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Roman Imperial. Lucius Verus (161-169 AD) AR Denarius. temp. Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD). Struck at Rome mint, August to December, 165 AD.
Obverse: L VERVS AVG PARTH MAX. Laureate head of Lucius Verus right.
Reverse: TR P V IMP COS II. Parthian captive, wearing pointed cap and baggy breeches, seated with legs slightly crossed and hands bound behind back, leaning slightly forward. At feet, right, captured Parthian hexagonal shield, bow, and quicker.
References: RIC 540 (Marcus Aurelius); Göbl MIR 18, 112-14/30; RSC 273; BMCRE 385.
Provenance: Ex-Ancient & Medieval Coins Canada Auction 2, Lot 449 (9 Nov 2019), ex Justin Lee (his Iomega Collection). (Coin accompanied by Iomega Coll’s printed attribution insert plus minor notes by AMCC and, now, Curtis J-J for CONSERVATORI.)
Numis. Notes: Worn but nicely toned. Only partial legends. Major devices still present and readily recognizable, though without detail.
Hist. Notes: Alongside Lucius Verus’ titles, Armeniacus and Parthicus in the obverse legend, the reverse imagery of a Parthian captive also “Celebrates the victory in the war (161-165 AD) against the Parthians over the area of Armenia, led and commanded by Verus. Rome then installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne” (The Iomega Collection, Justin Lee).
For his role in reacquiring the important buffer state between Rome and Parthia, Lucius Verus was granted the title, Armeniacus. A year or so later he was granted the title of Parthicus as well.
Landlocked in the southern Caucuses, geography pressed against Armenia’s fate. Large on the scale of Kingdoms, but small as empires go, for centuries Armenia was fated to suffer the rise-and-fall and back-and-forth power struggles of two great geo-political powers of the ancient world, Rome and Parthia. In the Historical Notes for our Lucius Verus “Victory over Armenia” AE Sestertius (an ironic image, since Armenia was an ally, but illustrative of how Romans saw their friends) we continue:
“Armenia, a client state of Rome, had been captured by the Parthian King Vologoses IV, who expelled the Armenian king. In 163 AD, Rome re-captured the Armenian capital Artaxata, after which Lucius Verus accepted the title “Armeniacus” (Marcus Aurelius took that title as well, but the following year), despite never having seen combat (and despite his reportedly detached & debauched leadership style). They both took the title “Parthicus” two years later after invading Parthian territory and capturing Mesopotamia (Aurelius waiting a year, again, “after a tactful delay” [wiki]).