Journal articles on the topic 'Parthian Coins'

Although Parthian coins have appealed to a cross-section of ancient coin collectors for centuries, interest seems to have been particularly piqued by the 1993 publication of Fred B. Shore’s Parthian Coins & History: Ten Dragons Against Rome and by the subsequent sale of his collection in December 1995. Coins from the Parthian series present collectors with a number of different areas of potential focus, among them the different mint monograms, the varied representations of the distinctive Parthian tiara, portraits sporting the “royal wart” of the Arsacids, “off” style examples from Parthia’s eastern mints, etc.

The Parthians are one of the peoples and forces that lived in Iran and were able to form a state in the ancient East between the years (247 BC - 224 AD). Studies differed about their ethnic origin. However, some research indicated that they are Indo-European peoples. Though the Parthian-Roman relations were normal at the beginning, the Romans began stretching to the East. The interior and exterior tensions of the Parthian Empire, especially with the Romans, lead to the gradual destruction of the Parthians. Therefore, these tensions are counted as the main causes of the state’s collapse. The Parthian kings were chosen from the Aristocracy. Economically, the Parthians were powerful. Their coins witness the Parthians’ five-century sovereignty and cultural impact over the entire land of Iran. In this research, their political role in Iran and the ancient East was discussed. The research has been divided into two sections. The first section is devoted to the naming and ethnicity of the Parthians, and defining the borders of their state. As for the second section, the political developments in Iran during the Parthian era were discussed.

Due to a dearth of relevant information, the Indo Parthian kingdoms are not well-known archaeologically or historically. They aren't mentioned in mythological history or historical records from the early Islamic period. They dominated the land ruled by Indo-Greeks and Indo-Scythians. Some researchers have failed to distinguish between Parthian and Scythian kings, and have made no obvious distinctions between the two countries' leaders. The goal of this research is to look into the history of the Indo-Parthian monarchy. By relying on numismatic sources and evaluating historical researches, the study's research technique is descriptive-analytical, and an attempt has been made to pay attention to the ambiguities and complexity of the Parthian control of India. The study found that the Parthians of India were politically independent of the Parthians of Iran, and that despite their seeming independence, the two governments had no antagonistic relations; rather, the Parthian rulers of Iran considered the Parthians of India as intruders in their domain. The following order of reign of kings can be considered in the sequence of Parthian kings of India according to numismatic documents: Gondophares (simultaneously with Orthagnes and Guda), Abdagases, Pacores, Sanabares I, II, and III, and other kings named Parhas and Semara who are known by their names on the coins. Keywords: Gondophares, Indo-Pathian, India, Parthians and Kindgom

Abstract This article deals with the development of Kushan royal imagery as known from coins in the period between the 1st and the 3rd centuries ad, i.e. from the so-called Heraios series to the coins of Vasudeva. The aim is to challenge the traditional interpretative models which ascribed a crucial role to a Roman contribution, and to highlight instead first the role of the local numismatic tradition, which stretched back to the Graeco-Bactrians, and then the influx of patterns of royal imagery of western Iranian—namely Arsacid Parthian—origin, around the time when Vima Kadphises inaugurated a new imperial coinage.

In 1985, a stone-built tomb of the second or third centuries AD was found in the Samtavro cemetery on the outskirts of Mtskheta, the ancient capital of the Caucasian kingdom of Iberia. Its rich contents included a Mesopotamian cylinder- and an Achaemenid pyramidal stamp-seal, three sardonyx vessels, several pieces of silver plate bearing Greek and Parthian inscriptions, Roman coins and bronze vessels, and distinctive jewellery inlaid with carnelian and turquoise. The Society of Antiquaries is pleased to offer the hospitality of its pages to its Georgian colleagues

The Achaemenid Empire’s expansion towards the Indus basin initiated a new confluence of Iranic and Indian cultures. Alexander’s conquests added a Greek component to this confluence, marked by Aśoka’s Aramaic and Greek edicts. The Seleucids and their successor Greek states in Bactria and other parts of Afghanistan, while continuing their homage to Greek divinities on coins, also incorporated concepts, customs and art inherited from the Achaemenids. Their Saka and Parthian successors continued the same policy as indicated by their cons. It was the Kushans beginning with Kanishka (with Huvishka continuing the practice) who shifted to Iranian gods and goddesses.

The titles of Armenian kings of the Artaxiad (Artashesian) dynasty are known mainly owing to coin legends and rather scanty data of ancient historiographers. Artaxiads were usually represented by a short title of ‘king’ or ‘great king’. We see different variants of short titles in Greek: ‘king’, ‘great king’ and the title ‘king of kings’ on the coins of Tigran II (95-55 BC). The same titles were inherited by his son Artavazd II (55-34 BC). The only exception was the coin of Tigran III (20-8 BC) with the legend reading ‘Great king Tigran, Philhellenos and Philopatoros’. These epithets were adopted by him as a sign of his pro-Parthian orientation and anti-Roman stance.

