Diodotus Iby Wikipedia
Accessed: 9/6/21
That the history of Asoka matches that of Diodotus I line by line can only imply that they were one and the same person....
The Parthian Prince An-shih-kao, who dedicated his life to the spread of Buddhism, is clearly Diodotus...
Asoka does not refer to Diodotus because he was Diodotus himself...
Historians have denied Diodotus his true place in world history.
-- An Altar of Alexander Now Standing at Delhi [EXPANDED VERSION], by Ranajit Pal
Diodotus became Seleucid satrap (governor) of Bactria during Antiochus II's reign, thus about a generation after the original establishment of Seleucid control over the region .... Archaeological evidence for the period comes largely from excavations of the city of
Ai-Khanoum, where this period saw the expansion of irrigation networks, the construction and expansion of civic buildings, and some military activity...
At some point, Diodotus seceded from the
Seleucid empire, establishing his realm as an independent kingdom, known in modern scholarship as the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. The event is mentioned briefly by
the Roman historian Justin:
Diodotus, the governor of the thousand cities of Bactria, defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians [i.e. the Seleucids].
— Justin Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.4...
The limited archaeological evidence reveals no signs of discontinuity or destruction in this period. The transition from Seleucid rule to independence thus seems to have been accomplished peacefully....
The literary sources stress the prosperity of the new kingdom. Justin calls it "the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria.", while the geographer
Strabo says:The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were Bactra (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others.
— Strabo Geography 11.11.1
[A]rchaeological evidence makes clear that goods and people continued to move between Bactria and the Seleucid realm.
-- Diodotus I, by Wikipedia
Diodotus I
Basileus
Gold coin of Diodotus c. 245 BC. The reverse legend reads: "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ" – "(of) King Diodotos". Cabinet des Medailles, Paris.
King of Bactria
Reign: c. 255 or 245 BC – c. 235 BCPredecessor: Position Established
Successor: Diodotus II
Born: c. 300 BC, Bactria
Died: 235 BC, Balkh, Bactrian Kingdom
Spouse: Apama
Issue: Diodotus II; Laodice (mother of Eucratides the Great)[1]
Dynasty: Diodotid
Father: Diodotus
Mother: unknown Bactrian or Sogdian noblewoman [2]
Diodotus I Soter (Greek: Διόδοτος Σωτήρ, Diodotos Sōtḗr; c. 315-300 BC – c. 235 BC), was the first Hellenistic king of Bactria. Diodotus became independent of the Seleucid empire around 255 BC, and established the Diodotid Bactrian Kingdom, which endured in various forms until the beginning of the first century AD. In around 250 BC Diodotus repelled a Parthian invasion of Bactria by Arsaces, but little is known about this war, except that it resulted in a peace treaty, favourable to Diodotus, and a possible alliance was formed.
He also minted an extensive coinage and administered a powerful and prosperous new kingdom. He died around 235 BC (aged 80-65) of likely natural causes and was succeeded by his son, Diodotus II.[3][4]
His rule was recounted by Apollodorus of Artemita in the Parthian History, but this text is lost, and surviving literary sources only mention him in passing.[5] Thus, most details of Diodotus' life and career have to be reconstructed from numismatics and brief mentions by ancient writers such as Justin.[6]
Background and satrapyMap of major sites in Bactria.Diodotus was born between 315-300 BC, likely to parents established as nobles in Bactria. His father (also Diodotus) was believed to have been a dignitary and Diadochi of Alexander the Great, awarded land in Bactria.[7]
The region of Bactria, which encompassed the Oxus river Valley in modern Afghanistan and Tajikistan, was conquered by Alexander between 329 and 327 BC and he settled a number of his veterans in the region. In the wars which followed Alexander's death in 323 BC, the region was largely left to its own devices, but it was incorporated in the Seleucid empire by Seleucus I between 308 and 305 BC, along with the rest of the territories that Alexander had conquered in Iran and Central Asia. Seleucus entrusted the region to his son and co-regent, Antiochus I, around 295 BC. Between 295 and 281 BC, Antiochus I established firm Seleucid control over the region. The region was divided into a number of satrapies (provinces), of which Bactria was one. Antiochus founded or refounded a number of cities on the Greek model in the region and he opened a number of mints to produce coinage on the Attic weight standard. After Antiochus I succeeded his father as ruler of the Seleucid empire in 281 BC, he entrusted the east to his own son, Antiochus II who remained in this position until he in turn succeeded to the throne in 261 BC.[8]
Diodotus became Seleucid satrap (governor) of Bactria during Antiochus II's reign, thus about a generation after the original establishment of Seleucid control over the region. The Babylonian Astronomical Diaries record that an unnamed Bactrian satrap sent a herd of twenty war elephants to Babylon at the beginning of 273 BC to join the Seleucid forces fighting against Ptolemaic Egypt in the First Syrian War.[9] This satrap may have been Diodotus, or a predecessor.[10]
Archaeological evidence for the period comes largely from excavations of the city of Ai-Khanoum, where this period saw the expansion of irrigation networks, the construction and expansion of civic buildings, and some military activity, probably raiding by nomads from the Central Asian steppe. As satrap, Diodotus was probably involved in these matters, though the specifics are not recoverable.[11]
Secession from the Seleucid realmAt some point, Diodotus seceded from the Seleucid empire, establishing his realm as an independent kingdom, known in modern scholarship as the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. The event is mentioned briefly by the Roman historian Justin:Diodotus,[12] the governor of the thousand cities of Bactria, defected and proclaimed himself king; all the other people of the Orient followed his example and seceded from the Macedonians [i.e. the Seleucids].
