Historical Context

Pakoros I was the eldest son and designated heir of the Arsacid King of Kings Orodes II, who ruled from approximately 57 to 38/37 BC. In the aftermath of the Roman disaster at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, the Arsacid kingdom pursued offensive operations along its western frontier. Although initial thrusts into Roman Syria between 51 and 50 BC faced firm resistance from Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, Pakoros was formally integrated into the highest tier of Arsacid governance. Classical accounts document this dynastic elevation, with Justin noting that Orodes II associated Pakoros with the throne in a formal co-regency, while Tacitus explicitly referred to him as king of the Parthians.

The turmoil of the Roman civil wars following the assassination of Julius Caesar presented a major strategic opening. In 40 BC, Pakoros allied with the Roman Republican commander Quintus Labienus, launching a two-pronged offensive across the Levant and southern Anatolia. Arsacid forces swept through Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea, briefly installing Antigonus II Mattathias upon the Hasmonean throne in Jerusalem. However, the campaign reversed swiftly with the arrival of Mark Antony's legate Publius Ventidius Bassus. Labienus was defeated and killed in Anatolia, and Pakoros fell in battle at Mount Gindarus in northern Syria in the spring of 38 BC. His death dealt a profound blow to the Arsacid court, leading to the rapid succession and bloody purge overseen by his brother Phraates IV.

Obverse Iconographic Composition

The obverse of the principal silver drachm series catalogued as Sellwood Type 49.1 presents a youthful, beardless bust of the prince facing left. Unlike typical senior Arsacid monarchs of the era who wore intricate tiaras or helmets, Pakoros is portrayed bare-headed in the strict numismatic sense of wearing no headgear, his short, curled hair arranged in Hellenistic waves. The hair is secured by a royal diadem tied at the nape with descending diadem ties. Around his neck rests a torque terminating in pellets.

A notable diagnostic detail is the absence of the traditional Arsacid royal wart on the temple, consistent with the ruler's relative youth and status as a junior co-regent. Hovering in the left field behind the head is a small winged Nike flying toward the portrait, extending a wreath to crown him. This investiture motif underscores divine sanction and royal triumph. The entire composition is encircled by a neat border of pellets.

Obverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The primary silver drachm issue of Sellwood Type 49.1 is completely anepigraphic on the obverse face, relying entirely on portraiture and the crowning Nike to convey regal standing.

By contrast, comparison data from later Arsacid issues occasionally introduces indigenous epigraphy. Certain rare drachm dies traditionally attributed to Pakoros II, catalogued as Sellwood Type 73.13 and assigned by revisionist taxonomies to Pakoros I, feature an inscription executed in the Middle Iranian language using Imperial Aramaic characters in the obverse field:

  • Original Lettering: 𐡐𐡊
  • Transliteration: PK
  • Translation: Abbreviation for the personal royal name Pakur (Pacorus)

This comparison epigraphy does not occur on the first-century BC drachms of Sellwood Type 49.1, which maintain classical Hellenistic anepigraphic obverse conventions.

Reverse Iconographic Composition

The reverse face of Sellwood Type 49.1 features the dynastic progenitor Arsakes I seated rightward upon a backless stool or throne. The figure is clad in traditional northern Iranian nomadic riding dress, comprising a pointed felt hood with cheek flaps (bashlyk) and a heavy riding cloak (kandys). In his extended right hand, the seated archer holds a strung composite bow.

In the upper-left field, directly behind the head of the seated archer, appears a distinct celestial crescent moon. Suspended below the bow in the lower-right field sits an imperial monogram formed by the interlocking Greek letters alpha and tau (AT). This monogram functions as the administrative control mark for the primary royal mint of Ecbatana, located at modern Hamadan. Unlike the obverse, the reverse field features no outer dotted or linear border, allowing the extensive Greek legend to frame the composition along the flan perimeter.

Reverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse inscription is executed in Ancient Greek (Koine) in a square arrangement across four directional registers surrounding the enthroned archer:

  • Top register (horizontal): ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ

  • Right register (two vertical lines, descending): outer ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ, inner ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ

  • Bottom register (horizontal): ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ

  • Left register (two vertical lines, ascending): inner ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ, outer ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ

  • Exergual line (horizontal): ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ

  • Full Text Formulation: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ

  • Transliteration: Basileos Basileon Arsakou Euergetou Dikaiou Epiphanous Philhellenos

  • English Translation: "[Coin] of the King of Kings, Arsaces, Beneficent, Just, Manifest [God Manifest], Friend of the Greeks"

The letterforms on Type 49.1 preserve sharp, classical Hellenistic orthography, with clearly formed omegas, alphas, and sigmas. This stands in sharp contrast to the degraded, blundered, and stylized letterforms characteristic of later Arsacid drachm series from the late first and second centuries AD.

