Another of my wins from Frank Robinson's recent auction: Parthian Kingdom, Ecbatana mint. AR drachm. Phraates IV (38-2 BC). Obverse: Diademed bust left with squared-off beard, eagle crowning with wreath. Reverse: Seated archer (Arsaces I), mintmark, surrounded by standard seven-line legend "Basileos Basileon/ Arsakou/ Euergetou Dikaiou/ Epiphanous Philellenos" (King of Kings/ Arsaces/ Benefactor, Just/ God Manifest, Friend of the Greeks). Sellwood 52.10, Shore 276. Phraates IV had a fair amount of interaction with the Roman world, and thus we know more about him than many other Parthian kings. Phraates was one of the thirty-plus sons of the Parthian king Orodes II (57-38 BC). Orodes had made clear that he considered his favorite son Pakoros his intended successor; however, Pakoros was killed in 38 BC while leading a Parthian incursion into Syria and Asia Minor. Distraught, Orodes now declared that Phraates would be his successor instead. Phraates, unfortunately, proved to be a cruel and power-hungry man. He promptly murdered his own father, then consolidated his power by killing all thirty-or-so of his brothers and their families. Mark Antony launched an ill-fated invasion of Parthia through Media Atropatene (Azerbaijan) in 36 BC; this would ultimately lead to a peace treaty with Rome whose terms were fulfilled in 20 BC. As part of the terms, Rome received the military standards and prisoners who had been captured from Crassus and subsequent Roman commanders. Among the gifts given to Phraates was a beautiful and charming courtesan named Musa. She would soon work her way into Phraates' favor, becoming his wife. Unfortunately, Phraates' seizure of power through parricide had set a bad precedent, and in 2 BC Musa and her son Phraates V or Phraataces (Little Phraates) would murder Phraates IV and take power for themselves. This is a fairly common Parthian coin type; what attracted me to this specimen was the quality of the portrait. The highly stylized, angular face seems filled with cruelty and contempt for his enemies, which was probably the intent of the artist. This coin seems to say, "Do not fight with this man; he will beat you, and he will make you suffer." Given what we know of his biography, that seems entirely accurate.
Very nice, he definitely looks like a meanie on that. On mine he looks slightly less mean, more just determined: I like the "royal wart" on these.
NICE @Parthicus ! I know you have taken a great role in educating every time you post...and I really learn every time... Great coin, great write-up. Question: when did the "Royal Wart" thing begin? Your Phraates IV is 38-2 BCE. I see it have the wart... I checked mine (No, no Phraates IV), and it also has a wart near the same spot... PARTHIA Orodes II 57-37 BC AR Drachm 18mm 3.3g - killed Crassus pour gold - Ekbatana l stars cresnt Arsakes bow anchor Sell48.9
@Alegandron: I'm glad you enjoy my posts. I enjoy researching my coins and then summarizing the info into a short, interesting post, and I always appreciate it when others can post more than just the basic ID information for coins they post. The Parthian "royal wart" (hereditary trichoepithelioma) first appears on coins of Orodes II (57-38 BC) and then intermittently throughout the Parthian series. It's unlikely that the condition actually persisted that long (modern medicine reports that it lasts in families for about one century at most), but the wart had become a symbol of royal legitimacy, so even the wartless kings would show one on their official coinage. Kind of how women who managed to hold the throne in ancient Egypt were shown with a beard- after all, the Pharaoh is supposed to have a beard, and just because she is biologically unable to grow one is no excuse.
Thank you for the great post, @Parthicus ! I've been neglecting my Parthian collection for a while and I’ve decided it’s time to give it more attention. I’d like to add 3 more. Do you have any suggestions? Here’s what I have now.
Congrats on the pickup, Parthicus. Excellent write-up. Nice Phraates IV coins, all. Deacon Ray, an fyi: your tet is Phraataces (or, if you prefer, Phraatakes), rather than Phraates. Regarding suggestions: I’d recommend seeking out a coin with a king sporting the well-known Parthian tiara. I’d also recommend picking up a coin of arguably Parthia’s greatest king, Mithradates II. Of course you could get a Mithradates II drachm with tiara and make it a two-fer. (He wears a diadem on his earlier drachms and a tiara – the first appearance of the Parthian tiara – on his later coins) Here are my nicer Phraates IV tets, a Sellwood 51.19-22v and a Sellwood 50.3:
Phraates IV produced coins from several mints with different styles. They differ a lot! Mithradatkart Ekbatana His tetradrachms need to be centered a bit high on the reverse so you can read the month date at the bottom of the reverse. Mine shows ony a trace of the H or 8 of the year Eta Pi Sigma but spells out May "DAISIOY" fully. All tets are Seleucia mint.
@Deacon Ray: I concur with @Bob L.'s suggestion to get a drachm of Mithradates II wearing a tiara. Another coin that would fit in well with your Biblical theme would be a drachm of Artabanos II (10-38 AD), since he ruled during the time of Jesus's ministry and crucifixion. (Note: Artabanos II has recently been re-numbered as either III or IV- check the dates to be sure you're getting the correct Artabanos.) For the third coin, maybe a drachm of Vologases IV (147-191 AD) as it shows a very different style typical of late Parthian coinage, and also features the king's personal name spelled out in Aramaic on the reverse legend, mixed in with now-completely-meaningless Greek-like squiggles. Billon tetradrachms of Vologases IV are also pretty common, and don't cost much more than the drachms, so maybe you could get that instead. Or, if you really want to stretch yourself, why not try to get a decent condition Parthian bronze? I don't think any Parthian bronze can truly be called common, and finding it in decent grades is a big challenge. @dougsmit: Thanks for pointing out the different mint styles of Phraates IV portraits. Deacon Ray's specimen is from Rhagae, which has its own distinctive style. I like the Ecbatana style best, but ultimately that's a personal choice.
Thank you, @Bob L. for the excellent advice and correct ID for the tetradrachm! I hold you, @Parthicus and @dougsmit opinions in high-regard.
