The Early Parthian Kings
Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 501. Estimate $1500.
Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.
Sold For $5000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
|
KINGS of PARTHIA. Arsakes I. 247-211 BC. AR Hemidrachm (1.99 g, 12h). Nisa(?) mint. Head right, wearing bashlyk and earring / APΣAKOY [A]YTO KPATOPOΣ, archer (Arsakes I) seated left on backless throne, holding bow. Cf. Sellwood 1.1; cf. Shore 1 (both refs. drachms); PDC 12333 (this coin). VF, toned, light scratches under tone. Extremely rare and only the second recorded specimen.
From the Todd A. Ballen Collection. Ex Gorny & Mosch 129 (8 March 2004), lot 194; Triton V (15 January 2002), lot 1556.
CNG is pleased to present the Todd A. Ballen Collection of Parthian and Parthian-related coinage. This collection contains a broad range of silver and bronze coinage representing most of the Parthian kings from Arsakes I to Artabanos V. It includes a diverse selection of denominations, as well as varieties, within each type. Particular attention was paid to obtaining examples from multiple mints, and many rarities of this nature are present in this selection. In addition to the Parthian kingdom, this collection also includes examples of the Indo-Parthian rulers, as well as a small selection of coinage from the various kingdoms that were located at the periphery of the kingdom, such as Elymais and Persis. Many of these coins can be found in the database of Parthian coins (the PDC number) at www.parthia.com, or by adding the extension coins/pdc_ABCDE.jpg to the address and replacing the ABCDE with the appropriate inventory number.
The Early Parthian Kings
Alexander III of Macedon (336-323 B.C.) proved his military genius by defeating the Achaemenid Persians in three battles: at the River Granicus (in western Asia Minor), Issus (northern Syria), and Gaugamela (northern Mesopotamia) in 334, 332, and 331 B.C., respectively. Yet by burning Persepolis he showed that his claim of creating a unified world empire was a myth and that his main desire was to plunder the Persian royal treasuries that ultimately netted him a fortune in excess of one hundred thousand talents in gold and silver. The repercussions from that senseless act were far reaching. Many loyal Persians must have felt embittered and resistance to Macedonian power may already have begun before the invaders left to pacify the eastern Achaemenid satrapies and then attack India.
(INTRO TO ARSAKES I) The history of Iran from the mid-4th to mid-3rd century BC is so poorly recorded that there is practically nothing known about any serious unrest or opposition to the Macedonian occupation for about eighty years after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. Nonetheless, many scholars believe, but have not conclusively proven, that between 250-247 BC, a man of unknown antecedence called Arsakes (Arshak) led an invasion into the Seleukid satrapy of Parthia and slew her governor, Andragoras. Soon afterwards he extended his power as far as Hyrcania and then in about 228 BC defeated the Seleukid king, Seleukos II (246-226 BC), who had set out to punish the rebellious satrapies. According to Justin (41.4.10), the Parthians commemorated that date as the beginning of their independence. Sadly, there is virtually no reference to the events and extent of the rule of Arsakes I in the contemporary Babylonian records and classical literature. Justin (41.5.5-6) reports that, having founded and consolidated the kingdom, Arsakes died at an advanced age, revered and perhaps deified by the Parthians.
The coins attributed to Arsakes I, Sellwood’s S1-S4 drachms, are all struck from five or less dies with a high ratio of die identities (or linkage). This indicates that they were probably minted towards the end of his reign, perhaps after his victory over Seleukos II. Hence the inclusion of the epithet ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ (“Autocrat”) or its possible Parthian equivalent krny (“Elected or Supreme General”) in the royal titulature on the coin.
