Vabalathus, usurper, 268-272. Antoninianus (Bronze, 21 mm, 3.64 g, 6 h), Antiochia, March-May 272. IM C VHABALATHVS AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Vabalathus to right, seen from behind. Rev. VICTORIA AVG Victory advancing left, holding wreath in her right hand and palm frond in her left; in field to left, star. Bland 27. Cohen 6. RIC 6. RIC V online 3120. Rare. Light traces of cleaning, otherwise, very fine.


Vabalathus was the son of Odenathus, King of Palmyra - an oasis settlement in the Syrian desert - and his queen, Zenobia. After his father and older brother were killed during a period of unrest, he ascended the throne of Palmyra in 267 at about eight years old, with his mother serving as regent.

Zenobia had greater ambitions than merely ruling Palmyra; she began issuing coins bearing both Aurelian’s and Vabalathus' names at the mint in Antioch. Preoccupied with the breakaway Gallic Empire, Aurelian initially left the Palmyrene kingdom undisturbed. However, once he turned his attention eastward to deal with the Palmyrenes - sometime in late 271 or early 272 - Zenobia ordered the mint to strike coins bearing only her name and that of Vabalathus, omitting Aurelian entirely.

This coin, which identifies Vabalathus as Augustus, must have been issued after Aurelian set out for the East. After Aurelian defeated the Palmyrenes and captured both Vabalathus and his mother, he returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph, intending to parade them in chains. However, along the way, Vabalathus - just about fifteen years old - died. Whether he was assassinated or succumbed to natural causes remains unknown. Zenobia, meanwhile, reportedly settled in Rome and eventually married a Roman senator, although Zosimos reports she died with her son on her way to Rome.