Demetrius I of Bactria
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(June 2024) |
| Demetrius I | |
|---|---|
| King of Kings,[1]Basileus | |
 | |
| King of Bactria | |
| Reign | c. 200– c. 180 BC[2] |
| Predecessor | Euthydemus I |
| Successor | Euthydemus II |
| Indo-Greekking | |
| Reign | c. 200-180 BC |
| Predecessor | Position Established |
| Successor | Pantaleon |
| Born | c. 222 BC Bactria |
| Died | c. 167 BC India |
| Spouse | Daughter ofAntiochus III |
| Issue | |
| Dynasty | Euthydemid |
| Father | Euthydemus I |
Demetrius I Anicetus(Ancient Greek:Δημήτριος Ἀνίκητος,romanized:Dēmētrios Anikētos,"the unconquered" ), also calledDamaytrawas aGreco-Bactrianand laterIndo-Greekking (YonainPalilanguage, "Yavana"inSanskrit) (reigned c. 200–167 BC), who ruled areas fromBactriato ancient northwestern India. He was the son of theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom's rulerEuthydemus Iand succeeded him around 200 BC, after which he conquered extensive areas in what is now southernAfghanistan,IranandPakistanandIndia.[3]
He was never defeated in battle and was posthumously referred to as "the Unconquered" (Aniketos) on the pedigree coins of his successorAgathocles.[4]Demetrius I may have been the initiator of theYavana era,starting in 186–185 BC, which was used for several centuries thereafter.
"Demetrius" was the name of at least two and probably three Bactrian kings. The much debatedDemetrius IIwas a possible relative, whereasDemetrius III(c. 100 BC), is known only fromnumismaticevidence.
Encounter with Antiochus III[edit]
The father of Demetrius,Euthydemus,was attacked by the Seleucid rulerAntiochus IIIaround 210 BC. Although he commanded 10,000 horsemen, Euthydemus initially lost abattle on the Arius[5]and had to retreat. He then successfully resisted a three-year siege in the fortified city ofBactra,before Antiochus finally decided to recognize the new ruler.
The final negotiations were made between Antiochus III and Demetrius. Antiochus III was reportedly highly impressed by the demeanour of the young prince, and offered him one of his daughters in marriage, around 206 BC:
- "And after several journeys of Teleas to and fro between the two, Euthydemus at last sent his son Demetrius to confirm the terms of the treaty. Antiochus received the young prince; and judging from his appearance, conversation, and the dignity of his manners that he was worthy of royal power, he first promised to give him one of his own daughters, and secondly conceded the royal title to his father." Polybius 11.34[6]
The term used for "young prince" isneaniskos(νεανίσκος), suggesting an age around 16, which in turn gives a birth date for Demetrius around 222 BC.[citation needed]
Kuliab inscription[edit]
In an inscription found in theKuliabarea ofTajikistan,in western Greco-Bactria, and dated to 200-195 BC,[7]a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicating a fire altar toHestia,mentions Euthydemus and Demetrius:[8][7]
τόνδε σοι βωμὸν θυώδη, πρέσβα κυδίστη θεῶν |
"Heliodotos dedicated this fragrant altar forHestia, |
Invasion of India[edit]
Demetrius started the invasion of northwestern India in 186 BC, following the destruction of theMauryandynasty by the generalPushyamitra Shunga,who then founded the new IndianShunga dynasty(180–78 BC). Sri Lankan monks state that Brihadratha, the last Mauryan Emperor, married a daughter of Demetrius, Berenice. The Greco-Bactrians might have invaded the Indus Valley to protect Greek expatriates in the Indian Subcontinent. Also, the Mauryans had had diplomatic alliances with the Greeks, and they may have been considered as allies by the Greco-Bactrians.[11][12]
Demetrius may have first started to recover the province ofArachosia,an area south of the Hindu Kush already inhabited by many Greeks but ruled by the Mauryas since the annexation of the territory byChandraguptafromSeleucus.In hisParthian stations,Isidorus of Charaxmentions a colony named Demetrias, supposedly founded by Demetrius himself:
- "Beyond is Arachosia. And the Parthians call this White India; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus. As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians." "Parthians stations", 1st century BC[13]
A Greek dedication inscribed on stone and discovered inKuliab,a hundred kilometers northeast ofAi-Khanoum,also mentioned the victories of the prince Demetrius during the reign of his father:
- "Heliodotus dedicated this fragrant altar (...) so that the greatest of all kings Euthydemus, as well as his son, the glorious, victorious and remarkable Demetrius, be preserved of all pains, with the help of theFortunewith divine thoughts "[14]
The Greek campaigns may have gone as far as the capitalPataliputrain eastern India (todayPatna):
- "The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, asApollodorus of Artemitasays: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander — byMenanderin particular (at least if he actually crossed theHypanistowards the east and advanced as far as theImaüs), for some were subdued by him personally and others by Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus the king of the Bactrians. "(Strabo 11.11.1[15])
It is generally considered that Demetrius ruled inTaxila(where many of his coins were found in the archaeological site ofSirkap). The Indian records also describes Greek attacks onSaketa,Panchala,MathuraandPataliputra(Gargi-Samhita,Yuga Puranachapter). However, the campaigns to Pataliputra are generally attested to the later kingMenander Iand Demetrius I probably only invaded areas inPakistan.Other kings may have expanded the territory as well. By c. 175 BC, the Indo-Greeks ruled parts of northwestern India, while the Shungas remained in the Gangetic, Central, and Eastern India.