This paper offers the first ever discussion of all extant images of Abdissar, Monobazos I and ’tlw (Attalos), Kings of Adiabene. In analysing the numismatic and sculptural data, a few conclusions on the historical context are suggested. First, it is argued that stylistic features of the coinage of Abdissar suggest a date in the first half of the second centuryb.c.e., and this dating bears upon the question of the historical origin of the Kingdom of Adiabene. Adiabene originated as one of many “post-Seleucid” states which arose in the Near East when the Seleucid kingdom started to crumble, before the advent of the Parthians. This suggestion is also corroborated by stylistic features of the coinage which accentuate the divine investiture of royal power in Abdissar. It is also held that the Batas-Herir monument depicts King Abdissar. Second, the images on the coin of Monobazos I clearly reflect the time of Adiabene's economic prosperity and political rise to significance among Parthian “lesser kings” in the first half of the first centuryc.e. Third, the reign of King ’tlw (Attalos) remains largely obscure, but the placement of his sculpture in Hatra clearly shows good political relations and close cultural ties between the kingdoms of Adiabene and Hatra in the first half of the third centuryc.e. Additionally, the authors argue that the images of Oriental kings on the coins of Septimius Severus do not represent any particular Oriental rulers (of Edessa, Adiabene or Hatra), but are merely stereotypical images of what the Romans considered to be typical Oriental royal outfits.

The article is devoted to an artistic and historical study of a marble relief with a symbolic scene of Nero’s victory over Armenia from the Sebasteion sanctuary complex in the ancient town of Aphrodisias in Asia Minor. The temple complex was dedicated to the cult of the Julio-Claudian imperial dynasty. The artistic and stylistic analysis of the relief was performed in the context of the sculptural program and decoration of the whole complex, and took into consideration other images of Nero in the Sebasteion. Through a comparative analysis of the figure personifying Armenia depicted on the marble relief in Aphrodisias, as well as a series of images on coins and small statuary samples, characteristic iconographic traits of Armenia in the Roman imperial art were revealed. Along with this, the paper presents an in-depth ‘reading’ of this scene within the context of specific epi- sodes from the history of the Parthian-Roman conflict and the Roman struggle for Armenia during the period of 54–68 AD.

Today the city of Ḫarrān/Carrhae is mainly known for the famous battle, in which the Roman general Crassus was defeated by a Parthian army in 53 BCE. However, Ḫarrān was also one of the most important religious centres of North Mesopotamia. Since the Bronze Age, the moon god Sîn of Ḫarrān was popular in the wider region, and it is well known that the late Assyrian and Baby- lonian kings supported the cult and rebuilt the temple of Sîn. Archaeological evidence and written sources attest to the great popularity of Sîn of Ḫarrān at that time. Much less is known about the development of the cult in the subsequent periods, but the evidence assembled in this paper in- dicates that it continued to thrive. An important but so far largely ignored source for the study of Sîn are coins, which were minted at Ḫarrān in the second and third century CE. They suggest that some distinctive features of the Iron Age cult still existed in the Roman period. Most important in this regard is the predominance of aniconic symbolism. A cult standard, a crescent on a globe with tassels mounted on a pole, continued to be the main of representation of the god. In addition, two versions of an anthropomorphic image of the god can be traced in the coinage of Ḫarrān. The first shows him as an enthroned mature man. It is based on the model of Zeus, but his attributes iden- tify the god as Sîn. The second version portrays him as a youthful, beardless god. Late antique sources frequently mention that the people of Ḫarrān remained attached to pagan religion, but the veracity of these accounts must be questioned. A reassessment of the literary and archaeological evidence suggests that the accounts of a pagan survival at Ḫarrān are hyperbolic and exacer ated by negative sentiments towards Ḫarrān among writer from the neighbouring city of Edessa.

AbstractThe archaeological study of pre-Islamic Uzbekistan (Bactria, Sogdiana) has been intensified since. World War II and this survey presents the most important recent results of this work. Bronze Age sites show a process of cultural change in Bactria, particularly the settlement of the area by farmers and the emergence in proto-cities of new urban forms of social organisation and systems of belief. The Iron Age sees the assimilation of new ethnic groups into the region, the expansion of a strong (Achaemenid) state, the development of defended cities and administrative centres and the beginnings of specialised craft industries. In the Classical period the Macedonian conquest brought about the sharp decline of existing urban centres, but the centralised states that followed were able to establish (e.g. through irrigation projects) new cities in new agricultural zones. Excavation into the lower levels of medieval cities has revealed several previously unknown ancient cities, many of which seem to have been derelict in the period before or during the Arab conquest. Bactrian cities of the Classical period have been shown to be extensive in area, well defended by strong walls and a citadel, and to have performed administrative, economic, religious as well as military functions. Cult buildings discovered show the presence of Avestan religion (although not the orthodox Zoroastrianism of Iran), cults of the Great Mother Goddess, and Buddhism (though limited to a few remarkable centres), and in the North of Sarmatian totemic cults using zoomorphic representations, finds of art, sculpture and wall-painting reveal a process in Bactria in which a native substratum was synthesized with Hellenistic, Indian and Sako-Sarmatian elements to produce work of high quality and originality. Epigraphical finds include ostraca, graffiti, inscriptions, and even papyri, representing scripts and languages from Bactrian to Pahlavi, to Greek and Latin. Finds of coins, including Greco-Bactrian and Parthian, help to date archaeological layers and produce accurate chronologies. Scholars from Uzbekistan have also contributed to the "Great Silk Road" programme, which is showing that routes crossing the region were formed in the 1st mill. B.C. and constituted a dense branched network by the end of the Classical period.

