holding palm fronds and spears, on horses rearing right; monogram in lower right field. Bopearachchi 1D; Bopearachchi & Rahman 232; SNG ANS 432; MIG Type 168a; HGC 12, 130. Lightly toned. In NGC encapsulation 4530918-001, graded Ch XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Fine Style.
True to his self-granted title, Eukratides Megas was, from our perspective, greatest of the Greco-Baktrian kings, judging from the number and variety of surviving coins. His origins are obscure; he seems to have been the son of one Heliokles and a woman named Laodike, who may have been related to the Diodotid or Seleukid royal houses. This tincture of blue blood enabled him to attain a leading position in the army or civil service of the Greco-Baktrian realm, which had by circa 170 BC broken into several sub-kingdoms ruled by Antimachos I and II, Apollodotus I, and Demetrios II. Eukratides revolted against Demetrius and, despite being heavily outnumbered, succeeded in seizing his throne. Then, methodically, he defeated the other Baktrian rulers and annexed their realms, ultimately assuming the title Megas ("Greatest"). Only Menander I Soter, who controlled northern India, seems to have held out against him. Often depicted on his coins wearing a broad-brimmed helmet, his image spread far and wide, and the splendor of his reign was noticed by the Hellenistic states far to the west. The second century AD historian Justin wrote a brief, garbled account of his reign, noting that he "carried out several wars with great spirit," but that he ultimately was murdered by one of his own sons while on campaign: "He was killed on his march by his son, with whom he had shared his throne, and who was so far from concealing the murder... he drove his chariot through his blood, and ordered his body to be cast out unburied." Which of his three sons (Eukratides II, Plato and Heliokles I) carried out the patricide remains a mystery.
True to his self-granted title, Eukratides Megas was, from our perspective, greatest of the Greco-Baktrian kings, judging from the number and variety of surviving coins. His origins are obscure; he seems to have been the son of one Heliokles and a woman named Laodike, who may have been related to the Diodotid or Seleukid royal houses. This tincture of blue blood enabled him to attain a leading position in the army or civil service of the Greco-Baktrian realm, which had by circa 170 BC broken into several sub-kingdoms ruled by Antimachos I and II, Apollodotus I, and Demetrios II. Eukratides revolted against Demetrius and, despite being heavily outnumbered, succeeded in seizing his throne. Then, methodically, he defeated the other Baktrian rulers and annexed their realms, ultimately assuming the title Megas ("Greatest"). Only Menander I Soter, who controlled northern India, seems to have held out against him. Often depicted on his coins wearing a broad-brimmed helmet, his image spread far and wide, and the splendor of his reign was noticed by the Hellenistic states far to the west. The second century AD historian Justin wrote a brief, garbled account of his reign, noting that he "carried out several wars with great spirit," but that he ultimately was murdered by one of his own sons while on campaign: "He was killed on his march by his son, with whom he had shared his throne, and who was so far from concealing the murder... he drove his chariot through his blood, and ordered his body to be cast out unburied." Which of his three sons (Eukratides II, Plato and Heliokles I) carried out the patricide remains a mystery.