Where were Parthian tetradrachms struck?

Almost entirely at Seleucia on the Tigris, which retained its Greek civic character and its mint under Parthian rule.

Is Seleucia the same as Ctesiphon?

No. They faced each other across the Tigris: Seleucia was the Greek commercial city and mint, Ctesiphon the Parthian and later Sasanian royal capital.

How many Seleucia on the Tigris pieces are catalogued on Persian Treasury?

4 items, dated 138 BCE – 171 CE, spread across 1 era: Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.

Which metals were used for Seleucia on the Tigris coinage?

Silver. Each entry records the metal, the approximate weight where known, and a cited reference.

Which denominations are associated with Seleucia on the Tigris?

Drachm, Tetradrachm. Every denomination has its own reference page with dated examples.

Persian Treasury

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Mint

Coins struck at Seleucia on the Tigris

4 catalogued coins and notes attributed to Seleucia on the Tigris, with weights, legends, dates and Wikimedia-sourced images across Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.

In short

Seleucia on the Tigris was the great eastern mint of the Hellenistic and Parthian worlds — a Greek city of several hundred thousand people that struck Seleucid royal silver and then nearly all Parthian tetradrachms. Seleucia on the Tigris is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 4 coins and notes struck between 138 BCE – 171 CE. Its output here covers Silver in the Drachm, Tetradrachm denominations, issued under Mithradates I, Orodes I, Phraates IV and 1 more.

Catalogued: 4
Eras: 1
Metals: 1
Denominations: 2

Key facts

Key facts about Seleucia on the Tigris in the Persian Treasury catalogue
Catalogued pieces	4
Date range	138 BCE – 171 CE
Eras represented	Parthian (Arsacid) Empire
Metals	Silver
Denominations	Drachm, Tetradrachm
Issuers	Mithradates I, Orodes I, Phraates IV, Vologases I
Founded	c. 305 BCE by Seleucus I
Location	On the Tigris, opposite Ctesiphon
Products	Seleucid silver; nearly all Parthian tetradrachms
Dating	Seleucid era plus Macedonian month

A capital built to replace Babylon

Seleucus I founded the city around 305 BCE on the Tigris, deliberately drawing population and trade away from Babylon. It became the administrative and commercial heart of the eastern Seleucid kingdom and kept its Greek civic institutions long after the Parthians took it in 141 BCE.

The Parthians built their own capital at Ctesiphon directly across the river, and for centuries the two cities functioned as a single metropolis — Greek commerce on one bank, Iranian court on the other.

The mint

Seleucid Seleucia struck tetradrachms and drachms with Apollo and Zeus reverses and dense monogram control marks. Under the Parthians it became the near-exclusive source of tetradrachms, which carry elaborate investiture and enthronement scenes, Greek legends, and a Seleucid-era date with the Macedonian month — the most precise dating available anywhere in Parthian numismatics.

Progressive blundering of the Greek legend across the first and second centuries CE is itself a dating criterion, as the die-cutters increasingly copied shapes rather than reading words.

Parthian (Arsacid) Empire · 247 BCE – 224 CE

Era overview →

Mithradates I Tetradrachm

Mithradates I

171–138 BCE

First king to title himself 'Great King'.

Orodes I Silver Tetradrachm

Orodes I

90–77 BCE

Orodes I ruled in a turbulent period of Arsacid civil war. His successor Orodes II would later defeat Crassus at Carrhae (53 BCE).

Phraates IV Silver Tetradrachm

Phraates IV

37–2 BCE

Phraates IV defeated Mark Antony's Parthian expedition (36 BCE) and later received the four Roman legionary standards lost at Carrhae back from Augustus (20 BCE) — a diplomatic coup commemorated on Roman coinage. His Seleucia tetradrachms are precisely dated month-by-month.

Vologases I Tetradrachm

Vologases I

51–78 CE

Vologases I founded a new dynastic branch and is credited by Pahlavi tradition with the first systematic collection of the Avesta. His reign coincided with Rome's wars over Armenia and the Treaty of Rhandeia (63 CE).

Frequently asked about Seleucia on the Tigris

Where were Parthian tetradrachms struck?: Almost entirely at Seleucia on the Tigris, which retained its Greek civic character and its mint under Parthian rule.
Is Seleucia the same as Ctesiphon?: No. They faced each other across the Tigris: Seleucia was the Greek commercial city and mint, Ctesiphon the Parthian and later Sasanian royal capital.
What coins were struck at Seleucia on the Tigris?: Seleucia on the Tigris is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 4 coins and notes struck between 138 BCE – 171 CE. Its output here covers Silver in the Drachm, Tetradrachm denominations, issued under Mithradates I, Orodes I, Phraates IV and 1 more.
How many Seleucia on the Tigris pieces are catalogued on Persian Treasury?: 4 items, dated 138 BCE – 171 CE, spread across 1 era: Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.
Which metals were used for Seleucia on the Tigris coinage?: Silver. Each entry records the metal, the approximate weight where known, and a cited reference.
Which denominations are associated with Seleucia on the Tigris?: Drachm, Tetradrachm. Every denomination has its own reference page with dated examples.