INDO-PARTHIANS, Gondopharid Dynasty. Pakores, mid-late 1st century. Tetradrachm (Bronze, 23 mm, 8.27 g, 12 h), uncertain mint in Arachosia. BACΙΛЄ[YC BACΙΛЄⲰN] MЄΓA ΠAKOPHC Diademed and draped bust of Pakores to left. Rev. 'Maharajasa Rajatirajasa Mahatasa Pakurasa' (in Kharoshti) Nike standing right, holding wreath in her right hand and palm over her left shoulder; in field to left and right, monogram. MIG 1102. Senior 269.1aT var. (obverse legend). In exceptional condition for this difficult issue, arguably the finest known example. Lovely dark patina and with a portrait of fine style. A few very light deposits, otherwise, extremely fine.

Pakores (also spelled Pacores) was one of the last – and possibly the last – well-attested rulers of the Gondopharid, or Indo-Parthian, dynasty in Sistan. Since the chronology of his coinage remains uncertain, he is generally dated to the second half of the first century AD, although some scholars place him somewhat later. He is known almost entirely from coins found in Sistan and Arachosia, including silver drachms and bronze tetradrachms featuring Parthian and Hellenistic motifs, such as the royal portrait and the victory goddess Nike. The dynasty had been founded by Gondophares around 20 AD and at its height controlled a large but loosely organized territory extending from Sistan through Arachosia and Gandhara to the Indus. After Gondophares’ death, this realm gradually fragmented into smaller regional principalities, while the Kushans took over much of its eastern territory. Pakores therefore belongs to the final phase of Gondopharid rule, when the dynasty’s political power and territorial reach had already declined considerably. Although the roughly contemporary Periplus Maris Erythraei does not mention Pakores by name, it reports that Minnagara, the capital of 'Scythia,' was ruled by 'Parthian princes who are constantly driving each other out' (Periplus 38). This passage may reflect the unstable and fragmented political conditions in which the later Gondopharid rulers operated.