This interesting episode in the long history of Roman-Parthian conflict found a Roman republican allied with the Parthians against Roman imperialists.
The father of Quintus Atius Labienus was Titus Labienus, who had been Julius Caesar's most important general in the Gaul campaign. However, at the beginning of the civil war, Quintus' father broke with Caesar and joined forces with Pompey. Titus Labienus later died at the battle of Munda fighting Caesar's forces.
Quintus Labienus fought to restore the republic under Gaius Cassius Longinus. Cassius, who was among Caesar's assassins, had campaigned successfully against Pacorus I, and declared himself proconsul of Syria during the civil war that followed Caesar's death. However, it cannot be doubted that the Parthians were later actively supporting republican Romans instead of fighting them, for a Parthian contingent had come into Cassius' possession after he defeated Caecilius Bassus. Upon learning that Antony and Octavian were crossing the Adriatic to end Cassius' threat to Egypt, Cassius sent these Parthians to accompany a group of ambassadors to request additional Parthian support. Among the ambassadors was Quintus Labienus who apparently succeeded in his mission, for Parthians were counted among the defeated republican forces of Cassius and Brutus at the battle of Philippi (in Macedonia) against Octavian and Antony, 42 B.C.
Following his victory at Philippi, Antony went to Tarsus to consolidate his control in the east. From Tarsus, where Antony rendezvoused with Cleopatra in late summer of 41 B.C., Antony moved into Syria where he appointed L. Decidius Saxa governor, and a Roman force was sent against Palmyra. The Palmyreans fled to Parthian territory where they influenced the Parthians to attack the Romans yet again. Joining the Palmyreans were the pro-Parthian petty rulers who had gained power following Crassus' defeat in 53 B.C. when Roman control was weak, and who now fled before Antony's advance to the protection of Parthia.
But after Antony moved southward to Alexandria, the Parthians again invaded Syria in the spring of 40 B.C., this time allied with Quintus Labienus. Labienus, knowing of the proscriptions following the battle at Philippi, had joined with the Parthians to fight imperial Roman forces. Under the joint command of Pacorus and Labienus, the Parthian army crossed the Euphrates and attacked Apamea. Though the assault failed, Roman garrisons around Syria rallied to Labienus, with whom they had fought under Brutus and Cassius. The combined army then defeated Saxa in a pitched battle where the Parthian cavalry's skill and larger numbers caused many troops of Saxa's quaestor (his brother) to desert to Labienus. Saxa, making a forced retreat at night to Antioch, lost most of his men also. Labienus and the Parthians then took Apamea without resistance. After defeating the Romans at Apamea, Pacorus turned south with a portion of the army and conquered the Levant from the Phoenician coast through Palestine. Labienus turned north to follow Saxa, then caught and killed him in Cilicia after taking Antioch. Labienus then proceeded to take all of Asia Minor, and the Parthian army added the legionary standards of Saxa to those of Crassus already housed in Parthian temples. With Labienus, the Parthians had in two years restored their territory to nearly the limits of the old Achaemenid empire and controlled all of Asia Minor except for a few cities.
In Judaea, Antigonus, a son of Aristobulus II, deposed his uncle John Hyrcanus II with Parthian assistance and proclaimed himself the newest (and last) Maccabean ruler. His victory was not complete, for Herod (also a son of Antipater) escaped to Rome where Antony and Octavian named him king of the Jews.
But the successes of Labienus and the Parthians were not long-lasting. Disagreement between Labienus and Pacorus weakened their combined effect. In 39 B.C., a Roman counterattack killed Labienus and recovered Asia Minor. One year later Pacorus was killed in Syria when he attacked a Roman camp that he had been led to believe was undefended. Herod personally led another Roman army to retake Jerusalem, capturing the holy city from the Parthian-supported Antigonus after a five-month siege.
While allied with the Parthians, Labienus minted both silver and gold coins, but in only one type; they were probably used as a donative to Saxa's legions. The silver denarius is rare, and Sayles1 reports only four examples of the gold aureus are known. I know of three: Paris, London and the auction coin last sold in the Bank Leu auction no. 48 of May 1989. Where is the fourth aureus? Hersh2 records only 34 specimens of the denarius, struck from eight obverse and twenty reverse dies.
Controversy exists on both the meaning of the obverse inscription and the riderless horse on the reverse. Was Labienus calling himself Imperator of the Parthians? Possibly the reverse design is an allusion to the missing, assassinated Julius Caesar, or maybe a tribute to the Parthian cavalry. Vagi [vol. I, p. 71] notes the engraving style of the aureus and denarius points to Antioch as the mint and late 40 B.C. as the date, and that some Antioch tetradrachms and bronzes can be ascribed to Labienus.
