Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c17.s3.1

c17.s3.1

While the remnant of the Magadhan monarchy was falling before the onslaughts of the Sātavāhanas and the Chetas, the Greek power in the North-West was also hastening towards dissolution. We have already referred to the feuds of Demetrios and Eukratides. The dissensions of these two princes led to a double succession, one derived from Demetrios holding for a time Kāpiśa and then Sākala (Siālkoṭ) with a considerable portion of the Indian interior, the other derived from Eukratides holding Nicaea,¹ Takshaśilā and Pushkarāvatī as well as Kāpiśa (which was conquered from Apollodotos) and Bactria. According to Gardner and Rapson, Apollodotos, Antimachos, Pantaleon, Agathokles, Agathokleia,² the Stratos, Menander, Dionysios, Zoilos,³ Hippostratos and Apollophanes⁴ probably belonged to the house of Euthydemos and Demetrios. Most of these sovereigns used similar coin-types,¹ specially the figure of the goddess Athene hurling the thunderbolt, which is characteristic of the Euthydemian line. Pantaleon and Agathokles strike coins with almost identical types.² They both adopt the metal nickel for their coins, and they alone use in their legends the Brāhmī alphabet. They seem, therefore, to have been closely connected probably as brothers. It is not improbable that Agathokleia was their sister.³ Agathokles (and possibly Antimachos) issued a series of coins⁴ in commemoration of Alexander, Antiochos Nikator (Antiochos III Megas according to Malala), Diodotos Soter, Euthydemos and Demetrios Aniketos (the Invincible).