— Justin Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.4
The date of this event is unclear. The literary evidence is as follows:
• Justin says that the rebellion occurred 'around the same time' as the Parni conquest of Parthia from the Seleucid realm, but his dating of this event is confused—he places it in 256 BC, but during the reign of Seleucus II (246-225 BC).[13]
• Strabo further claims that Arsaces, the leader of the Parni, had been based in Bactria before the conquest. He says that Diodotus drove Arsaces out of Bactria and maintained hostilities against the Parni.[14]
• Ammianus Marcellinus places the Parthian rebellion in the reign of a Seleucus (II?).[15]
• Arrian's lost Parthian History seems to have claimed that the Seleucid satrap who was overthrown by the Parthians was appointed to that position by Antiochus II.[16]
• Appian states that the Parthian rebellion took place in 246 BC, during the Third Syrian War, in the wake of Ptolemy III's conquest of Seleucid Syria and Babylon.[17] The Adulis inscription set up by Ptolemy III to celebrate this event claims that Bactria was among Ptolemy's conquests, which is hyperbole but might indicate that Bactria had been part of the Seleucid empire up to this point.[18]
Different scholars have argued for a 'High Chronology' which places Diodotus' independence around 255 BC in the reign of Antiochus II, or a 'Low Chronology' which dates the secession around 245 BC at the beginning of the reign of Seleucus II.[19] Several scholars have expressed pessimism about the possibility of resolving this debate with the available evidence. Frank Holt argues that the secession should be seen as a gradual process in which Diodotus and other eastern Seleucid satraps aggregated ever more autonomy, rather than a single event. In his opinion, the process probably began in the 250s BC and was completed in the reign of Seleucus II.[20] By contrast, Jens Jakobssen argues that Diodotus assumed independence suddenly in 246 or 245 BC, in the confusion of the Third Syrian War, during which it briefly appeared that Ptolemy III had conquered the Seleucid core territories of Syria and Mesopotamia.[21]
The limited archaeological evidence reveals no signs of discontinuity or destruction in this period. The transition from Seleucid rule to independence thus seems to have been accomplished peacefully.[18] Coins of Antiochus I were over sixty times more common than those of Antiochus II in the excavations at Ai Khanoum, which might indicate that Bactria shifted out of the Seleucid orbit early in Antiochus II's reign, or that Antiochus I's coinage continued to be minted posthumously.[22][23]
Possible Bactrian satrapal capitalsWhether gradual or quick,
the culmination of the process was apparently Diodotus' proclamation of himself as king. He divided the territories under his control into a number of satrapies, each with its own satrap. Two of these satrapies, Aspionus and Turiva (perhaps Tapuria) were established on the border with Parthia.[24] Archaeologists have identified a number of other settlements which might be other satrapal capitals, including Emshi Tepe [de] in Sar-e Pol, Dalverzin Tepe in the Surxondaryo river valley, and Kobadian in the Kofarnihon river valley. It is unclear whether Diodotus based himself and his main mint at Ai-Khanoum or Bactra.[25]
The literary sources stress the prosperity of the new kingdom. Justin calls it "the extremely prosperous empire of the thousand cities of Bactria.",[26] while the geographer Strabo says:The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander... Their cities were Bactra (also called Zariaspa, through which flows a river bearing the same name and emptying into the Oxus), and Darapsa, and several others.
