ORODES II - DRACHM SILVER COIN - I CENTURY BC (56-38)

Original Silver coin "Drachm" from I century.

Parthian King Orodes II 56-38 BC Drachm. Coin set on sterling silver handcrafted surrounding structure. Necklace made of sterling silver. Coin in silver.

Chain length : 54cm 

Coin diameter : 2cm

 

Made in Georgia

Orodes II (also spelled Urud II), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers quickly fell out and entered into a dynastic struggle, in which Orodes was triumphant.

 

Coinage under Orodes remained largely unchanged. The obverse of his coins portrays him with short hair and beard, along with a visible moustache. According to the modern historian Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, the portrait greatly resembles the Shami statue, discovered in the Bakhtiari mountains in southwestern Iran; it is currently stored in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran.

 

The reverse depict a seated archer wearing a soft cap (bashlyk) and sitting on a throne. Curtis notes its close resemblance to the thrones of the Achaemenid monarchs portrayed on the rock reliefs at Persepolis.

 

Other reverse of his coins, however, depict an investiture scene, where Orodes is receiving a scepter by the Greek goddess Tyche. In the Parthian era, Iranians used Hellenistic iconography to portray their divine figures, thus the investiture scene can be associated with the Avestan khvarenah. According to the modern historian Khodadad Rezakhani, the introduction of this new portrayal may have been due to the enlargement of Orodes' authority after the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC Under Orodes and his son Phraates IV, the production of coins reached its zenith, with the only Parthian ruler having similar numbers being Mithridates II (124–88 BC).