Obverse: Heroic Bust of the King Wearing a
Military Helmet and Holding a Spear
Reverse: The Dioskouroi on Rearing Horses
The significance of Eukratides I’s rule is in part
suggested by the great amount of coinage
bearing his image, implying that his reign was
both long and economically prosperous. It is
believed that he came to power around 171 B.C.
after overthrowing the Euthydemid Dynasty that
had previously controlled Bactria. Having secured
the throne, Eukratides launched an invasion of
northwest India, a territory under the authority
of the so-called Indo-Greek Kingdoms. After
advancing as far as the Indus River, Eukratides’
army was eventually repelled. Meanwhile, as his
forces were tied up in the east, Bactria was
assaulted from the west by the Parthians under
King Mithradates I. This campaign ended with
the Parthians seizing two neighboring provinces.
History records that Eukratides was murdered
around 145 B.C. by his own son while en route
back from India. Following his death, civil war
broke out among various rival factions of the
dynasty competing for power. This instability in
turn led to numerous ethnic uprisings
throughout the kingdom, eventually leading to
the collapse of the Bactrian Kingdom and
effectively making Eukratides the last great
Greco-Bactrian king.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of long
forgotten empires. Bactrian coins were made to
the Greek Standard, and this is one of the most
beautiful coins of the late Hellenistic period.
Known for their strongly realistic portraits, this
tetradrachm of Eukratides is no exception. He is
depicted as a formidable warrior, wearing a
cuirass and a bronze helmet over his diadem. His
features are individualized, his expression stern.
On the reverse, the Dioskouroi, Greek heroes
noted for their horsemanship and prowess in
battle, are shown charging with spears raised.
