The End of Greek Rule in Soghd. Early Euthydemus Imitations from Bukhara

The composition of the finds of Hellenistic coins in Sogdiana suggest that Greeks lost control over this country during or right after the revolt of Euthydemus (ca. 230–226 BCE). Yet the standard type of the Bukharan imitations of Euthydemus’ tetradrachms, on which modern scholars base their dates of “Sogdian indepen dence”, was minted around the time of Bactra siege – the peak of the eastern anabasis of Antiochus III (ca. 206 BCE). In other words, there is a gap of some 20 to 30 years between the dates derived from two different categories of numismatic evidence. The current article removes this seeming contradiction by presenting, chronologically arranging, and linking to their prototypes a series of Bukharan imitations that reproduces the early types of Euthydemus’ tetradrachms. This numismatic data allows the author to date the collapse of the Greek rule in Soghd to 230–226 BCE.