Notes on Syrian coins / by Henri Seyrig

8/20/2019 Notes on Syrian coins / by Henri Seyrig

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NOTES ON SYRIAN COINS

BY HENRI SEYRIG

THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETYBROADWAY AT 156TH STREET

NEW YORK

1950

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t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - N o n C o m m e r c i a l - S h a r e A l i k e

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coPYRIGHT, 1950, BY THE AMERICAN NUMIsMATIc soci ETY

RUDISILL & Co., INC. LAN CASTER, PA.

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NUMISMATIC NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS

Number 119

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t i v e C o m m o n s A t t r i b u t i o n - N

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NUMISMATIC NOTES AND MONOGRAPHS

is devoted to essays and treatises on subjects relating to coins, paper money, medals and decorations.

PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

HERBERT E. Ives, Chairman

ALFRED R. BELLINGER

AGNES BALDw1N BRETT

THoMAs O. MAB BoTT

SAwYER. McA. MossER, Editor

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2 Notes on Syrian Coins

of expert care of some dealers ruined more than onebeautiful specimen. It will be seen also that the weight of the coins was much affected by the process of cleaning, the

difference rising sometimes as high as 1.5 grams. The coins found at Khan el-abde are a

l l tetradrachms,

struck by Tryphon, Antiochus VII, Ptolemy II, PtolemyIII and Ptolemy IV. The writer believes that he has seen alarge proportion o

fthe Tryphons, a sthe high prices offered

for them a tBeyrouth, and the lack o

fsuch amarket a

t

Tripolis, probably brought most o f

them t othe capital.

Afew specimens, ruined by unskilful cleaning and thereupon lost i nthe bazaars, could not b

erecorded, and thesame i strue for some o

fthe better coins, known t ohave

reached foreign markets almost directly. On the contrary,the Ptolemaic coins, and possibly also the Seleucid tetradrachms, attracted less attention and many may well have

remained i nvarious hands, without coming t othe writer'snotice.

The coins that have been recorded are a sfollows; thoseillustrated on the plates are indicated with a nasterisk.

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The Kahn el-abde Find TRYPHON

Legend: 8ootX&os Tobowvos airrokpdropos

A. ATTIC TETRADRACHMS

Obv. Head of Tryphon r . ,diad. Fillet border.Rev. Helmet adorned with horn of ibex. Oak wreath.

Monograms Weight

No. and

Dies Before AfterLettersCleaning | Cleaning

1 None Aa 16.97 15.60 2

4- Bb - 16.013*

**Bb - 15.95

4 Bb 16.86 - 5 RN Cc - 15.99 6

4- Ca 17.17 - 7

44De 17.05 -

8 **

De 17.20

-9* ** De 17.30 16.02

10* 44 Ec 17.17 15.67

11 •* Ff - -

12 **

G 17.15 -13 “ pellet H 17.08 16.1114 “ pellet I

i 17.35 -15* “ A [ " I j 16.93 15.9616 “ A | k 17.07 -17*

- - k 1 7.44 15.97

18* “ " A Kl 17.08 15.9319

44 44 Ll 17.15 -20* “ 8

.Mm 17.04 15.76

B. PHOENICIAN TETRADRACHMS

Obv. Bust o f Tryphon r .

,draped, diad. Border o

fdots.

Rev. Eagle t o r .on thunderbolt. Border o fdots.

Monograms and -tiery Weight

No. Between | Dies | Before After t o l l t o r .Legs Cleaning |Cleaning

21* | – | | L . A A Aa 13.95 -22* | 2 | “ - Bb | 14.34 13.4623* | {

44 - Bc 14.04 -24* | RN | “ - De - 13.7525

** ** - Ef - 13.5926

4-f ** - Ef 14.3527

** 64 - Ef 14.91 -28* | “

44 - F 14.20 -29

- **

- G

- -30* | “ 44

- Ca 14.10 13.50

# " : . pellet G

i14.54 -

33 ** 44 - Gi 14.28 -

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ANTIOCHUS VII

Legend: 8aat)\&os 'Avrióxov ElepyèrovObv. Head of King r .

,diad. Fillet border.

Rev. Pallas standing l . ,

holding Nike. Wreath o f

olive.