The investigation into the elemental composition and microstructural characteristics of ancient coins gives valuable information to researchers which greatly aid in the detection of counterfeits. This research aim is analysis encompasses an examination of major and trace elements present in the coins of Parthia, to identify forgery techniques utilizing the PIXE technique. The results show the elements Cl, Ca, Fe, Cu, Ag, Au, Pb, Sn, and Zn were identified and according to the ratio Ag/ Cu, can be said that the Parthia period occasionally used forged silver-plated coins. The elemental composition of silver coins of Orodes II and Phraates IV observes these coins are made with plating silver and affixed to the core utilizing a silver-copper eutectic layer, while the core itself consists of copper, and quantities of tin (Sn) were detected which may have been intentionally added for metallurgical, political, or historical reasons.

Ancient Iranian silver coins minted in various parts of the ancient Iran from Transoxiana to Mesopotamia over a time span of 460 years (247BC-208AD) during Parthians dynasty were analysed by PIXE with a 2.2 MeV proton beam. Forty seven silver coins owned by Tamashagah-e-Pool (museum of money) in Tehran were examined in this study. The possible correlation between the composition of coins and the minting time or the minting location of coins has been the prime objective of the present study. Elemental analysis of ancient coins could also reveal the direct relation with the political and economical situation and also with the metallurgy of the minting time. Results on the contents of principal component elements ( Fe , Ni , Cu , As , Br , Ag , Sn , Sb , Ba , Au and Pb ) are presented and discussed.

This article presents selected coins from the collection of Klaus Grigo from Bochum. Mr. Grigo’s enthusiasm for ancient numismatics was sparked when he obtained his first Roman coins, found during the drought of the Moselle in 1959. In 1976, he started collecting Greek coins until he first came into contact with pieces from Baktria at the Bochum Coin Exchange in 1988. Since then, he has compiled a collection of more than 550 eastern coins, ranging from the Achaemenids to the Indo-Parthians. After having acquired many rare and in part unpublished variants, Mr. Grigo decided to sell his coins in Gorny & Mosch’s Auction 297. Part 1, held on October 9, 2023. Following are a selection of previously unpublished rarities from the Grigo collection. For the other coins of the collection that couldn’t be included in this article, please refer to the auction catalogue.

Abstract A coin which has lain unrecognized in the BM, which can be identified as an unpublished coin of Zela, proclaims that if ‘the emperors are victorious the world is happy’. The formula is analysed in the context of imperial acclamations and their language, which differs from that normally found on coinage. It is suggested that the coin may have been struck in connection with an otherwise unknown visit by Caracalla to the East in AD 207, for which other evidence is assembled. A catalogue of acclamations on Roman coins, medallions, and tokens is provided.

The Sasanians were the last pre-Islamic Persian dynasty that ruled present-day Iran and its neighbouring extensive territories, succeeding the Parthians from 224 A.D to 651 A.D. It was the second-longest reigning Persian imperial dynasty, enduring over four centuries until the Muslims defeated the last Sasanian Emperor, Yazdegerd III. Six unpublished coins of this dynasty stored among the rich collections of nearly fifty-eight thousand manifold coins of the Bangladesh National Museum are matter of surprise and curiosity because Bengal was neither a part of their Empire nor ever ruled by them. These coins were discovered in Bengal in the early twentieth century. They have been identified recently, although they were unidentified for a long time following collection. Typically, coin from one region found in another conveys a trading identity. The early Arabs used Sasanian coins along with other coins as currency before introducing their purely Arabic coins in 696 A.D. They were traditionally traders and had commercial contacts with South and Southeast Asia since the seventh century. They might have used these unpublished coins in the seventh century as a means of exchange in Bengal because the region was well-heeled in ancient times and drew traders from all over the world. This article has unveiled these hitherto unpublished coins with their identification and conducted a comprehensive numismatic endeavour virtually to give insight into the inferential cause as well as the timeframe of their arrival in Bengal.

