Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Heliokles I Dikaios. Circa 145-130 BC. AR Tetradrachm (31mm, 11.39 g, 12h). Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing crested helmet covered with pelt of scales and adorned with head of Gorgon and wing; all within bead-and-reel border / BAΣIΛEΩΣ to right, HΛIOKΛEOYΣ to left, ΔIKAIOY in exergue , Zeus Nikepohoros enthroned left; M to inner left. Bopearachchi 3A; Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS –; MIG Type 286a; HGC 12, 170. Lightly toned. In NGC encapsulation 4278153-001, graded Ch XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5.
From the Melinda Collection.
The longest-reigning son of Eukratides I Megas, Heliokles "the Just" was the last Greek king to rule all of Baktria proper, although later Indo-Greek kings might have reconquered portions of it. Heliokles appears to have fought a long rear-guard action against numerous invaders who poured into Baktria after the death of Eukratides, among them the Parthians, Scythians, and the Yuezhi, Asiatic steppe nomads and expert mounted archers in the same mold as the later Huns and Mongols. Ai Khanoum, the capital city, appears to have fallen suddenly about 145 BC, after which Heliokles moved his capital into the Kabul valley before finally being overwhelmed circa 130-125 BC. The invaders absorbed Greek culture and produced coins that combined Greek, Parthian and Indian motifs. This polyglot culture survived for some centuries, eventually evolving into what we now refer to as the Indo-Skythian, Indo-Parthian and Kushan cultures.
From the Melinda Collection.
The longest-reigning son of Eukratides I Megas, Heliokles "the Just" was the last Greek king to rule all of Baktria proper, although later Indo-Greek kings might have reconquered portions of it. Heliokles appears to have fought a long rear-guard action against numerous invaders who poured into Baktria after the death of Eukratides, among them the Parthians, Scythians, and the Yuezhi, Asiatic steppe nomads and expert mounted archers in the same mold as the later Huns and Mongols. Ai Khanoum, the capital city, appears to have fallen suddenly about 145 BC, after which Heliokles moved his capital into the Kabul valley before finally being overwhelmed circa 130-125 BC. The invaders absorbed Greek culture and produced coins that combined Greek, Parthian and Indian motifs. This polyglot culture survived for some centuries, eventually evolving into what we now refer to as the Indo-Skythian, Indo-Parthian and Kushan cultures.