Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ15 - Gordian III ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ
| Issuer | Edessa (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 239-242 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.30 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΑΥΤΟΚ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ |
| Reverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Abgar X Phraates, client king of Edessa, facing right, rendered in a distinctly eastern Parthian-influenced artistic style that contrasts with the Roman obverse. The king wears a royal diadem and flowing drapery, reflecting the dual Roman-Parthian cultural character of the Osrhoenian court. The reverse legend ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ in Greek script surrounds the bust, translating as 'Abgar, King.' The design is set within a dotted border on an irregular flan typical of the local Edessan bronze coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Edessa occupied a peculiar diplomatic position during Gordian III's reign — nominally a Roman client kingdom under the Abgarid dynasty, yet culturally and linguistically Aramaic, minting its own civic bronzes with the local king's title alongside the emperor's name. The pairing of ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ with Gordian's titulature reflects the last generation of that arrangement; Rome formally absorbed Edessa as a colony under Caracalla, and whatever autonomy remained was extinguished entirely before the decade was out.