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Bronze - Æ 21-22 mm - 7,4 grams - Die axis 11:00 - Struck AD 242-244.
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[AYTOK K M ANT ΓOPΔIAN]ΩC CEB (Autokr. Kaisar M.A.G. Sebastos - Imperator Caesar M.A.G. Augustus). Radiate bust of emperor, draped and cuirassed, facing right. Star before him (at right).
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ABΓAPOC - [BACIΛЄVC] (Abgaros Basileus - Abgar King).
Crowned and bearded, slightly smiling, emperor Abgar X facing right. Wearing large mantle and necklace. Star behind him (at left).
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Caracalla turned the Osrhoene kingdom into a mere Roman colony in January, 214 A.D. Between 216 and 242 A.D., Ma’nu IX enjoyed the title of “The King of Urfa”. However he was king in name only.
In the beginning of the 240’s (A.D.), the Sassanid kings Erdeshir and Shahpur I started to challenge Roman dominance in Urfa, whereupon the Roman Emperor Gordianus III appointed Abgar Ferhad XI as the king of Urfa in 242. Gordianus III was assassinated shortly thereafter.
Phillippus Arabs, who replaced him, made a treaty with the Sassanids in which he agreed to leave Mesopotamia to them (244 A.D.). This spelled the formal end of the Osrhoene Kingdom. The last Osrhoene king, Abgar X, left Urfa for Rome in 244 A.D. and never returned, although Southeast Anatolia including Harran and Urfa were again brought under Roman domination three years later. Their last king (and his family) spent the rest of their lives in Rome, where they were buried.
Provincially minted for the kingdom of Osroene.
Obv. : Good - Rev. : Good.
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