Coins struck at Spasinou Charax
1 catalogued coin and note attributed to Spasinou Charax, with weights, legends, dates and Wikimedia-sourced images across Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.
In short
Spasinou Charax was the capital and mint city of Characene, a semi-independent kingdom at the head of the Persian Gulf that struck its own tetradrachms under Parthian overlordship. Spasinou Charax is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 1 coin and note struck between 1 CE. Its output here covers Billon in the Drachm, Tetradrachm denominations, issued under Attambelos I of Characene.
- Catalogued
- 1
- Eras
- 1
- Metals
- 1
- Denominations
- 2
Key facts
| Catalogued pieces | 1 |
|---|---|
| Date range | 1 CE |
| Eras represented | Parthian (Arsacid) Empire |
| Metals | Billon |
| Denominations | Drachm, Tetradrachm |
| Issuers | Attambelos I of Characene |
The city
Founded by Alexander as Alexandria-on-the-Tigris and refounded by Antiochus IV as Antiochia, the city was rebuilt a third time by Hyspaosines, who gave it his own name: Charax Spasinou, "the palisaded town of Hyspaosines". It sat on the marshy confluence of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun, the transfer point where Indian Ocean shipping met the caravan roads to Palmyra.
Its wealth was entirely commercial. Palmyrene inscriptions record merchant caravans arriving from Charax, and the city remained the emporium of the Gulf until Ardashir I ended Characene independence around 222 CE.
The coinage
Characene kings struck large silver tetradrachms on the Attic-derived standard, with a diademed royal portrait on the obverse and a seated Heracles on the reverse — a type inherited from Seleucid practice and retained for over three centuries.
The reverse legend gives the king's name in Greek, increasingly blundered in later reigns, together with a date in the Seleucid era. Those dates make Characene coinage one of the more precisely datable series of the Parthian world.
Identifying a Charax issue
Look for three markers: the seated Heracles with club resting on a rock, a Seleucid-era date in Greek numerals in the exergue or field, and the characteristic broad, slightly dished flan of Gulf tetradrachms. Late issues (second century CE) drift to billon and finally to base metal, with the portrait reduced to schematic dots and lines.
Parthian (Arsacid) Empire · 247 BCE – 224 CE
Era overview →Frequently asked about Spasinou Charax
- What was Charax?
- Spasinou Charax was the capital of Characene, a trading kingdom at the head of the Persian Gulf, and the mint of its silver tetradrachms from roughly 141 BCE to 222 CE.
- Where was Spasinou Charax located?
- In southern Mesopotamia near the confluence of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun, in what is now southern Iraq close to Basra.
- What coins were struck at Charax?
- Chiefly silver tetradrachms with a royal portrait and a seated Heracles reverse, dated by the Seleucid era; later issues descend into billon and bronze.
- What coins were struck at Spasinou Charax?
- Spasinou Charax is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 1 coin and note struck between 1 CE. Its output here covers Billon in the Drachm, Tetradrachm denominations, issued under Attambelos I of Characene.
- How many Spasinou Charax pieces are catalogued on Persian Treasury?
- 1 item, dated 1 CE, spread across 1 era: Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.
- Which metals were used for Spasinou Charax coinage?
- Billon. Each entry records the metal, the approximate weight where known, and a cited reference.
- Which denominations are associated with Spasinou Charax?
- Drachm, Tetradrachm. Every denomination has its own reference page with dated examples.