DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45399#0034
24
NUMISMATA ORIENTALIA.
M. Chabouillet is clearly right in saying that these monograms are usually merely the private
mark of a magistrate or a contractor, and not intended to be decipherable to any one except
himself. But even is they did contain the names os cities, it would be quite hopeless to attempt
to read them, a monogram being a thing by nature most obscure and ambiguous. It can
nearly always be read in three or four ways, and may often, by means of a little ingenuity,
be made to represent anything the interpreter chooses.
I would divide the letters and monograms which occur on Parthian coins into four classes.
The first class comprises those which occur on the obverse or head side of the coins of
Phraates I. and Mithradates I., and of those princes only. On some of these an entire word,
or at least great part of one, appears, and tempts one to a conjecture. NI^AK may stand
for Nisaea in Media, TAM for Tambrax, PA for Bagse, <Y for Syrinx: all these cities being
situate within what were probably the territories of Phraates. The other letters and the
monograms of this class I shall not attempt to interpret.
The second class occurs on the reverse of a small class of coins, usually given to
Mithradates I., of distinctively Greek work and peculiar types. They are represented on Plate
II. Nos. 1 and 2. These monograms are peculiarly distinct, and are three in number, /]\, XP
and . These monograms, if they represent places, must signify three cities quite near to-
gether, and it may seem more than a fortunate coincidence that near Seleucia, by the Tigris,
were three cities of Greek origin, bearing the names of Artamita, Charax and Phylace.
The third class comprises the letters and monograms which are found on the reverse
of many coins, from the time of Phraates II. onwards to that of Vologeses I. Of these
one, A, does certainly stand for a city, for it is found in connexion with the word DOAIi.
and p-, which appear on the money of a succession of rulers, from the time of
Mithradates II. onwards, probably also represent cities. But I am quite unable to prove
to what city any one of the four belongs, and I fear to indulge in mere conjectures. Other
monograms besides these occasionally occur, but none which can be interpreted with probability.
The fourth class consists of the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, which begin at
the time of Goterzes, to be placed on the obverse of tetradrachms, behind the head of the
monarch. The intent of these letters is quite obscure.
Even a superficial study of Parthian coins will bring to light the fact that they may be
divided under every reign into two classes. The first class consists of the tetradrachms, and
a certain number of copper coins, notably those bearing as type the figure or the head of a
city. The second class consists of the drachms and obols, with the greater part of the
copper coinage. The coins of the first class exhibit more care and a higher civilization than
those of the second. The types exhibit higher art, and show more variety of idea, and the
inscriptions are notably written with far greater clearness and correctness. On the drachms
the Greek letters have become by the reign of Goterzes, or even before that, quite debased and
unintelligible, being evidently executed by a die-sinker who could not read them. From the
ordinary copper coins all legends have disappeared, and are replaced by a mere square or
NUMISMATA ORIENTALIA.
M. Chabouillet is clearly right in saying that these monograms are usually merely the private
mark of a magistrate or a contractor, and not intended to be decipherable to any one except
himself. But even is they did contain the names os cities, it would be quite hopeless to attempt
to read them, a monogram being a thing by nature most obscure and ambiguous. It can
nearly always be read in three or four ways, and may often, by means of a little ingenuity,
be made to represent anything the interpreter chooses.
I would divide the letters and monograms which occur on Parthian coins into four classes.
The first class comprises those which occur on the obverse or head side of the coins of
Phraates I. and Mithradates I., and of those princes only. On some of these an entire word,
or at least great part of one, appears, and tempts one to a conjecture. NI^AK may stand
for Nisaea in Media, TAM for Tambrax, PA for Bagse, <Y for Syrinx: all these cities being
situate within what were probably the territories of Phraates. The other letters and the
monograms of this class I shall not attempt to interpret.
The second class occurs on the reverse of a small class of coins, usually given to
Mithradates I., of distinctively Greek work and peculiar types. They are represented on Plate
II. Nos. 1 and 2. These monograms are peculiarly distinct, and are three in number, /]\, XP
and . These monograms, if they represent places, must signify three cities quite near to-
gether, and it may seem more than a fortunate coincidence that near Seleucia, by the Tigris,
were three cities of Greek origin, bearing the names of Artamita, Charax and Phylace.
The third class comprises the letters and monograms which are found on the reverse
of many coins, from the time of Phraates II. onwards to that of Vologeses I. Of these
one, A, does certainly stand for a city, for it is found in connexion with the word DOAIi.
and p-, which appear on the money of a succession of rulers, from the time of
Mithradates II. onwards, probably also represent cities. But I am quite unable to prove
to what city any one of the four belongs, and I fear to indulge in mere conjectures. Other
monograms besides these occasionally occur, but none which can be interpreted with probability.
The fourth class consists of the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, which begin at
the time of Goterzes, to be placed on the obverse of tetradrachms, behind the head of the
monarch. The intent of these letters is quite obscure.
Even a superficial study of Parthian coins will bring to light the fact that they may be
divided under every reign into two classes. The first class consists of the tetradrachms, and
a certain number of copper coins, notably those bearing as type the figure or the head of a
city. The second class consists of the drachms and obols, with the greater part of the
copper coinage. The coins of the first class exhibit more care and a higher civilization than
those of the second. The types exhibit higher art, and show more variety of idea, and the
inscriptions are notably written with far greater clearness and correctness. On the drachms
the Greek letters have become by the reign of Goterzes, or even before that, quite debased and
unintelligible, being evidently executed by a die-sinker who could not read them. From the
ordinary copper coins all legends have disappeared, and are replaced by a mere square or