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Lucius Iulius Aurelius Septimius Vaballathus Athenodorus
"The King of Palmyra" He was the emperor of the Palmyrene Empire in the Syrian region. He rose to power under the regency of his mother, Zenobia, who rebelled against the Roman Empire and established the independent Palmyrene Empire. Initially, Aurelian recognized Vaballathus's rule, likely because he was preoccupied with the conflict against the Gallic Empire in the west and hesitant to provoke an open war with the Palmyrene Empire.
Aurelian is depicted wearing a radiate crown, symbolizing his authority as emperor, while Vaballathus is shown with a laurel wreath and a Hellenistic royal diadem. His titles likely included Vir Clarissimus Romanorum (or Rex) Imperator Dux Romanorum.
Denomination: Antoninianus, Billon
Obverse: Draped and cuirassed bust of Vabalathus, diademed and laureate, to right, seen from behind, VABALATHVS V C R IM D R
Reverse: Radiate and cuirassed bust of Aurelian to right, IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, S
Mint: Antioch, 270-272 A.D.
Weight: 3,78 g
Diameter: 20,5mm
Provenance: Bucephalus Numismatic
Reference : 57.1 RIC V 381
Collection : IMPERIUM ROMANUM 06 - Military Anarchy p.2