
Demetrius III Aniketos (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: ;
epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
means "the Invincible") is an
Indo-Greek
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India.
The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
king who reigned in the area of
Gandhara
Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
.
Controversy about time of reign
The coins of Demetrius III are few and rather crude. He copies some of his imagery from the renowned Bactrian king
Demetrius I (c. 200–180 BCE). The two namesakes share the war-like epithet ''"The Invincible"'' and wear elephant-crowns, the symbol that
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
used to celebrate his conquest of the Indus Valley.
The historical sources of the Indo-Greek kingdom are very few, and the separation of kings with the same name is not an easy process. Numismatician Osmund
Bopearachchi identifies three kings named Demetrius, placing the third around 100 BCE due to mintmarks and style of the coins (see discussion under
Demetrius II). R C Senior agrees with this reconstruction, even though their dates are somewhat different: according to Bopearachchi he ruled around 100 BCE, whereas R. C. Senior places him circa 70 BCE, in both cases as successor of
Heliokles II.
However, Demetrius III is the only Demetrius to strike bilingual Greek/Indian (
Kharoshti
Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside var ...
) coins, and is therefore a likely candidate to be identified with the ''"Demetrius, king of the Indians"'' mentioned by Roman historian Justin. This Demetrius is said to have fought with the Bactrian king
Eucratides (c. 170–145 BCE) during the latter part of Eucratides' rule.
Bopearachchi nevertheless identifies Justin's Demetrius with the king
Demetrius II even though he only struck Greek coins and reigned c. 175–170 BCE, even before Eucratides. In addition, Bopearachchi's early dating of Demetrius II has been challenged (see discussion under
Demetrius II).
Yet other authors have identified Justin's Demetrius with Demetrius I of Bactria, ignoring both Bopearachchi's chronology as well as modifying Justin's text.
Earlier authors such as Tarn and Narain thought that the Demetrius who struck the coins now identified with Demetrius III was the king who fought Eucratides, and saw him as a son of Demetrius I.
The absence of absolute proofs of dating Demetrius III (such as counter-marked coins), and the remaining problems of all current reconstructions, means the problem is not definitely solved, and the alternative chronology would be to place Demetrius III around 150 BCE in compliance with Tarn's and Narain's ideas about his identity as a Euthydemid prince who fought against Eucratides.
[The ''actual'' datings suggested by Tarn and Narain differ from 150 BCE, but a number of circumstances has made their general chronology outdated.]
Possible dynastic context
If he ruled around 150 BCE, he was very likely a surviving Euthydemid prince like Tarn and Narain assumed, and due to his name this would make sense. The symbols of his coin connect him with several Euthydemid kings: the
kausia hat on one of his portrait with
Antimachus I, the elephant-crown and the title Aniketos as mentioned with
Demetrius I, and the standing Zeus on his silver reverses with
Agathocles
Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name. The most famous person called Agathocles was Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from and .
Other people named Agathocles include:
*Agathocles, a sophist, teacher of Damon
...
.
Coins of Demetrius III
The actual coins of Demetrius III are very few and struck with a single, unique monogram. This suggests a short and insignificant reign. On his silver, Demetrius III appears in the kausia hat (on the unique known tetradrachm) or diademed, with a reverse of Zeus holding thunderbolt. His bronzes feature a king in elephant's crown, either Demetrius III or Demetrius I, with thunderbolt on the reverse.
See also
*
Indo-Greek Kingdom
The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India.
The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
*
Greco-Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism was a cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, which was in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanis ...
*
Indo-Scythians
The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the present-day regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and the northwestern Indian subcontinent: p ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrios 03
Indo-Greek kings
1st-century BC monarchs in Asia
2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia
Euthydemid dynasty