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BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I Megas. Circa 170-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (32mm, 16.99 g, 12h). Dynastic pedigree issue. BAΣIΛEYΣ MEΓAΣ EYKPATIΔHΣ around, bust of Eukratides right, wearing helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear; all within bead-and-reel border / HΛIOKΛEOYΣ above, KAI ΛAOΔIKHΣ in exergue, conjoined draped busts of Heliokles and Laodike, wearing tainia, right; monogram to left; all within bead-and-reel border. Bopearachchi 13A; SNG ANS 526-7; HGC 12, 133. In NGC encapsulation 6066349-003, graded AU★, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Fine Style.
Ex Paramount Collection (Heritage 3096, 25 March 2021), lot 30047; Leu 83 (6 May 2002), lot 436; Classical Numismatic Group XXX (11 June 1994), lot 227 (reverse of coin on front cover and enlargement on p. 5).
True to his self-granted title, Eukratides Megas was perhaps the greatest of the Greco-Baktrian kings. His origins are obscure; he seems to have been the son of one Heliokles and a woman named Laodike, who may have been related to the Diodotid or Seleukid royal houses. This tincture of blue blood enabled him to attain a leading position in the army or civil service of the Greco-Baktrian realm, which had by circa 170 BC broken into several sub-kingdoms ruled by Antimachos I and II, Apollodotus I, and Demetrios II. Eukratides revolted against Demetrios and, despite being heavily outnumbered, succeeded in seizing his throne. Then, methodically, he defeated the other Baktrian rulers and annexed their realms, ultimately assuming the title Megas (“Greatest”). Only Menander I Soter, who controlled northern India, seems to have held out against him. Often depicted on his coins wearing a broad-brimmed helmet, his image spread far and wide, and the splendor of his reign was noticed by the Hellenistic states far to the west. The second century AD historian Justin wrote a brief, garbled account of his reign, noting that he “carried out several wars with great spirit,” but that he ultimately was murdered by one of his own sons while on campaign: “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... he drove his chariot through his blood, and ordered his body to be cast out unburied.” Which of his three sons (Eukratides II, Plato and Heliokles I) carried out the patricide remains a mystery.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 129 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 13-14 May 2025. This lot is in Session Two, which will begin 13 May at 2 PM ET.
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