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Greek Coin of Seleukid Kingdom
Antiochos VII Sidetes
– King: 138-129 B.C.
Seleukid Coin of Ancient Israel
Bronze 11mm (1.42 grams) Ascalon mint
Reference: Hendin 1120 (5th Edition); HGC 9, 1111 (Rare R1); SNG Spaer 2095-2100; A. B. Brett, “The Mint of Ascalon Under the Seleucids,”
ANSMN 4 (1950), pp. 48-9, 10; CSE 818-9
Crested Macedonian helmet right, with cheek guards.
ΒAΣIΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY, Aphlaston (aplustre), border of
dots.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Ashkelon
also Ashqelon and Ascalon; (Hebrew:
אַשְׁקְלוֹן
[aʃkelon]
(audio) (help·info);
Arabic
:
عسقلان
ʿAsqalān ;
Latin
:
Ascalonia ;
Akkadian
:
Isqalluna ;
Ancient Greek
:
Ἀσκάλων
, Askalon) is a coastal city in
the
Southern District
of
Israel
on the
Mediterranean
coast, 50 kilometres (31 mi)
south of Tel Aviv
, and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of
the border with the
Gaza Strip
. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon
dates back to the
Neolithic Age
. In the course of its history, it
has been ruled by the
Ancient Egyptians
, the
Philistines
, the
Israelites
, the
Assyrians
, the
Babylonians
, the
Greeks
, the
Phoenicians
, the
Hasmoneans
, the
Romans
, the
Persians
, the
Arabs
and the
Crusaders
, until it was destroyed by the
Mamluks
in 1270.
The Arab village of al-Majdal or al-Majdal Asqalan (Arabic:
المجدل;
Hebrew
:
אל-מג’דל, מגדל), was established a few kilometres inland from the
ancient site in the 16th century, under
Ottoman
rule. In 1918, it became part of the
British
Occupied Enemy Territory Administration
and in
1920 became part of
Mandatory Palestine
. In the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
, al-Majdal was the
forward position of the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force
based in
Gaza
.[citation
needed]
The
village was occupied by Israeli forces on 5 November 1948, by which time most of
the Arab population of 11,000 had fled. Jews moved into the area later that
year. The Israeli town was initially called Migdal Gaza, Migdal
Gad
and Migdal Ashkelon. In 1953, the nearby
neighborhood of Afridar was incorporated and the name “Ashkelon” was readopted
to the town. By 1961, Ashkelon was ranked 18th among Israeli urban centers with
a population of 24,000. In 2014 the population of Ashkelon was 126,819.
Apluster (alternate spelling aplustre), an ornamental
appendage of wood at the ship’s stern, usually spreading like a fan and curved
like a bird’s feather. The apluster is used on ancient coins to symbolize
maritime power.
Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes (from
Side), ruler of the
Hellenistic
Seleucid Empire
, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He
was the last Seleucid king of any stature.
Biography
He was one of the sons of
Demetrius I Soter
, the brother of
Demetrius II Nicator
and his mother may have
been Laodice V
. Antiochus was elevated after
Demetrius’ capture by the
Parthians
. He married
Cleopatra Thea
, who had been the wife of
Demetrius. Their offspring was
Antiochus IX
, who thus became both half-brother
and cousin to
Seleucus V
and
Antiochus VIII
.
Sidetes defeated the usurper
Tryphon
at
Dora
and laid siege to
Jerusalem
in 132. During the siege he allowed a
seven day truce for the Jews to celebrate a religious festival, impressing the
Jewish leadership. According to
Josephus
the
Hasmonean
leader
John Hyrcanus
opened King
David
‘s sepulchre and removed three thousand
talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city. Nevertheless, King
Antiochus’ respectful treatment of the Jews, and respect for their religion,
earned him their gratitude and added name, Euergetes (“the Benefactor”).
With no Jewish sources of that time (the Book of Maccabees ends few years before
his time) it is unclear if the siege on Jerusalem ended with a decisive Seleucid
victory or simply a peace treaty. Furthermore, the fact is that Jewish forces
later assisted Sidetes in his wars, and that for nearly 20 years after his
death, John Hyrcanus refrained of attacking areas under Seleucid control. All in
all it indicates a renewal of the friendly relations from the time of Demetrius
II.
Antiochus spent the final years of his life attempting to reclaim the lost
eastern territories, overrun by the
Parthians
under their “Great King”,
Mithridates I
. Marching east, with what would
prove to be the last great Seleucid royal army (including a unit of Judean
troops under
John Hyrcanus
), he defeated Mithridates in two
battles, killing the aged Parthian king in the last of these. He restored
Mesopotamia
,
Babylonia
and
Media
to the Seleucid empire, before dispersing
his army into winter quarters.
The Seleucid king and army spent the winter feasting, hunting, and drinking
(the Seleucids maintained the Macedonian tradition of heavy drinking). As with
any time an army is quartered upon a population, tensions soon grew between the
locals and the Seleukian troops.
The new Parthian ruler,
Phraates II
, had not been idle; raising a new
army while stirring up rebellion in the Seleucid occupied towns of Media. Hoping
to further sew dissension amongst his foe, Phraates also released his long-held
prisoner,
Demetrius II
, Antiochus’ older brother, to
return to Seleukia and reclaim the throne.
That winter (130–129 BCE), several Median towns rose in rebellion and
attacked their Seleucid garrisons. Antiochus marched to support one such
isolated garrison with only a small force (likely only his Royal Guards). In a
barren valley, he was
ambushed and killed
by Phraates II and a large
force of Parthians, which had entered the country without being detected. The
last great Seleucid king died in battle, a fitting end for the heir of
Seleucus I Nicator
(the Victor). (One disputed
account has Antiochus take his own life, after the battle is lost, to avoid
capture by the Parthians.)
After Antiochus VII Sidetes, the Parthians regained the territory briefly
lost, and the Seleucid realm was now restricted to
Seleukia
.
Seleucid
Empire
Σελεύκεια
Seleúkeia |
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312 BC–63 BC |
↓
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The Seleucid Empire in 301 BC.
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The Seleucid Empire
was a
Hellenistic
state ruled by the Seleucid dynasty
founded by
Seleucus I Nicator
following the division of
the empire created by
Alexander the Great
. Seleucus received
Babylonia
and, from there, expanded his
dominions to include much of Alexander’s
near eastern
territories. At the height of its
power, it included central
Anatolia
, the
Levant
,
Mesopotamia
,
Kuwait
,
Persia
,
Afghanistan
,
Turkmenistan
, and northwest parts of
India
.
The Seleucid Empire was a major center of
Hellenistic
culture that maintained the
preeminence of
Greek
customs where a Greek-Macedonian
political elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas. The Greek population of
the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by emigration from
Greece
. Seleucid expansion into
Anatolia
and Greece was abruptly halted after
decisive defeats
at the hands of the
Roman army
. Their attempts to defeat their old
enemy
Ptolemaic Egypt
were frustrated by Roman
demands. Much of the eastern part of the empire was conquered by the
Parthians
under
Mithridates I of Parthia
in the mid-2nd century
BC, yet the Seleucid kings continued to rule a
rump state
from
the Seleukid Kingdom
until the invasion by
Armenian
king
Tigranes the Great
and their ultimate overthrow
by the Roman
general
Pompey
.
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