Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
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Seleukid Empire, Antiochos II Theos AV Stater. Aï Khanoum, 261-246 BC. Diademed head to right / Apollo Delphios seated to left on omphalos, testing arrow in his right hand, left hand holding tip of bow set on ground to right; BAΣIΛEΩΣ to right, ANTIOXOY to left, star above arm, monogram below, kithara before legs. SC 616.2; ESM 709; SMAK A2S-16 (A9/P9) = BM 1888,1208.46; Pozzi 2951; Houghton 1291-2; SNG ANS 70-3; HGC 9, 229e. 8.47g, 18mm, 6h.
Fleur De Coin, perfect satin surfaces, with remarkable preservation of detail. Extremely Rare; one of only four examples offered at auction since 1999, of which it is easily the finest both in terms of preservation state and artistry of the die engraving. An outstanding example, immensely superior to the example from the same collection sold at Roma XXII (lot 428) in 2021 for GBP 19,000.
From the Oxus Collection.
The sole reign of Antiochos II Theos, following the death of his father Antiochos I in 261 BC, demonstrates well the instability of the so-called Successor kingdoms which carved up Alexander the Great's empire in the wake of the power vacuum created by his untimely demise, as they continued to struggle between themselves for overall mastery of the vast territories the Macedonians had conquered.
The defining feature of Antiochos II's sole reign lies in the waging of the Second Syrian War, a legacy of the ongoing hostility and friction between the Ptolemaic and Seleukid kingdoms that had led to conflict in the First Syrian War of 274-271 BC. With assistance from Antigonos II Gonatas, then ruler of the Macedonian homelands, Antiochos II now made significant territorial gains against Ptolemy's empire in Asia Minor including the major cities of Ephesos, Samos and Miletos. The latter acclaimed Antiochos 'Theos' (God) for delivering them from the tyrannical rule of the Ptolemaic vassal Timarchos. The war was concluded with a peace treaty in 253, in which Ptolemy conceded considerable territory in Asia Minor, and the treaty was sealed by the marriage of Antiochos to the daughter of Ptolemy, Berenike, with the understanding that the offspring of this union would inherit the Seleukid throne.
Antiochos duly divorced his former wife Laodike, but she was treated with great honour and remained a powerful and influential figure. Laodike moved to Ephesos, and after Ptolemy II's death in 246 Antiochos appears to have reverted to Laodike, himself passing away shortly thereafter in 246, with rumours that he had been poisoned by the former queen. In the ensuing succession crisis partisans of Laodike murdered Berenike and her son before the new Ptolemaic king, Berenike's brother Ptolemy III, could bring support to her. Thus Laodike's son Seleukos II succeeded to the throne of his father after all, providing the casus belli for the Third Syrian War, which resulted in a significant weakening of the Seleukid kingdom and major Ptolemaic conquests that brought the Ptolemaic empire to the zenith of its power.
The Seleukid kingdom had been struggling for some time at this point, having lost considerable territories during the reign of Antiochos II despite their gains from the Second Syrian War. The dynasts of Cappadocia had successfully won independence for themselves by around 255 BC, and at this time a similar secession was under way in the satrapy of Baktria, where this coin was issued. A history of the mints there demonstrate the gradual loss of control of the Seleukid kings to the local satrap, Diodotos. While this stater dates to the period in which the Aï Khanoum mint was issuing coins made of precious metal on behalf Antiochos II, several years into his sole reign however, the mint began to issue only in bronze, and Diodotos soon began to produced coinage which named Antiochos but featured portraits of himself or his son, Diodotos II, and reverse types of their own choosing. Finally around 235 BC 'the name of Diodotos appeared on the reverse of the coinage as issuing authority, signalling the formal inception of an independent Diodotid kingdom in Baktria' (SC I.I p.167).
Fleur De Coin, perfect satin surfaces, with remarkable preservation of detail. Extremely Rare; one of only four examples offered at auction since 1999, of which it is easily the finest both in terms of preservation state and artistry of the die engraving. An outstanding example, immensely superior to the example from the same collection sold at Roma XXII (lot 428) in 2021 for GBP 19,000.
From the Oxus Collection.
The sole reign of Antiochos II Theos, following the death of his father Antiochos I in 261 BC, demonstrates well the instability of the so-called Successor kingdoms which carved up Alexander the Great's empire in the wake of the power vacuum created by his untimely demise, as they continued to struggle between themselves for overall mastery of the vast territories the Macedonians had conquered.
The defining feature of Antiochos II's sole reign lies in the waging of the Second Syrian War, a legacy of the ongoing hostility and friction between the Ptolemaic and Seleukid kingdoms that had led to conflict in the First Syrian War of 274-271 BC. With assistance from Antigonos II Gonatas, then ruler of the Macedonian homelands, Antiochos II now made significant territorial gains against Ptolemy's empire in Asia Minor including the major cities of Ephesos, Samos and Miletos. The latter acclaimed Antiochos 'Theos' (God) for delivering them from the tyrannical rule of the Ptolemaic vassal Timarchos. The war was concluded with a peace treaty in 253, in which Ptolemy conceded considerable territory in Asia Minor, and the treaty was sealed by the marriage of Antiochos to the daughter of Ptolemy, Berenike, with the understanding that the offspring of this union would inherit the Seleukid throne.
Antiochos duly divorced his former wife Laodike, but she was treated with great honour and remained a powerful and influential figure. Laodike moved to Ephesos, and after Ptolemy II's death in 246 Antiochos appears to have reverted to Laodike, himself passing away shortly thereafter in 246, with rumours that he had been poisoned by the former queen. In the ensuing succession crisis partisans of Laodike murdered Berenike and her son before the new Ptolemaic king, Berenike's brother Ptolemy III, could bring support to her. Thus Laodike's son Seleukos II succeeded to the throne of his father after all, providing the casus belli for the Third Syrian War, which resulted in a significant weakening of the Seleukid kingdom and major Ptolemaic conquests that brought the Ptolemaic empire to the zenith of its power.
The Seleukid kingdom had been struggling for some time at this point, having lost considerable territories during the reign of Antiochos II despite their gains from the Second Syrian War. The dynasts of Cappadocia had successfully won independence for themselves by around 255 BC, and at this time a similar secession was under way in the satrapy of Baktria, where this coin was issued. A history of the mints there demonstrate the gradual loss of control of the Seleukid kings to the local satrap, Diodotos. While this stater dates to the period in which the Aï Khanoum mint was issuing coins made of precious metal on behalf Antiochos II, several years into his sole reign however, the mint began to issue only in bronze, and Diodotos soon began to produced coinage which named Antiochos but featured portraits of himself or his son, Diodotos II, and reverse types of their own choosing. Finally around 235 BC 'the name of Diodotos appeared on the reverse of the coinage as issuing authority, signalling the formal inception of an independent Diodotid kingdom in Baktria' (SC I.I p.167).