Speaker
Description
With ten mints issuing drachms, in addition to that of Seleucia on the Tigris dedicated to the tetradrachms, the reign of Phraates IV (37-2 BCE) marks a peak in the territorial distribution of Parthian coin production. Differently from the large silvers, coined only between 37 and 23 BCE, drachms were struck from the beginning to the end of the reign. The work carried out for the forthcoming Vol. 5 of the Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum has allowed detecting four phases in their production, belonging to two main periods. The paper will discuss the links connecting these series from a chronological and a spatial point of view, highlighting the level of coordination among the mints as well as the local peculiarities, and how their reconstruction may impact our understanding of some key historical events of the reign of Phraates IV and of the fabric of the Parthian Empire on more structural terms.
