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Chalkoi - Tigranes IV Augustus
| Issuer | Armenia, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 2 BC - 1 AD |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15 g |
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| Obverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥС ΜΕΓΑС ΝΕΟС ΤΙΓΡΑΝΗС (Translation: The new king Tigranes the Great) |
| Reverse description | Draped bust of Augustus facing left, rendered in the classical Roman imperial portrait style with short, neatly arranged hair. The effigy is depicted with a slight drape visible at the truncation of the shoulder, reflecting the Hellenistic conventions adopted for Roman imperial portraiture in the eastern provinces. The surrounding Greek legend СΕΒΑСТОС ΚΑΙСΑΡ ΘΕОС ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟС — identifying Augustus as Caesar, God, Son of God — runs around the periphery of the coin, underscoring the ideological fusion of Armenian royal authority with Roman imperial prestige. |
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| Additional information |
Tigranes IV ruled as a Roman client king, installed by Augustus after the expulsion of Artavasdes III — a reminder of how thoroughly Armenia had become a proxy battleground between Rome and Parthia. His use of the title "Augustus" on his coinage is politically pointed: no other Armenian king adopted the title, and it signals an unusually explicit deference to Roman authority, almost certainly a condition of his installation rather than personal choice.
The reign was short and turbulent. Tigranes IV was eventually killed, possibly around 6 AD, during renewed dynastic conflict.