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Drachm - Phraates - Kingdom of Elymais Arsacid Dynasty
| Issuer | Elymais |
|---|---|
| Year | 100-150 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bust of a long-bearded king facing left, wearing a tiara decorated with a pellet-in-crescent motif, a diadem, and an earring. Behind the royal effigy appear two symbols in the field: a pellet within a crescent and an anchor, both characteristic Arsacid dynastic emblems. The portrait reflects the degenerate late Elymaic style, with schematic rendering of facial features. The coin is bordered by a dotted or beaded circle. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (100-150) - Bard-e Neshandeh mint - ND (100-150) - Bushire mint - ND (100-150) - Dizful mint - ND (100-150) - Masjid-i Suleiman mint - ND (100-150) - Shush mint - ND (100-150) - South West Iran mint - |
| Additional information |
Elymais occupied the mountainous region northeast of the Persian Gulf — roughly modern Khuzestan — and by the second century AD had devolved into a deeply local power, its Arsacid rulers increasingly disconnected from the Parthian mainstream. The billon coinage of this period reflects that decline: silver content had been so thoroughly debased by successive rulers that these pieces are functionally copper alloy with a silver memory.
Phraates is one of several poorly documented kings in the late Elymaean sequence, his reign reconstructed almost entirely from coin evidence rather than any written source.