3 4 Tol. club surmounted b

ymonogram o

f Tyre, # , |EP, AXY ; i nex.: HOP, X.Weight after cleaning: 16.07

Newell, The Seleucid Coinages o f Tyre, no. 189.

Legend: 6aotAéa's 'Avrióxov

Obv. Bust o fking r .

,diad. Border o

fdots.

Rev. Eagle t o l .35 To l . :EOP, fin; t or.:X IAQ,aplustre.

E . Babelon, Perses achém., no. 1070.

36–37 T . l . :

club surmounted b y

monogram o f Tyre, f ,

t o r . : A £and date IOP, between legs o feagle:F

E .

T .Newell, Sel. Coinages o f Tyre, no. 121.

PTOLEMY I I

Obv. Head o fPtolemy I r .

,diad. Border o

fdots.

Rev. Eagle l . on thunderbolt. Border o f

dots.No. Svor. t o 1

.to r . Below | Legend Mint

38 362 | EY X - - 6ao. Egypt39–41 375

** K/Q. A - - ** **42 ? 4// GE IH - - 2wr.43 400 TT A/ Al - - 644–46 401

** **bef - - s

47 402 ** **

£rl - - **48–49 531 #/ A Shield - Sag.50 ? % Shield Kel - *4 **51–52 626 Club - - ** Tyre53–54 668 # Club ABDA na Xor.

**

55 674 ** 4- /\ T4- HP **

56 677 ** ** ** ** ©

--

57 680 ** ** AŽ o

58 683 ** **

AA/// na59 694 P “ 44 A I -60 702 ** ** 2\\ -61 703

** ** - A62 704

** ** “ . A -

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The Kahn el-abde Find 5

Mo. Svor. to 1. to r. Below Legend Mint

63 ? > | f/ // - 8ag. Sidon64–66 713

** - - . -67 719

| “

AA

- **68 732 ** AA /\

- zer. 469–70 738 ** A | A B - •4 -71–72 739 ** AA 44 - Sidon73 756

44 A | A Q W. Pellet ** s74 757 | 3 4×4 - ** ** -75 780 m /ve A E O ** Ptolemais76 ? PT KT A – : Joppe77–81 853 - - - - Cyprus :82–84 ? - - T -4 -85 ? - - f/4 ** -86 ? - - // ** -87 ? A m K - ** -88

: " ": " 't'." ** -89–94 - lilegible lilegibie -95–99 ?

*-: Soro.

-100–103 ?

** * ? -PTOLEMY III

Legend: IIroAsualov Zaripos

Same types.

No. Svor. to l. to r. Below Afint

104 1040 | | T #| [ O Joppe

PTOLEMY IVLegend: IIroMeualov Savikios

Obv. Jugate busts of Serapis and Isis, r. Border of dots.

Rev. Eagle l. on thunderbolt, with double horn of plenty.

Border of dots.

No. Svor. to 1. to r . Legs Mint

105 - L T A X | – | Ascalon -106–118 || 1124 - - || A | ?

The coins of Ptolemy II and III, just described, form agroup by themselves. The most recent among the datedones (no. 104) goes back to 245/244 B.c. Yet the presenceof only one coin of Ptolemy III, whose Syrian issues werequite considerable, is not in favor of connecting the group

with the tetradrachms of Ptolemy IV (nos. 105–118).Probably the coins were put aside in the first years of Ptolemy III, and the preponderance of local issues among

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them gives an interesting picture of the currency that was

then prevalent in Phoenicia under Egyptian suzerainty.

All of them show notable signs of wear.

The coins of Ptolemy IV again seem to form a closedgroup. They are almost in mint condition and must have

been withdrawn from use very shortly after their issue.

The only dated one among them, a new variety from

Ascalon (no. 105), goes back to 219/218 B.C., and the other

ones have also been reasonably supposed to belong to the

beginning of the king's reign."

All coins of Tryphon, and of Antiochus VII, are in mintcondition, and obviously were hoarded very soon after

their issue. A striking fact is that the thirteen dated coinsgo back to the fourth (and last) year of Tryphon's reign,

while no coin of year 3 (of which more numerous varieties

had hitherto been known, than of year 4) accompanies

them.

