1 Tetradrachm Seleucid Empire (312BC-63 BC) Silver Antiochus VII ...

Seleucid Empire, Antiochos VII Euergetes (138-129 BC) AR Tetradrachm Coin.

Mint Place: Antioch State: Seleukid Kingdom Mint Period: 138-129 BC Denomination: AR Tetradrachm Reference: Houghton/Lorber/Hoover 2061.4 e; Newell, Antioch 283; SNG Spaer 1858. Ruler: Antiochos VII Euergetes (Sidetes). Weight: 16.07gm Diameter: 28mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochos VII Euergetes (Sidetes) right.

Reverse: Athena standing left, holding Nike and resting hand on grounded shield, spear leaning against arm. Two monograms in left field. All within laurel wreath. Legends: BASILEWS ANTIOXOY (in right field) / EUER-GETOY (in left field)

Antioch on the Orontes (Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem; also Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch) was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey. Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East and was a cradle of gentile Christianity. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis. Its residents were known as Antiochenes.

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. The brother of Demetrius II, 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 134. According to Josephus the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David’s sepulchre and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city. Sidetes then attacked the Parthians, supported by a body of Jews under Hyrcanus, and briefly took back Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media before being ambushed and killed by Phraates II. His brother Demetrius II had by then been released, but the Seleucid realm was now restricted to Syria.