Indo-Greek Kingdom, Menander I, Silver tetradrachm, c. 155-130 BCE

Indo-Greek Kingdom, Menander I, Silver tetradrachm, c. 155-130 BCE

Indo-Greek Kingdom, Menander I, Silver tetradrachm, c. 155-130 BCE

Weight: 9.74 gm., Diam: 25 mm.

Diademed, helmeted bust of Menander right, Greek legend around:

Athena Alkidemos standing left, seen from behind, holding aegis on left arm, hurling thunderbolt with right, monograms at left and right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa // menamdrasa

The Bactrian kingdom established by Diodotos seems to have flourished uninterrupted for about 75 years. However, around 175 BCE, a scion of the Seleucid family appears to have attempted to overthrow the renegade usurpers. Eucratides (the Great) succeeded to a large extent and established his rule in Bactria and also south of the Hindu Kush. However, from this time on, it appears the various Greek factions engaged in an almost continuous civil war as rival families established themselves in different locations and fought one another for supremacy. One king who seems to have reconstituted a large kingdom was Menander. According to the ancient Buddhist text, the Milindapanha, Menander was a seeker of the Truth who was greatly interested in Buddhist teachings (Milinda is the Pali version of the name Menander). However, the text of the Milindapanha betrays no Greek influence and Menander's coinage does not contain any Buddhist symbols. Thus it is likely that the text is apocryphal.

This is a silver tetradrachm of Menander on a reduced Indian standard of just over 9 gm. The coin is still very much in the Greek style. We have a diademed, helmeted bust of the king right on the obverse and Menander's favorite deity, Athena Alkidemos, on the reverse. However, there is an important departure from the previous Bactrian issues such as the stater of Diodotos we saw earlier. The Greek legend has migrated to the obverse and a new legend, in the local Prakrit language and using the Kharoshthi script, has appeared on the reverse. The legend: maharajasa tratarasa menamdrasa is a translation of the obverse Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY (of King Menander, the Savior). This coin was issued south of the Hindu Kush mountains and has bowed to the requirements of the Indian marketplace by adopting the reduced weight standard and introducing a local language legend. Other coins display another concession to Indian tastes: many Indo-Greek coins are square in shape, particularly the bronze ones, in imitation of the traditional square shape of the silver (and later copper) karshapanas of the Mauryans and their successors, the Sungas.