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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 26197974, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1672749[/ATTACH] </p><p>Elymais.&nbsp; AE drachm (3.71 g, 17 mm).&nbsp; Orodes II (c. early-mid 2nd century CE).&nbsp; Obverse: Facing bust of king, with long beard and tiara, no tufts of hair to sides or above, crescent and star to right, anchor with one crossbar.&nbsp; Reverse: Facing bust of the god Bel (Belos, Belus), legend in Aramaic around WRWD MLKA BRY WRWD (Orodes King, son of Orodes), pellet border.&nbsp; van&#039;t Haaff 13.2.1-2B.&nbsp; This coin: Pars Coins Bargain eSale 34, lot 87 (May 8, 2025).</p><p><br /></p><p>Elymais was a Parthian vassal state, located between the east bank of the Tigris and the Zagros Mountains, roughly where the province of Khuzestan is in modern Iran.&nbsp; While the region was inhabited from very early times, the state of Elymais we are considering dates only to the later part of the Seleukid Empire, in the 2nd century BCE.&nbsp; After a period of shifting Seleukid, Parthian, and local control, the region was for a time ruled by the Kamnaskirid Dynasty as vassals of the Parthian Kingdom.&nbsp; In the mid-1st century BCE, the situation seems to shift, and the ruling dynasty is now a branch of the Parthian Arsakid dynasty, bearing typical Parthian names such as Orodes and Phraates.&nbsp; Unfortunately few details are known of Elymais history, and many of the later rulers are known only from their coins.&nbsp; The region finally lost its last autonomy about 228 CE, when the nascent Sasanian Persian kingdom conquered the area.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coinage of Elymais starts out Hellenistic in style, with silver tetradrachms, drachms and fractional silvers bearing fairly realistic portraits and legible Greek inscriptions.&nbsp; However, around the transition from the Kamnaskirid to Arsakid dynasties, the coinage rapidly shifts to copper/bronze and the artistic style loses its Hellenistic aspect.&nbsp; Although the royal portraits are no longer Hellenistic, they still bear a certain flair, even in the later examples.&nbsp; The most common reverse type on later coinage is a series of dashes, in various patterns, though various other reverses are also found, including the local god Bel as well as Artemis and Athena, eagle, wreath, and inscriptions in Aramaic and (sometimes) Greek.&nbsp; I bought this coin because of its unusually clear and complete reverse legend.&nbsp; Overall, a nice purchase at just US$30 final bid.&nbsp; Please post your Elymais coins, coins with Aramaic inscriptions, or whatever else is related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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