The contents of the find are difficult to combine into a

single picture. The three groups of coins ( i f

the tetradrachms o

fAntiochus VII are t o b e joined t othose o

f

Tryphon) have the appearance o f

three separate hoards.

Yet i t i s hardly likely that three such hoards, buriedseparately, should have been washed together b y the

waters. Perhaps they may have been parts o f

the treasure

o f

a temple, t owhich various deposits were added i nthe

course o f

time. An additional possibility cannot b ecom

pletely ignored. I twill b e

remembered that Tryphon,

besieged i nDora near mount Carmel by Antiochus VII,managed t oescape i n aboat and landed a

tOrthosia, only

t othrow himself into Apamea, where h e

was again be

* F . T .

Newell, Two Recent Egyptian Hoards (N.N. M. 33), p . 6 f t

.

* I Maccab. XV, 25; 37; 39; Joseph., Ant. jud., XI I I ,223 f . ; B . Niese, Gesch. dergriech.-maked. Staaten, lII, p

.293; F

. Bevan, House o f

Seleucus, II, p . 238. Afragment o

fCharax Perg. says that Tryphon escaped from Dora t oPtolemais: F

.

Jacoby, Fragm. hist. gr., I I A ,

p .

488, 29.

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The Helmet as a Coin Type 7

sieged, captured and suppressed. As we have seen, Khanel-abde is no other than the site of ancient Orthosia, and

it is not altogether impossible

that the tetradrachms of Tryphon, a l l belonging t ohis last year, should have beenleft there by his party o ntheir flight, and have joined thetreasure i nsome way o

rother.

The great rarity which has hitherto characterized thecoins o

f Tryphon should b eattributed, not t othe fact thatthey were struck i nsmall numbers, but rather t othe pains

that Antiochus VII must have taken t omelt them, a sthemonuments o

fthe worst insult that his dynasty had

suffered. That Tryphon's money was plentiful, seems t o

appear from the fact that the Attic tetradrachms o f

histwo last issues (W and “no monogram”), show the use o

f

1 3obverse dies and 1 4reverse dies for the 2

2specimens

known t othis day, and bear the secondary marks o f

four

distinct monetary officials. As for the Phoenician tetradrachms o

fyear 4 ,

the 1 4known specimens show the useof 7obverse dies and 10 reverse dies. I twill be noted that no coin later than the tetradrachms

of Antiochus VII seems to have been found at Khanel-abde, a s i fthe hoarding had ceased after that prince's

reign. I t i s ,however, not impossible that other coins arestill scattered among the sands o

fthe Nahr el-barid, s o

that new finds may very well, some day, alter the general

picture given b y

the present hoard.

2 . THE HELMET AS ACOIN TYPE

The Attic tetradrachms o f Tryphon i nthe Khan el-abdefind include some o

fthe most splendid coins ever struck

for the Syrian monarchy. Yet their reverses, when compared t oearlier issues o

f Tryphon, show some signs o f

haste. Babelon, publishing the specimen i nthe Luynes

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collection," was able to describe in detail the two medal

lions which adorn the helmet's body: one of them contains

an eagle with spread wings, the other a panther holding athyrsos. Such minutiae are no longer worked out on ourspecimens. These, in compensation, show a feature not yet

noticed: a thunderbolt that embellishes the cheek-pieces.

The type of these tetradrachms, the helmet, spiked andbrimmed, with ibex horn, cheek-pieces and wreath of laurel, somehow combined with the royal diadem, isusually considered as Tryphon's personal badge, either his

own helmet, or a symbol of the army that had electedhim." Its presence on the last issues of Antiochus VIshould then be explained as a sign of Tryphon's gradualrise to power. Revolutionary as the coinage of Tryphonappears to be in respect to dates and royal titles," the

choice of such a purely human emblem seems hardly

probable in Hellenistic Syria. A general's hat, howeversuperb, could not be a fitting type for the most important

denomination in the coinage of the realm.

