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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 4755217, member: 81887&quot;]Another one of my recent auction wins:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1160484[/ATTACH] </p><p>Parthian Kingdom.&nbsp; Rhagae mint.&nbsp; AE tetrachalkoi (3.90 g, 18 mm).&nbsp; Mithradates II (121- 91 BC).&nbsp; Obverse: Diademed bust left.&nbsp; Reverse: Pegasos right, five-line Greek legend &quot;Basileos Basileon Megalou Arsakou Epiphanous&quot; (Of the Great King of Kings Arsakes, Illustrious).&nbsp; Sellwood 27.7, Shore 93, Sunrise 295.&nbsp; This coin: Pars Coins Auction 7, lot 95 (July 14, 2020).</p><p><br /></p><p>Mithradates II (121-91 BC), also known as Mithradates the Great, is considered perhaps the greatest of the Parthian kings.&nbsp; His reign would see Parthian territory reach from Syria to India and the beginnings of Parthian official relations with both Rome and China.&nbsp; It is unclear who Mithradates&#039; father was, or exactly how he came to the throne, though he may have been a son of one of the former kings.&nbsp; Almost immediately, he led campaigns against the Saka nomads who had been raiding the northeastern frontiers, and reconquered western Bactria from the Scythians.&nbsp; Next, he stabilized the southwest, defeating Hyspaosines II of Characene and re-establishing Parthian rule over Elymais.&nbsp; He also led punitive action against the Arabs who had been raiding into Mesopotamia, and later conquered the important city of Dura-Europos from the Seleucids.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Mithradates began the long Parthian tradition of meddling in Armenia, defeating king Artavasdes I (123-96 BC) and taking the Armenian prince Tigranes I (96-55 BC)[AKA Tigranes the Great] as a hostage.&nbsp; When Tigranes was released by Mithradates to take over the Armenian throne, he gave Mithradates a region known as &quot;Seventy Valleys&quot; to add to Parthian territory.&nbsp; Tigranes also gave his daughter Ariazate as a bride for a son of Mithradates.&nbsp; Mithradates also added Adiabene, Gordyene, and Osrhoene to the Parthian realm.&nbsp; Parthia was now on the border of what Rome liked to consider its sphere of influence, and in 96 BC Mithradates sent an envoy to meet with Lucius Cornelius Sulla.&nbsp; The meeting did not go well from the Parthian viewpoint (see this post by [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] for a fuller discussion: <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/#post-3896316" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/#post-3896316">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/#post-3896316</a> ), though actual war with Rome would not occur for several more decades.&nbsp; Also of note, a delegation from China made official contact with the Parthian court during Mithradates&#039; reign and began trade between the two great kingdoms on what would become the Silk Road.&nbsp; Mithradates died in 91 BC and was succeeded by his son Gotarzes I, though Sinatruces also claimed the kingship and controlled at least some Parthian territory.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I like this coin, not only for its historical interest, but for its aesthetic value.&nbsp; It is better preserved than most Parthian bronze coins, and the portrait has a great realistic quality.&nbsp; Please post your coins of Mithradates II, or whatever else is related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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