The Usurper Vabalathus

377, Lot: 527. Estimate $750. Sold for $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Vabalathus. Usurper, AD 268-272. Antoninianus (21mm, 3.49 g, 12h). Antioch mint, 1st officina. Struck circa March-May 272. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Sol standing facing, head left, raising hand and holding globe; star to left. RIC V 2; Bland, Coinage 13; MIR 47, 355; BN pl. 86, 283. VF, dark green patina, earthen highlights. Rare.

The son of Odenathus, ruler of the rich eastern trade center of Palmyra, and his wife Zenobia, Vabalathus was declared king following the murder of his father in AD 267. Since he was still in his minority, Zenobia took over as regent, using the position and the confusion following the death of Gallienus to expand Palmyrene power. In AD 269, the Palmyrenes seized control of Egypt and, with it, the Roman grain supply. To bolster her position, Zenobia laid claims to an illustrious ancestry, including Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the legendary Dido of Carthage.

The emperor Aurelian recognized the threat posed by Zenobia and Vabalathus and launched a campaign. In AD 272, Palmyra was sacked and both Zenobia and Vabalathus were captured as they tried to make their way to Persia. The two were to be brought to Rome and paraded in Aurelian’s triumph in AD 274, but apparently only Zenobia survived the journey. According to later tradition, Aurelian, impressed by her beauty and dignity, not only freed her but granted her a villa in Tibur where she spent the rest of her life.