Catalog
Tetradrachm - Orodes II
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 57 BC - 38 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Reverse description | Arsaces I, the dynastic founder and divine ancestor, seated to the right on a throne, rendered in the Hellenistic style. He holds a bow in his left hand, the traditional symbol of Parthian royal authority, while his right hand rests on his knee. A Nike figure or similar small deity may appear to his right presenting a wreath. The Greek royal titulature legend encircles the central design in two registers around the entire field, identifying the king by his full honorific epithets. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ |
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Orodes II secured the Parthian throne through fratricide, having his brother Mithridates III hunted down and killed after a prolonged civil war. His reign then produced one of the ancient world's most consequential military victories: the destruction of Crassus's legions at Carrhae in 53 BC, where roughly 20,000 Romans were killed and another 10,000 captured — a defeat that reverberated through Roman politics for decades and permanently established the Euphrates as the boundary between the two empires.
Sellwood 48.1 belongs to the earlier part of the reign series, before the stylistic degradation visible in later Parthian tetradrachm production at Seleucia-on-the-Tigris.