Euthydemus II (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
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 ...
: ) was a
Greco-Bactrian
The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Ind ...
king who ruled in
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, so ...
in 185-180 BCE.
Rule
Son of
Demetrius I of Bactria
Demetrius I Anicetus ( grc, Δημήτριος Ἀνίκητος, Dēmētrios Anikētos, "the unconquered"), also called Damaytra was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek king (Yona in Pali language, "Yavana" in Sanskrit) (reigned c. 200–167 B ...
, Euthydemus II became king in the 180s BCE, either after his father's death or as a sub-king to him. The style and rare nickel alloys of his coins associates him closely in time with the king
Agathocles Agathocles (Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory".
Other personalities named Agathocles:
*Agathocles, ...
but their precise relation remains uncertain. Euthydemus is pictured as a boy on his coins and most likely died very young.
He was the last
Euthydemid ruler of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and perhaps related with king Xiutu of Gansu.
[Lucas, Christopoulos; Dionysian rituals and the Golden Zeus of China pp. http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp326_dionysian_rituals_china.pdf pp.68-112 ]
Coinage
File:Dinastia indo-battriana, tetradracma di euthydemos II, 190-185 ac ca.JPG, Portrait of young Euthydemus II.
Image:EuthydemusIICoin.jpg, Silver coin of King Euthydemus II. With Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ, "Of King Euthydemus".
File:Euthydemos II Circa 185-180 BC.jpg, Euthydemos II (185-180 BCE). With Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ, "Of King Euthydemus".
See also
*
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Ind ...
*
Seleucid Empire
*
Greco-Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BC and the fifth century AD in Gandhara, in present-day north-western Pakistan and parts of nor ...
*
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th c ...
*
Indo-Parthian Kingdom
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian ...
*
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi ...
Notes
References
* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'',
W. W. Tarn
Sir William Woodthorpe Tarn (26 February 1869 – 7 November 1957) was a British classical scholar and a writer. He wrote extensively on the Hellenistic world, particularly on Alexander the Great's empire and its successor states.
Life
William ...
, Cambridge University Press.
External links
Catalogue of Coins of Euthydemus II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euthydemus Ii
2nd-century BC rulers in Asia
Euthydemid dynasty