TheHathigumpha inscriptionof theKalingakingKharavelamentions that fearing him, a Yavana (Greek) king or general retreated toMathurawith his demoralized army. The name of the Yavana king is not clear, but it contains three letters, and the middle letter can be read asmaormi.[16]Some historians, such asR. D. BanerjiandK.P. Jayaswalreconstructed the name of the Yavana king as "Dimita", and identified him with Demetrius. However, several other historians, such asRamaprasad Chanda,Sailendra Nath Sen and P.L. Gupta disagree with this interpretation.[16][17][18]
Aftermath[edit]
Demetrius I died of unknown reasons, and the date 180 BC is merely a suggestion aimed to allow suitable regnal periods for subsequent kings, of which there were several. Even if some of them were co-regents, civil wars and temporary divisions of the empire are most likely.[citation needed]
The kingsPantaleon,Antimachus,Agathoclesand possiblyEuthydemus IIruled after Demetrius I, and theories about their origin include all of them being relatives of Demetrius I, or only Antimachus. Eventually, the kingdom of Bactria fell to the able newcomerEucratides.[citation needed]
Demetrius II was a later king, possibly a son or nephew of his namesake, and he ruled in India only.Justinmentions him being defeated by the Bactrian kingEucratides,an event which took place at the end of the latter's reign, possibly around 150 BC. Demetrius II left behind his generalsApollodotusandMenander,who in turn became kings of India and rulers of theIndo-Greek Kingdomfollowing his death.[citation needed]
According toPtolemy,aDemetriapoliswas founded inArachosia.[citation needed]
Geoffrey Chaucernames Demetrius among the combatants at a tournament held in Athens byTheseus:
The grete Emetreus, the kyng of Inde,
Upon a steede bay trapped in steel,
Covered in clooth of gold, dyapred weel,
Cam ridynge lyk the God of armes, Mars.— Geoffrey Chaucer,The Knight's Tale,ll. 2156-2159
Coinage[edit]
The coins of Demetrius are of five types. One bilingual type withGreekandKharoshthilegends exists; it is naturally associated with the IndianDemetrius II.A series with the king in diadem are likely to be early issues of Demetrius I.
There is also one series representing aGorgonshield on the obverse and a trident on the reverse.
There are also three types depicting elephants. The first type shows Demetrius (I) with elephant-crown, a well-known symbol of India, which simply denotes his conquests in India, asAlexander the Greathad also done on his coinage before. One type represents an elephant withNikeon the other side holding a wreath of victory. This sort of symbolism can be seen on the reverse of the coins ofAntialcidasin which Nike (supported byZeus) directly hands the victory wreath to the elephant on the same coin face.
Indian coinage in Gandhara (after 185 BC)[edit]
The year 186 BC, with the invasion of the Greco-Bactrians into India, marks an evolution in the design of single-die cast coins in the coinage of Gandhara, as deities and realistic animals were introduced. At the same time coinage technology also evolved, as double-die coins (engraved on both sides, obverse and reverse) started to appear. The archaeological excavations of coins have shown that these coins, as well as the new double die coins, were contemporary with those of theIndo-Greeks.[19]According toOsmund Bopearachchithese coins, and particularly those depicting the goddessLakshmi,were probably minted by Demetrius I following his invasion of Gandhara.[20]
Buddhism[edit]
Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested byW. W. Tarnthat their invasion of India was intended to show their support for theMauryan empirein reaction to the persecution by theSungasagainst Buddhism.[citation needed]However, that persecution in turn is debatable, with contemporary historians such asRomila Thaparsuggesting that some of the accounts might be the product of exaggeration from Buddhist missionaries. Thapar attributes purely economic motivations to the Indo-Greek invasion of Southern Asia.[21]
Elephant with the caduceus coinage[edit]
One of Demetrius' "elephant" types represents a rejoicing elephant,[citation needed]depicted on the front on the coin and surrounded by the royal bead-and-reel decoration, and therefore treated on the same level as a King. The elephant, one of the symbols of Buddhism andGautama Buddha,possibly represents the victory ofBuddhismbrought about by Demetrius.[citation needed]Alternatively, though, the elephant has been described as a possible symbol of the Indian capital ofTaxila(Tarn), or as a symbol of India as a whole.[citation needed]
The reverse of the coin depicts thecaduceus,symbol of reconciliation between two fighting serpents,[citation needed]which is possibly a representation of peace between the Greeks and theShungas,[citation needed]and likewise between Buddhism andHinduism(thecaduceusalso appears as a symbol of thepunch-marked coinsof theMaurya Empirein India, in the 3rd-2nd century BC).[citation needed]
Unambiguous Buddhist symbols are found on later Greek coins ofMenander IorMenander II,but the conquests of Demetrius I did influence the Buddhist religion in India.
