Lot 288
Phraates II (132-127 BC), Silver Tetradrachm, 16.10g, 12h. Phraates II (132-127 BC), Silver Tetradrachm, 16.10g, 12h. Minted at Seleucia on the Tigris. Diademed and lightly bearded bust right, reel-and-pellet border. Rev. Male deity enthroned left, holding Nike in outstretched right hand, cornucopia in left hand, four-line inscription ??S???OS ??G???Y ??S???Y ????F???Y, two monograms in exergue (S 17.1 var, exergual monograms reversed; Sunrise 267). About very fine. Rare. To recover Mesopotamia and the former Seleucid satrapies of Elymais and Media, the Seleucid king Demetrius II (first reign, 145-138 BC) led an expedition against Mithradates I. However, he was, according to our combined literary and Babylonian cuneiform sources, defeated in the summer of 138 BC, captured and delivered to the Arsacid monarch who treated him magnanimously. Less than a decade later, Antiochus VII (138-129 BC), the younger brother and successor of Demetrius II, declared war on Parthia and marched out of Antioch with a large army. He recovered Mesopotamia and Elymais in the summer of 130 BC and then moved to Ecbatana in Media to challenge the reigning Arsacid prince, Phraates II. Some months later, Antiochus was caught in a Parthian ambush, defeated and slain about the end of summer – beginning of autumn 129 BC. The S 17 series of Tetradrachms and Drachms were minted at Seleucia on the Tigris to celebrate Phraates’ triumph over Antiochus. Hence their epithet ????F???Y, "Bearer of Victory".
Estimated Value $2,200-UP.
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| Realized $4,680 |
