Pre-Long Beach Auction #91

Trajan. AE Sestertius (25.45 g), AD 98-117 Sharpness of EF. Rome, AD 116/7. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right. Reverse: ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAM[IA IN PO]TESTATEM P R REDACTAE, S C across field, emperor, in military attire, standing right, holding reversed spear and parazonium; at feet to left, Mesopotamia seated right; at feet to right, the river-gods Tigris and Euphrates seated left. RIC 642; Woytek 590v. Rare Armenia-related reverse. Some tooling in the fields. Glossy dark reddish-brown patina. Sharpness of Extremely Fine.
The client kingdom of Armenia served as a strategic buffer state between Rome's wealthy eastern provinces and the vast kingdom of the Parthians to the east. Every couple of generations throughout Roman history, the Parthians either invaded Armenia or installed a client king of their own choosing on its throne, which always prompted a strong response from Rome. In AD 114 during the latter part of Trajan's reign, the Parthians installed their own client king in Armenia. This upset the balance of power that had existed since the conquests of the Roman general Corbulo during Nero's reign. With the region thus destabilized, Trajan intervened militarily, restoring the kingdom as a Roman client state the following year. He then continued on into Parthian territory, even capturing and sacking the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon in 116. The reverse of this coin commemorates these conquests, and shows the emperor in military pose standing amongst the defeated figures of Mesopotamia and the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Estimated Value $500-UP