Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 634. Estimate $150.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of PARTHIA. Orodes II. Circa 57-38 BC. AR Drachm (3.94 g, 12h). Ekbatana mint. Diademed and draped bust left, wearing torque with no upper end visible; all within pelleted border / BΛ(three-bar Σ)IΛEΩ(three-bar Σ)/BΛ(three-bar Σ)IΛEΩN AI (three-bar Σ)ΛVO[V]/ΠΛTOP[O(three-bar Σ)/ΔIKAIOY EΠIΦΛNOVΣ/ΦIΛEΛΛHN[OΣ] (sic), archer (Arsakes I) seated right on throne, holding bow; monogram below bow. Sellwood 43.1; Shore 214. VF, lightly toned.

From the Todd A. Ballen Collection.

Having dispensed with his brother, Orodes was able to consolidate the empire under his sole rule. This rare issue, marked by Nike’s appearance on the obverse, likely commemorates his victory over Mithradates IV. The legends on his new coins clearly were revisionist propaganda meant to exculpate the newly-crowned parricide: “Arsakes, king of kings, loving his father, just ....”

His long reign proved a watershed regarding relations with Rome. It was during his rule, in 53 BC, that Parthia achieved one of its greatest military triumphs against the Romans. The nature of the expedition of the Roman senator Crassus is not certain; most likely he set out in support of Mithradates IV who had appealed to Rome for help, but upon arriving too late, decided upon an expedition of conquest or plunder. Neverthelss, Crassus, the wealthiest Roman citizen, set out with a massive expedition of seven legions and was met upon the plains near Carrhae by an army of mounted Parthian archers under the command of Orodes’ illustruous general, Surena. Although outnumbered four to one, the Parthians’ tactics overwhelmed the Romans, and they were ultimately routed. Crassus and his son both lost their lives, over half of his total force was decimated, and their legionary standards were captured (to be returned by Phraates IV). Orodes was so fearful of Surena’s personal power and prestige following this victory, that Surena’s reward was arrest and execution.

Around 44/5 BC, the Roman general Quintus Labienus was sent to Parthia by Caesar’s assassins Brutus and Cassius to appeal for assistance in their struggle against the forces of Octavian and Antony. The Battle of Philippi came too quick for any sizable Parthian force to be sent. In 40 BC, though, Orodes agreed to give Labienus an invasion force of about 20 thousand horsemen under his son, Pakoros, to attack the Romans. Syria and Asia Minor were quickly occupied, but in 38 BC, both Labienus and Pakoros were killed and their forces defeated in an attempt to take Antioch. Orodes was said to have gone insane in grief over the loss of his favorite son, and he was shortly thereafter murdered by his son Phraates IV, his next designated heir. Regardless of his unfortunate end, his reign had a lasting effect: the projection of great military strength into Roman territory combined with the previous defeat of Crassus, forced the Romans to thereafter view the Parthians as the primary threat to their own power. It was the dawn of a constant state of hostility between the two, and influenced East-West relations for generations to come.