Demetrius II of India
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Obv: Diademed and draped bust right. Ends of the diadem straight.
Rev: Athena facing, holding spear in right hand, resting left on her shield. Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ (BASILEOS DIMITRIOU), "Of King Demetrius".
Obv: Bust of king with kausia helmet. Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΙΚΗΤΟΥ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ (BASILEOS ANIKITOU DIMITRIOU) (Of the Invincible King Demetrius).
Rev: Zeus with scepter and thunderbolt. Kharoshthi legend: MAHARAJASA APARAJITASA DIMETRIA (Invincible king Demetrius).
Demetrius II was a Greco-Bactrian king, probably during the mid-2nd century BCE. His coins are few and often crude, and he seems to have been a relatively young man. His identity has been hard to ascertain. Some modern studies [1] assume from numismatical clues and portrait likeness that Demetrius II was a relative of Eucratides the Great.
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[edit] The enigma of Demetrius of India
However, the history records keep only one reference to a king Demetrius contemporary with Eucratides, and this reference is highly problematic and may even clash with the view mentioned above.
Roman historian Justin names a "Demetrius, king of the Indians", (Justin, xli) who was an enemy of Eucratides the Great. Justin's Demetrius beleaguered the warlike Eucratides with an army of 60,000 men against the latters garrison of 300, but still — according to the probably exaggerated account — eventually was defeated. This episode is referred to as occurring at the end of the reign of Eucratides, hence dating the death of Justin's Demetrius around 150 BC. Justin's Demetrius may have been a relative of the Indian king Apollodotus I or a fugitive prince of the Euthydemid dynasty.
However, the king of Justin's quote is not easily reconciled with the numismatical evidence, and views are divided as for how to interpret the various coinage series bearing the name Demetrius.
The best account is probably done by numismatican Bopearachchi (1991); he singles out three kings named Demetrius. Demetrius I reigned c. 200- 185 BCE, well before the rise of Eucratides, and Demetrius III was an Indian king who is thought to have ruled much later, around 100 BC. There remains Demetrius II, who is said – rather tentatively – to have reigned around 170 BC.
Bopearachchi does however continue to identify Demetrius II with Justin’s Demetrius of India, notwithstanding the fact that Justin's quote suggests a later reign. Furthermore, Bopearachchi’s Demetrius II clearly reigned in Bactria and not in India, as he strikes no coins whatsoever with Indian legends.
Therefore, the identity of Justin's Demetrius remains uncertain. The following hypotheses may be considered:
- The account of Justin, who is a 2nd hand source, is confused. Either Demetrius II was not king of India but Bactria, or the account of the war is mixed up, or the king's name is wrong, Justin having confused the name of another Indo-Greek king with that of the legendary Demetrius I. The Indo-Greek king Apollodotus I would have suited well in with the description. His name is known to have been misunderstood in ancient sources , and may have been mistaken for Apollodorus of Artemita, who was one of Justin's sources, and therefore altered.
- Bopearachchi's Demetrius III could be placed earlier - this king's coins are few and rather peculiar - and Demetrius III was in fact Justin's Demetrius who ruled half a century earlier.
Even if Justin's Demetrius of India existed, this does not exclude that Eucratides also had a son named Demetrius, which was a common dynastic name at the time. The prince may have been named after the Seleucid Demetrius I Soter.
[edit] See also
- Indo-Greek Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
[edit] References
- "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
[edit] Notes
-
- ^ "Demetrios II of Bactria and Hoards from Ai Khanoum" by L.M. Wilson (Oriental Numismatic Society newsletter nr 180)
- ↑ . Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, misnaming Apollodotus I
| Preceded by: Eucratides |
Indo-Greek Ruler (Bactria) (c.155-150 BCE) |
Succeeded by: Heliocles I? |
