Octodrachm - Euthydemos I

Euthydemus I seized the Baktrian throne by overthrowing Diodotus II around 230 BC, founding a dynasty that would outlast the Seleucid pressure campaigns directed against it. Most notably, Antiochus III besieged Euthydemus at Bactra for two full years beginning around 208 BC — yet ultimately negotiated rather than conquered, recognizing Euthydemus as a legitimate king in exchange for war elephants and provisioning rights. The gold octodrachm format itself borrows directly from Ptolemaic monetary tradition, an unusual western reference point for a kingdom operating deep in Central Asia.