THE TYRANTS OF TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES

The “Tyrants of the Tygris & Euphrates” is the Mesopotamian section of the Tyrant Collection.  In Greek, Mesopotamia means “(land) between the rivers.”  Mesopotamia is the land between the two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.  Mesopotamia spawned the earliest civilization, which included writing, mathematics, metal working, the wheel, and spectacular wealth.

The Tyrants of Mesopotamia is the longest collectible series of coins.  The history of this region is so well documented that we know every Tyrant of Mesopotamia, from Cyrus the Great in 546 BC to Saddam Hussein in 2003.  They formed 16 dynasties with dozens of languages, religions, and cultures:  Achaemenid, Macedonia, Seleucid, Parthia, Sasanian, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Buwayhids, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, Jalayrids, Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu, Safavids, Ottomans, and Iraq.

This collection contains coins from the tyrants of all of these dynasties–a continuous run of coins for more than 2500 years: the longest collectible series of coins.  Quite a challenge.

1

EPHESOS IN IONIA

2

LYDIAN KINGS

3

ACHAEMENID KINGS OF PERSIA

4

PERGAMUM IN MYSIA

5

KINGS OF BACTRIA

6

SELEUCID KINGS OF SYRIA

7

PARTHIAN KINGDOM

8

SASANIAN EMPIRE

9

UMAYYAD CALIPHATE

10

‘ABBASID CALIPHATE

11

BUWAYHIDS

12

GREAT SELJUQS

13

ILKHANS

14

AQ QOYUNLU

15

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

16

IRAQ

17

SELEUCID KINGS OF SYRIA