Drachm - Arsakes XVI

Sellwood 30.15 belongs to the coinage of Mithradates III, whose reign was defined by a fratricidal struggle against his brother Orodes I — a conflict that destabilized the Parthian succession and foreshadowed the dynastic violence that would plague the Arsacid house for generations. The two brothers traded control of the throne repeatedly through the late 70s and 60s BC, with neither achieving unchallenged authority for long.

Drachms of this type were struck at Rhagae, the principal mint for Arsacid silver in this period.