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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2849679, member: 81887&quot;]Another of my wins from Frank Robinson&#039;s recent auction:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]676088[/ATTACH] </p><p>Parthian Kingdom, Ecbatana mint.&nbsp; AR drachm.&nbsp; Phraates IV (38-2 BC).&nbsp; Obverse: Diademed bust left with squared-off beard, eagle crowning with wreath.&nbsp; Reverse: Seated archer (Arsaces I), mintmark, surrounded by standard seven-line legend &quot;Basileos Basileon/ Arsakou/ Euergetou Dikaiou/ Epiphanous Philellenos&quot; (King of Kings/ Arsaces/ Benefactor, Just/ God Manifest, Friend of the Greeks).&nbsp; Sellwood 52.10, Shore 276.</p><p><br /></p><p>Phraates IV had a fair amount of interaction with the Roman world, and thus we know more about him than many other Parthian kings.&nbsp; Phraates was one of the thirty-plus sons of the Parthian king Orodes II (57-38 BC).&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Distraught, Orodes now declared that Phraates would be his successor instead.&nbsp; Phraates, unfortunately, proved to be a cruel and power-hungry man.&nbsp; He promptly murdered his own father, then consolidated his power by killing all thirty-or-so of his brothers and their families.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; As part of the terms, Rome received the military standards and prisoners who had been captured from Crassus and subsequent Roman commanders.&nbsp; Among the gifts given to Phraates was a beautiful and charming courtesan named Musa.&nbsp; She would soon work her way into Phraates&#039; favor, becoming his wife.&nbsp; Unfortunately, Phraates&#039; 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.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This is a fairly common Parthian coin type; what attracted me to this specimen was the quality of the portrait.&nbsp; The highly stylized, angular face seems filled with cruelty and contempt for his enemies, which was probably the intent of the artist.&nbsp; This coin seems to say, &quot;Do not fight with this man; he will beat you, and he will make you suffer.&quot;&nbsp; Given what we know of his biography, that seems entirely accurate.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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