安息帝国的辉煌

简介：

ROMAXIII拍卖行 2022年3月拍出100000英镑

Parthia, Andragoras AV Stater. Circa 246/5-239/8 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Zeus to right; monogram of Andragoras behind / Fast quadriga driven by Nike to right, holding kentron and reins, accompanied by a warrior, holding uncertain object in raised right hand; three pellets below, [Α]ΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΟΥ in exergue. BMC Arabia, North East Persia p. 193, 2 (same dies) = Mitchiner 19 (illustrated on the left); CNG Triton XX, lot 341 (same dies).

NGC graded Ch AU★ 5/5 - 4/5, die shift (#6156784-001). Extremely Rare; one of nine known examples, of which only six are in private hands.

From a private European collection.

It has been suggested that the Andragoras of Parthia whom Alexander the Great supposedly conferred local authority upon (Justin, xii. 4), never existed at all and is only mentioned by Justin by mistake. Andragoras was in fact not included in the partition of power at the Treaty of Triparadisus in 321 BC, when instead Philip was named as the ruler of Parthia, and in other classical sources Phrataphernes is usually mentioned as the satrap of Parthia until Philip replaced him. Philip in turn was satrap until 318 BC, when Peithon, who was then seeking to establish his power over all the Eastern provinces, made himself master of Parthia, and put Philip to death. Andragoras therefore has no secure place in the immediate chronology of post-Alexandrine Parthia. It is of course possible that Justin was mistaken about his satrapy (numerous other small satrapies existed in the area), or had his dating confused - the existence of an Andragoras who was Satrap of Parthia under Seleukos I, is uncontested. This Andragoras appears to have taken advantage of what appeared to be the imminent collapse of the Seleukid Empire in the Third Syrian War, when - following the death of Antiochus II - Ptolemy III seized control of the Seleucid capital at Antioch, to secede from the empire and make his satrapy into an independent kingdom. Following the secession of Parthia from the Empire and the resultant loss of military support, Andragoras had difficulty in maintaining his borders, and in about 238 BC the Parni invaded under the command of Arsaces and his brother Tiridates and seized control of the northern region of the Parthian territory. Andragoras appears to have been killed either attempting to retake this territory, or while resisting the Parni conquest of the remainder of Parthia.

Given the numismatic evidence presented by the important Andragoras-Sophytes Group, the silver coinage of Andragoras and Sophytes should be considered roughly contemporary, but it seems apparent that Andragoras' Tyche-Athena tetradrachms slightly pre-dated the helmeted head series of Sophytes. Earlier scholarship has often tended to date the coinage of both Andragoras and Sophytes much too early, occasionally to the period immediately following the death of Alexander. Further considerations on the identical monograms found on the gold and silver coinage of Andragoras (see lot 329), and a thorough review of the political history of the eastern satrapies of the Seleukid empire from 321-250 BC have led us to conclude that there can have been only one Andragoras, and that both the silver and gold coinage must date to the time of his rebellion and secession from the Empire.

The types employed on this ruler's coinage therefore make perfect sense given their context. Andragoras faced a belligerent tribe - the Parni - on his border, and with Seleukos II preoccupied with fighting an increasingly desperate war against Ptolemy III, no assistance would be forthcoming. Thus we find the types of Tyche, wearing her mural crown, who on the obverse is invoked as the goddess governing the fortune and prosperity of the city, and Athena as military protectress on the reverse. The gold staters depicting Zeus, the supreme Greek deity, and a war-chariot guided by Nike the goddess of Victory, likewise hint at production in a war-time setting.

帕提亚帝国（又名阿萨息斯王朝或安息帝国）金标币，1 Stater，NGC 评级为 Ch AU★ 5/5 - 4/5，先已知存世有9枚，其中6枚为私人收藏