Catalog
Chalkoi - Tigranes IV Augustus
| Issuer | Armenia, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 2 BC - 1 AD |
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| Value | Chalkon (1⁄48) |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Tigranes IV facing right, wearing the distinctive Armenian tiara adorned with a star and decorated with a stepped battlemented crown pattern, characteristic of the Artaxiad royal headdress. The portrait is rendered in a Hellenistic style, with fine facial features visible in profile. The circumferential Greek legend reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥС ΜΕΓΑС ΝΕΟС ΤΙΓΡΑΝΗС, identifying the king as Tigranes the Great, the New King, running around the outer border of the flan. |
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| Reverse lettering | СΕΒΑСТОС ΚΑΙСΑΡ ΘΕОС ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟС |
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| Additional information |
Tigranes IV ruled as a Roman client king, installed by Augustus after the expulsion of Artavasdes III — a reminder of how thoroughly Armenia had become a proxy battleground between Rome and Parthia. His use of the title "Augustus" on his coinage is politically pointed: no other Armenian king adopted the title, and it signals an unusually explicit deference to Roman authority, almost certainly a condition of his installation rather than personal choice.
The reign was short and turbulent. Tigranes IV was eventually killed, possibly around 6 AD, during renewed dynastic conflict.