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Drachm - Orodes II
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 57 BC - 38 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Orodes II facing left, rendered in the Hellenistic tradition. The king displays a rounded beard and a distinctive royal wart (naevus) on the brow. A torque encircles the neck, its terminals fashioned in the form of a hippocamp. A star appears in the left field, with a crescent surmounting a second star in the right field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Orodes II seized the Parthian throne by having his brother Mithridates III hunted down and killed — a fratricidal opening to a reign that would last nearly two decades. His tenure coincided with the catastrophic Roman defeat at Carrhae in 53 BC, where Crassus and roughly 20,000 legionaries were destroyed by Surena's cavalry and cataphracts. It remains one of the worst military disasters in Roman history.
Sellwood 47.9 belongs to a later emission in his reign, distinguished by subtle die characteristics that Sellwood's typology separates from the earlier groups. Shore 241 cross-references the type within a tighter chronological bracket.