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Drachm - Phraates IV
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 38 BC - 2 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Phraates IV secured the Parthian throne by murdering his father Orodes II and then systematically eliminating his brothers — some thirty of them. The long reign that followed, nearly four decades, produced an enormous volume of coinage, making Sellwood 52.12 one of the more frequently encountered Parthian drachms. What elevates this particular issue historically is its overlap with Rome's most humiliating eastern episode: Phraates returned the standards and prisoners captured at Carrhae in 53 BC only in 20 BC, under Augustan diplomatic pressure, without a single Roman soldier crossing the Euphrates.