This coin was minted approximately one century after the Seleucids were driven from Bactria and Sogdiana by their rival Greco-Macedonian political factions. These factions divided the area into a number of small, independent kingdoms, and continued to dominate the area until the Kushan invasions in the late 1st century CE.

The image featured on this coin is that of Euthydemos I, who ruled the region north of the Hindu Kush Mountains from around 230 to 200 BCE. The abundance of silver and bronze coins minted by Euthydemos attests to the prosperity enjoyed under his rule. As P. Bernard has noted, it was likely this affluence, combined with Euthydemos's effective administration, that ensured the respect and cooperation of local Sogdian nobles.¹

This period was later considered something of a golden age, and for this reason Euthydemos's portrait was often depicted on the coins of later sovereigns, as we see in this example, in order to evoke an association with one of the region's most successful rulers.

(1) P. Bernard, "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia," from Histories of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. II (Paris: UNESCO, 1996), p.100.