The Armenian Kingdom of Sophene

CNG 85, Lot: 1. Estimate $200. Sold for $550. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of SOPHENE. Arsames I. Circa 240 BC. Æ (17mm, 3.53 g, 12h). Head right, wearing pointed tiara / Soldier on horseback riding right, holding spear pointed at soldier standing to right. Bedoukian, Coinage 3; AC 3. Fine. Very rare.

From the R.A. Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group XXVII (29 September 1993), lot 1.

Classical Numismatic Group is pleased to offer the R.A. Collection of Armenian and Armenian-related coins, featuring rarities and interesting varieties spanning nearly 1600 years of ancient and medieval Armenian history. This collection, formed over the past 20 years, includes many lots from previous Armenian collections sold by CNG, such as the Araratian Collection sold in 1995, as well as coins illustrated in some of the leading Armenian numismatic references. This offering represents a unique opportunity for the specialist collector of Armenian coinage.

Located in the southwestern region of historical Armenia, Sophene was under Orontid rule during the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. Though Armenian soldiers sided with the unsuccessful Achaemenids against Alexander III of Macedon, Armenia itself remained unconquered. The first area in Armenia to be exposed to Greek influences, Sophene was later subjugated under the rule of the Seleukid king of Syria, Antiochos III circa 200 BC. Sophene, along with her sister kingdom of Greater Armenia, was ruled by Antiochos’ strategoi, Zariadres and Artaxias I, respectively. Both later gained their freedom from Seleukid rule following Antiochos’ defeat by the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia in 191 BC. The kingdom then continued under the rule of Zariadres and his successors until reunification with Greater Armenia by Tigranes II.