Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 531 25-26 Jan 2023
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Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 22.23 g, 5h). Rome mint. Struck after 20 February AD 116-August 117. Laureate and draped bust right / Trajan, laureate and in military attire, standing right, holding reversed spear and parazonium; around feet, Mesopotamia seated left, head right, and the Tigris and Euphrates seated right, facing one another, leaning on inverted urn from which water flows. RIC II 642; Woytek 590v–2; Banti 31. Green and red-brown patina, roughness. VF.
From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 46 (24 June 1998), lot 705.
Trajan's final campaign against the Parthians was sparked by Parthia's replacement of the pro-Roman king of Armenia with one of their own in AD 114. Armenia had been a strategic and semi-independent kingdom which served as an important buffer between Parthia and Rome. The last conflict over 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, 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. Although short-lived, these victories were celebrated on much of Trajan's later coinage.
From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 46 (24 June 1998), lot 705.
Trajan's final campaign against the Parthians was sparked by Parthia's replacement of the pro-Roman king of Armenia with one of their own in AD 114. Armenia had been a strategic and semi-independent kingdom which served as an important buffer between Parthia and Rome. The last conflict over 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, 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. Although short-lived, these victories were celebrated on much of Trajan's later coinage.