DOI issue:
I. Artykuly
DOI article:Olbrycht, Marek Jan: Parthian king's tiara: Numismatic evidence and some aspects of Arsacid political ideology
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21229#0058
res adopted by Mithradates II: he introduced on coins the title „king of
kings” and the tiara. The use by the Arsacids of a tiara made to imitate
Median ceremonial headgear of the Achaemenid period fits into the Par-
thian dynasty’s tradition of recalling old-Persian heritage.
Numismatic evidence and other iconographie and written sources sub-
stantiate the conclusion that the Arsacids were involved in building a com-
plex and multi-faceted royal ideology. It lent legitimacy to their claims to
hegemony throughout the Near and Middle East, while within Parthia it
gave them an elevated and privileged sovereign position vis-a-vis their vas-
sals and made them sole rightful rulers of the empire.
As a constituent of the royal crown, the tiara is certified on coins of
many Arsacids starting from Mithradates II. Its use always involved politi-
cal ideology with many religious symbols in its repertory;174 besides, it often
served to emphasize king’s singular exploits, which is obviously true for
Mithradates II. Placed on the throne by nomads, Sinatruces decorated his
tiara with designs borrowed from nomadic traditions of Central Asia. The
true founder of a new Arsacid line, reformer and restorer of Iranian tradi-
tion, Vologases I introduced the tall tiara onto coins of the Younger Arsa-
cids. He was then followed by successive rulers of the Parthian empire.
Phraates III and Pacorus II adapted the tiaras of their fathers to accentu-
ate their dynastic links. In choosing Sinatruces’ tiara, the Indo-Parthian
Gondophares made a clear political statement. These examples serve to
illustrate the claim that the tiara was used in connection with the propa-
ganda and political ideology of the Arsacid period.
Under the older Arsacids, vassal rulers of Elymais, Persis, or Characene
commonly used diadems alone; more rarely - especially in Persis - did
they don crowns different from the Parthian tiara. This situation changed
somewhat in the first and second centuries AD. Parthian-style tiaras appear
on coins of most Persid rulers at the time (they imitate Mithradates II's
crown), recurrently for some Elymais rulers, and sporadically in Characene.
As opposed to the diadem, the tiara was probably not directly involved
in the jam, but instead it was intended (although realities may have gone
amiss) to convey the special nature of the power of the Arsacids as great
174 Religious symbolism was especially extensive on Sasanian crowns, cf. Lukonin 1969,
pp. 40ff. and 155ff.
56
kings” and the tiara. The use by the Arsacids of a tiara made to imitate
Median ceremonial headgear of the Achaemenid period fits into the Par-
thian dynasty’s tradition of recalling old-Persian heritage.
Numismatic evidence and other iconographie and written sources sub-
stantiate the conclusion that the Arsacids were involved in building a com-
plex and multi-faceted royal ideology. It lent legitimacy to their claims to
hegemony throughout the Near and Middle East, while within Parthia it
gave them an elevated and privileged sovereign position vis-a-vis their vas-
sals and made them sole rightful rulers of the empire.
As a constituent of the royal crown, the tiara is certified on coins of
many Arsacids starting from Mithradates II. Its use always involved politi-
cal ideology with many religious symbols in its repertory;174 besides, it often
served to emphasize king’s singular exploits, which is obviously true for
Mithradates II. Placed on the throne by nomads, Sinatruces decorated his
tiara with designs borrowed from nomadic traditions of Central Asia. The
true founder of a new Arsacid line, reformer and restorer of Iranian tradi-
tion, Vologases I introduced the tall tiara onto coins of the Younger Arsa-
cids. He was then followed by successive rulers of the Parthian empire.
Phraates III and Pacorus II adapted the tiaras of their fathers to accentu-
ate their dynastic links. In choosing Sinatruces’ tiara, the Indo-Parthian
Gondophares made a clear political statement. These examples serve to
illustrate the claim that the tiara was used in connection with the propa-
ganda and political ideology of the Arsacid period.
Under the older Arsacids, vassal rulers of Elymais, Persis, or Characene
commonly used diadems alone; more rarely - especially in Persis - did
they don crowns different from the Parthian tiara. This situation changed
somewhat in the first and second centuries AD. Parthian-style tiaras appear
on coins of most Persid rulers at the time (they imitate Mithradates II's
crown), recurrently for some Elymais rulers, and sporadically in Characene.
As opposed to the diadem, the tiara was probably not directly involved
in the jam, but instead it was intended (although realities may have gone
amiss) to convey the special nature of the power of the Arsacids as great
174 Religious symbolism was especially extensive on Sasanian crowns, cf. Lukonin 1969,
pp. 40ff. and 155ff.
56