| Eucratides I | |
|---|---|
| Great King,Basileus | |
 Effigy of Eucratides wearing aBoeotian style helmet from a gold coin. | |
| King of theBactrian Empire | |
| Reign | 171–145 BC |
| Predecessor | Euthydemus II |
| Successor | Eucratides II |
| Successor | Heliocles I |
| Born | c. 205 BC |
| Died | 145 BC Bactria |
| Issue |
|
| Dynasty | Eucratid |
| Father | Heliocles |
| Mother | Laodice |
Eucratides I (Ancient Greek:Εὐκρατίδης,Eukratídēs;Pali:Evukratida;[1] reigned 172/171–145 BC), also known asEucratides the Great,[2] was one of the most importantGreco-Bactrian kings.[3][4] He conquered large parts of northern India,[5] 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 inBactria.[6]
Eucratides was born around 210–205 BC, the son of Heliocles and Laodice as depicted on various finds of his coinage.[7] It is unclear whether he was a Bactrian nobleman who raised a rebellion, or, according to some scholars,[8] a cousin of theSeleucid kingAntiochus IV Epiphanes who was trying to regain the Bactrian territory. There has been much speculation on Eucratides' background and parentage.[9] 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 aSeleucid princess, the daughter ofSeleucus II Callinicus.[8] Narain and other modern authors have challenged this established view.[9][10][11]
Whatever his origins, Eucratides came to power by overthrowing theEuthydemid dynasty in Bactria, possibly when its king,Demetrius was conquering northwesternIndia. The king whom Eucratides dethroned in Bactria was probablyAntimachus I.[12]
Justin explains that Eucratides acceded to the throne at about the same time asMithridates, whose rule is accurately known to have started in 171 BC, thereby giving an approximate date for the accession of Eucratides:
Almost at the same time that Mithridates ascended the throne among the Parthians, Eucratides began to reign among the Bactrians –Justin, trans. J. S. Watson[14]
Having become master of Bactria after de-throning theEuthydemid dynasty, Eucratides was faced with a Parthian invasion which began whenDemetrius I was conquering India. Having takenTapuria andMargiana from Demetrius in about 170 BC, the powerfulMithridates I attempted to conquer Bactria itself but was checked by Eucratides.[15] Having secured his western borders, Eucratides then conquered parts of India, campaigning as far south as Barigaza (modern dayBharuch), solidifying Greek presence in Northern India with theIndo-Greek Kingdom.[16] 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 eitherDemetrius I, orDemetrius II, but more likelyMenander I.
.jpg)
Numismatic evidence suggests that Eucratides I was a contemporary of the Indo-Greek kingsApollodotus I,Apollodotus II andPlato 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 ofEucratideia (Εὐκρατίδεια), which is mentioned by ancient Greek geographers as city of great wealth straddling theOxus River, was probably named after Eucratides. It might have been a totally new foundation or an existing city which he had renamed after himself.[20][21] The location of the city is uncertain, but it was probablyAi-Khanoum or perhapsDilbarjin.[22]
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.
.jpg)
The murder of Eucratides probably brought about a civil war amongst the members of the dynasty. The successors to Eucratides wereEucratides II andHeliocles I (145–130 BC), who was the last Greek king to reign in Bactria. Once theYuezhi tribes overpowered Heliocles, the Greco-Bactrians lost control of the provinces north of theHindu Kush. Other members of the dynasty werePlato of Bactria and probablyDemetrius II, who in that case was not identical with the king Justin claimed was the enemy of Eucratides I.[24]
Eucratides was the last known ruler ofAi-Khanoum, 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.[25]
The rule of the Greco-Bactrians soon crumbled following these numerous wars:
However, the rule of theIndo-Greeks over territories south of the Hindu Kush lasted for a further 150 years, ultimately collapsing under the pressure of the Yüeh-chih andScythian (Saka) invasions in around 10 BC, with the last Indo-Greek rulerStrato II.
Da Afghanistan Bank which is thecentral bank ofAfghanistan, in its seal has a Eucratides I-era coin having the Greek text, "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" which means “Of the great king Eucratides.”
Full account of Justin on Eucratides:
"Almost at the same time that Mithridates ascended the throne among the Parthians, Eucratides began to reign among the Bactrians; both of them being great men. But the fortune of the Parthians, being the more successful, raised them, under this prince, to the highest degree of power; while the Bactrians, harassed with various wars, lost not only their dominions, but their liberty; for having suffered from contentions with the Sogdians, the Drangians, and the Indians, they were at last overcome, as if exhausted, by the weaker Parthians. Eucratides, however, carried on several wars with great spirit, and though much reduced by his losses in them, yet, when he was besieged by Demetrius king of the Indians, with a garrison of only three hundred soldiers, he repulsed, by continual sallies, a force of sixty thousand enemies. Having accordingly escaped, after a five months’ siege, he reduced India under his power. But as he was returning from the country, he was killed on his march by his son, with whom he had shared his throne, and who was so far from concealing the murder, that, as if he had killed an enemy, and not his father, he drove his chariot through his blood, and ordered his body to be cast out unburied."
— Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, XLI 6.1-5, IIe CE.[26]
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.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| Preceded by: Demetrius and his sub-kings: (inBactria) Antimachus I Demetrius II (In theParopamisade,Arachosia,Gandhara) Apollodotus I Antimachus II | Greco-Bactrian Ruler (Bactria,Paropamisade,Arachosia,Gandhara) 171–145 BC | Succeeded by: (InBactria) Eucratides II Plato Heliocles I (InParopamisade,Arachosia,Gandhara) Menander I |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
