Tiberius 14-37 AD - AE Sestertius - Triumphal Quadriga

ANRO-1076; RIC-66; BMCRE-130

Tiberius 14-37 AD
Rome Mint, Yr. 34 36/7 AD

AE Sestertius

Obverse: Triumphal quadriga advancing right; the chariot empty, its side panel adorned with a trophy. Winged Victory stands left on the foot-board, placing a wreath on the trophy; reins fall slack from the yoke, and the scene rests on a linear exergual ground line.
Reverse: Legend TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST P M TR POT XXXIIII runs clockwise around a large S • C in the centre.

The vacant quadriga almost certainly commemorates Lucius Vitellius’ swift Armenian-Parthian campaign of AD 35-37. Acting as legatus of Syria under Tiberius, Vitellius expelled Arsaces, son of the Parthian king Artabanos III, who had been imposed on the Armenian throne after King Artaxias III’s death. With tactical aid from King Pharasmanes I of Iberia, he installed Pharasmanes’ brother Mithridates of Iberia as a client king acceptable to Rome. Vitellius then advanced into Mesopotamia, supported rival Parthian nobles who forced Artabanos to flee north to the Scythians, and concluded a face-saving peace that secured Roman influence over both Armenia and the eastern frontier.