Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 477 23 Sep 2020
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KINGS of MAURETANIA. Juba II, with Kleopatra Selene. 25 BC-AD 24. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.29 g, 7h). Caesarea mint. Struck circa AD 11-23. Diademed head of Juba right / Head of Kleopatra Selene right. Mazard 369/370 (for same obv./rev. dies); cf. MAA 107; SNG Copenhagen –. Iridescent tone, flan crack, some roughness, light scratches, slightly off center on obverse. VF. Very rare with these portrait styles.
Juba II was born about 50 BC, the son of King Juba of Numidia who lost his kingdom and his life following Caesar's victory over the Pompeians at Thapsus in 46 BC. The child was brought to Rome to adorn the dictator's triumph and then remained in the capital, where he received his education and was later granted Roman citizenship. During this time, he became a close friend of Octavian, thirteen years his senior. In 25 BC, Octavian, now Rome's first emperor under the name of Augustus, granted his friend Juba the North African Kingdom of Mauretania, which had been annexed by the Romans following the death of Bocchus III in 33. About five years later, Juba II married the 20-year-old Kleopatra Selene, daughter of Mark Antony and Queen Kleopatra VII of Egypt, who had been brought up by the emperor's sister, Octavia, following her parents' suicide in Alexandria in 30 BC. Their rule over Mauretania was benevolent, and quite prosperous, though there was constant border security problems. Juba survived to an advanced age and was eventually succeeded by Ptolemy, his son by Kleopatra Selene, in AD 24.
Juba II was born about 50 BC, the son of King Juba of Numidia who lost his kingdom and his life following Caesar's victory over the Pompeians at Thapsus in 46 BC. The child was brought to Rome to adorn the dictator's triumph and then remained in the capital, where he received his education and was later granted Roman citizenship. During this time, he became a close friend of Octavian, thirteen years his senior. In 25 BC, Octavian, now Rome's first emperor under the name of Augustus, granted his friend Juba the North African Kingdom of Mauretania, which had been annexed by the Romans following the death of Bocchus III in 33. About five years later, Juba II married the 20-year-old Kleopatra Selene, daughter of Mark Antony and Queen Kleopatra VII of Egypt, who had been brought up by the emperor's sister, Octavia, following her parents' suicide in Alexandria in 30 BC. Their rule over Mauretania was benevolent, and quite prosperous, though there was constant border security problems. Juba survived to an advanced age and was eventually succeeded by Ptolemy, his son by Kleopatra Selene, in AD 24.