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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 4120464, member: 81887&quot;]Another coin from late 2019, and a little outside my usual collecting area:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1068179[/ATTACH] </p><p>Cappadocia.&nbsp; AR drachm.&nbsp; Ariobarzanes I (96-63 BC), Year 5.&nbsp; Obverse: King&#039;s diademed head right.&nbsp; Reverse: Athena standing with shield and spear, holding Nike in right hand.&nbsp; Greek legend around &quot;Basilews Ariobarzanou Philorwmaiou&quot; (Of King Ariobarzanes, Friend of the Romans), T in field, E (date = 5) in exergue.&nbsp; This coin: Purchased from Wayne G. Sayles, December 2019 for $51.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia is not a very familiar name, even to many people with an interest in ancient history.&nbsp; Despite his relative obscurity today, he interacted with some of the most important military and political minds of his time: Mithridates VI of Pontus (120-63 BC) who was one of Rome&#039;s greatest enemies, Tigranes II of Armenia (95-55 BC) who led Armenia to its greatest territorial expansion ever, and two of Rome&#039;s greatest military leaders, Lucius Cornelius Sulla who became dictator in 82-81 BC, and Pompey the Great who was part of the Third Triumvirate before his unsuccessful fight against Julius Caesar.&nbsp; Ariobarzanes, from what I can tell, seems not to have been as ambitious as any of these men, but was content to maintain power over his own small kingdom (with maybe just a bit of additional land).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I was inspired to buy this piece because of a post by [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] (<a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sulla-in-cappadocia-first-meeting-with-parthia.350572/</a> ) outlining how Ariobarzanes came to the throne.&nbsp; I highly recommend you read that informative article first.&nbsp; Here&#039;s the outline:</p><p><br /></p><p>Mithridates VI of Pontus, always eager to expand his sphere of influence, had King Ariorathes VII assassinated in c. 101 BC and installed Mithridates&#039; own young son on the throne under the name of Ariorathes IX.&nbsp; (How did we skip from Ariorathes VII to Ariorathes IX?&nbsp; Well, there was another claimant to the throne, who is known to modern historians as Ariorathes VIII, but I&#039;m going to skip him or this story will be far too long.)&nbsp; The Cappadocian nobility appealed to Rome for help, and the Roman Senate granted them the right to choose their own king.&nbsp; In 96 BC they selected Ariobarzanes, who was a Cappadocian nobleman but not of the direct royal line, and who had Persian ancestry.&nbsp; Mithridates convinced his ally Tigranes of Armenia to invade Cappadocia, forcing Ariobarzanes to flee.&nbsp; Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who was serving as propraetor of Cilicia, was ordered to restore him to the throne, and in 94 BC he was able to expel Tigranes&#039; troops from Cappadocia and return Ariobarzanes.&nbsp; Of course, with such powerful and ambitious neighbors, Ariobarzanes&#039; throne was often under threat; he was forced out (and restored) a total of three times, the final restoration with the help of Pompey the Great in the Third Mithridatic War (73-63 BC) which saw the end of both the Kingdom of Pontus and the Seleucid Empire.&nbsp; In 63 BC Ariobarzanes voluntarily abdicated the throne in order to allow his son Ariobarzanes II to take over.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was attracted to this coin not only by the associated history, but also the fine quality of the portrait.&nbsp; Note also the use of &quot;Philoromaiou&quot; (Friend of Rome) in the legend- Ariobarzanes knew who the real power was. Coins of Ariobarzanes are common in the market today, and this one cost me $51.&nbsp; The obverse is quite a bit off center, but none of the face is off the flan (though his chin is getting a good close shave).&nbsp; Please share your coins of Ariobarzanes I, or any of the more famous allies and enemies from his life.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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