|
BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Demetrios II. Circa 150-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 17.01 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ to right, ΔHMHTPIOY to left, Athena standing facing, wearing triple crested helmet, holding spear and shield set on ground; monogram below spear. Bopearachchi 1E; Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS 393-4; MIG Type 101f; HGC 12, 126. Iridescent toning. EF. A beautiful example.
The reign of Demetrios II in Greco-Baktria and India, as well as his lineage, presents a puzzle, since the timelines of several other rulers, as many as three named Demetrios, seem to intersect and overlap during the mid to late second century BC. It is accepted that Demetrios I, the son of Euthydemos I, reigned circa 220-180 BC and added northern India to his realm by conquest. His portraits do not resemble the Demetrios depicted on this coin, however, nor do the reverse types match up -- the Euthydemid rulers chose Herakles as their reverse type, while this Demetrios uses a standing figure of Athena. Mitchiner and Bopearachchi believed this Demetrios must be the “Demetrius, king of the Indians” mentioned by the Roman historian Justin, whose brief summary of Greco-Baktrian history written in the second century AD are the only near-contemporary record we have of these realms. Justin writes that “Eucratides led many wars with great courage, and, while weakened by them, was put under siege by Demetrius, king of the Indians. He made numerous sorties, and managed to vanquish 60,000 enemies with 300 soldiers, and thus liberated after four months, he put India under his rule" (Epitome XLI, 6). Bopearachichi theorizes that this came at the outset of Eukratides’ reign and, indeed, cemented his power in Baktria; thus Demetrios II’s reign must terminate circa 171 BC, when Eukratides I’s rule commenced. Justin’s account, however, is ambiguous as to its timing. In fact the Attic-weight coinage of Demetrios II is of a different style and fabric than that of the Baktrian rulers Demetrios I, Euthydemos II, Agathokles, and Antimachos I, whose reigns precede and overlap that of Eukratides. It more closely resembles the coins of Eukratides’ successors, Platon, Eukratides II, and Heliokles I. That would place it toward the end of Eukratides I’s reign, rather than the beginning. If this Demetrios is the one mentioned by Justin, the four-month siege and battle must come toward the end of Eukratides I’s reign, circa 150-145 BC, where we have provisionally placed it.
The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.
Triton XXVI – Session Two – Lot 335-673 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 10 January 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
|
