BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Demetrius I (ca. 200-185 BC). AR tetradrachm (35mm, 16.85 gm, 11h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. Diademed, draped bust of Demetrius I right, seen from front, wearing headdress composed of elephant's head, ears, trunk and tusks; dotted border / BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΔHMHTPIOY, Heracles, nude, standing facing, crowning himself with wreath held in right hand, left arm draped with lionskin and cradling club; ΦΛ monogram to inner left. Bopearachchi Série 1F. SNG ANS 192. While gentle wear limits the piece from a high grade, there is great retention of detailing, bold dimensionality and flashes of icy light. The unusual elephant headdress worn by Demetrius on this tetradrachm recalls the similar headgear sported by Alexander the Great on early coins of Ptolemaic Egypt, referring to his conquests in northern India. Demetrius also campaigned in India while serving a long apprenticeship under his father, Euthydemus I, as recorded on a dedicatory stone recently discovered north of Ai Khanoum in Afghanistan. After succeeding to the throne, he launched an invasion of Northern India that extended Greek control into modern Pakistan. The historian Strabo claims "more tribes were subdued by [Demetrius] than Alexander."

HID09801242017

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