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Review
. 2023 Sep 30;15(9):e46248.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.46248. eCollection 2023 Sep.

A Lesion on the "King of Kings": Neurofibromas in the Parthian Empire's Arsacid Dynasty

Matthew D Turner  1 , Adam Sunday  2
Affiliations
Review

A Lesion on the "King of Kings": Neurofibromas in the Parthian Empire's Arsacid Dynasty

Matthew D Turner et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Multiple kings of the Arsacid Dynasty of the ancient Parthian Empire are depicted on their coinage with a recurrent facial lesion, one that is found across multiple generations. Multiple theories have attempted to explain this phenomenon, from basal cell carcinoma to hereditary trichoepithelioma. In this paper, we suggest that these lesions are possibly a representation of the neurofibromas found in Neurofibromatosis 1, an autosomal dominant disease process.

Keywords: ancient history; dermatology; history of medicine; neurofibromatosis 1; parthia; trichoepithelioma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The views expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, or the U.S. Government.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. A silver drachm depicting Phraates IV.
Note the nodule on the king’s forehead. This picture was obtained from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is part of the public domain.
Figure 2
Figure 2. A silver drachm of Vardanes.
Note the nodule on the king’s forehead. This picture was obtained from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is part of the Public Domain.
Figure 3
Figure 3. A tetradrachm coin of Vologases V.
Note the forehead nodule. This picture was obtained from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is Public Domain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ellerbrock U. New York, NY: Routledge; 2021. The Parthians: The Forgotten Empire.
    1. Darvaee T. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History.
    1. Sinisi F. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2012. The coinage of the Parthians; pp. 275–294.
    1. Trichoepithelioma and the kings of ancient Parthia. Hart GD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1936547/ Can Med Assoc J. 1966;94:547–549. - PMC - PubMed
    1. The metropolitan museum of art. [ Aug; 2023 ]. 2023. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322355 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322355

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