Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 123 23-24 May 2023
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KINGS of MAURETANIA. Juba II, with Kleopatra Selene. 25 BC-AD 24. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.44 g, 4h). Caesarea mint. Dated RY 6 (20/19 BC). Diademed head of Juba left; date in legend to left / Head of Kleopatra Selene left. Spoerri-Butcher Group 1.b, – (unlisted dies); Mazard 357; MAA 114; SNG Copenhagen 546. Find patina, some porosity and a little roughness. VF. Very rare.
From the D.M.K. Collection.
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 BC. 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 were constant border security problems. Juba survived to an advanced age and was eventually succeeded by Ptolemy, his son by Kleopatra Selene, in AD 24.
From the D.M.K. Collection.
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 BC. 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 were constant border security problems. Juba survived to an advanced age and was eventually succeeded by Ptolemy, his son by Kleopatra Selene, in AD 24.