Ancient Coins of the Kingdom of Sophene
“The Kingdom of Sophene is another one of those ancient countries that has not received very much attention from ancient coin collectors. Usually, it is just lumped in with Armenia because it was absorbed into the Armenian Empire by Tigranes II the Great (140–55 BCE) after 95 BCE. But Sophene had its own unique history and distinctive coinage. There seems to be little literature on the reigns of the Sophene kings, though there may be more sources that have not been translated into English.
I have to admit that I’m not going to rush out and start building a collection of Sophene coins. They are minted only in bronze, and, after 50 years of collecting, I have way too many Greek bronze coins in my collection. Speaking as a collector, Sophene coins are artistically unattractive and usually in poor condition. Not something one highlights in a collection.
However, speaking as a historian, which most ancient coin collectors are, these coins are significant. They were the first coins to honor Armenian rulers. The coins of Sophene kings are rare in most cases, some with only a few extant examples (e.g., Xerxes). Additionally, there are several kings that have only numismatic evidence to support their place in history (e.g., Anisades, Ariaus, and Morphilig). So in that sense, these coins are very important as part of the historical record and show again how important numismatics is in filling gaps in that record.”
(The Kingdom of Sophene was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influences. Founded around the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom maintained independence until c.?95 BCE when the Artaxiad king Tigranes the Great conquered the territories as part of his empire.
Sophene laid near medieval Kharput, which is present day Elazig.)
long article and coin photos at:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/ancient-coins-of-the-kingdom-of-sophene/
