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Research Coins: Electronic Auction

 
196, Lot: 72. Estimate $200.
Sold for $287. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of PARTHIA. Mithradates II. 121-91 BC. AR Drachm (23mm, 4.01 g, 1h). Rhagai mint. Struck circa 119-109 BC. Diademed bust left, neck torque ends in pellet; monogram to right / Archer (Arsakes I) seated right on omphalos, holding bow; A to inner left. Sellwood 24.18; Shore -. Near EF, toned, light porosity. Bold early portrait on a broad flan.


Mithradates II, the Great and Saviour of the Empire, was probably a son of Artabanos I, and an older half-brother of Artabanos "the Younger." After the death of his younger brother, and victory over the rebellious southern provinces, he quickly set out for the north to liquidate the nomad menace. His S25 variety with the epithet ΣΩΤΗΡ, "the Saviour," from the mints of Ekbatana, Rhagai, and probably one in eastern Parthia (the last two are recent discoveries) and the subsequent S24 drachms, attest to his complete pacification of the northern invaders. An important historical notice from Oct./Nov. 119 BC in a Babylonian cuneiform text reveals that one of Mithradates' expeditions against the north-eastern warriors was to avenge the death of his brother, Artabanos. This may well be a reference to the young king Artabanos "the Younger" who died while battling the "Guti."