The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c26.276

v1.c26.276

The mere increase in the number of royal mints may not unreasonably be held to prove that the dominions of Euthydemus were more extensive than those of his predecessor. It would seem that, soon after the Maurya empire began to crumble away, he possessed himself—it may be at the expense of Sophagasenus—of the Paropanisadae and Arachosia, possibly also—although as to this the coins are less definite—of some of the other districts which Seleucus I had ceded to Chandragupta. His silver tetradrachms are very common, and so too are more or less clumsy barbarous imitations, many of which appear to date from a relatively late period. Without doubt his money must have circulated widely, and must have enjoyed a high reputation for quality. Bactria under his sway clearly reached a pitch of prosperity such as she had never before attained. And his reign must have been a long one. The abundance of his coinage suggests this. The great variety of the portraits proves it. Even after every allowance has been made for the mannerisms of different artists and of different mints, a comparison of the head on Pl. III, 1, with the head on Pl. III, 2, will be felt to be conclusive. The latter, which is an admirably realistic piece of work, is obviously intended to represent a very much older person than the former. It is on the strength of this evidence that the death of Euthydemus is generally supposed to have taken place about 190 B.C.