Demetrius I of Bactria Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Demetrius, Greek king of Bactria, is a legend as well as an enigma. Mentioned by Geoffrey Chaucer ("D, lord of Ind") and a hero of Indian folklore under the folk-etymological name Dharma-Mithra, he is mainly known from coins.
king Demetrius (200-180 B.C.) wearing an elephant scalp, symbol of his conquest of India]]He was the son of Euthydemus and succeeded him around 200 BC, after which he conquered extensive areas in what now is eastern Iran, Pakistan, Punjab and northern India, thus creating an Indo-Greek kingdom far from Hellenistic Greece, that was to last until 1 BC.
Demetrius started the invasion of northern India from 180 BCE, following the destruction of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pusyamitra Sunga, who then founded the new Indian Sunga dynasty (185-78 BCE).
Demetrius went as far as the capital Pataliputra in eastern India (today Patna): "Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra" (Strabo, XV.698). The Indian records also describes Greek attacks on Saketa, Panchala, Mathura and Pataliputra (Gargi-Samhita, Yuga Purana chapter).
The invasion was completed by 175 BCE, and the Indo-Greeks ruled various part of northern and northwestern India until the end of the 1st century BCE, while the Sungas remained in the east. Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to show their support for the philhellenic Mauryan empire, and to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Sungas.
Polybius mentions him being murdered by his general Eucratides, the empire being divided shortly after his death.
The great Indo-Greek king Menander of India is said to have been a relative or officer of Demetrius. However, scarcity of sources make historians unsure about chronology, and most likely the coins of Demetrius refer to two kings, the second of which is by default assumed to be son of the first. Other Bactrian kings like Pantaleon, Agathocles and Antimachus may also have belonged to the same dynasty and period, but their precise relationship remains unveiled.
According to Ptolemy, a Demetriapolis was founded in Arachosia.
| Preceded by: Euthydemus | Indo-Greek ruler | Succeeded by: Euthydemus II and Apollodotus |
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