Æ28 - Gordian III ΜΗΤΡ ΚΟΛ ΚΑΡΡΗΝωΝ

Carrhae's claim to numismatic interest has nothing to do with Gordian III and everything to do with geography. The city was the site of Rome's most catastrophic eastern defeat — Crassus and seven legions annihilated by Parthian horse archers in 53 BC — and it remained a strategically nervous frontier post for three centuries afterward. By 243–244, Gordian was personally campaigning against Shapur I just east of here, winning at Misiche or losing there depending on which source you trust. He was dead within months, almost certainly murdered by Philip the Arab.