View source for Demetrius II of India

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name         = Demetrius II
| title        = King of Kings
| succession   = [[Indo-Greek]] King
| image        = Demetrius II portrait.jpg
| caption      = Portrait of Demetrius II
| reign        = 175–170 BC or 140 BC
| coronation   = 
| full name    = 
| predecessor  = [[Apollodotus I]]
| successor    = [[Antimachus II]]
| spouse       = 
| issue        = * Menander I 
* Strato
| royal house  = 
| dynasty      = [[Euthydemids|Euthydemid]]
| father       = [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]]
| mother       = Daughter of [[Antiochus III]]
| birth_date   = 
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   =
| death_place  = 
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = 
| religion     = 
}}
[[File:Demetriosii.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coin of Demetrius II. '''Obv:''' Profile of Demetrius II. '''Rev:''' Standing [[Athena]] with legend "(of) King Demetrius".]]
'''Demetrius II''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Δημήτριος}}) was an [[Indo-Greek]] king who ruled briefly during the 2nd century BC. Little is known about him and there are different views about how to date him. Earlier authors such as Tarn and Narain saw him as a son and sub-king of [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]], but this view has now been abandoned.

Osmund Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled in Bactria and Arachosia c. 175–170 BC, but this has been challenged by later authors. R. C. Senior instead prefers c. 175–140 BC, and this is supported by L M Wilson<ref>L M Wilson, "Demetrios II of Bactria and Hoards from Ai Khanoum" (Oriental Numismatic Society newsletter nr 180)</ref> who also assumes from numismatical clues and portrait likeness that Demetrius II was a relative of [[Eucratides|Eucratides the Great]]. The later dating is supported by the circumstance that no coins of Demetrius II have been found in the ruins of [[Ai Khanoum]], which was presumably destroyed during the reign of [[Eucratides I]].

==Coinage ==
Demetrius II issued only silver and mostly [[tetradrachm]]s, another trait which he has in common with the last Bactrian kings. The obverse shows a diademed portrait, with a standing [[Pallas Athene]] holding a spear on the reverse. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he has no epithet. Demetrius II is depicted as a young man, though his features differ considerably among the different issues. Several coins are struck off-center and crudely; this suggests that Demetrius II used a number of temporary mints.

==Identification==
Roman historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] names a "Demetrius, king of the Indians,"<ref>Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, XLI:6</ref> who was an enemy of [[Eucratides|Eucratides the Great]] (reigned 172/171&ndash;145 BC).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eucratides {{!}} king of Bactria|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eucratides|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> Justin's Demetrius beleaguered the warlike Eucratides with an army of 60,000 men against the latter's garrison of 300, but still — according to the probably exaggerated account — eventually was defeated. This episode is referred to as occurring at the end of the reign of Eucratides, hence dating the death of Justin's Demetrius around 150 BC. 

However, the king mentioned by Justin is not easily reconciled with the numismatic evidence, and views are divided as for how to interpret the various coinage series bearing the name Demetrius. Bopearachchi has identified three kings named Demetrius. [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] reigned in Bactria and India c. 200-185 BC, well before the rise of Eucratides, and [[Demetrius III Aniketos|Demetrius III]] was an Indian king who is thought to have ruled much later, around 100 BC. There remains Demetrius II, who Bopearachchi suggested reigned around 170 BC.

Bopearachchi identified Demetrius II with Justin’s Demetrius of India, notwithstanding the fact that Justin's quote suggests a later reign. Furthermore, Bopearachchi’s Demetrius II reigned in Bactria and not in India, as he struck no coins with Indian legends. Therefore, the identity of Justin's ''Demetrius, king of the Indians'', remains uncertain. The following hypotheses may be considered:

* The account of Justin, who is a second-hand source, is confused. Either Demetrius II was not king of India but Bactria, or the account of the war is mixed up, or the king's name is wrong, Justin having confused the name of another Indo-Greek king with that of [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]].
* Bopearachchi's Demetrius III could be placed earlier - this king's coins are few and rather peculiar - and Demetrius III was in fact Justin's Demetrius who ruled half a century earlier.

Even if Justin's ''Demetrius, king of the Indians'' existed, this does not foreclose the possibility that Eucratides also had a son named Demetrius, which was a common dynastic name at the time. The prince may have been named after the Seleucid [[Demetrius I Soter]].

==See also==
* [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]]
* [[Seleucid Empire]]
* [[Greco-Buddhism]]
* [[Indo-Scythians]]
* [[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]]
* [[Kushan Empire]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'', W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.

==External links==
*[http://coinindia.com/galleries-demetrius2.html Catalog of the coins of Demetrios II]
*[https://www.academia.edu/44461344/LE_ROI_DEMETRIOS_II_DE_BACTRIANE_BA%CE%A3I%CE%9BE%CE%A9%CE%A3_%CE%94HMHTPIOY_par_Roger_COTTEREAU?source=swp_share Le Roi Démétrios II]

{| align="center" cellpadding="2" border="2"
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:<br>'''[[Eucratides]]'''
| width="40%" align="center" | '''[[Indo-Greek|Indo-Greek Ruler]]'''<br>''([[Bactria]])''<br>c. 155–150 BC
| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Heliocles I]]?'''
|}
{{Indo-Greek kings}}
{{Hellenistic rulers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrius 02 Of India}}
[[Category:170 BC deaths]]
[[Category:Indo-Greek kings]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Euthydemid dynasty]]