Sale: CNG 67, Lot: 1445. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2004.  Sold For $2300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. Æ Sestertius (23.92 gm). Struck 116-117 AD. Laureate and draped bust right / ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P R REDACTAE, Trajan, laureate and in military uniform, standing facing, head right, holding reversed spear and parazonium; Mesopotamia seated left at feet, in attitude of mourning; to left and right, Tigris and Euphrates seated vis à vis, each leaning on inverted urn from which water flows, and holding reed. RIC II 642; BMCRE 1033; Cohen 39. Good VF, green patina with black-green highlights, areas of light roughness, smoothed. ($2000)

From the Garth R. Drewry Collection. Ex Harlan J. Berk 115 (20 August 2000), lot 587.

Trajan's final campaign was sparked by Parthia's replacement of the pro-Roman king of Armenia with one of their own in 114 AD. Armenia had been a strategic and semi-independent kingdom which served as an important buffer between Parthia and Rome. The last conflict overt this region, during Nero's reign, resulted in a delicate balance that stabilized the situation for over fifty years. The move by Parthia now upset the balance and posed a threat to Rome's wealthy Syrian cities. Trajan’s campaign was swift and decisive; by 115 AD, Armenia was restored as a Roman client state. To secure the eastern frontier, he then moved southward through Mesopotamia, and captured the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, in 116 AD. Although short-lived, these victories were celebrated on much of Trajan's later coinage.