В данной работе пойдет речь о золотых полихромных украшениях, происходящих из комплексов на территории Западной Грузии (Гонио, Махо, Капандиби, Клдеети) и прилегающих областей (Лоо), а также относящейся к этой же группе подвески с изображением Минервы, которая в начале XX в. находилась в собрании ростовского коллекционера Ф.С. Романовича (она специально рассматривается в приложении к статье). По мнению О.В. Шарова, высказанному впервые в 2006 г., указанные украшения входят в группу полихромных ювелирных изделий позднеримского времени, названную им группой «Горгиппия—Лоо» и датированную в первой работе — III в. н.э., в дальнейшем — второй половиной II — первой половиной III в. н.э. Отчасти это характеристика действительно соответствует находкам из склепа II/1975 в Горгиппии (но лишь отчасти — композиции из зерни, также как и касты с зубчатым краем в их декоре не использованы), но при этом находки из Горгиппии не имеют ничего общего с указанными украшениями из Гонио, Клдеети, Капандиби и Лоо, для которых использование филиграни, как в изделиях из Горгиппии, не характерно. Соответственно, очевидно, что следует отказаться от такого необоснованного термина, который обозначает изделия, не связанные между собой. Анализ особенностей формы и декора украшений из Колхиды и прилегающих областей, а также стилистический и хронологических анализ комплексов, из которых они происходят, позволяет прийти к следующим выводам. Прямых оснований датировать III в. н.э. ни один из рассматриваемых комплексов из Колхиды и Лоо — нет. Более того, ювелирные изделия, входящие в состав кладов и погребений из Махо, Гонио, Капандиби и Лоо, вряд ли выходят за рамки I в. н.э., а часть из них с очевидностью может быть датирована еще I в. до н.э. Вместе с тем, подробный анализ бляхи из собрания Ф.С. Романовича дает основание предполагать, что образцом для подражания ювелира могла послужить монетная эмблема, которая появляется на монетах Каракаллы и Геты и, соответственно, датировать подвеску не ранее рубежа II—III вв. н.э. Таким образом, не исключено, что мастерские, появившиеся в Колхиде еще на рубеже н.э. и изготавливавшие в I в. н.э. золотые украшения в характерном стиле, с широким использованием зерни и цветных вставок, преимущественно в пластинчатых кастах с зубчатым краем, продолжали работать в указанном стиле, по крайнем мере, до начала III в. н.э., что теоретически не исключает и более позднюю датировку колхидских комплексов в рамках второй половиной II — первой половиной III в. н.э. Укажем в этой связи, что сочетание в комплексах значительно более ранних импортных драгоценных вещей (в частности, римской бронзовой, серебряной посуды, гемм) и римских и парфянских монет I—II вв., в том числе золотых, которые рассматривают в качестве дипломатических даров, в целом характерно для богатых погребений некрополей Картли, особенно Мцхеты, середины / второй половины II — начала / первой половины III в. н.э. О.В. Шаров высказал предположение, что изготовление и стиль орнаментации украшений рассматриваемой группы «изначально связаны с традициями еще Аршакидского Ирана, а часть предметов могла изготавливаться мастерами Иберии, находящейся в III в. н.э. под сильным иранским влиянием». И этот тезис вызывает серьезные сомнения, учитывая отсутствие в Иране не только близких параллелей по форме украшений, но и сочетаний композиций из зерни со вставками в кастах с зубчатым краем. Скорее рассматриваемые изделия следует рассматривать как изделия местных мастерских и не Иберии, а Колхиды (т.е. Западной Грузии) в том числе с учетом очевидных элементов и мотивов, восходящих к произведениям ювелирного искусства Колхиды более раннего времени. Обращает на себя внимание и практически полное отсутствие украшений, которые можно определить как римские. Разве что можно было бы говорить о происхождение перстня и вставки в одну из блях из Лоо. Стеклянный кубок из Лоо был вероятно изготовлен в Сирии, тогда как серебряный канфар из Капандиби находит ближайшие параллели оформлению ручек на сосудах августовского времени из Центральной Европы. Парфянские же коннотации прослеживаются лишь в случае навершия с характерными подвесками из клада в Гонио и возможно, с фаларом из этого же клада, но и они не имеют никакого отношения ни к III в. н.э., ни к мастерским Иберии. This paper focuses on gold polychrome jewellery originating from the complexes in Western Georgia (Gonio, Makho, Kapandibi, Kldeeti) and adjacent areas (Loo), as well as a pendant with the image of Minerva belonging to the same group, which in early 20th century was acquired by the Rostov-on-Don collector F.S. Romanovich (it is specially considered in the appendix to the article). According to O.V. Sharov, whose opinion was expressed for the first time in 2006, these adornments are included in the group of polychrome jewelry of the late Roman period, which he called the “Gorgippia — Loo” group and dated in 2006 to the 3rdcentury CE, later — to the second half of the 2nd— the first half of the 3rd century CE. In part, this characteristic really corresponds to the finds from crypt II/1975 in Gorgippia (but only in part — compositions made of granulation, as well as cells with a jagged edge, were not used in their decoration), but the finds from Gorgippia have nothing in common with the jewellery from Gonio, Kldeeti, Kapandibi and Loo under discussion, for which the use of filigree, as in the finds from Gorgippia, is not typical. Accordingly, it is obvious that such an unreasonable term, which denotes objects that are not related to each other, should be abandoned. An analysis of the characteristic features of the shape and decoration of jewellery from Colchis and adjacent areas, as well as a stylistic and chronological analysis of the complexes from which they originate, allows us to come to the following conclusions. There are no direct reasons to date to the 3rd century CE any of the complexes from Colchis and Loo under discussion. Moreover, the jewellery found in the hoards and burials from Makho, Gonio, Kapandibi and Loo is unlikely to be later than the 1stcentury CE, and some of these items can obviously be dated even to the 1st century BCE. At the same time, a detailed analysis of the pendant from the collection of F.S. Romanovich gives reason to believe that the coin emblem that appeared on the coins of Caracalla and Geta could serve as a prototype for the jeweler and, accordingly, this allows to date the pendant no earlier than the turn of the 2nd—3rdcenturies CE. Thus, it is possible that the workshops that were established in Colchis at the turn of the Christian era and produced in the 1st century CE gold jewellery in a characteristic style, with extensive use of granulation and colored inlays, mainly in sheet cells with a serrated edge, continued to work in this style, at least until the early 3rdcentury CE, which theoretically does not exclude the later dating of the Colchis complexes within the second half of the 2nd — the first half of the 3rdcenturies CE. In this regard, I would point out that the combination in the complexes of much earlier imported precious items (in particular, Roman bronze and silver utensils and gems), as well as Roman and Parthian coins of the 1st—2ndcenturies, including gold ones, which are considered as diplomatic gifts, is in general typical for the rich burials of the necropoleis of Kartli, especially Mtskheta, of the middle / second half of the 2nd — early / first half of the 3rdcenturies CE. O.V. Sharov suggested that the manufacture and the style of decoration of the jewellery of the group under consideration “originally was associated with the traditions of Arsakid Iran, and some of the items could have been made by craftsmen of Iberia, experiencing in the 3rd century a strong Iranian influence”. Also this thesis raises serious doubts, given the absence in Irannot only of close parallels to the forms of jewellery under discussion, but also of combinations of compositions made of granulation with inlays in cells with a jagged edge. Rather, the objects in question should be considered as products of local workshops and not of Caucasian Iberia, but of Colchis (i.e., Western Georgia), also taking into account obvious elements and motifs dating back to the works of jewellery art of Colchis of an earlier period. Noteworthy is the almost complete absence of adornments which could be identified as Roman, unless one could consider the origin of the finger ring and cameo inlay in one of the plaques from Loo. The glass goblet from Loo was probably made in Syria, while the silver cantharus from Kapandibi finds the closest parallels in the design of the handles among the vessels of the Augustan period from Central Europe. Parthian connotations can be traced only in the case of a finial with characteristic pendants and, possibly, a phalera from the Treasure from Gonio, but they also have nothing to do neither with the 3rdcentury, nor with the workshops of Iberia.