The mythological ornaments on the helmet would not

be decisive in themselves, as their presence could also be

justified on a soldier's armour. Yet their content is interesting. The panther alludes to the cult of Dionysus, which

was important in Apamea:” a circumstance that may haveplayed its part in the assimilation of Antiochus VI to thatgod, soon after his elevation, which had taken place precisely at or near Apamea. The eagle and the thunderbolt

are the emblems of Zeus. Perhaps we should now remember that the city-coins of Apamea, which was not only theplace where Antiochus VI had been proclaimed, but also

*E. Babelon, Rois de Syrie, no. 1043; J. Babelon, Coll. de Luynes, no. 3376.* E. Babelon, op. cit., p. cxxxix; E. T. Newell, Seleucid Mint of Antioch, p. 73.

* Below, p. 12.

* BMC, Galatia etc., p. 234, nos. 9 f.; c f .

the dionysiac reliefs from Apamea: F .

Mayence, Mélanges syriens off. d R .

Dussaud, p .

975 f t .

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Phoenician Mints of Tryphon 9

the native town of Tryphon and the cradle of his revolt,show a peculiar figure of Zeus.” The type, otherwise unknown in Syria, occurs a few years before Tryphon, in150/149 B.C., and this in two variants: the god is simplystanding, or he puts his foot on a pile of shields and armour. But in both cases, he carries on his extended hand ahelmet. Such an image of a warlike Zeus is likely enough

to have stood in the military capital of the Seleucids, andto have received a special worship from the army. It maynow be asked: cannot the helmet on our coins be the main

attribute of the great god of Apamea?" The highly religious significance thus given to the type, and its link

with the cults of a city so important in the life and adventures of Tryphon, seem more plausible than a purelyhuman allusion, not to speak of an alleged pun on theword rovo&Aeta, sometimes used for a helmet by Homer.Certainly the oak-wreath around the type, a unique appearance in the silver coinage of the Seleucids, seems toconfirm our interpretation.

3. PHOENICIAN MINTS OF TRYPHON

In order to make the following pages easier to read, a

synopsis of the coinage of Tryphon, to which the references in the text are made (syn.), has been provided(pp. 22-23).

The Khan el-abde find contains a notable proportion of Phoenician tetradrachms of Tryphon's fourth year, on* E. Babelon, Rois de Syrie, nos. 912–921. The god here represented is not Poseidon, but Zeus. It should also be noted, in this connection, that the coin listed underApamea, no. 2, by the BMC (Galatia etc., p. 233), does represent Poseidon butbelongs to Attalea Pamphyliae (other specimens: BMC, Lycia etc., p. 110, nos.1 ff.). Thus disappears the only instance of the cult of Poseidon in Apamea."There is of course no difficulty in the fact, that the helmet held by the statue onthe coins of 150/149 is of a much simpler design. The helmet on the coins of Antiochus VI and Tryphon may have been a spectacular offering, made by the youngking, or in his name by his minister, to the god who had favored their rise. On thecult of Zeus in Apamea, see the coins, especially the rich series in Glasgow (G.Macdonald, Catalogue of the Hunterian Coll., III, p. 190–195); also the inscriptionfrom Vaison (Dessau, Inscr. l a

tselectae, 4333) o

nthe oracle o

fthe god, there

named Belus.

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which the eagle stands on a thunderbolt, without anyaccessory symbol. This type recurs on some other coins of

Tryphon, and on a solitary tetradrachm of AntiochusVII, none of which has been attributed to a definite mint.

The group, then, includes the following issues.1. Tryphon, didrachm (syn. no. 34) # L T Az —2

&4

tetradrachm (id., no. 38) W LA — —3.

c4 4& (id, no. 35) – LA – A4.

c 4 4& (id, no. 36) 2 LA — —5

* { 4& (id, no. 37) + LA — —6. Antiochus VII,

tetradrachm (Babelon 1104) W IO P – – The coastal towns of Syria were careful, when they

minted such eagle-coins for the kings, to distinguish theirrespective issues by symbols. The eagle stands on the ramof a war-galley at Tyre, on a thunderbolt at Ascalon andPtolemais, on a palm-branch at Berytus, on nothing atSidon. Moreover the bird is accompanied by a palm

branch at Ascalon, Tyre, Sidon and Byblus, by a tridentat Berytus. At the mint of Ptolemais, such a secondarysymbol is absent, except on a short series of coins fromAlexander I to the third year of Tryphon, where an ear of

