Eucratides II

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thumb|350px|Coin_of_Eucratides II (r.c. 145-140 BCE).
Obv: Diademed bust of Eucratides II.
Rev: Apollo, with bow and arrow. Greek

Eucratides II was a Greco-Bactrian king who was a successor and probably a son of Eucratides I. It seems likely that Eucratides II ruled for a relatively short time after the murder of his namesake, until he was dethroned in the dynastic civil war caused by the same murder.

During his earlier years, Eucratides II may have been a co-regent of his father: on his later coins he adds the title "Soter" (Saviour), which could be an indication that he now ruled in his own right.

Soon after Eucratides' II death, the last Bactrian king Heliocles I (probably another member of the same dynasty) was defeated by the Tocharian or Yuezhi tribes, who expelled the Greek kings from Bactria.

ee also

* Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
* Seleucid Empire
* Greco-Buddhism
* Indo-Scythians
* Indo-Parthian Kingdom
* Kushan Empire

References

* "The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies" by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) ISBN 1-58115-203-5
* "Buddhism in Central Asia" by B.N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) ISBN 81-208-0372-8
* "The Greeks in Bactria and India", W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.