For more than 150 years numismatic scholarship postulated that a coinage associated with Sophytes was struck on an ‘Indian’ weight standard. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, this evolved into an enduring mirage, accompanied by an added dimension of complexity, one that posited that the coinage was struck simultaneously on two weight standards, Attic and ‘Indian.’ This mirage, and its associated complexity is dispersed completely by a comprehensive metrological analysis of 957 coins across seven silver denominations in the coinage of Sophytes, and his predecessor Andragoras, struck in Parthia during the period 250s-238 BC. It confirms that eleven series of issues in the coinage constitute a single currency system, an epichoric coinage that was systematically weight adjusted based on a reduced Attic weight standard tetradrachm of 17.00 grams, with an increased component seigniorage, up to fifteen percent, applied to the smaller denominations. This metrology is reflective of its origin in the mid 3rd century BC.

An extensive array of the of the once rare silver coinage of Andragoras and Sophytes has appeared recently in numismatic trade. This has more than tripled the corpus of known specimens compared to that documented in the typology of the coinage struck by these two rulers in Parthia in the period c. 250s-238 BC. For the most part, new types identified among the coins in commerce served to extend previously identified suites of mint controls to different denominations in each series, or more rarely and significantly to other series in the coinage. A notable example of the latter is a newly identified anepigraphic Andragoras Series 4 (laureate head of Zeus r./eagle standing l., head reverted) diobol on the reverse of which is found the kerykeion symbol above a grape vine branch . Previously, the latter was the only known symbol on Series 4. The addition of the kerykeion symbol to the repertoire of Series 4 mint controls characterizes this new type as an example of the previously unknown Series 4.3.