Typology and Documented Variants

The coinage associated with the name Pakoros encompasses both the rare first-century BC issues of Orodes II's co-regent and later imperial emissions that often cause commercial confusion. Standard weights across the drachm series conform to an Attic-derived standard target of approximately 3.80 to 4.00 grams, though preserved specimens vary based on wear.

Primary First-Century BC Series (Sellwood Type 49)

  • Sellwood 49.1 (Silver Drachm): Obverse displays beardless bust left, diademed, with crowning Nike behind and pellet border. Reverse features Arsakes I seated right on a backless throne holding a bow, crescent behind head, AT monogram (Ecbatana) below bow, and a square seven-line Greek imperial legend. This type represents an extreme rarity within Arsacid numismatics, with only a few museum and private cabinet examples recorded.
  • Sellwood 49.2 (Bronze Chalkous): Obverse with beardless bust left as on 49.1. Reverse depicts a youthful bust of a Dioscurus right wearing a pileus, with monogram in front and square legend.
  • Sellwood 49.3 (Bronze Chalkous): Obverse with beardless bust left as on 49.1. Reverse depicts a fortified castle or fortress gate with three tall towers and two lower flanking towers, with or without the AT monogram.

Comparison Series Frequently Conflated

  • Sellwood Type 73 (Silver Drachms; c. AD 78–110): Conventional Pakoros II. Features a beardless or short-bearded bust left, occasionally bearing the Aramaic letters PK on rare dies, with blundered Greek legends on the reverse.
  • Sellwood Type 78 (Silver Drachms; c. AD 105–147): Conventional Vologases III, frequently reattributed in commercial trade as Pakoros I. Features a portrait with a prominent, long pointed beard and heavily degraded pseudo-Greek legends.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

Regal Status, Synarchy, and Ruler Numbering

A persistent scholarly debate surrounds the formal regal numbering of Pakoros. In a 2011 revisionist study of the Sunrise Collection, Gholam Reza Farhad Assar argued that because the son of Orodes II never reigned as sole sovereign, issued no independently dated tetradrachms at Seleucia, and fell before his father's demise, he should not be numbered among autonomous Arsacid monarchs. Under this framework, Assar designated the late first-century AD king conventionally known as Pakoros II (c. AD 78–120) as "Pakoros I" and reassigned the common Sellwood Type 78 drachms to that reign.

This revision has been challenged by mainstream scholarship, including Fabrizio Sinisi in the Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum and Marek Jan Olbrycht. Classical evidence from Justin and Tacitus confirms an institutionalized junior co-regency (synarchy) in which Pakoros was recognized as an official king. Furthermore, the coins of Sellwood Type 49 bear the full imperial title Basileos Basileon and royal crowning iconography. International institutional corpora consequently maintain the traditional taxonomy: Pakoros I refers to the prince of the first century BC, while Pakoros II designates the ruler of c. AD 78–110/120.

Commercial Attribution Pitfalls

Because various commercial auction houses adopted Assar's revised numbering, common drachms of Sellwood Type 78 are frequently marketed under the heading "Pakoros I (AD 78–120)." Numismatists and cataloguers must maintain strict separation between those common second-century AD coins—characterized by a long pointed beard and degraded legends—and the exceedingly rare Sellwood Type 49.1 silver drachm of the first century BC, which depicts a beardless youth with classical Hellenistic epigraphy.

References

  1. ORODES II. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Marek Jan Olbrycht (2021)
  2. Pacorus I (c. 39 BC). Parthia.com Database Records PDC 21580, PDC 6509, PDC 6506
  3. Parthian Coin Project. British Museum Parthian Coin Project / Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum Overview
  4. British Museum Collection: Object 1917,0101.6. Parthian silver drachm of Pacorus I, Ecbatana mint
  5. Parthia Attribution Correlation Chart. Correlation of Sellwood, Shore, and Sunrise (Assar) Catalogues
  6. INVESTITURE ii. The Parthian Period. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (2018)
  7. Catalogue of the Coins of Parthia. Warwick Wroth (1903), BMC Parthia, pp. 97–98, nos. 1–5
  8. Parthian Kingdom Drachm GS85451. Sellwood 73.13 drachm die with Aramaic PK (SNP VII no. 868)
  9. An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia. David Sellwood (1980), Spink & Son Ltd., Type 49, p. 153
  10. Drachm - Pacorus I. Numista Catalogue Record N# 586713