Coinage and Money in the Parthian Empire
From the mid-third century BCE until the Sasanian takeover in 224 CE, the Arsacid dynasty issued coins that joined Hellenistic monetary forms to Iranian royal imagery. Silver drachms and larger tetradrachms formed the main royal currency. Copper and bronze issues, often made for local use, added smaller values. The Arsacids ruled a changing empire, but they did not supply every region with one uniform currency: cities and subordinate dynasties also struck their own money.
Silver denominations and mints
The drachm was the principal Arsacid silver coin. It usually weighed about four grams, and its weight and silver content remained broadly steady over the dynasty’s long rule. A tetradrachm was nominally worth four drachms. These larger coins were made chiefly at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the major city on the Tigris in present-day Iraq. Their weight and fineness declined over time, unlike the more stable drachm. Under Phraates IV, tetradrachm production increased. Smaller silver pieces were uncommon, while copper and bronze supplied petty cash in some local markets. There was no regular Arsacid royal gold coinage.
A mint was a place where coins were produced. Ecbatana, near modern Hamadan in western Iran, was a major drachm mint. Seleucia was central for tetradrachms. Some monograms remain unidentified, so not every issue can be assigned to a mint. In wartime, special coins could name the province they served, such as Areia around Herat in present-day Afghanistan or Margiana around Marv in present-day Turkmenistan; some were made at mobile mints accompanying a campaign. Coinage was one means of making exchange and payments, alongside credit, agricultural deliveries and obligations in kind.
Local issues differed by region. The dynasties of Elymais around Susa in Iran, Characene around Spasinou Charax in southern Iraq, and Persis near Persepolis in Iran struck coins under their own rulers. From the first half of the first century CE, Elymais and Characene issued copper, while Persis continued to issue silver. Their coins also carried different designs and scripts. These local currencies largely displaced Arsacid issues within their territories, even as local rulers remained connected through relationships to the Arsacid monarchy.
Royal portraits and coin reverses
The front, or obverse, commonly shows the ruler’s head. The first Arsacid kings wore a leather cap associated with steppe dress; later portraits more often show a diadem, a royal headband, or an Iranian royal tiara. From Mithradates II onward, the king generally faces left. Portraits combined a familiar Hellenistic coin format with changing signs of Iranian kingship. The early portraits show how royal headgear changed across the dynasty.
The reverse, or back, of the silver drachm usually shows a seated archer. The seated figure is generally identified as Arsaces I, founder of the dynasty. The earliest form shows him on a rounded sacred stone called an omphalos, echoing Apollo seated on Seleucid reverses; later versions place him on a throne resembling Zeus. Later kings thus repeated an image of the dynasty’s founder while its form changed. On tetradrachms, an enthroned king may hold a bow or a small figure of Nike, the personification of victory. Copper reverses were more varied, showing deities, animals, and, on some issues, an eagle holding a wreath.
Inscriptions, dates and changing issues
Most royal coins carry Greek inscriptions. The title “King of Kings” and the name Arsaces appear frequently, but Arsaces was the dynasty’s repeated royal name, not always a personal identification of the ruler who issued the coin. From the reign of Vologases I in the first century CE, some drachms also included Parthian-script legends giving the king’s name and title. From Orodes II onward, Greek legends on drachms became increasingly difficult to read, first at northeastern frontier mints.
Tetradrachms could be dated by the Seleucid era and a Macedonian month name, providing a precise sequence for many issues. Drachms were rarely dated, and later copper coins sometimes carried dates. Mint marks, portraits, titles and dated tetradrachms help identify rulers and production centers. Because royal names and standard phrases recur, some coin attributions remain debated.