Because of the complicated foreign policy in the fourth century (regular attacks of the Goths and Huns on Roman Empire, the rise of Persia and subordination of Kartli, Armenia and Albania), Rome was unable to exert proper control over its eastern provinces, including the eastern Black Sea coast and, accordingly, it was compelled to put up with the Lazis becoming more and more active in western Georgia [Muskhelishvili 2012:39]. Apparently, the Lazis evaluated the existing situation properly and gradually made their neighboring tribes of the Apsils, Abazgs and Sanigs subordinate to them [Lomouri 2011:119-120]. Unification of the western Georgian tribes by the Lazis and formation of a strong kingdom was in the interests of the Roman Empire too. Scholars suggest that Rome encouraged this process, rather than hindering it, because presence of a strong kingdom in western Georgia which had control over various passes and fortified cities on the Black Sea coast would serve as a defensive barrier for eastern provinces of Rome from northern nomadic tribes [Melikishvili 1970:556-557; Lomouri 2011:120; Muskhelishvili 2012:39]. Procopius of Caesarea puts special emphasis on this situation. According to him, “For the barbarians inhabiting the Caucasus Lazika is just an obstacle” [Procopius of Caesarea 1965:94]. Thus, from the third century, the Lazis gradually annexed the tribes residing in western Georgia and laid foundation for the kingdom of Lazika (Egrisi), whose borders approximately fell within the limits of western Georgia (Fig. 1). The king of Lazika had subordinated the neighboring tribes, but, on the other hand, formally it was a vassal of the Roman (Byzantine) emperor. According to Procopius of Caesarea, the Lazis “were Romans’ subordinate, but they did not pay any tribute or submit to them. The only thing they did was that when their king died, the Roman king would send an heir to the throne, or the symbol of power, to them. The latter would rigorously protect the borders of this country together with his subordinates so that the hostile Hunns would be unable to invade Roman lands from the Lazis’ bordering Caucasus Mountains passing through Lazika. They firmly protected them without getting any money or army from the Romans and did not go to war with the Romans either [Procopius of Caesarea 1965:72-73]. It is obvious that despite gaining factual independence, Romans still had considerable influence on western Georgia. It is not surprising - from the first century BC, after Pompey campaigned against Colchis and later (in the first-second cc AD) Rome deployed garrisons on the Black Sea coast, Rome gained a firm foothold in western Georgia. Analysis of archaeological material shows that this influence was not only political, but economic and cultural as well. For instance, the inland area of western Georgia yielded a large number of Roman coins of the first three centuries of the common era. Among them remarkable is a hoard of silver coins of the second-third centuries (907 items) discovered in Village Eki (Senaki Municipality) in 1971. It included a drachma of King Orod II of Parthia (57-38) and didrachmas and denarii minted in the names of Roman emperors Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Lucius Verus, Commodus, Pertinax, Niger, Septimius Severus and so on. 774 coins of the Eki hoard are struck in the mint of Caesarea, 131 – in the mints of Rome and those of the eastern provinces of Roman Empire, and the rest – in other provinces [G. Dundua, V. Tsirghvava 1971:42:45]. This and other contemporaneous discoveries prove that in the late Roman period Roman influence in western Georgia, especially in its western regions, was really strong.

Summary:The aim of this study is to analyse the Roman-Parthian relations under Artabanos II and Tiberius, and the political role played by Armenia, focusing on the agreement between the Roman prince Germanicus and Artabanos II. A scrutiny of military and diplomatic measures taken by Rome, Parthia, and minor kings of Kappadokia, Pontos and Armenia suggests a new perspective of the Roman and Parthian policies towards Armenia under Tiberius and Artabanos II. Artabanos II's triumph over Vonones compelled Rome to revise her policy toward Parthia. Artabanos agreed on a compromise with the ruler of Kappadokia Archelaos, a Roman client king, that involved installing Archelaos' stepson, Zeno, on the throne of Armenia. Germanicus' intervention in Armenia in A.D. 18 led to the conclusion of a compromise settlement between Rome and the Parthians, securing over a decade of peace between the two powers. Zeno Artaxias' coronation at the hands of Germanicus was commemorated by the issue of a set of meaningful silver coins.

Due to its historical, political and geographical position, Syunik has been one of the important junctions of trade routes for centuries. Among the evidence of all this are the numerous found treasures of money and individual coins, covering a long historical period - from antiquity to the late Middle Ages - without a break. In this work, hoards found in different places of Syunik, stored in the History Museum of Armenia, were highlighted. As a result of the study, they were classified by issuing countries, by period, the typology of coins was given, the iconography and the circumstances of their discovery were classified and considered. The hoards include Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanian, Mongolian, Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, Western European and other coins, the study of which may be of great source and significance for solving historical issues. In this context, the study of coins can be of great importance in solving existing geopolitical problems. Money, as an important political, social, economic, historical and cultural object of the country, reveals trade and economic relations between countries in different periods. In this sense, hoards are important. The discovery of numerous hoards confirms the importance of the region in the global process of transit trade, as well as the existing interactions between peoples. The region played an important role in the global trade process, being located on transit routes connecting countries that played a large role in trade relations. It was a connecting link from the trading cities of Persia to Armenia and from here to the important trading centers of the Black Sea. Thus, for centuries, Armenia has been considered an economic buffer country and a neutral area for international trade activities. In this process, the role of the Armenian merchant class in the development of the history, culture and economy of the Armenian people is invaluable. The Armenian merchant class acts as a connecting link between European and Asian countries, promoting the development of cultural exchanges between peoples.

This article proposes an interpretive framework of paradox and wonder as a new approach to understanding the affective properties and social consequences of miniature objects in the archaeological record. Building upon current scholarly theories of miniatures as inherently intimate, this approach accounts for how small-scale artworks were also designed and deliberately manufactured to elude user attempts at full sensory access and immersive escapism. This desire-provoking tension between intimacy and distance—which lures viewers into small-scale encounters only to insist upon the object's life-size existence—is wonder, and it is what gives miniature objects their social relevance and ability not only to reflect, but also to influence, the real world. The benefits and applicability of this approach to miniaturization are illustrated through analysis of case studies of miniature objects (figurines, coins, seals and seal impressions, and jewellery) from Hellenistic Babylonia (Seleucid and Parthian periods in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, 323 bce–ce 224).