— Strabo Geography 11.11.1
Diodotus continued to be hostile to the Parthians for the rest of his reign. Justin emphasises Arsaces' precarious position, opposed by the Seleucids to his west and Diodotus to the east—he is unclear about whether this opposition was co-ordinated.[13] Before archaeological evidence became available, it was generally assumed that the Parni conquest of Parthia had decisively cut Bactria off from contact with Seleucid authority and Greek culture. However,
archaeological evidence makes clear that goods and people continued to move between Bactria and the Seleucid realm.
Diodotus died during the reign of Seleucus II, sometime around 235 BC, probably of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son Diodotus II.[27] The new king concluded a peace with the Parthians and supported Arsaces when Seleucus II attacked him around 228 BC.[13] Diodotus II was subsequently killed by an usurper, Euthydemus, who founded the Euthydemid dynasty.[28][29]Euthydemus I (Greek: Εὐθύδημος, Euthydemos) c. 260 BC – 200/195 BC) was a Greco-Bactrian king and founder of the Euthydemid dynasty. He is thought to have originally been a governor of Sogdia, who seized the throne by force from Diodotus II in 224 BC. Literary sources, notably Polybius, record how he and his son Demetrius resisted an invasion by the Seleucid king Antiochus III from 209 to 206 BC. Euthydemus expanded the Bactrian territory into Sogdia, constructed several fortresses, including the Wall of Darbent,[2] and issued a very substantial coinage.
-- Euthydemus I, by Wikipedia
CoinageGold Stater of Diodotus I from 'Series A', issue 7. Obverse: Diademed head of Diodotos I, facing right. Reverse: Zeus advancing left, holding thunderbolt in right hand, aegis draped over extended left arm, Ν control-mark at left, eagle at his feet standing left, Ancient Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ('Of King Antiochus')Before Diodotus came to power, there was already a mint in Bactria based at Ai-Khanoum[30] or at Bactra,[31] which minted royal coinage in the name of the Seleucid sovereign, with the reigning Seleucid king's portrait on the obverse and an image of Apollo, the Seleucid patron deity, sitting on an omphalus. As satrap, Diodotus continued to issue these coins, in the name of Antiochus II. This included gold staters, silver tetradrachms, drachms, and hemidrachms, and some bronze coins. None of them seem to have been issued in great quantity.[32]
On Frank Holt's interpretation, Diodotus introduced a new coinage while still satrap, which consisted of a large number of silver tetradrachms and, later, a small number of gold staters. These coins have the head of a male figure on the obverse, presumably Diodotus himself, shown wearing the diadem—a band of cloth wrapped around the head, with two strips hanging down the back, which had been the standard symbol of Hellenistic kingship since the time of Alexander the Great. The image seems to gradually age over time, suggesting that it was intended as a realistic portrait of Diodotus. The reverse of these coins abandoned the Seleucid god Apollo in favour of a depiction of Zeus preparing to throw his thunderbolt. The choice of Zeus may have been intended as a reference to Diodotus himself whose name meant 'Gift of Zeus' in Greek. Alternatively, it may look back to early coinage struck by Seleucus I, from which the reverse image is taken. The legend on the reverse of these coins still reads Ancient Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ('Of King Antiochus'). The coinage thus clearly proclaimed Diodotus' authority, but retained some ambiguity about the extent of his independence from the Seleucids.[32] An alternative interpretation advanced by Jens Jakobsson is that this is the coinage of a separate king Antiochus Nicator, whom he interprets as a younger son of grandson of Diodotus, and whose rule he would place around the 220s BC.[33]
Towards the end of this series, a small wreath appears on the reverse to the left of Zeus. The wreath was a Greek symbol of victory. Frank Holt suggests that it commemorated a victory over the Parthians and that this victory was also the source of Diodotus' epithet soter (saviour). Other Hellenistic kings, such as Antiochus I Soter and Attalus I Soter of Pergamum took this title to commemorate victories over existential barbarian threats. Diodotus may have done the same. This may further have been the occasion of Diodotus I's assumption of the royal title of king (basileus)—as a similar victory was for Attalus I.[32]
The date at which this coinage began is not clear. Frank Holt suggests it was around 250 BC. The coinage seems to have been minted simultaneously at two mints—one with a more aged portrait ('Series A') and the other with a younger portrait ('Series C and E'). The mint of 'Series A & C' is generally identified with the Ai-Khanoum/Bactra mint, that of 'Series E' has not been localised. Holt proposes that the younger portrait depicts Diodotus II, perhaps junior co-regent with Diodotus I. After a break, both mints produce coins with the younger portrait and with the legend now reading Ancient Greek: ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ ('Of Diodotus', Series D and F). Holt suggests that this break marks the death of Diodotus I and accession of Diodotus II.[32]
A few tetradrachm coins depicting Diodotus I in a more 'idealising' guise were issued late in Diodotus II's reign ('Series B').
