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Drachm - Phraates - Kingdom of Elymais Arsacid Dynasty
| Issuer | Elymais |
|---|---|
| Year | 100-150 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Phraates with a long, straight beard, wearing a diademed tiara adorned with two dotted crescents. An anchor device with a single bar appears to the right of the bust, with a pellet set within a crescent above it. The portrait is rendered in the debased, schematic style characteristic of late Elymaean coinage, with broad facial features and minimal detail in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylized eagle depicted facing, with wings spread in heraldic posture, rendered in the crude and schematic manner typical of late Elymaean billon coinage. No crescent symbols appear flanking the eagle, distinguishing this type from related issues. The flat, heavily worn field shows no legible inscription or additional devices, consistent with the debased coinage of the Arsacid Dynasty of Elymais in the early second century AD. |
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| Additional information |
Elymais, the semi-independent kingdom occupying the mountainous region northeast of the Persian Gulf roughly corresponding to modern Khuzestan, maintained its Arsacid-style coinage well into the second century even as Parthian central authority fluctuated. By this period the dynasty had long since lost meaningful political weight, and these billon issues — increasingly debased from earlier silver — reflect a local economy operating largely in isolation from the broader Parthian monetary system. GICV 5900 sits in a cluster of late Elymaean types where die workmanship degraded sharply, likely owing to the loss of skilled celators rather than any single political rupture.