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Notes:
1. Wayne G. Sayles, Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World -- Politics and Propaganda, 1997, p. 182
2. C. A. Hersh, "The Coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus", SNR 59 (1980), p. 44, 9.
The coins of Labienus are rare; only four examples of the aureus are known. Click on coin images to enlarge:
| Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.) AV Aureus, 8.04 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional Images/ [enlarged obverse] [monochrome obv & rev] Obv/ bust of Quintus Labienus right; inscription Q LABIENVS PARTHICVS IMP Rev/ riderless horse standing right, saddled with bow case and quiver attached Photos/ by Wayne G. Sayles, The Celator; and by Martin A. Armstrong Princeton Economic Institute, Monetary History of the World Note/ An enlarged color photograph of the obverse of this rare gold coin graces the dust jacket of Sayle's Ancient Coin Collecting III, and a black and white enlargement of the reverse is found on page 182 - C. Hersh, "The coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus", SNR 59 (1980), S. 46, 3 (this coin) - Bank Leu auction 48 (10 May 1989), lot 299 (this coin) - Münzen und Medaillen No. 43, lot 242 (1970) (this coin) - cf. A. Dieudonné in Revue numismatique, 1899 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AV Aureus Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional images/ [obv & rev study image] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Location/ Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Atia 85, M2767 Photo/ by Chris Hopkins |
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 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.81 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Numismatica Ars Classica Additional images/ Cahn/Hess 1933 / Classical Numismatic Group - Numismatica Ars Classica 45 (2 Apr 2008), lot 51 (this coin); estimate 7000 CHF - CNG 40 (4 Dec 1996), James Fox collection, lot 1314 (this coin); estimate $10,000 - Monetarium (Swiss Credit), list 51 (1989), lot 136a (this coin) - Hersh, C. A. "The Coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus", SNR 59 (1980), p. 44, 3b and plate 4, A/3 (this coin) - Cahn/Hess (17 Jul 1933), E. J. Haeberlin Collection, lot 2900 (this coin) - Rollin et Feuardent (7 May 1888), De Quelen Collection, lot 505 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.79 g, 19 mm Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Provenance/ ex Harlan J. Berk private sale Photo/ by Numismatica Ars Classica - Numismatica Ars Classica 39 (16 May 2007), lot 91 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.76 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional images/ [obv & rev study image] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Location/ Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, AF 2947 (this coin) Photo/ by Chris Hopkins |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.73 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by LHS Numismatik - Bank Leu auction 17 (May 1977), Nicholas collection, lot 857 |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.67 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional images/ [different lighting] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Harlan J. Berk - Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 115 (2 Aug 2000), lot 371 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.67 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above - G. G. Belloni, Le monete romane dell'età repubblicana (Milan, 1960), 2242 |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.66 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional Images/ [monochrome obv & rev] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Martin A. Armstrong Princeton Economic Institute, Monetary History of the World - Crawford 524/2 (this coin) - Vagi, Coinage and History of the Roman Empire (1999), Vol. II, p. 204, no. 126 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.64 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by LHS Numismatik - Bank Leu/Münzen und Medaillen auction 3-4 Dec 1965, lot 966 (this coin) - Münzen und Medaillen AG 7 (1948), lot 513 (this coin) - J. Schulman (Amsterdam), Coll. Vierordt (5 Mar 1923), lot 508 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.64 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional images/ [obv & rev study image] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Location/ Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ailly 4850 (this coin) Photo/ by Chris Hopkins |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.61 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Fritz Rudolf Künker Münzenhandlung Additional image/ Classical Numismatic Group - CNG Online Coin Shop Dec 2002, lot 182290 (this coin) - Künker Auction 77 (30 Sep 2002), lot 326 (this coin) - CNG 63 (21 May 2003), lot 1200 (this coin) - Hersh, "The Coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus," SNR 59 (1980), 9 (unlisted reverse die) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.47 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Additional Images/ [color obv & rev] [monochrome obv & rev] Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Lanz Numismatik - Lanz Auction 88 (23 Nov 1998), lot 819 (this coin) - Lanz Auction 102 (28 May 2001), lot 439 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.29 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzenhandlung - Gorny & Mosch Auktion 164 (17 Mar 2008), lot 353 (this coin) - Hersh, C. A. "The Coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus", SNR 59 (1980), p. 44, 5 and 6 (same obv die) - Cr. 524/2 - Syd. 1357 |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius, 3.20 g Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Photo/ by Classical Numismatic Group - CNG 55, lot 1109 (this coin) - Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 125 (Jan 2002), lot 348 (this coin) |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ as above Location/ Vatican Museum |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ not illustrated Note/ holed - Provenance unknown |
 Quintus Labienus (42-39 B.C.)AR Denarius Mint/ mint traveling with Labienus, undated (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ as above Rev/ not illustrated - J. Warry, Die Kriegskunst der Griechen und Römer, 1981 |
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 Quintus Labienus ? (42-39 B.C.)AE Tetradrachm, 11.69g, 25mm, die axis=2h Mint/ Antioch. Seleucid era 272 (c. 41-40 B.C.) Obv/ diademed head of Philip Philadelphos facing right, within a filleted border Rev/ Zeus seated left, holding Nike and scepter, with parts of the Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ; marks include two starred caps of the Dioscuri Location/ Bob Effler collection Photo/ by Jencek's Ancient Coins & Antiquities Note 1/ According to Butcher (page 316), the Dioscuri caps are associated specifically with the issue of 41/40 B.C. Note 2/ RPC 4225 refers to 4222, an inordinately heavy (15.37 grams) Caesarean year 8 issue, the high weight specific only to that year. Because this example has the same legend, but is of the lesser weight (11.69 grams), it must be catalogued as RPC 4225 Note 3/ The positions of the starred caps of the Dioscuri are important in dating this coin. Coins with the starred cap to the left of Zeus' throne slightly higher than the cap to the right are specific to the issue of Labienus and Pacorus (BMC 25, per Butcher), and dated to the Seleucid year 272 (41/40 B.C.). This distinction is made only in Butcher, a more detailed study of these bronzes (that was being researched and written at the time RPC I was published) with access to more current research on these coins Photo/ by permission - RPC I, 4225 |
 Quintus Labienus ? (42-39 B.C.)AR Tetradrachm Mint/ Antioch, Year 10 (c. 40-39 B.C.) Obv/ diademed head of Philip Philadelphos facing right, within a filleted border Rev/ Zeus seated left, holding Nike and scepter, with parts of the Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ. The date I appears in the exergue beneath Zeus, Year 10 of the Era of the Roman Province of Syria Note 1/ Labienus employed the same coin types as the last legitimate Syrian ruler, Philip I (Philip Philadelphos) Note 2/ These coins bear the city monogram of Antioch, indicating autonomy given to the city by Julius Caesar after Pharsalus, and Caesarean Era dates on coins minted from Year 3 (47-46 B.C.). The dates allow us to identify coins struck during Labienus' occupation of Antioch, 40-39 B.C. Photo/ by Praetorian Numismatics eBay Auction Oct 1999 - RPC I, 4133 |
Alföldi, A. "Die Herrschaft der Reiterei, Gestalt und Geschichte", in Festschrift K. Schefold, 1967, p. 18 and plate 9.9, (aureus), plate 9.10 (denarius).
Babelon, E. Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la républic romaine (1885-1886), (Atia) B. 2 (aureus), B. 3 (denarius)
Bahrfeldt, M. von. Die Römische Goldmünzenprägung während der Republik und unter Augustus (1923), (who knew of only 3 examples, one each in the British Museum and Paris, and a third which was offered in Berlin in 1902), Bahrfeldt 69
G. G. Belloni, Le monete romane dell'età repubblicana (Milan, 1960), catalogue no. 2242 (3.67)
Bank Leu auction 48 (10 May 1989), lot 299 (aureus, 8.04 g, est. DM 8.500)
Bank Leu/Münzen und Medaillen auction, Coll. Niggeler (3-4 Dec 1965), lot 966 (denarius, 3.64g)
Harlan J. Berk, Buy or Bid Sale #115 (2 Aug 2000) , lot 371 (denarius, 3.67g)
Harlan J. Berk, Buy or Bid Sale #125 (Jan 2002), lot 348 (denarius, 3.20g)
Cahn/Hess, E. J. Haeberlin Collection (17 July 1933), lot 2900; estimated at 500 Reichs Mark (catalogue says 0.81 RM = 1 Swiss Franc at the time, so about 600 SFr)
Classical Numismatic Group No. 40 (4 Dec 1996), lot 1314. Estimate $10,000, sold for $8,000. Same coin as Monetarium (Swiss Credit), list 51 (1989), lot 136a; ex E.J. Haeberlin Collection (Cahn/Hess, 17 July 1933), lot 2900; ex De Quelen Collection (Rollin et Feuardent, 7 May 1888), lot 505.
