MONTHLY LECTURE

Characene: a kingdom between the Seleucids and the Parthians

Dr. Julian Wünsch, Munich

The lecture dealt with the coinage and history of the southern Mesopotamian kingdom of Characene from about 130 to 80 BC. The focus was on its foundation by the Seleucid governor Hyspaosines, the reign of his son Apodakos and two important short-term rulers named Bellaios and Hippokrates. Their rare tetradrachms give insights into the Hellenistic coinage of this transitional period.