Catalog
Tetradrachm - Orodes II King on omphalos
| Issuer | Parthian Empire (Parthian Empire (247 BC - 224 AD)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 57 BC - 38 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15.31 g |
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| Reverse description | The enthroned king Orodes II seated right upon an omphalos, holding a sceptre in his left hand and a Nike bearing a laurel wreath in his right hand. A dynastic monogram appears below the Nike figure. The central design is surrounded by a seven-line Greek royal titulary legend arranged in a square format enclosing the royal image, a composition characteristic of Parthian tetradrachm coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (57 BC - 38 BC) |
| Additional information |
Orodes II secured the Parthian throne through fratricide — he and his brother Mithridates III fought a civil war that ended with Mithridates besieged and executed around 54 BC. Within a year, his general Surena annihilated Crassus and seven Roman legions at Carrhae in 53 BC, the worst Roman defeat in a generation. The omphalos type belongs squarely to this period of Parthian ascendancy, struck as Rome was reeling and Parthia controlled everything east of the Euphrates.
Billon rather than pure silver signals gradual debasement across Orodes' long reign — a trend that accelerated under his successors.