Baktria Euthydemos II 190 - 171 BC Didrachm

Obv: Apollo head right. Rev: Tripod with Basileos Euthymoy (in Greek) on either side. Metal: Nickle 8.2 grams (this is the only Nickle coin made in the ancient world), 25 mm diameter. Condition: VF

History of Baktria

Baktria is the eastern most Greek Kingdom located in what is now the province of Balkh in Afghanistan. The kingdom broke away from the Seleukid empire during the reign of Antiochos II about 256 BC when the santrap Diodotos replaced Antiochos II portrait with his own. Orignally he left the name Antiochus on the coins but later took the royal title himself. He formed an alliance with the emerging kingdom of Parthia in Iran. This was all going on without much reaction from the Seleukids, but in 208 BC Antiochos III tried to regain control of the eastern provinces. By then, they were strong enough to withstand the advance. The Kingdom was extended in the second century BC into northern India defeating the Mauryan Empire, and eventually crossing the Hindu Kush into Hindu India proper. This resulted in a unique series of dual language coins in Greek and Indian. In 130 BC, the kingdom came under pressure from the Scythians and by the end of the first century BC Greek rule ended. Most of what is known of this eastern Greek kingdom is from the coins as there remains no written history and very little archeological evidence has been uncovered.