Money on the Silk Road - research at the British Museum

This paper was originally prepared for the international workshop ‘Chinese Civilization on the Silk Road’ hosted by Professor Rong Xinjiang at Peking University, 9–10 November 2019. The proceedings were published in Rong Xinjiang (ed.-in-chief), Sichou zhi lu shang de Zhonghua wenming (Chinese Civilization on the Silk Road), Beijing, The Commercial Press, 2022. As this volume is not easily available in the UK, we requested and were granted permission to republish it in JONS. The main body and footnotes of the article remain unchanged and the style of the original has been retained, but the bibliography has been updated, and a postscript has been added at the end to include work since 2019

Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum 2, Mithradates II

The second volume of “Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum” examines the history and culture of the reign of Mithradates II (c. 122/1‒91 BC), who consolidated and expanded the Parthian state. In addition to his coinage, the present volume draws on other primary sources, such as cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, in order to illuminate an otherwise poorly known and documented period of ancient Iranian history. This publication by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Alexandra Magub, Elizabeth J. Pendleton and Edward C. D. Hopkins is an essential tool not just for numismatists, but also for historians and art historians, presenting various aspects of Parthian coinage: chronology, mint identification, the iconography within a broader Iranian context, typology and metrology. The catalogue offers a complete record of coin production under Mithradates II, illustrating and describing 1,996 coins from leading international institutions and other sources

EXCAVATIONS AT THE DARBAND-I RANIA PASS, KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ: REPORT ON THE 2016 AND 2017 SEASONS

International audienceThis paper presents the results of the work of the new field initiative launched by the British Museum at the Darband-i Rania pass in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The pass is located at the northeastern corner of Lake Dokan, where, though now subsumed into the lake, the Lower Zab flows from the Peshdar into the Rania Plain. It is a strategic location on a major route from Mesopotamia into Iran, and control of both the road and the river must always have been important. The aim of the work, which commenced in autumn of 2016, is to explore a cluster of sites that commanded the pass, with a particular focus on the first millennium b.c. Excavation is being carried out principally at two sites: Qalatga Darband, a large fortified site at the western end of the pass, and Usu Aska, a fort inside the pass itself. The occupations of these two sites are predominantly Parthian and Assyrian respectively. Smaller operations have also been carried out at Murad Rasu, a multi-period site situated on a headland across the waters on the southern shore of Lake Dokan. The results have included the discovery at Qalatga Darband of a monumental complex built of stone and roofed with terracotta roof tiles containing the smashed remains of Hellenistic statuary. Other features indicative of Hellenistic material culture are Mediterranean-type oil-presses and Corinthian column bases and capitals. At Usu Aska remains are being uncovered of an Assyrian fortification of massive proportions

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo