Ancient Gold - Roman

Lot 2685    SESSION 12 (11.30AM THURSDAY 25TH NOV)    Ancient Gold - Roman

Estimate $5,500
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $6,000

TRAJAN, (A.D. 98-117), gold aureus, 19mm, (7.17 g), issued in Rome, 116-117, obv. IMP CAES NER TRAIAN OPTIM AVG GERM DAC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Trajan right, seen from behind, rev. PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, radiate, draped bust of Sol right, seen from front, (S.3140, RIC II 329. Calico 1038, BMC 321). Minor surface marks, otherwise nearly extremely fine and rare.

In a slab by NGC graded XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 2/5.

In AD 113, Trajan left Rome to embark upon his Parthian campaign. Osroes despatched an embassy from the Parthian court which finally met the emperor in Athens, by which point it was too late for him to turn back, and as R. P. Longden so eloquently writes, 'their apprehensive humility would have no doubt only sharpened his zest for the enterprise'. (Cf. Longden, R.P., Notes on the Parthian Campaigns of Trajan, The Journal of Roman Studies 21, (1931), pp. 1-35).
The following year Trajan invaded Armenia, deposed its king Parthamasiris, and annexed it as a Roman province. In 115, Trajan also annexed Northern Mesopotamia, and later the same year he captured the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. Following the conquest of Ctesiphon, Trajan accepted the title 'Parthicus' in 115-116, which features as the reverse legend on the types of this lot; the bust of Sol, who rises in the East, may symbolise Roman dominance over the region.
Trajan's glory was short-lived, however, since in late 116 revolts broke out in Armenia and Northern Mesopotamia, forcing Trajan to abandon his campaign to increase the territory of Rome and to try and consolidate that which he had already gained. Dio Cassius relates that on looking out towards India, Trajan lamented that his age prevented him from following in the footsteps of Alexander (LXVIII 28.1). (note courtesy of Roma).