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Drachm - Unknown King II
| Issuer | Persis, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 80-100 |
| 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 bearded bust of Uncertain King II facing left, adorned with a Parthian-style tiara decorated with three horizontal rows of pellets enclosing a central pellet. A diadem with two loop ties is visible at the nape of the neck. The portrait is rendered in the characteristically provincial Parthian artistic tradition, with fine linear detailing on the facial features and headdress. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A royal diadem rendered in high relief at center, enclosed within a wreath of stylized olive or laurel branches that frames the entire reverse field. The diadem is depicted frontally with its tied ends visible, serving as the principal emblem of royal authority. The surrounding wreath is composed of individual leaves arranged symmetrically, struck on the characteristic irregular flan typical of Persis coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
The Persis kingdom survived as a vassal state under the Parthian empire, its local dynasts maintaining the right to strike coinage long after Alexander's conquests had erased most comparable Iranian dynasties. The kings of Persis used distinctly archaic, Achaemenid-referencing imagery on their silver — a deliberate political statement of legitimacy in a region that remembered Persian greatness firsthand. "Unknown King II" reflects the genuine difficulty scholars have had pinning names to these rulers; the dynastic sequence remains contested, and Alram's numbering system is a working framework, not settled history.