124, Lot: 115. Estimate $100. Sold for $101. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of PARTHIA. Mithradates II. Circa October 122 - October 91 BC. AR Drachm (20mm, 3.87 g, 1h). Ekbatana mint. Struck circa 119-109 BC. Diademed bust left; neck torque ends in single pellet / BASILEWS MEGALOU ARS-AKOU EPIFANOUS, Arsakes I seated right on omphalos, holding bow. Sellwood 24.9; Shore 69. Good VF, hairline flan crack.

Mithradates II, the Great and Saviour of the Empire, was probably an older half-brother of Artabanos “the Younger”, son of Artabanos I (see note following previous lot). 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 SWTHR, "the Saviour," from the mints of Ekbatana, Rhagae, 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.”