wheat appears on the eagle's shoulder." It would thereforeseem that our coins of Tryphon's fourth year and of Antiochus VII, being entirely similar to the later issues of Ptolemais, should also be attributed to that mint. It maybe object to such an attribution, that our coins do not bearthe monogram ff, characteristic of Ptolemais. But aglance at the catalogues will show that while it was usedfairly constantly under the Lagids,” it was dropped afterthe Seleucid conquest (obviously when the town was renamed Antiochia after Antiochus III); that it was resumed* A. B. Brett, A.N.S. Museum Notes, I, 1945, p. 19-35; E. T. Newell, Late SeleucidMints (N.N.M. 84), p. 4, no. 2 to p. 35, no. 51."J. Svoronos, Nomismata ton Ptolemaión, I I

,pp. 113 ff.; 163; 169; 192; A

. B .

Brett, A.N.S. Museum Notes, II, 1947, pp. 8 f .

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Phoenician Mints of Tryphon 11

under Antiochus VI;” and that it only recurs sporadically,in later times, on one issue after Demetrius II's return,

and on one issue under the joint reign of Cleopatra andAntiochus VIII." Its presence therefore cannot be regarded as essential. The writer is inclined to think that theidentity of type, the striking continuity in the style of theeagle, the perfect congruity of the dates, show that thisseries, otherwise unattributed, closes the gap (year 3 of Tryphon, to year 185 of the Seleucids) left in the coinageof Ptolemais between the two sequences established byMrs. Brett and E. T. Newell. The suppression of the ear of wheat must have taken place in the course of Tryphon's

year 3, for which we have two tetradrachms with the earof wheat (syn., no. 32; 33), and a didrachm without it(syn. no. 34). This attribution fits very well with the factthat Ptolemais appears from other documents to havebeen Tryphon's stronghold in Phoenicia: it is natural thatit should have been his principal mint.

In addition to Ptolemais, Tryphon seems to have controlled the mint of Ascalon," to which an issue of chalkoiis usually attributed (syn. nos. 39–40; PLATE II, B). Theportrait

on these coins is strikingly

similar to that on thePhoenician tetradrachms struck at Ptolemais (see PLATEII, 23).

Other coins of Tryphon were issued from Byblus. Thatcity, the source of numerous issues of bronze under severalkings, has otherwise never served as a royal mint for silver.

Tryphon probably had his own reasons for innovating, andit may be conjectured that, with Tyre and Sidon closing

their gates to him," with Berytus laid waste by him," he*A. B. Brett, A.N.S. Museum Notes, I, 1946, pp. 17 f f .

* E

.

T. Newell, Late Seleucid Mints (N.N.M. 84), pp. 4ff. * A . B . Brett, “The Mint o fAscalon under the Seleucids,” A .N. S .Museum Notes

IV, 1950. * A

sproved b ytheir continuous series o f

coins with the effigy o f

Demetrius II. *Strab., XVI, 2

, 1 9(p. 756); see below, p

.12.

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found it convenient to establish his mint for Northern

Phoenicia in that ancient and venerable town, whose military strength was probably not sufficient to keep him in

check. The unique tetradrachm of the de Clercq collection(syn. no. 30) is not the only coin of Tryphon that has come

down to us from that mint. In recent years, the childrenof Byblus have been picking up on the beach, where the

sea washes the foot of the acropolis, numerous coins, among

which the following are fairly common, and have found

their way into several collections in Beyrouth.

Obv. Head of Tryphon, diademed, r. Border of dots.Rev. Six-winged god of Byblus walking l .

,leaning o

nstaff

with his r .

hand, crowned with adisk between cow'shorns.TPY 4CONOC BAC IAé (A) C. Border of dots.Lebanese Museum, Beyrouth; etc. 1 5 t o 1 7 mm.;

2.50 t o 4grms. PLATE I , A .

4 . DATES OF TRYPHON

Tryphon o n

his coins shows adecided will t obreak with

Seleucid tradition." Instead o f

adding areligious epithet

t ohis name a s

his predecessors had done, h e

assumed the

military title o f

autocrator, and instead o f

reckoning theyears according t othe established dynastic era, h

ebegan

t odate by his regnal years, a s

was usual among the Lagids.

