KINGS OF OSRHOENE (EDESSA). Ma'nu VIII Philoromaios, 167-179. AE (Bronze, 13 mm, 0.95 g, 2 h). Bearded and draped bust of Lucius Verus (?) to right. Rev. 'Ma'nu King' in two lines in Syriac Esṭrangēlā. BMC p. c and pl. L, 9. Very rare and among the finest known. Nearly extremely fine.

The Kingdom of Osrhoene was situated in a particularly volatile geographical location and hence prone to interventions by the two neighboring superpowers Rome and Parthia. In 163, the Parthian King Vologases III expelled Ma'nu VIII from Edessa and replaced him with his brother Waël, but the Roman counteroffensive under Lucius Verus' able general Avidius Cassius soon turned the tide in Ma'nu's favor again. Having returned from his exile, the new (and old) King added the epithet Philoromaios ('friend of the Romans') to his name in gratitude. Ma'nu also started issuing silver coins with the portraits of the Roman imperial family and Greek legends, and bronze coins with his own image and his name in the local Syriac Esṭrangēlā script. The present coin, however, is part of an extremely rare bronze issue showing not the King's portrait with a tiara but a bare-headed and bearded bust. It probably is a hybrid between the imperial silver and the royal bronze types, combining the name of the King Ma'nu with the portrait of his Roman overlord Lucius Verus