HATRA. Worod, circa 138-152/176. AE (Orichalcum, 27 mm, 13.73 g, 12 h). 𐡅𐡆𐡅𐡆 ('wrwd' in Aramaic) Draped bust of Worod to right, wearing elaborate erect coiffure and necklace.
Rev. Large S C within wreath with eagle above. U. Hartmann and A. Luther: Münzen des hatrenischen Herrn wrwd (Worod), in: Formen des Kontakts zwischen Orient und Okzident im Altertum, Stuttgart 2002, pp. 163, note 11 = Lindgren 2596 (
this coin). Of the highest rarity, apparently only the second known example. A coin of great interest and historical importance. Very fine.
From a Californian collection and the collection of H. C. Lindgren.
Worod, whose name in Greek reads Orodes, appears to have a local chieftain who gained some prominence in Hatra the 2nd century AD. Udo Hartmann and Andreas Luther identify him with a 'mry wrwd' ('Lord Worod') attested in a number of inscriptions in the sanctuary of Shamash in Hatra. Worod's reign or chieftainship likely postdates 138, as the eagle above the S C occurs in the Antiochian coinage under Antoninus Pius for the first time, but it must have ended before the Hatrean Kingdom was introduced, which occured sometime between 152 and 176.