Chronology[edit]
See also[edit]
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Seleucid Empire
- Greco-Buddhism
- Indo-Scythians
- Indo-Parthian Kingdom
- Kushan Empire
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India (3 Vol. Set).Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2003-12-01. p. 97.ISBN978-81-207-2503-4.
Demetrius proceeded towards India and annexed the Kabul valley, Sindh and a part of Punjab. He came to be known as the "King of Kings".
- ^Phang, Sara; Iain, Spence; Kelly, Douglas; Londey, Londey (2016).Conflict in Ancient Greece and Rome: The Definitive Political, Social, and Military Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: The Definitive Political, Social, and Military Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO. p. 239.ISBN978-1-61069-020-1.
- ^Demetrius is said to have foundedTaxila(archaeological excavations), and alsoSagalain the Punjab, which he seemed to have called Euthydemia, after his father ( "the city of Sagala, also called Euthydemia" (Ptolemy, Geographia, VII 1))
- ^No undisputed coins of Demetrius I himself use this title, but it is employed on one of the pedigree coins issued byAgathocles,which bear on the reverse the classical profile of Demetrius crowned by the elephant scalp, with the legend DEMETRIOU ANIKETOU, and on the reverse Herakles crowning himself, with the legend "Of king Agathocles" (Boppearachchi, Pl 8). Coins of the supposedDemetrius IIIalso use the title "Invincible", and therefore are attributed by some to the same Demetrius (Whitehead and al.)
- ^Polybius 10.49, Battle of the Arius
- ^Polybius 11.34 Siege of Bactra
- ^abShane WallaceGreek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveriesp.206
- ^Osmund Bopearachchi,Some Observations on the Chronology of the Early Kushans,p.48
- ^Shane WallaceGreek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveriesp.211
- ^Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum: 54.1569
- ^
- Description of the 302 BCE marital alliance inStrabo 15.2.1(9):"The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. ButSeleucus I Nicatorgave them toSandrocottusin consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. "The ambassadorMegastheneswas also sent to the Mauryan court on this occasion.
- In theEdicts of Ashoka,kingAshokaclaims to have sent Buddhist emissaries to the Hellenistic west around 250 BCE.
- When Antiochus III the Great, after having made peace with Euthydemus, went to India in 209 BCE, he is said to have renewed his friendship with the Indian king there and received presents from him: "He crossed the Caucasus (Hindu Kush) and descended into India; renewed his friendship withSophagasenusthe king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him. "Polybius 11.39ArchivedOctober 8, 2015, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Obviously, for the Greeks who survived in India and suffered from the oppression of the Shunga (for whom they were aliens and heretics), Demetrios must have appeared as a saviour" Mario Bussagli, p. 101
- ^Mentioned in Bopearachchi, "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", p52. Original text in paragraph 19 ofParthian stations
- ^Heliodotos inscription, in "Afghanistan, ancien carrefour entre l'Est et Ouest", p133.ISBN2-503-51681-5
- ^Strabo 11.11.1 full text
- ^abKusâna Coins and History, D.K. Printworld, 1994, p.184, note 5; reprint of a 1985 article
- ^Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya (1974).Some Early Dynasties of South India.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 44–50.ISBN978-81-208-2941-1.
- ^Sailendra Nath Sen (1999).Ancient Indian History and Civilization.New Age International. pp. 176–177.ISBN978-81-224-1198-0.
- ^Ancient Indian Coinage, Rekha Jain, D.K.Printworld Ltd, p.114
- ^Osmund Bopearachchi,2016,Emergence of Viṣṇu and Śiva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence
- ^Thapar, Romila (1960).Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas.Oxford University Press. p. 200.
Bibliography[edit]
- McEvilley, Thomas (2002).The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies.Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts.ISBN1-58115-203-5.
- Puri, B. N. (2000).Buddhism in Central Asia.Motilal Banarsidass Pub.ISBN81-208-0372-8.
- Tarn, W. W. (1951).The Greeks in Bactria and India.Cambridge University Press.