Parthian coin project

One hundred years after the Persian Empire was overthrown by Alexander of Macedon, a new Iranian dynasty emerged. By 140 BC, this new political power controlled Western Iran and Mesopotamia. 

Known for their riding and archery skills, the Arsacid Parthians became Rome's most feared enemies east of the River Euphrates. Roman accounts describe battles between Rome and Parthia in detail but no equivalent primary sources are available from the Parthian side. 

However, coins can still tell us a lot about the Parthians and this project will bring together all the Parthian coins from about 248 BC – AD 224 in the collections of the major museums in London, Paris, Berlin, Tehran, New York and Vienna. It will also examine coins in other collections and sales catalogues for comparison to produce a nine-volume catalogue – the Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum – containing detailed records of all of these coins. The British Museum team will produce volumes two and four. Together, these nine volumes will: 

• Unlock the wealth of information contained in these coins for numismatists (coin specialists), archaeologists, historians and art historians. 
• Illuminate Iranian and other Near Eastern art, archaeology and history. 

In a set of nine chronological print catalogues and a project database, this project will provide the documentary basis for the largest study of Parthian coinage ever attempted by:

• Revealing the production and distribution of Parthian coins and mints. 
• Drawing conclusions about the function of the royal court and the balance between central and local administration.
• Deciphering the role of coinage as a propaganda tool at times of internal crisis and external threat. 
• Considering the royal and religious iconography of the Parthian period in the context of Iranian and Near Eastern culture. 
• Moving away from a Helleno-centric view of this period that is embedded in classical education and building a new picture of the non-Greco-Roman world. 
• Restoring the Parthians, who ruled for almost five hundred years over a large geographical area in western Asia, to their rightful place as an important Iranian dynasty. 

The series of nine SNP print catalogues is underway. The British Museum team has already produced volume two: Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum 2, Mithradates II, which examines the history and culture of the reign of Mithradates II (about 122‒91 BC), who consolidated and expanded the Parthian state. They are now working on volume four: Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum 4, Mithradates III – Pacorus I. These kings reigned in the mid-1st century BC, a time of conflict between Parthia and Rome. 

A project database holds images and detailed information about more than 58,000 coins of the Parthian period. It is constantly updated with new material.

Another book, called Rivalling Rome, by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Alexandra Magub, reveals important information about the development and expansion of the Parthian state and Rome's involvement in the region. This began during the reign of Mithradates II and culminated in the devastating defeat of the Roman army in 53 BC. This book also examines the impact of Parthian culture in neighbouring kingdoms, and on post-Parthian times right up to the present day. 

Project supporters

Supported by

Austrian Academy of Sciences