Parthian Kingdom. AE chalkos (11 mm). Pakoros (78- c.120 AD). Obverse: Diademed bust left, no beard. Reverse: Amphora, no legend. Sellwood 73.16, Shore 601. This coin: Frank S. Robinson Auction 114, lot 98 (December 8, 2020). (Note: I'm using Assar's numbering and dates for this article. See the note at the end for older numbering etc. Also, some text is recycled.) Pakoros was [probably] the son of the Parthian king Vonones II (51 AD) and a Greek concubine. When Vonones died, his older son Vologases I became the king of Parthia, while Pakoros was sent to serve as the sub-king of Atropatene (roughly covering what is now Azerbaijan). When Vologases I died in 78 AD, his son Vologases II was named as his successor. Pakoros raised a rebellion against his nephew and was successful by the following year. Not much is known about the reign of Pakoros, but he did face several challengers for the throne, including Vologases II and Artabanos V (c. 80-85 AD). The date of Pakoros' death is uncertain. Most sources have put the end date for his reign at 105 AD, but in the catalog of the Sunrise collection G.R.F. Assar convincingly argues that Pakoros II must have reigned until at least 110/111 AD, and may have retained some territory in Iran until as late as 120 AD. About the only other notable fact of Pakoros' reign is that he sent an embassy to China in about 101 AD. Also, a "false Nero" (an imposter claiming to be the Roman Emperor Nero, having survived his alleged suicide) turned up at Pakoros' court, but the (real) Emperor Domitian pressured Pakoros to deport the imposter to Roman territory in 88 AD. This coin depicts the king with no beard, which is unusual for most Parthian coins. The very earliest Parthian coins, starting with Arsakes I around 247 BC, had all depicted the king clean-shaven and wearing a bashlyk (a type of felt cap worn by steppe nomads). However, midway through his reign Mithradates I (c.171-138 BC) began depicting himself with a beard. All following Parthian kings would show themselves with a beard- sometimes long, sometimes short, but always there- with two exceptions. The first are the early issues of Pakoros, like this bronze coin (the same beardless portrait was also used on silver drachms and tetradrachms). The lack of beard is assumed to show the youthfulness of Pakoros when he took the throne- a slightly later type shows him with a short beard, and even later he sports a long beard. (Interestingly, the other exception was also named Pakoros, but in this case the ill-fated son of Orodes II (57-38 BC), who issued some very rare drachms showing him beardless.) Even though the aging theory explains the beardless portrait of the current coin, it still seems a bit strange to me. Given that Pakoros was in a life-or-death struggle for the throne, why advertise his great youth (and thus presumed weakness) so blatantly? It's not as though most people who handled the coins would know how accurate the portrait was. Why not make himself look older and more formidable? Regardless, it's a very nice example of Parthian bronze. The photo doesn't capture the nice chocolatey patina, but the high state of preservation is still clear, and much nicer than usual for Parthian bronze. Please post your coins of Pakoros, or whatever else you want. (Obligatory note on uncertainty in Parthian history: The Pakoros discussed in this post is called Pakoros II in many sources, because the son of Orodes II is called "Pakoros I" in many older sources even though he does not seem to have ever claimed to be king. Assar, confusingly, calls the Pakoros who reigned in 78 AD "Pakoros I", even though there was no later Parthian king named Pakoros. The Artabanos V who is mentioned briefly above is called Artabanos III in most older sources, and occasionally Artabanos IV, just to further muddy the water. Collectors who do not like ambiguity should avoid Parthian coins.)
Interesting write up and cool coin. Thanks for sharing. I need to add a Parthian to the collection. I like the bust styles.
That is a fact! My only Pacorus II is this later bearded version Sellwood 77.8. Unless what I have listed as Vologases III are now reassigned to Pacorus II. The Sunrise book is totally confusing on the matter showing only one long beard and long hair coin. The collection emphasized rare and large coins so had no interest in these common drachms. If you are proposing the elimination of a ruler whose drachm issue was among the most common in ordinary collections, there should have been some more clear explanation. We now have three distinctly different portraits of Pacorus II unless I am incorrectly reading between the lines. If someone here understands the matter, do feel free to enlighten me. The first two show how it helps to have more than one coin if you want all of the legend on flan. My Sellwood 78.10 shows the distinctive mark above the bow but has very different style from the other coins attributed to the same ruler and mint. Tetrachalkos Sellwood 79.39 year 423 (111 AD) My coin came to me as Artabanus III (whom I propose we call 'the Muddy' until the numbers sort out. The other long beard, long hair drachm in my collection included the Aramaic top row on the reverse which I understand reads Mithradates (IV). His coins also show fewer head bands.
