Tigranes IV with Erato c. 2 BC- 1 AD (Kov 178-180)

After a short reign Artavasdes III was driven out by the Armenians and Tigranes IV returned with the help of Parthia. After some diplomatic maneuvering Tigranes, who was then ruling with his half-sister and wife, Erato (BNP [2]), agreed to accept the crown from Augustus. He died shortly after in battle, and Erato abdicated.

The coins of Tigranes's second reign reflect the accommodation of Rome with Augustus's portrait sharing the large bronze (eight chalkoi) with that of Tigranes. The middle bronze (four chalkoi) features portraits of Tigranes and Erato on opposite sides. The smallest (two chalkoi) shows the jugate portraits of Tigranes and Erato, while the reverse is noteworthy for the first depiction of Mt. Ararat. Also noteworthy is the epithet "Friend of Caesar" above Mt. Ararat, and the addition of neos to Tigranes's titulature. The latter would seem to be saying that this is not the Tigranes who was a Parthian sympathizer, but a reformed person. As if to underscore the legitimacy of only this second reign the numeral "A" (= year 1) appears in the exergue below Mt. Ararat.

The title megas suggests that Tigranes IV reigned over at least part of another kingdom, perhaps Sophene. All his coins, however, appear to be from the mint of Artaxata.

Kovacs, Frank L. “Armenian Coinage in the Classical Period” CNS 10, Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster, 2016, pp. 29.