Diodotus appears also on coins struck in his memory by the later Graeco-Bactrian kings Agathocles and Antimachus. These coins imitate the original design of the tetradrachms issued by Diodotus I, but with a legend on the obverse identifying the king as Ancient Greek: ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ('Of Diodotus Soter').[32]
Diodotus also issued a bronze coinage ('Series G'). This coinage consisted of two denominations: a 'double' (c. 8.4 grammes, 20-24 millimetres in diameter) and a 'single' (4.2 g, 14–18 mm)—possibly worth 1/48th of a silver drachm.[34] All denominations bore the head of Hermes wearing a petasus hat on the obverse, and two caducei (winged staffs, an attribute of Hermes) crossing one another on the reverse, with a legend reading Ancient Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ('Of King Antiochus'). There is a similar break to the silver and gold coins, after which the bronzes are issued with the legend Ancient Greek: ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ ('Of Diodotus', 'Series H'). These bronze coins were found in very large numbers in the excavations of Ai-Khanoum.[35]
IssueThe only attested relative of Diodotus I is his son and successor, Diodotus II. William Woodthorpe Tarn interpreted later Bactrian coinage as indicating that Diodotos had a daughter who married Euthydemus, was involved in the assassination of Diodotus and usurpation of the throne, and then became Queen regent until her son, Demetrius I ascended to the throne.[36] There is no explicit evidence for this daughter's existence and the speculative nature of Tarn's genealogical reconstructions has been criticised in subsequent scholarship.[37][38]
References1.
https://www.academia.edu/23031604/Bactr ... an_Kingdom. Missing or empty |title= (help)
2.
https://www.academia.edu/23031604/Bactr ... an_Kingdom. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. "Strabo, Geography, Book 11, chapter 11, section 1".
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
4. Justin XLI, paragraph 1
5. Holt 1999, pp. 55–57
6. Justin XLI, paragraph 4
7. Bopearachchi, O. (2005). "La politique mone'taire de la Bactriane sous les Se'leucides". In Chankowski, V.; Duyrat, Frédérique (eds.). Le roi et l'économie: autonomies locales et structures royales dans l'économie de l'empire séleucide : actes des rencontres de Lille, 23 juin 2003, et d'Orléans, 29-30 janvier 2004. pp. 44–49.
8. Holt 1999, pp. 24–29 & 37–47
9. Astronomical Diaries I, p. 345, No. –273B ‘Rev. 30’- 32’
10. First proposed by MacDonald, George (1922). "The Hellenistic Kingdoms of Syria, Bactira, and Parthia". In Rapson, E. J. (ed.). The Cambridge History of India: Volume I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 393.. Holt 1999, p. 51 expresses great scepticism.
11. Holt 1999, pp. 54–55
12. Justin's text actually reads 'Theodotus'
13. Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.4
14. Strabo 11.9.3
15. Ammianus Marcellinus 23.6.2-3
16. Arrian FGrH F30a
17. Appian Syriaca 65
18. Holt 1999, pp. 58–60
19. Musti 1986
20. Holt 1999, pp. 63–64
21. Jakobsson 2021.
22. Kritt 2001, pp. 23-26.
23. Jakobsson 2021, pp. 502-503.
24. Strabo 11.11.2
25. Bactra: Bopearachchi 2005
26. Justin, 41.1
27. Holt 1999, p. 62
28. Polybius 11.34.2
29. Holt 1999, p. 64
30. Kritt, Brian (1996). Seleucid Coins of Bactria. Lancaster: CNG.
31. Bopearachchi 2005.
32. Holt 1999, pp. 87–101
33. Jakobsson 2020.
34. Cunningham, Alexander (1884). Coins of ALexander's Successors in the East (Bactria, Ariana, and India). London. pp. 305–337.
35. Holt 1999, pp. 107–125
36. Tarn, William Woodthorpe (2010-06-24). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9781108009416.
37. Lerner, 1999 & 56-59.
38. Holt 1999, p. 68-69
Bibliography• Bopearachchi, O. (2005). "La politique monétaire de la Bactriane sous les Séleucides". In Chankowski, V.; Duyrat, Frédérique (eds.). Le roi et l'économie: autonomies locales et structures royales dans l'économie de l'empire séleucide : actes des rencontres de Lille, 23 juin 2003, et d'Orléans, 29-30 janvier 2004. pp. 349–69.
• Holt, Frank L. (1999). Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520211405.
• Jakobsson, Jens (2021). "Dating Bactria's Independence to 246/5 BC?". In Mairs, Rachel (ed.). The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek world. Abingdon, Oxon. pp. 499–509. ISBN 9781138090699.
