126, Lot: 121. Estimate $750. Sold for $470. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

[Medieval] SASANIAN KINGS. Ardashir I, as King Artaxerxes (Ardaxsir) V of Persis. Circa 205/6-223/4 AD. AR Obol (0.65 g, 3h). Mint A ("Stakhr"). Bearded facing head, wearing diadem and Parthian-style tiara / Bearded head of Papak left, wearing diadem and Parthian-style tiara. SNS Type I/1, A1; Göbl I/1; Alram 659. VF, toned, excellent metal. Rare.

Artaxerxes V, son of Papak and brother of Shahpur, was the leader of the revolt of Persis against the Arsakid kings of Parthia. Having secured his father’s rise to the kingship of Persis, it was natural for Artaxerxes to refuse to recognize his brother Shahpur as king upon the father's death. Subsequently, when Shahpur was killed, Artaxerxes ascended the throne with the blessings of his other brothers. A natural and charismatic leader, he took advantage of the Roman invasion of Parthia in 216 AD to begin a revolt against Arsakid rule. Eventually, his insurrection was joined by other Parthian vassal kingdoms, Media, Adiabene, and Kirkuk. In 222 AD Artaxerxes' forces defeated Vologases VI, and in 224 AD they defeated Vologases’ brother, Artabanos V, at the Battle of Hormuzdagan. Claiming descent from the great Achaemenid kings of antiquity, Artaxerxes realized his goal of founding a new Persian empire; as Ardashir I, he became the first king of the Sasanian Empire.