Æ24 - Gordian III ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ

Osroene was a client kingdom that had spent generations navigating between Rome and Parthia, and by the reign of Gordian III the dynasty was effectively a Roman instrument. The Abgarid king named on this coin — almost certainly Abgar X Phraates — was the last of his line; the kingdom was absorbed outright into the Roman provincial system around 244 AD, making issues struck in Gordian's name among the final products of a mint that had operated continuously for over two centuries.

The bilingual royal title, Greek ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ, reflects the hybrid Greco-Aramaic culture Edessa sustained long after neighboring cities had Romanized more completely. Syriac Christianity had already taken root here by this point.