• Kritt, Brian (201). Dynastic Transitions in the Coinage of Bactria. Lancaster: CNG.
• Lerner, Jeffrey D. (1999). The impact of Seleucid decline on the eastern Iranian plateau : the foundations of Arsacid Parthia and Graeco-Bactria. Stuttgart: Steiner. ISBN 3515074171.
• Musti, Domenico (1986). "The Date of the Secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Kingdom". In Walbank, F. W.; Astin, A. E.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 7, Part 1: The Hellenistic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 220–221. ISBN 9781139054348.
External links• Coins of Diodotus
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Euthydemus Iby Wikipedia
Accessed: 12/14/21
Euthydemus I
Basileus
Coin of Euthydemus
King of Bactria
Reign: ca. 230–195 BC
Predecessor: Diodotus II
Successor: Demetrius I
Born: c. 260 BC, Ionia[1]
Died: 195 / 190 BC, Bactria
Issue: Demetrius I; Pantaleon; Antimachus; Euthydemus II
Dynasty: Euthydemid
Euthydemus I (Greek: Εὐθύδημος, Euthydemos) c. 260 BC – 200/195 BC) was a Greco-Bactrian king and founder of the Euthydemid dynasty. He is thought to have originally been a governor of Sogdia, who seized the throne by force from Diodotus II in 224 BC. Literary sources, notably Polybius, record how he and his son Demetrius resisted an invasion by the Seleucid king Antiochus III from 209 to 206 BC. Euthydemus expanded the Bactrian territory into Sogdia, constructed several fortresses, including the Wall of Darbent,[2] and issued a very substantial coinage.
BiographyEuthydemus was a Greek from one of the Magnesias in Ionia,[3] though it is uncertain from which one (Magnesia on the Maeander or Magnesia ad Sipylum) and he was the father of Demetrius I, according to Strabo and Polybius.[4][5][1] William Woodthorpe Tarn proposed that Euthydemus was the son of a Greek general called Antimachus or Apollodotus, born c. 295 BC, whom he considered to be the son of Sophytes, and that he married a sister of the Greco-Bactrian king Diodotus II.[6] However, there is no explicit evidence for these links or even for the existence of the sister of Diodotos and Tarn's genealogical hypotheses are no longer generally accepted.[7][8]
War with the Seleucid EmpireMap of Bactria during the Hellenistic AgeLittle is known of his reign until 208 BC when he was attacked by Antiochus III the Great, whom he tried in vain to resist on the shores of the river Arius (Battle of the Arius), the modern Herirud. Although he commanded 10,000 horsemen, Euthydemus initially lost a battle on the Arius [5] and had to retreat. He then successfully resisted a three-year siege in the fortified city of Bactra, before Antiochus finally decided to recognize the new ruler, and to offer one of his daughters to Euthydemus's son Demetrius around 206 BC.[5] As part of the peace treaty, Antiochus was given Indian war elephants by Euthydemus.[9]
For Euthydemus himself was a native of Magnesia, and he now, in defending himself to Teleas, said that Antiochus was not justified in attempting to deprive him of his kingdom, as he himself had never revolted against the king, but after others had revolted he had possessed himself of the throne of Bactria by destroying their descendants. (...) finally Euthydemus sent off his son Demetrius to ratify the agreement. Antiochus, on receiving the young man and judging him from his appearance, conversation, and dignity of bearing to be worthy of royal rank, in the first place promised to give him one of his daughters in marriage and next gave permission to his father to style himself king
— Polybius, 11.34, 2 [1]
Polybius also relates that Euthydemus negotiated peace with Antiochus III by suggesting that he deserved credit for overthrowing the descendants of the original rebel Diodotus, and that he was protecting Central Asia from nomadic invasions thanks to his defensive efforts.
The war lasted altogether three years and after the Seleucid army left, the kingdom seems to have recovered quickly from the assault. The death of Euthydemus has been roughly estimated to 200 BC or perhaps 195 BC. He was succeeded by Demetrius, who went on to invade northwestern regions of South Asia.
Conflict with the nomadsPolybius claims that Euthydemus justified his kingship during his peace negotiations with Antiochus III by reference to the threat of attack by nomads on the Central Asian steppe:
"...[he said that] if [Antiochus] did not yield to this demand, neither of them would be safe: seeing that great hoards of Nomads were close at hand, who were a danger to both; and that if they admitted them into the country, it would certainly be utterly barbarised." (Polybius, 11.34).