Historic-Archaeological Research of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milano on the Indus Delta (2010-2018). The following text is only an abridged note on the excavations at Banbhore and some significant extra-moenia surveys carried out by the Italian Team within the Institutional framework of a “Pak-French-Italian Historical and Archaeological Research at Banbhore” on the basis of a Licence issued by the competent Pakistani Authorities (2010-2015 - Coordinator of the Project Dr Kaleemullah Lashari), and, some later, within a new institutional asset: a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MoU) signed in the 2017 between the Director General of the Department of Antiquities of Sindh (Manzoor A. Kanasro) and the Magnifico Rettore of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan (Prof. Franco Anelli). Aims of the said MoU are: (a) historical-archaeological research-work at Banbhore and Rani Kot; (b) training (theoretical and on the job) to selected students and officers of the DAS. The Italian group works under the sponsorship of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (now Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation/MAECI). Scientific director for the Italian Team is Prof. Valeria Piacentini, member of the Board of Directors of the Research Centre CRiSSMA of the Catholic University. In the following dissertation I won’t linger on the debated issue about the identification of the site of Banbhore with historic sites on the Indus delta (the historical Mihrān river) mentioned and described in the written sources of the past. Too many respected scholars and archaeologists have entered this debate since the end of the 19th Century, for which I refer to a well-known exhaustive literature. In the “50s of the previous century, Leslie Alckok – then official to the Department of Archaeology of Pakistan – carried out some preliminary excavations, followed by Dr Rafique Mughal and F.A. Khan. This latter carried out a systematic and extensive archaeological campaign of several years between the “50s and the “60s, well backed by one of the most authoritative Pakistani historians, N.A. Baloch. Khan brought to light extraordinary archaeological and architectural evidence, but, unfortunately, his excavation-notes have gone lost and little or nothing has been published. Thence, our research-work had to start from nothing. First of all and most urgent was an updated planimetric and altimetric study of the site by kite-photos: a massive wall of c. 1,4 km with 55 towers, 7 posterns, and major and secondary accesses to the citadel (2010-2012 by Y. Ubelman, S. Reynard, A. Tilia), regularly updated with advanced technologies (A. Tilia). Then, in collaboration with Dr M. Kervran, head of the French Team, we undertook an accurate study of the bastions and the shapes of its towers (squared, U-shaped, circular), which has brought to envisage three main occupational phases of the intra-moenia area: 1. Indo-Parthian/Indo-Kushan phase (c. III-II Century b.CE – III-IV Century CE); 2. Sasanian/Indo-Sasanian phase (c. III-IV Century – early VIII Century CE); 3. Islamic phase (VIII – XII/early XIII Century CE). Decay and/or abandonment and end of any settled life on the site can be dated around the XII-early XIII Century, due to attacks and pillaging by Turco-Mongol nomadic tribes, and/or the deviation of this branch of the Indus delta and consequent filling of the harbour, or both. Archaeological evidence come to light confirms the historical information. Our third aim (2010-2015) was to arrive to a first chronological panorama of the site through levels in stratigraphy and the assemblage of pottery and other significant evidence with the individual levels (N. Manassero – A. Fusaro – A. Tilia). Deep trenches were excavated (T/7 and T/9 on the Italian side; T/1 on the French side near the western portion of the bastions skirting the Hindu Temple. These brought to the very early Sasanian period or late Indo-Parthian (c. II-III Century CE), then the water-table invaded the trenches preventing us to go deeper; however, drillings (T/9) have allowed to go deeper for c.1,8 mt of shards …thus reaching a much earlier occupational phase. The question about an Hellenistic occupation at the bottom of the site (Arrian’s harbour of Alexander) is still unanswered… a dream…but the importance of Banbhore has induced to take it seriously and include it within our priorities. Ours and the French trenches have also produced significant information on the architectural panorama of the site for its earlier periods of life. A main N-S and E-W road axis was traced. The site was organised in insulae, each insula with its pits of organic and inorganic refusals, densely built along narrow roads by small mono-nuclear houses, roofed, bases in local stones and the elevation in unbacked bricks. Interesting the presence of refusals of some crafts, as if each building had at the same time the function of “home” and workshop. The refusals shew activities of ivory-working (T/1,T/4, T/9), and other crafts carried out “within the bastions of the citadel”, such as glass, shells and mother of pearl, alloys and various metallurgic activities, too, and so on. Significant the presence of a wealth of clay-moulds. T/5 has produced a clay-mould nearly intact in its shape. No less interesting, in the deeper layers, the presence of a well arranged organisation of the hydraulic resources (small canals, little domed cisterns in roughly cut local stones, wells..: T/9). One element of the site attracted our attention: the so called “Partition Wall”. It has a North-South direction; then, it bends Eastwards, including the Mosque and the Eastern lagoon, but cutting out the majestic Southern Gate. So far, it had been interpreted as a Wall that had a “religious” or “social” function to separate – after the Islamic conquest – the Muslims from the non-Muslim inhabitants of the site. Manassero dedicated the 2014 Field-Season to investigate: T/7 and T/8 were the trenches that gave a new profile to this structure and to the general occupational organisation of the citadel during its last period of life. The round-shaped tower in mud-bricks and the walls on both sides show that they had been hurriedly erected in a late phase of the life of the citadel (around the end of the X – early XI Century CE). They