World Coins from the Time of Trajan


Kingdom of Bosporus


KINGS OF THE BOSPHORUS: SAUROMATES I (93-123 AD) Æ 48 Nummi Unit (10.58 g)
Obv: diademed and draped bust right.
Rev: M-H (48 Nummi) Nike in long chiton with wreath and palm branch
SNG Cop. 39
The Kingdom of Bosporus was willed to Roman Protection in 63 BCE. By that time the kingdom was over 400 years old and endured until conquered by the Ostrogoths in 335. This was a portent to what would befall the Roman Empire proper in the next century. Sauromates ruled before and beyond the reign of Trajan, but little is know of his rule. Gold coins do exist depicting Sauromates with both Trajan and Hadrian.

Parthia


Parthian Kingdom, Parthamaspates. Circa AD 116. AR Drachm (21mm, 3.85 g, 12h). Ekbatana mint
Obv: Diademed, bearded bust left, wearing tiara
Rev: Arsakes I seated right on throne, holding bow; monogram below bow..
Sellwood 81.1; Shore 424
Ex: CNG auction 142 lot# 68
Parthamaspates was the Roman puppet king installed by Trajan. Following Hadrian's pullout from Messopotamia he was quickly overthrown. He fled to Rome where he was installed as king of Osrhoene and ruled there until 123. History does repeat itself and there are some interesting comparisons to be made to the installation of Iyad Allawi as prime minister of Iraq.

Elymais


Elymais, Orodes II (@ 100 AD AD) AE Drachm (2.97 gr)
Obv: Bust left, with long beard and wearing diademed tiara ornamented with anchor. Pellet within crescent above anchor with one bar, to right.
Rev: Field filled with dashes.
Sear GIC 5895 var.
Elymais was a semi independent state under the Parthians. They were a fierce people and the Persian kings used to pay them tribute. They were not completely subdued until the Sasanian period.

China - Eastern Han Dynasty




Cash coin. 26 mm 2.21 gm
Obv: Wu Shu.
Mitchiner ACW 5435 - 5436, Schjoth 114
This type was made across several reigns including the era of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In an interesting case of parallel cultural evolution a social welfare program had been instituted similar to Trajan's Alimenta Italia only about 70 years previous to Trajan's reign by the emperor Wang Mang.

Celtic Tribes


Macedon, Thessalonica; Trajan 98 -117 CE Æ 11, .82 g.
Obv: Laureate bust right Hercules??.
Rev: Boar right.
Although purchased with this attribution, I think this coins is more likely a barbarous imitation of a Trajan quadrans

Kushan Empire



Kushans, Vima Taktu (Soter Megas @ 78-130 AD ) AE tetradrachm
Taxila series.
Obv: Diademed, radiate bust right, holding scepter; tamgah behind. 6 rays above head.
Rev: Greek inscription. Mounted horseman holding whip, advancing right, tamgah in front.
Mitchiner ACW.2953-2956
The Kushan Empire had significant contact with Rome. Several sources speak of Ambassadors from "Bactria and India" being received at Rome and there have been many Roman artifacts found in archaeological digs at the summer capital Begram. Remains of Roman glassware are particularly prevalent.


ARABIA, Himyarites. Amdan Bayyin Yanaf. Circa 50-150 AD. AR Quinarius (1.18 gm).
Obv: Male head right within torc
Rev: Greek inscription. Mounted horseman holding whip, advancing right, tamgah in front.
SNG ANS 1575.
The Himyarite kingdom became rich from the export of frankincense and myrrh. They were a Semitic tribe with a unique language that is still spoken and written in remote areas of Yemen. The area was also known for its agriculture and sophisticated irrigation technology mainly developed by the preexisting civilization of the Sabeans (Sheba). Himyarite ports also funneled the rich trade between Rome and areas south and east.


KINGS of NABATAEA. Rabbel II and Shuqailat. 70-106 CE. AR Drachm (12mm, 4.01 g, 12h).
Obv: Laureate bust of Rabbel right; date behind
Rev: Veiled bust of his mother Shuqailat right.
Meshorer 142.
Prior to the annexation of Arabia by Rome, Nabatea was a power that rivaled any of its neighbors. The capital of Petra was astonishing with buildings carved directly into stone bluffs (played a prominent part in the 2nd Indiana Jones movie). Although a vassal state of rome since the republican period, Trajan occupied the country and made it a Roman province, moving the capital to Bosra. The Via Nova Traiana was soon constructed linking the capital with the Red Sea port of Aila, a distance of 500 kilometers. it a Roman province in 106.
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