Archaeological evidence from coin finds shows that Euthydemus' reign saw extensive activity at fortresses in northwestern Bactria (the modern Surkhan Darya region of Uzbekistan), especially in the Gissar and Köýtendag mountains. The Seleucid fortress at Uzundara was expanded and large numbers of Euthydemus' bronze coins have been found there, as was as hundreds of arrowheads and other remains indicating a violent assault.[10] Coin finds also seem to indicate that Euthydemus was responsible for the first construction of the Derbent Wall, otherwise known as the "Iron Gates", a 1.6-1.7 km long stone wall with towers and a central fortress guarding a key pass.[11] Landislav Stančo tentatively links the archaeological evidence with the nomad threat.[12] However, Stančo also notes that Derbent wall seems to have been designed not to defend against an attack from Sogdia to the northwest, but from Bactria to the southeast. Hundreds of arrowheads also seem to indicate an attack on the wall from the southeast. Stančo proposes that Euthydemus was originally based in Sogdia and built the fortifications to protect himself from Bactria, before seizing control of the latter.[13]
Kuliab inscriptionSection of the Kulaib inscriptionIn an inscription found in the Kuliab area of Tajikistan, northeastern Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200-195 BC,[14] a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating an altar to Hestia, mentions Euthydemus as the greatest of all kings, and his son Demetrius I.[15]
This fragrant altar to you, Hestia, most honoured among the gods, Heliodotus established in the grove of Zeus with its fair trees, furnishing it with libations and burnt-offerings, so that you may graciously preserve free from care, together with divine good fortune, Euthydemus, greatest of all kings and his outstanding son Demetrius, renowned for fine victories[16][17]
This is a further indication, alongside the passages from Polybius, that Euthydemus had made his son Demetrius a junior partner in his rule during his lifetime. The reference to Demetrius as a "glorious conqueror" might refer to a specific victory, in the conflict with Antiochus III[18] or in India, or look forward to future victories.[16]
CoinageCoin of Euthydemus, 'youthful' portrait (type 1).Coin of Euthydemus, 'middle-aged' portrait (type 3).Coin of Euthydemus, 'aged' portrait (type 4).Bronze coin of EuthydemusBarbaric copy of a coin of Euthydemus from the region of Sogdiana.'Pedigree' coin of Agathocles, depicting 'Euthydemus Theos' ('the God')Euthydemus minted coins in gold, silver and bronze at two mints, known as 'Mint A' and 'Mint B'. He produced significantly more coins than any of his successors and was the last Greco-Bactrian coinage to include gold denominations until the time of Eucratides I (ca. 170-145 BC). Euthydemus' gold and silver issues are all minted on the Attic weight standard with a tetradrachm of ca. 16.13 g and all have the same basic design. On the obverse, his face is depicted in profile, clean-shaven, with unruly hair, and a diadem - this iconography is typical of Hellenistic kings, ultimately deriving from depictions of Alexander the Great. The reverse shows Heracles, naked, seated on a rock, resting his club on a neighbouring rock or on his knee, with a legend reading ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ ('of King Euthydemos').[19] Heracles was apparently a popular deity in Bactria, associated with Alexander the Great, but this reverse type is very similar to coins minted by the Seleucids in western Asia Minor, near Euthydemus' home city of Magnesia.[18][20] Heracles continues to appear on the coinage of Euthydemus' immediate successors, Demetrius and Euthydemus II.
