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Coinage from the kingdom of Edessa was arguably first produced under King Wael son of Sahru (r. 163–165), at a time when Wael had strong Parthian support in the context of Lucius Verus’s Parthian war of 161–166; these coins have Syriac inscriptions, while later coinage was inscribed in either Syriac or (more commonly) Greek. In fact, most coinage from Edessa has inscriptions in Greek and post-dates the deposition of the philo-Parthian Wael, when his successor Ma‘nu VIII Philoromaios (165–176) was allowed to mint silver denarii for Marcus Aurelius, Faustina the Younger, Lucilla, and Lucius Verus. Arguably, however, Roman coins were in use at Edessa before local coins were minted, as is indicated by Syriac countermarks with the names of Edessene kings (Howgego 1985: no.26, 695, 696; Ross 2001: 167 n.6; Luther 2009). The present chapter focuses on Syriac coinage alone (for an overview of Greek coinage, see Ross 2001: 145–162, and Edessene coinage in BMC Arabia xciv–cvii, 91–118, with pl.XIII–XVII): the only known coins with Syriac inscriptions were minted in bronze during the second half of the second century, under the reigns of the kings Wael (r. 163–165), Ma‘nu VIII (165–176), and Abgar VIII (176–211).

The Syriac coinage by Wael includes an issue representing the bust of King Wael, on the reverse, and the head of the Parthian king, Vologases IV, on the obverse, arguably celebrating Parthian friendship before the end of the Roman–Parthian war (161–166), as a result of which Osrhoene became a satellite kingdom of Rome (see Chapter 27); the only Syriac inscription on these coins indicates the identity of the sovereign with the label “King Wael” (Co1). Another issue by Wael presents his bust similarly identified in Syriac as “King Wael,” and, on the reverse, a temple accompanied by the inscription “the God Nah∙ay” (this god is also mentioned in Bs 2, a funerary monument for a religious functionary, a budar, of Nah∙ay; Healey 2019: 53–54). In the best-preserved examples of this issue, the temple is seen in three-quarters perspective, with a star depicted on the pediment, and with a cube-shaped betyl lying on a pedestal beneath the doorway (Co 2). The only other known coins with Syriac inscriptions, by the kings Ma‘nu VIII and Abgar VIII, have a simpler iconography; they all represent the bearded bust of the king on the obverse, wearing a tall tiara, and, on the reverse, the Syriac legend “King Ma‘nu,” or “King Abgar,” encircled by a wreath (Co 3 and Co 4). The representations in coins of Edessene kings shows a clear debt to Parthian royal iconography (Winkelmann 2007).