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Drachm - Vologases V Ecbatana
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 191-208 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Vologases V rendered in low relief, depicted beareheaded with a long, tripartite beard and prominent moustache. The king wears a tiara or wart-decorated diadem surmounted by a row of pellets, flanked on either side by large, globular earpieces or hair masses composed of tightly clustered pellets. The draped shoulders of the royal garment are visible at the lower edge of the flan, and the portrait is set within an inner border of pellets characteristic of late Parthian coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Vologases V spent much of his reign managing Roman pressure on his western frontier, including the catastrophic sack of Ctesiphon by Septimius Severus in 197 AD — an event that significantly disrupted Parthian administrative capacity without actually ending the dynasty. Ecbatana, the old Median capital in the eastern highlands, served as an alternate mint precisely because it lay well beyond the reach of Roman punitive campaigns.
Sellwood 86 pieces from this reign show considerable die axis variation and surface porosity characteristic of the Ecbatana fabric, distinguishing them sharply from contemporary Seleucia-on-Tigris production.