Classical Numismatic Group No. 55 (Sep 2000), lot 1109 (denarius), estimated $7000
Classical Numismatic Group No. 63, lot 1200, estimated $25,000
Classical Numismatic Group, Online Coin Shop (Dec 2002), lot 182290 (denarius), list price $25,000
Cohen, Henry. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain communément appelées médailles impériales, 2e edition (Leipzig, 1930), C. 1 (3,000.-), C. 2
Crawford, Michael H. Roman Republican coin hoards (1969), 524/2
Dieudonné, A. [Title?], Revue numismatique (1899), pp. 178f. and pl. 3, 1 ( = Münzen und Medaillen #43, lot 242 aureus = Bank Leu auction 48 (10 May 1989), lot 299)
Gorny & Mosch Auktion 164 (17 Mar 2008), lot 353, estimated at € 5,000
Greuber, Herbert A. (ed.) A Catalogue of Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (1910), BMC II (East), p. 500, 131 (aureus), 132 (denarius)
Hersh, C. A. "The Coinage of Quintus Labienus Parthicus", SNR 59 (1980), p. 44, 9. (Obv. C/Rev. 9). Records only 34 specimens of the denarius, struck from eight obverse and twenty reverse dies
Fritz Rudolf Künker Münzenhandlung Auction 77 (30 Sep 2002), lot 326, price realized EUR 16,000 plus fees
Lanz Numismatik Sale Catalogue No. 88 (23 Nov 1998) of the Leo Benz collection, lot 819 (denarius, 3.47g), estimated price DM 25,000, sale price DM 20,000 plus fees
Lanz Numismatik Sale Catalogue No. 102 (28 May 2001), lot 439 (same piece as Lanz 88, lot 819), estimated price DM 20,000.
Leu Sale Catalogue No. 45 (3-4 May 1977), Nicholas collection, lot 857, estimated at 30,000 Swiss Franc
Leu Sale Catalogue No. 45 (1988), lot 302 (denarius) realized SFr 28,500 (same piece as Superior 13, lot 692)
Leu Sale Catalogue No. 48, lot 299 realized SFr 270,000 plus fees
Monetarium (Swiss Credit), list 51 (1989), lot 136a
Münzen und Medaillen A.G. Public Sale Catalog No. 7, 1948, lot 513 (denarius, 3.64g)
Münzen und Medaillen A.G. Public Sale Catalog No. 43, 12-13 Nov 1970, lots 242 (aureus, 8.05g) and 243 (denarius, 3.88g) with monochrome pictures on plate 16. A color enlargement of the aureus is on plate 1. The estimated prices were SFr 90,000 and SFr 15,000 respectively, and realized SFr 75,000 and 17,000 plus fees. Lot 243 is the same coin as Sternberg 1 (1973), lot 15
Naville / Ars Classica XVII, 3 Oct 1934, lot 1117
Numismatica Ars Classica, 25 Feb 1992, lot 390 (denarius)
Numismatica Ars Classica 45, 2 Apr 2008, lot 51 (denarius)
Numismatic Fine Arts Catalog Sale XXV, lot 313 (aureus) realized US $150,000 plus fees
Rollin et Feuardent, De Quelen Collection (7 May 1888), lot 505
Sayles, Wayne G. Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World -- Politics and Propaganda (1997), pp. 172, 182
Sear, David. The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators (1998), p. 208, Cat 340/341
J. Schulman (Amsterdam), Coll. Vierordt, 5 Mar 1923, lot 508 (denarius, 3.64g)
Sear, David. Roman Coins and their Values (2000 ed.), no. 1457 (aureus), no. 1458 (denarius)
Sotheby's auction of the Athena Fund II, 26 Oct 1993, lot #91 (aureus). It sold for 176,000 SF including buyer's premium
Sternberg 1 (1973), lot 15. Estimated at Sfr. 20,000, sold Sfr. 35,000. This is the same coin as Münzen und Medaillen AG 43 (1970), 243
Superior No. 13, August 1995, The Jacobs collection, lot 692 which realized $32,000 plus fees (same piece as Leu 45, lot 302). A black and white enlargement is on plate XXII
Sydenham, Edward A. The Coinage of the Roman Republic (1952), S.1536 (aureus), S.1357 (denarius)
Vagi, David L. Coinage and History of the Roman Empire (1999), vol. I, p. 70-71; Vol. II, p. 204, nos. 125 (aureus), 126 (denarius), 127 (provincial AR tetradrachm), 128 (provincial bronzes).
This page last updated 09 May 2008
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