Catalog
Drachm - Orodes II
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 57 BC - 38 BC |
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| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Arsaces I, the dynastic founder and divine ancestor of the Parthian kings, shown seated to the right on an omphalos throne, his body turned three-quarters, holding a bow in his outstretched left hand in the canonical Parthian reverse type. The figure is depicted with draped garments and wears a diadem. The surrounding field is densely filled with a multi-line Greek legend encircling the central device. The composition follows the established Arsacid numismatic convention, affirming dynastic legitimacy through the enthroned archer motif. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Orodes II secured the Parthian throne by having his brother Mithridates III hunted down and killed, then spent the next two decades consolidating a kingdom that would deliver Rome its most humiliating eastern defeat. The destruction of Crassus's army at Carrhae in 53 BC — seven legions annihilated, the standards captured — occurred squarely within this coin's issue period, and Parthian drachms of this type were almost certainly circulating in the treasuries funding that campaign.
Sellwood 47 spans a long reign, and die wear and style variations across the sequence are substantial. The later issues, approaching Orodes's forced abdication in favor of Phraates IV around 38 BC, tend toward cruder workmanship.