Unit - Septimius Severus and Abgar VIII Edessa

Abgar VIII of Edessa — known in sources as "the Great" — was the first ruler of any significance to adopt Christianity as a court religion, a claim that made Edessa an outsized presence in early church historiography. His alliance with Septimius Severus was strictly pragmatic: Osroene sat astride the Euphrates frontier, and Severus needed the kingdom cooperative during his Parthian campaigns of 195 and 197–198 AD. This joint issue formalized that accommodation in bronze.

Edessa's mint output under Abgar VIII is notably sparse in the archaeological record, making even worn examples useful for die-study purposes.