Eucratides I (, ''Eukratídēs'';

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''Evukratida''; reigned 172/171–145 BC), also known as Eucratides the Great, was one of the most important Greco-Bactrian kings. He conquered large parts of northern India, and minted a vast and prestigious coinage, suggesting a rule of considerable importance and prosperity. His immediate successors were the last Greek kings to rule in

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...

Biography

Eucratides was born around 210–205 BC, the son of Heliocles and Laodice as depicted on various finds of his coinage. It is unclear whether he was a Bactrian nobleman who raised a rebellion, or, according to some scholars, a cousin of the Seleucid king

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of ...

who was trying to regain the Bactrian territory. There has been much speculation on Eucratides' background and parentage. His mother, Laodice, is depicted wearing a royal diadem and therefore of royal descent, while his father is bare-headed. Tarn asserted that Laodice was a Seleucid princess, the daughter of

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon (; ''Callinicus'' meaning "beautifully triumphant", ''Pogon'' meaning "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC), was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced with ...

. Narain and other modern authors have challenged this established view.

Coup d'état

Whatever his origins, Eucratides came to power by overthrowing the Euthydemid dynasty in Bactria, possibly when its king,

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

was conquering northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The king whom Eucratides dethroned in Bactria was probably Antimachus I. Penta of Eucratides

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

explains that Eucratides acceded to the throne at about the same time as

Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...

, whose rule is accurately known to have started in 171 BC, thereby giving an approximate date for the accession of Eucratides: Having become master of Bactria after de-throning the Euthydemid dynasty, Eucratides was faced with a Parthian invasion which began when Demetrius I was conquering India. Having taken Tapuria and

Margiana Margiana ( ''Margianḗ'', Old Persian: ''Marguš'', Middle Persian: ''Marv'') is a historical region centred on the oasis of Merv and was a minor satrapy within the Achaemenid satrapy of Bactria, and a province within its successors, the Seleu ...

from Demetrius in about 170 BC, the powerful Mithridates I attempted to conquer Bactria itself but was checked by Eucratides. Having secured his western borders, Eucratides then conquered parts of India, campaigning as far south as Barigaza (modern day Bharuch), solidifying Greek presence in Northern India with the

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" ...

. According to the single remaining source, Roman historian Justin, Eucratides defeated Demetrius of India, but the identity of this king is uncertain: he could be either Demetrius I, or Demetrius II, but more likely

Menander I Menander I Soter (, ; ), sometimes called Menander the Great, was an Indo-Greek king (reigned /155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. The first date is estimated by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, the other Boperachchi –1 ...

. :"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" Justin XLI,6 Numismatic evidence suggests that Eucratides I was a contemporary of the Indo-Greek kings Apollodotus I, Apollodotus II and Plato of Bactria. In any case, Eucratides' advances into India are proved by his abundant bilingual coinage that are spread all over northern India and Pakistan. The city of Eucratideia (Εὐκρατίδεια), which is mentioned by ancient Greek geographers as city of great wealth straddling the

Oxus The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

River, was probably named after Eucratides. It might have been a totally new foundation or an existing city which he had renamed after himself. The location of the city is uncertain, but it was probably

Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a mili ...

or perhaps Dilbarjin.

Death

Justin ends his account of Eucratides' life by claiming that the warlike king was murdered on his way back from India by his son, who hated Eucratides so much that he mutilated and dragged his dead body after his chariot. This may have been a misinterpretation by Justin, and the regicide could instead have been perpetrated by an Euthydemid prince, Demetrius II, the son and successor of Demetrius I. Justin appears to believe Eucratides was killed by his own son, Heliocles I, but this is unlikely as patricide was uncommon in the Hellenistic age. :"As Eucratides returned from India, he was killed on the way back by his son, who ran his chariot over the blood of the king, and ordered the corpse to be left without a sepulture" Justin XLI,6 The murder of Eucratides probably brought about a civil war amongst the members of the dynasty. The successors to Eucratides were Eucratides II and Heliocles I (145–130 BC), who was the last Greek king to reign in Bactria. Once the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defea ...

tribes overpowered Heliocles, the Greco-Bactrians lost control of the provinces north of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

. Other members of the dynasty were Plato of Bactria and probably Demetrius II, who in that case was not identical with the king Justin claimed was the enemy of Eucratides I. Eucratides was the last known ruler of

, which was also his capital city. Ai-Khanoum was a prosperous Greek city in Bactria and excavations in the 20th century showed that it had all the hallmarks of a true Hellenistic city. It was likely destroyed at the end of Eucratides' reign in about 145 BC. The rule of the Greco-Bactrians soon crumbled following these numerous wars: :"The Bactrians, involved in various wars, lost not only their rule but also their freedom, as, exhausted by their wars against the Sogdians, the Arachotes, the Dranges, the Arians and the Indians, they were finally crushed, as if drawn of all their blood, by an enemy weaker than them, the Parthians." Justin, XLI,6 However, the rule of the Indo-Greeks over territories south of the Hindu Kush lasted for a further 150 years, ultimately collapsing under the pressure of the Yüeh-chih and

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

(Saka) invasions in around 10 BC, with the last Indo-Greek ruler

Strato II Strato II Soter (, ''Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr''; epithet means "the Saviour") also known as Stratha, was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier. He ma ...

Legacy

Da Afghanistan Bank which is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, in its seal has a Eucratides I-era coin having the Greek text, "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" which means “Of the great king Eucratides.”

Sources

Full account of Justin on Eucratides:

Gallery

Eucratides issued many different coin designs, such as dynastic coins with what looks like his parents, normal Attic coins and also square Indian coins with legends in Greek and Pali language. File:Coin of Eukratides I.jpg, Coin of Eucratides with parents Heliocles and Laodice. Greek legends: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΜΕΓΑΣ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΗΣ, "Great King Eucratides", and ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΛΑΟΔΙΚΗΣ, "Son of Heliocles and Laodice". File:Eucratides-tetradrachm.jpg, Silver Tetradrachm of king Eucratides I wearing a helmet decorated with bull's horn and ear. Reverse shows the

Dioscuri Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda (mythology), Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal ...

on horseback. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ, ''Basileōs Megalou Eukratidou'', "Of Great King Eucratides". File:BilingualCoinOfEucratides.jpg, Bilingual coin of Eucratides in the Indian standard.

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 ...

on the obverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ, "Of Great King Eucratides".

in the Kharoshthi script on the reverse.

Notes

References

* ''The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies'' by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) * ''Buddhism in Central Asia'' by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, 1 January 2000) * * Wünsch, Julian (2021).
Die Feldzüge des Eukratides I. von Baktrien und der Kampf um seine Nachfolge
he campaigns of Eucratides I of Bactria and the battle for his succession ''Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte'' 71, pp. 117–146.

External links

Coins of EucratidesMore coins of Eucratides
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucratides 01 Greco-Bactrian kings 145 BC deaths 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown Usurpers