There are four distinct versions of the obverse portrait, presumably reflecting different models given to the die engravers. The first of these is an 'idealising' portrait, depicting him as a young or middle-aged man, with very large eyes, an arching eyebrow, pointed nose and protruding chin, the diadem is very broad. The overall appearance is very similar to images of Diodotus I on his coinage.[21][22] The second shows him with a tall, large face with heavier jowls; his eye is smaller and the diadem is much narrower.[21][22] The third portrait is similar, but with the hair above his forehead stylised as a series of semicircles. Finally, in the fourth portrait style, Euthydemus is portrayed as a visibly aged man with very large jowls; his hair also interacts with the diadem in a more natural way.[21][22] Portrait type 1 is the earliest and portrait type 4 is the latest and these coins have often been interpreted as showing Euthydemus aging over the course of a long reign. However, Simon Glenn argues that the types instead represent a shift from 'idealising' portraiture to 'naturalising', pointing out that distinctions of age in the first three types are highly subjective.[22] This shift to verism represents a substantial divergence from the usual iconography of Hellenistic kings, whose coinage usually showed them in a youthful, idealised guise, regardless of their age.[19] Portrait type 4 has been compared with a Roman-period bust in the Torlonia Collection, which was accordingly identified by Jan Six in 1894 as a bust of Euthydemus, known as the "Torlonia Euthydemus." This identification has been contested by R. R. R. Smith, who identifies the bust as a general of the Roman republic.[23]
Relative chronologyLike the earlier Diodotid coinage and that of Euthydemus' successors, monograms and die links allow the precious metal coinage to be divided into two mints, which produced coins simultaneously. "Mint A" uses two types of monogram: one in the form of vertical line bisecting an equilateral triangle, with two shorter vertical lines hanging down from the corners of the triangle, and another with an Α contained within a Π.[24] Mint B initially used three monograms, of which the most long-lasting was a combination of Ρ and Η; later these were replaced by a monogram combining a Ρ and a Κ.[25] A putative "Mint C" has now been shown to be identical with "Mint B".[26][27] Frank Holt and Brian Kritt identify "Mint B" with Bactra, the kingdom's capital. Holt identifies "Mint A" with Ai Khanoum, while Kritt prefers some other location near Ai Khanoum.[28][29] Simon Glenn emphasises the that "we do not know the location of either mint" and that it is particularly uncertain whether there was a mint at Ai Khanoum at all.[30]
The earliest coins use portrait type 1 and have a 6 o'clock die axis (i.e. the top of the obverse is aligned with the bottom of the reverse). At Mint A, these coins, Group I (A1-A10) consist of silver tetradrachms, drachms, and hemidrachms; they use either of the two monograms, plus the letters ΤΙ, ΑΝ, Α, Ν, or no monogram at all.[31] These additional letters may have referred to the specific batch of bullion used in minting the coins.[32] Partway through this issue, Mint A switches to a 12 o'clock die axis (i.e. the top of the obverse is aligned with the top of the reverse). At Mint A, Group I continues after this change.[31] At Mint B ("Group I"), the coins consist of gold staters (ca. 8.27 g), and small numbers of silver tetradrachms and drachms, and all three monograms are used.[33] Some of the gold staters are die-linked to earlier Diodotid coins minted in the name of "Antiochus," but it is possible that the linked coins are modern forgeries.[34][35] At Mint B, these coins are followed by Group II (CR1-CR3), which consists of gold staters and silver tetradrachms with portrait type 1 (but with some features similar to portrait model 3). Most of these coins use the Η with triangle monogram.[27]
The next period starts with the introduction of the second portrait type. At Mint A, Group II (A11-A14) only tetradrachms were minted in this period, all with the bisected triangle monogram, sometimes accompanied by a Ν or an Α.[36] At Mint B this issue consisted of Group III (CR4), composed of gold staters and silver tetradrachms, with a monogram composed of Ρ, Η, and Α. This is followed by the first issue at Mint B to use a 12 o'clock die axis, Group IV (B13), consisting only of tetradrachms, all with the ΡΚ monogram, and produced in much large numbers than had previously been the case at Mint B.[37] The third portrait type, introduced only at Mint B, characterises Group V (B14-B15), which consists of tetradrachms and drachms.
At Mint A, the introduction of portrait type 4 is marked by the start of Group III (A16-A17) and a gold octodrachm (A15) with a reverse modelled on Mint B's Group V, known from a single example weighing 32.73 g. This issue is generally associated with the end of Antiochus III's siege of Bactra in 206 BC.[38][39][40] Group III is much smaller than previous issues at Mint A and is the last issue produced by the mint in Euthydemus' reign.[41] At Mint B, the introduction of portrait 4 coincides with the large issue of Groups VI and VII (B17).[42]
