Mithradates IV / Μιθριδάτης Δ' 159-150 BC
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SHH v5925
Mithradates / Hera
Leu Num. 13/10
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KINGS OF PONTOS. Mithradates IV
Philopator, circa 155-152/1 BC (?).Stater (Gold, 19 mm,
8.51 g, 12 h), Amisos or Sinope. Laureate head of Mithradates IV to
right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - MIΘPAΔATOY Hera standing facing, holding long
scepter in her right hand and drapery in front of her belly with her
left; to outer left, star-in-crescent (Pontic royal badge) above
monogram; to outer right, two monograms. Alram 23 = F. De
Callataÿ: The First Royal Coinages of Pontus (from Mithradates III
to Mithradates V), in: J. M. Højte (ed.): Mithridates VI and the
Pontic Kingdom. Aarhus 2009, p. 74-75, O1/R1 = HGC 7, 325 = G. Kleiner:
Pontische Reichsmünzen, in: IstMitt 6 (1955), pl. 2, 12 =
Mattingly pl. 56, 3 = C. Michels: Kulturtransfer und monarchischer
"Philhellenismus". Göttingen 2009, p. 218, Abb. 24 = SNG von
Aulock 4 ( same obverse die ). Of the greatest rarity, the second and
by far the finest known stater of Mithradates IV. A tremendously
important discovery, with a beautiful portrait struck in very high
relief. Struck from somewhat worn dies with some die rust on the
reverse, otherwise, good very fine.
From a German collection, formed in the 1960s.
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Few Hellenistic royal coinages are as elusive as
the issues of the Pontic kings before Mithradates VI (circa 120-63 BC).
In fact, in his 2009 article, de Callataÿ recorded fewer than 100
coins in total for the five kings and queens ruling in the century
between the accession to power of Mithradates III in circa 220 BC, and
that of his great-grandson, Mithradates VI, in circa 120 BC. This
meagre numismatic evidence is supplemented by sparse historiographical
sources and epigraphical records, leaving much of the early history of
the kingdom in the dark, with scholars still arguing over the actual
succession of kings and their datings. While we follow Christoph
Michels' chronology here, the emergence of a new stater of Mithradates
IV is of utmost importance under these circumstances, as it provides
further evidence for a gold coinage that was hitherto only known from
the unique, but battered and scratched von Aulock example.
Mithradates IV was an unlikely successor to the throne, for he was King
Pharnakes' (circa 196-155 BC) brother, not his son. He apparently
assumed the diadem as his nephew, Mithradates, later King Mithradates
V, was still a minor when his father passed away. We know little of the
reign of the fourth Mithradates other than that he supported Attalos II
in his war against the Bithynian King Prusias II, that he aligned
himself with Rome, as can be deduced from his dedication on the
Capitoline Hill (OGIS 375), and that he married his sister, Laodike.
The king's coinage, on the other hand, is of great interest, as it
employs some highly unusual iconography. In total, de Callataÿ
recorded one stater and fourteen tetradrachms in the name of
Mithradates, five tetradrachms for the royal couple combined, and a
doubtful stater and a unique tetradrachm in Laodike's name alone. The
striking prominence of the Pontic queen in the royal
self-representation is undoubtedly modelled on Ptolemaic and Seleukid
prototypes, but it also emphasized the dynastic legitimacy of a king
who perhaps feared not being accepted as the rightful heir to the
throne. Another interesting aspect of Mithradates' coinage are the
reverse types, which show Hera on his staters, Perseus on his
tetradrachms, Zeus and Hera on the joint tetradrachms with his
sister-wife, and Hera again on Laodike's unique tetradrachm. Clearly
Zeus and his wife Hera aligned the royal couple with the world of the
divine, whereas Perseus referred to the Persian ancestors of the
dynasty. Laodike's prominence is further enhanced by the fact that it
is Hera who appears on the reverse of Mithradates' staters, not Zeus
(but see below on the question of their dating). Last but not least,
Mithradates was also the first Pontic king to use epitheta on his
coins, namely 'ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ' and 'ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ' ('father-loving' and
'sibling-loving'), following, once more, Ptolemaic and Seleukid role
models and propagating the legitimacy of his rule.
However, there is another aspect regarding the royal couple's coinage
worth considering, and that is whether Mithradates' two gold staters
and Laodike's unique tetradrachm were actually struck posthumously.
This theory was first proposed by Kleiner, who argued that the king
wearing a laurel wreath instead of a diadem, the universal Hellenistic
royal headgear, on his then unique gold stater indicates that the coin
was struck by his successor, Mithradates V, and that the same was true
for Laodike's unique tetradrachm, which shows her veiled rather than
diademed. Tempting as this proposition is, it is ultimately unprovable,
and it begs the question why Mithradates V would honor his uncle,
Mithradates IV, and his aunt, Laodike, but not his own father,
Pharnakes I.
What is certainly true, however, is that the auctioning of this piece
not only offers collectors the exciting opportunity to acquire the
second - and by far the finest - gold stater of Mithradates IV, it also
provides valuable insights into a Hellenistic dynasty that is often
underappreciated, with its earlier kings generally being overshadowed
by the long and tumultuous reign of the ferocious campaigner,
Mithradates VI, Rome's greatest enemy since Hannibal, for which we have
far more extensive historiographical evidence. While still a relatively
minor kingdom until the late 2nd century BC, Pontos not only retained a
high level of autonomy throughout an age dominated by the much larger
Ptolemaic, Seleukid and Roman Empires, it also provides a highly
interesting case model of an Iranian dynasty tracing its origins back
to the Persian Great King Darius I (522-486 BC), while also
participating in the multifaceted political communication of the
'globalized' Hellenistic world stage.
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