INTBODUCTION 5

the Greek conquest of the North-West Panjab was probably effected
towards the latter end of the reign of Euthydemos, or during the
early career of his son Demetrios.

The coins of Diodotos and Euthydemos are Greek money of the
Attic standard. The Greek kings of Bactriana steadily adhered to
the monetary system of Athens, which had already been adopted by
Alexander and by his immediate successors in Syria, But the Greek
kings of India, from the very first, departed from the Attic system in
the mass of their copper money, as shown in the coins of Pantaloon
and Agathokles, which are of the same weight, and of the same
square shape, as the indigenous copper coins of Taxila. The copper
money of Pantaleon's successors is usually square or rectangular, but
the only square silver pieces are hemidrachms of Apollodotos and
Philoxenos.

The first coin to exhibit legends in both the Greek and the
Kharosthi scripts, is a square copper coin of Demetrios. There is
a good specimen in this Collection. Demetrios is known as the first
king of Bactria and of India, that is to say, he held sway both in
Bactria proper, and also in Gandhara and the regions on the side of
India where Kharosthi was used. Eukratides struck coins of the
purely Greek type and weight, and also of the bilingual Indian type,
in silver and in copper, while both types are found in silver only
of Heliokles and of Antialkidas. The succeeding princes coined
bilingual money alone in silver and copper. In the absence of
money of the Greek type, it may be assumed that their power was
confined to the regions about the North-West Indian frontier. Gold
coins of the Greek standard till the time of Eukratides are known,
though very scarce. The discovery of a twenty-stater piece of
Eukratides at Bukhara caused a sensation in the numismatic world
about sixty years ago. The medal itself is in the Cabinet de Frances
Bibliothfeque Nationale, Paris. It is a remarkable fact that after
Eukratides a gold currency of any Greek prince up to and including
the last king Hermaios is absolutely unknown.1 We are told that
Persian darics and Eoman aurei found their way to India in great
quantities, but no darics were struck in Persia after 330 B.C., and gold
was not coined at Eome in any quantity before the early Empire,

There is nothing to guide us to the history of the successors of
Eukratides except their coins. It is conjectured that after his death

1 There is a gold stater in the British Museum Collection which has been tenta-
tively assigned to Menander. The obverse design is the helmeted bust of a Mng? and
that on the reverse side is a standing owl; there are no inscriptions. The figure of the
owl is of very inferior artistic merit, and cannot bear comparison witlx that on the owl
hemidrachnt of Menander. In the absence of any legend I do not think that any
definite attribution can be made. The coin may be a contemporaneous imitation.

1535 B