had been built on the top of pre-existing buildings either abandoned and collapsed or hastily flatted-down, likely to defend this eastern portion of the site and its Mosque by some human ravage that had succeeded to open a breach in the lower western bastion leaving the higher north-eastern area exposed to attacks (the skeleton found by Dr Kervran on her portion of the wall, and Khan’s skeletons with arrow-heads in their skulls and chests). According to F.A. Khan’s excavations and what he left us in his little booklet that so far – printed and re-printed – is the guide for visitors to Banbhore, in the eastern portion of the site during the latest stage of its life still stood beautiful palaces, the Friday Mosque, markets, and an eastern gate where a staircase (still in situ in the 2015) brought to a lagoon at the foot of the eastern bastions and to the river. At the end of this first stage of our historical and archaeological research-work, the identification of the site of Banbhore with the historic Sasanian/Indo-Sasanian fortified harbour-town seemed quite feasible. When we resumed our field-work in the 2017, we decided to go deeper in this direction. In the meantime, Dr Manassero had resigned due to personal choices of life. Dr Simone Mantellini bravely accepted to be our Field-Director for the archaeological sector. T/9 had unearthed an imposing Building (Building 1) running along the East-West road-axis, parallel to a second Building (Building 2). The road – wide about 5 meters – must have been a major road, that had played a central role within the general architectural urban asset of the site. Building 2 had the typical structure of the local houses: base in rough stones, elevation in mud-bricks. Excavations of Building 1 produced fillings well flatted and an endless chronological procession of floors in row mud, likely the re-occupation of an important palace during the last phase of the occupational life of Banbhore. The material (pottery and others) associated with the various levels in stratigraphy (Dr A. Fusaro) confirmed the dating of the dug portion from c. the early XIII to the XI Century CE. Historically speaking, it makes sense: chronicles of the time report about the invasion of Lower Sindh by the Seljuks (second half of the XI Century CE); they indulge on the assaults against the walls of its great harbour-town named Daybul, its long siege concluded with a peace-treaty that fixed the border with Makrān at Gwadar and gave to Daybul an autonomous status (nāḥiya) within the Seljuk dominion of Qāvurd-Khān ibn Chaghrī Beg. More interesting was the copious filling with ivory refusals. Along Building 2, were found semi-worked shells, glass, iron and brass rivets, iron instruments, alloys, coins and other. This induced to think to a late quarter of work-shops outside the Partition Wall, built on previous buildings. Lastly, some surveys extra-moenia and in the Lahiri Bandar and Mullah-ka Kot islands have revealed a close connection and interaction between these spaces and the citadel. Around the bastions: the remains of a densely settled area and a well organised regulation of the waters and the territory, rock quarries, urban quarters, dwellings, cairn-tombs (some of them re-used), an artificial lake of sweet water delimited to the south by a “barrage”, wells, and a vast so called “industrial area” to the north-northwest of the bastions, pottery kilns and others completed the image of a urban asset at least for a given span of time. Architectural and archaeological evidences have regularly been graphically, photographically and topographically documented (A. Tilia). Archaeometric analyses on the job (pottery, metals, alloys, coins…) and in Italy (ivory, glass, clay-moulds, shards…) have provided precious support and new elements to the archaeological work. We are now confronted with the plan of a positive shahristān. Banbhore is no longer only a fortified citadel. Written sources in Arabic and Persian confirm this feature. After the Jan.-Feb. 2018 field-season, the Islamic occupational phase of Banbhore and the “archaeological park” surrounding it enhanced this image: a positive fluvial and maritime system stemmed out, a well-fortified system and harbour-town, a centre of mercantile power, production and re-distribution of luxury goods, an international centre of pilgrimage and religious learning, too, outlet to the sea of the capital-city of the moment. For the forthcoming field-seasons, it was decided to concentrate the attention on the sector where the North-South axis crosses the East-West one. In particular: to further investigate Building 1; to look for the ivory-workshops that must be there around – given the copious pieces so far brought to light and used as refilling (more than 9.000 fragments) and some fragments of rough ivory (specialist of the Italian Team G. Affanni); to organise a deep-trench in the Pakistani sector (T/11), in order to resume Manassero’s investigations on the urban and architectural features of the pre-Islamic phases...and (why not?) try to overcome the water-table problem with the technological support offered by the Bahrya University of Karachi…the much dreamed quest of Alexander the Macedonian’s port. All in all and to conclude. Nowadays, at the end of this first stage of historical and archaeological research-work in collaboration with the DAS, the identification of the site of Banbhore and its surrounding area with the Sasanian/Indo-Sasanian and the Early-Islamic well-fortified harbour-town of Daybul/Debol can be confirmed. No other site with the characteristics described by the written sources of the time (chronicles, geographies, travelogues…plus Marco Polo and some significant Genoese archival documents) has so far come to light on the Indus deltaic region. Conversely, still un-answered are other queries: Banbhore can be identified also with the great harbour of Alexander the Macedonian? Or with the Barbaricum/Barbarikon/Barbariké, harbour-town of Parthian rulers or local lords of “Skuthia”, also mentioned in the Periplus Maris Erythraei? Or again with Dib/Deb, harbour mentioned in a Parthian-Manichaean text? Or again the Dibos of Greek sources? Or the Dêbuhl/Dêphul of an Arminian text à propos of the Prophet Mani? Wishful thinking; however, these queries represent some amongst the ambitious aims of our future research-work.