Copper Attic tri-chalkon of Demetrius I with "rejoicing" elephant head

[coinlover]

Demetrius I (Greek: Δημήτριος Α΄; Pashto: دیمتریوس بلخی‎) was a Greek king (reigned c. 200–180 BC) of Gandhara. He was the son of Euthydemus and succeeded him around 200 BC, after which he conquered extensive areas in what now is now Afghanistan and Pakistan, thus creating an Indo-Greek Kingdom far from Hellenistic Greece. He was never defeated in battle and was posthumously qualified as the Invincible (Aniketos) on the pedigree coins of his successor Agathocles. Demetrius I was also known as the second Alexander.

The father of Demetrius, Euthydemus, was attacked by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III around 210 BC. Although he commanded 10,000 horsemen, Euthydemus initially lost a battle on the Arius and had to retreat. He then successfully resisted a three-year siege in the fortified city of Bactra, 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]
The term used for "young prince" is neaniskos (νεανίσκος), suggesting an age around 16, which in turn gives a birth date for Demetrius around 222 BC.


Demetrius started the invasion of northwestern India in 180 BC, following the destruction of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pushyamitra Shunga, who then founded the new Indian Shunga dynasty (185–78 BC). The Mauryans had diplomatic alliances with the Greeks, and they may have been considered as allies by the Greco-Bactrians. The Greco-Bactrians may also have invaded India in order to protect Greek populations in the subcontinent.

Demetrius may have first started to recover the province of Arachosia, an area south of the Hindu Kush already inhabited by many Greeks but ruled by the Mauryas since the liberation of the territory by Chandragupta from Seleucus. In his "Parthian stations", Isidorus of Charax mentions a colony named Demetrias, supposedly founded by Demetrius himself.

It is generally considered that Demetrius ruled in Taxila (where many of his coins were found in the archaeological site of Sirkap). The Indian records also describes Greek attacks on Saketa, Panchala, Mathura and Pataliputra (Gargi-Samhita, Yuga Purana chapter). However, the campaigns to Pataliputra are generally attested to the later king Menander I and Demetrius I probably only invaded areas in Pakistan. Other kings may have expanded the territory as well.

By ca 175 BC, the Indo-Greeks ruled parts of northwestern India, while the Shungas remained in the Gangetic, Central, and Eastern India. The Indo Greek presence in the Northwest continued until the last petty principality was absorbed by the Sakas around 20 BC.

The Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga king Kharavela mentions that fearing him, a Yavana (Greek) king or general retreated to Mathura with his demoralized army. The name of the Yavana king is not clear, but it contains three letters, and the middle letter can be read as ma or mi. Some historians, such as R. D. Banerji and K.P. Jayaswal reconstructed the name of the Yavana king as "Dimita", and identified him with Demetrius. However, several other historians, such as Ramaprasad Chanda, Sailendra Nath Sen and P.L. Gupta disagree with interpretation.

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.

The kings Pantaleon, Antimachus, Agathocles and possibly Euthydemus II ruled 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 newcomer Eucratides.

The coins of Demetrius are of four types. One bilingual type with Greek and Kharoshthi legends exists; it is naturally associated with the Indian Demetrius II. A series with the king in diadem are likely to be early issues of Demetrius I.

More interesting are the "elephant" coins: The first type shows Demetrius (I) with elephant-crown, a well-known symbol of India.The other "elephant" type of Demetrius I represents a rejoicing elephant, 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 and the Gautama Buddha, possibly represents the victory of Buddhism brought about by Demetrius. The reverse of the coin depicts the caduceus, symbol of reconciliation between two fighting serpents, which is possibly a representation of peace between the Greeks and the Shungas, and likewise between Buddhism and Hinduism.

Alternatively though, the elephant has also been described as a possible symbol of the Indian capital of Taxila (Tarn), or still as a symbol of India. Unambiguous Buddhist symbols are found on later Greek coins, but Demetrius I, who was born in the milieu of Bactria and struck coins with Buddhist gods, personally was a Buddhist. His conquests did however influence the Buddhist religion in India.

[Source : WIKIPEDIA]

This is the copper Attic tri-chalkon of Demetrius I with "rejoicing" elephant head to the right on the obverse. The reverse shows the  the caduceus with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔHMHTRIOY in straight lines on the two sides of the caduceus.

Diameter = 29.3 mm. Weight = 11.92 gms.


Anjan

[@josephjk]

Thanks for posting coinlover. Nice coin and a good read!

[THCoins]

Wow, the elephant side is high quality, but the reverse almost look like mintstate. Extra-ordinary specimen !

[coinlover]

Thank you Anthony and @josephjk for your encouraging words.

Anjan

[Figleaf]

Another great instalment and ditto coin.

My reading of Demetrius' marriage is that it was part of the peace treaty with Antiochus, both parties hoping to inherit the land of the other if there was a lack of offspring. If so, that would have bound Demetrius' hands in the West, so he was practically obliged to seek loot (the way to maintain an army) in the East. That collides with an alliance with the Shungas - unless they turned out too strong and forced Demetrius to make peace - and pleads for a victory celebration. The elephant crown also points to a victory, rather than a peace.

Peter

[coinlover]

Thank you, Peter.

Anjan

[coinlover]

I have recently acquired another with a different monogram.

[Figleaf]

Congratulations! What do you make of those different marks?

Peter

[coinlover]

No definite idea. May be different minting locations. Can you suggest something Peter?
 

[Figleaf]

Nothing scientific, but I am always willing to speculate

While coming long after Alexander the Great, the coin is clearly inspired by traditional Greek coins, except that the big head of a god is replaced by the big head of an elephant.

Traditional Greek coins will sometimes have the name of the responsible magistrate(s) on them, often represented by some letters, rather than the full name. The N on your latest acquisition may represent the responsible "monetarius".

That leads me to the first coin you posted. Here, the sign is not a letter but a symbol. To me, it looks like a proto-tamgha, a clan symbol as used on much later Central Asian coins. I see two possibilities: a "monetarius" again, except he's using his family symbol, perhaps claiming the post for an offspring, perhaps referring to an illustrious ancestor - as a republican Roman official may have done. The other possibility is that it refers to a junior branch of the royal house, who played governor in a city or province. The two options partly overlap.

In other words, my hunch is that both signs refer to people, not to mints.

Peter