Bronze coinageIn addition to the precious metal coinage, Euthydemus also produced bronze coins. Almost all have a bearded male head, identified as Heracles, on the obverse and a rearing horse on the reverse with the legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ ('of King Euthydemos'). The earlier coins have thick flans with beveled edges (like the bronze of the Diodotids) and no monograms. These coins were issued in four denominations, referred to by modern scholars as a double unit (5.26-11.82 g), a single unit (2.95-5.07 g), a half unit (1.47-2.28 g), and a quarter unit (0.76-0.79 g). Some of the quarter units have a horse's head or a trident on the reverse instead of the usual reverse type.[43] Apparently later issues have thinner, flat flans. These bronzes were minted in the double, single, and half denominations. Most of them have no monograms, but some of them bear the ΡΚ symbol associated with Groups IV-VII at Mint B, and a few have a trident, anchor with ΔΙ, or an Ε.[44] The anchor was one of the main symbols of the Seleucid dynasty and ΔΙ is a monogram used by the Seleucids, so Holt interpreted it as commemorating Euthydemus' treaty with Antiochus III in 206 BC.[28] Simon Glenn is sceptical of this argument, seeing the anchor and other symbols as control marks, but he entertains the possibility that the anchor indicates "a shared production process" between the anchor bronzes and the coinage produced by Antiochus III in Bactria.[44]
Posthumous coinageEuthydemus is also featured on the 'pedigree' coinage produced by the later kings Agathocles and Antimachus I. On this coinage he bears the royal epithet, Theos ('God'); it is unclear whether he used this title in life or if it was assigned to him by Agathocles.[45] His coins were imitated by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia for decades after his death; these imitations are called "barbaric" because of their crude style. Lyonnet proposes that these coins were produced by refugees fleeing the destruction of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom by the Yuezhi in the mid-second century BC.[46]
Torlonia EuthydemusThe so-called "Torlonia Euthydemus", Torlonia Marbles, Rome.The so-called "Torlonia Euthydemus" or "Albani Euthydemus" bust, now in the Torlonia Collection in Rome but formerly belonging to the Villa Albani collection, has often been suggested as a possible statue of the Bactrian ruler Euthydemus, based on resemblance with his effigy on coinage.[47][48] This is now rejected, as the statue in question is now considered as a 1st century portrait of a Republican commander or a client ruler.[48][49] The style of the statue itself is consistent with the style of the Republican period, rather than the Hellenistic period.[47] The style of the broad-brimmed hat on the statue is also very different from the Hellenistic kausia.[47]
References1. Glenn 2020, pp. 6, 41–42.
2. Stančo 2021, p. 262-265.
3. Tarn, William Woodthorpe (2010-06-24). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-108-00941-6.
4. Strabo, Geography 11.11.1
5. Polybius 11.34 Siege of Bactra
6. Tarn, William Woodthorpe (2010-06-24). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9781108009416.
7. Lerner 1999, pp. 56–59.
8. Holt 1999, p. 68-69.
9. Polybius. Histories. adding to his own the elephants belonging to Euthydemus.
10. Stančo 2021, p. 262-264.
11. Stančo 2021, p. 264-265.
12. Stančo 2021, p. 262.
13. Stančo 2021, p. 265-266.
14. Wallace 2016, p. 206.
15. Bopearachchi 2007, p. 48.
16. Glenn 2020, p. 8.
17. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum: 54.1569
18. Bopearachchi 2011, p. 47.
19. Glenn 2020, pp. 32–34.
20. Glenn 2020, pp. 41–42.
21. Kritt 2001, p. 75.
22. Glenn 2020, pp. 32–34, 71–72.
23. Smith 1988, Appendix 4.
24. Glenn 2020, pp. 72–75.
25. Glenn 2020, pp. 76–80.
26. Kritt 2015, p. 56.
27. Glenn 2020, p. 78.
28. Holt 1999, p. 132.
29. Kritt 2001, pp. 66, 135.
30. Glenn 2020, pp. 80–81.
31. Glenn 2020, pp. 73–74.
32. Glenn 2020, p. 74.
33. Glenn 2020, pp. 76–78.
34. Glenn 2020, p. 76.
35. These may be coins of Diodotus I in the name of the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos or coins of a putative successor of Diodotus II called Antiochus Nicator Glenn 2020, p. 76.
36. Glenn 2020, pp. 74–75.
37. Glenn 2020, p. 79.
38. Holt 1999, p. 131.
39. Kritt 2001.
40. Glenn 2020, p. 75.
41. Glenn 2020, pp. 73 & 75.
42. Glenn 2020, p. 80.
43. Glenn 2020, pp. 81–82.
44. Glenn 2020, pp. 83–84.
45. Glenn 2020, pp. 137 & 156-158.
46. Lyonnet 2021, pp. 324–326.
47. Bopearachchi, Osmund (1998). "A Faience Head of a Graeco-Bactrian King from Ai Khanum". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 12: 27. ISSN 0890-4464.
48. Lerner 1999, p. 53.
49. Bivar, A.D.H. "EUTHYDEMUS in the Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org.
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• Bopearachchi, Osmund (2011). "The Emergence of the Greco-Baktrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms". In Wright, Nicholas L. (ed.). Coins from Asia Minor and the East: Selections from the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Adelaide: Numismatic Association of Australia. pp. 47–51. ISBN 978-0-646-55051-0.
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• Holt, Frank L. (1981). "The Euthydemid coinage of Bactria: further hoard evidence from Ai-Khanoum". Revue numismatique. 23: 7–44.
• Holt, Frank L. (1999). Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520211405.
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• Kritt, Brian (2015). New Discoveries in Bactrian Numismatics. Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatics Group. ISBN 9780989825481.
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External links• Coins of Euthydemus
• "Euthydemus" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.