BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Euthydemos I, circa 225-200 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 29 mm, 16.59 g, 12 h), mint B (Baktra?), circa 215-210. Diademed head of Euthydemos I to right. Rev. BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ - EYΘYΔHMOY Herakles seated left on rock, placing his right hand on club set on his right leg and leaning left on rocky seat; behind, monogram of PK. Bopearachchi Série 9A. HGC 12, 42. Kritt B13. MIG Type 94a. SNG ANS 136. A lightly toned and perfectly centered example with a magnificent portrait of fine style. A few tiny marks, otherwise, good extremely fine.

Euthydemos I is one of the few Baktrian kings about whom we know more than what his coins reveal. His brief appearance in the spotlight of Mediterranean historiography is due to the anabasis of Antiochos III, who, during his campaign to reclaim the rebellious Upper Satrapies, defeated Euthydemos in a pitched battle at the Arios River (most likely the modern Hari Rud) and subsequently besieged him in his capital, Baktra, for two years. In 206 BC, the two rulers reached a peace agreement that confirmed Euthydemos as king and secured a favorable marriage between his son Demetrios (the future Demetrios I) and a daughter of the Seleukid ruler. In return, Euthydemos recognized Antiochos’ imperial authority, provided him with war elephants, and thus facilitated the continuation of his anabasis, which sought to restore Seleukid control over the East within the borders once held by his great-grandfather, Seleukos I. Interestingly, this brief episode also reveals that Euthydemos I was not a descendant of Greek or Makedonian settlers in Baktria but instead came from one of the Ionian cities named Magnesia - either Magnesia on the Maeander or Magnesia ad Sipylum. This piece of information highlights the remarkable mobility of elites in the Hellenistic East, which persisted despite conflicts and uprisings, such as those led by the Baktrians and Parthians. It remains unclear what originally brought Euthydemos to Central Asia. Tarn’s proposed genealogy - that he was the son of a Greek general named Antimachos or Apollodotos, the grandson of Sophytes, and later married a sister of Diodotos II - is purely speculative and lacks any basis in the sources. A more plausible scenario is that Euthydemos was one of the many military adventurers who sought their fortune in the Hellenistic East. If so, even he could hardly have imagined that he would one day become king of Baktria.