So, this past week I scored a big win for my Parthian collection by winning a stunning Tetradrachm! I saw this one, and knew that I just had to have it! This is a Sellwood 30.2 from a ruler simply known as the unknown king (or as Arsaces XVI) who reigned from about 78-62 B.C. Not a whole lot is known about this ruler other than the fact that he was initially a Babylonian ruler who ascended to the Arsacid high crown around 78 B.C. there is evidence that suggests that his rule, at some point, overlapped with Sinatrukes. It is peculiar to me (and those with knowledge on the subject greater than my own, please chime in) That this ruler had a rather average to long reign (by Parthian standards). So i wonder why we know him now as simply "unknown king". This coin struck me for the strength of strike, toning, and the detail of the portrait. To me, its a stunner, and my amateurish pictures do not do it justice at all. So without further delay....here is my first Parthian Tetradrachm! Arsaces XVI AR tetradrachm Seleukia on the Tigris 16.19 gm. Ex. Phillip Ashton collection Sellwood 30.2 Sunrise 311
Great coin, great story! I wonder if he ticked off Sinatrukes or someone else that damned his name...though then it stands to reason that we would have coins of his bearing some sort of ill will. I gotta admit, despite the frustration of not knowing who the man was, it adds a pretty cool mystique! I don't have any tets, but here is a drachm around that time... Orodes I Hellenistic Monarchies, The Parthian Kingdom - 80-77 BC. AR Drachm (17mm, 3.35g). Rhagae. Bust wearing a tiara with eight pointed star in centre to left, with short beard / Archer seated right on throne, seven
Love the squared "frame" of text on the reverse. I never really noticed it on Parthian coins before, because I'm not that well-versed in them. I guess that broad flan really sets it off nicely and made me notice this time. Handsome portrait, too.
Nice capture! And I right in thinking there are not a lot of written records from the Parthian empire? John
CONGRATS @DBDc80 ! Wonderful capture! I enjoy it very much... Fantastic detail on obv, and the rev is well done. It looks so centered, and the blank fields around it really sets it off! And the Unknown King (Shah?)...that hust piques my interest! EDIT: Mea culpa! I looked at your AVATAR which is so similar to @Parthicus '! Excuse my slight. Regardless, GREAT coin! Best to you, Brian. I have a couple coins of Parthia, but regret I am not so versed in their History. THIS coin would be extremely welcomed into my collection, even though I am a novice in this collecting domain! Way cool!
@Alegandron: Thanks, but the OP coin belongs to @DBDc80, not to me. It's a very cool coin, and I'd certainly welcome it in my collection, but it isn't mine. Re: "Shah" as the title for king: Shah is the Persian word for king, just like Greek Basileos and Semitic Malik. The Parthians had their own language (called Parthian, sensibly enough) which is not so well understood, due to a shortage of documents and inscriptions. Most coin inscriptions use the Greek title Basileos Basilewn (King of Kings). However, a few late issues give the name of the king in Aramaic script and the title MLK (Malik). It is not clear whether the reader was expected to read this as the Aramaic word, or if it was a place-holder and the correct title in Parthian (or whatever other language) could be inserted. TL,DR: Just call him "King" and you'll be fine. Precisely. Most of our contemporaneous records of the Parthians are from Latin and Greek historians in the Roman Empire, who tended to be biased against the Parthians and sometimes had limited information. No original Parthian historical literature has survived; very little Parthian writing has survived at all. Historians have had to rely on archeological traces (including coins) and careful detective-work to reconstruct Parthian history. For example, many of the changes to the king order that have been proposed by G.R.F. Assar are based on a collection of Parthian-period Babylonian astronomical tablets that incidentally mention the names and dates of rulers.
Even though I don't collect them I love the design on parthian coins (I just have a couple) That OP coin is tremendous, congrats Just for the pleasure of sharing is a tetradrachm of mine Orodes II, Tetradrachm 14.89 gr Q
Ok, since @Cucumbor tossed his in, here is one of mine too PARTHIA Orodes II 57-37 BC AR Drachm 18mm 3.3g - killed Crassus pour gold - Ekbatana l stars cresnt Arsakes bow anchor Sell48.9
Sadly I have not explored this area of ancient coinage yet. Wonderful new score @DBDc80 and I too wouldn't mind it in my collection either...same goes for everyone else!
Me, too. I have very few coins that I bought just because they struck me as pretty. This was one. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/f90.html Mithradates II, Parthia, AR drachm, 123-88 BC, Ekbatana mint
LOL... Woah! Those EYES!!! (reverse) Here is a guy AFTER M II... I raise you to M III: Parthia Mithradates III 58-55 BCE AR Drachm 3.9g 20mm Rhagae mint star archer bashlyk throne bow Selwood 41-12
Beautiful coins everyone! Thank you for the kind words! Can anyone chime in on their speculation as to why, perhaps, this monarch is simply known as Arsaces XVI or "unknown king". It is an intrigue that my interest is piqed by. Just odd that this ruler reigned (or is suspected to have reigned) for this length of time (Roughly 15 years) and we really dont know his name. I dont know, interesting for sure. As was mentioned earlier, there is not much extant insofar as written Parthian history, perhaps we may never have the "proper name" for Arsaces XVI. However, what we do know about many Parthian monarchs is shifty, with occasional changes and assignments in who issued what coins when. On occassion, long held beliefs about rulers assigned to specific coins changes (the reassignment of the 78 series drachms from Vologasses III to Pacorus I a great example) so who knows....maybe, just maybe one day we will have a name for some of the "unknown kings" (there were, not one, but three).