The result i s ,

unfortunately, that the chronology o f

his

ephemeral reign remains uncertain, and has been a n

occasion o f

considerable variations among the historians.

I t i sinteresting, however, t oreview the existing evidence.As the coins are the only contemporary documents, i t

will be convenient to examine them first.

Antiochus VI has

left three main categories o

f

coins: 1 .

a n issue o f146/145 B.C., probably struck a tApamea;”

" E . Bikerman, Institutions des Séleucides, p

.10.

* E . T .

Newell, Seleucid Mint o fAntioch, p

.61, note 31,

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advent as the 174th year of the Seleucids (139/138 B.C.),

which agrees with the coins. Furthermore the war against

Tryphon is described as the first aim of Antiochus VIIafter his arrival; and the siege of Dora, the flight of

Tryphon to Orthosia, the king's pursuit of the usurper are

told in rapid succession, as if they had suffered no delay,

and had been favored by the fact that everybody joined

the legitimate king, so that Tryphon only kept a few

followers around him. If the above chronology is accepted, a l l

this well agrees with the fact that we have n o

coin o f

a

fifth year o f Tryphon.

Our second main source, Josephus, says that Antiochus

VI reigned four years," and that Tryphon reigned threeyears.” This rough information, taken from some chronological list, fits rather well with the system just offered.

But we come t o a nopen contradiction when Josephus

states that Tryphon took the diadem after the capture o f

Demetrius I Iby the Parthians,” a nevent safely dated a s

having taken place i nthe late summer o r

autumn o f

139

B.c.” I nthat case, Tryphon's year 1 should probably b e

139/138 B.C., coinciding with the 1st year o f

AntiochusVII, and his year 4should b e136/135. While there i snopositive impossibility t obring the coins o f Tryphon down

t o those late dates, the chronology thus proposed, and

accepted by Kahrstedt," needs t o b e

confronted withother evidence.

At first sight the Khan el-abde find would seem t obring

a nargument i n favor o

fthe Josephus’ chronology. The

coins o f Tryphon, a

l l o f

his year 4and a l l

i nmint condi

* Joseph., Ant. jud., XIII, 218. *Ibid., 224. *Ibid., 187; 218.

*As there are n ocoins o fDemetrius I Ifor 139/138 R.c., his capture must havetaken place i n140/139; but a shis coins o

fthe latter year are quite numerous, i t

should have taken place rather late.

* U .

Kahrstedt, Syrische Territorien i nhellenist. Zeit, pp. 130–132.

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Dates of Tryphon 15

tion, are associated with four coins of Antiochus VII, thelatest of which is dated Sel. 178 (135/134 B.C.), also in

mint condition. This association, together with the absence of any older or more recent coins, would f i tquitewell with a nequation o

f Tryphon's year 4 t oSel. 177, o r

136/135 B.C., which i s the equivalence postulated b y

Josephus. Such aconclusion, however, would only b e

safe

i fthe coins had been found a s areal hoard. I nfact, a shasbeen said above, they were found scattered, and i t i snotplain that a l

l o f

them belong together. Their testimony i n

favor o f Josephus i stherefore uncertain.”

Other numismatic evidence, though o f

anegative nature, would rather speak against Josephus. I tseems obvious from the Khan el-abde find, that the Phoeniciancoins o

f Tryphon's year 4 ,

and the same monarch's

undated “Attic” coins, both with the monogram KN, arecontemporary, and that the “Attic” issue with that monogram i stherefore the last o

f Tryphon's issues a tAntioch. I fwe accepted the late chronology, that issue would fall i n136/135 B.C. adate a

twhich the mint o

fAntioch had

already been i n the hands o f

Antiochus VII for threeyears.”

This objection,

which could only b

eremoved, i n

our present state o fknowledge, by very complicated assumptions,” i s s ostrong, that i tseems difficult t omaintain

* I tmust b enoted that the Tyrian tetradrachm o f

Antiochus VII really looks like alate intruder among the coins from Khan el-abde. I t i sdated 178: yet, not asingle specimen o

fthe same king's Tyrian o rSidonian issues o fthe years 174, 175,

176, o r

177 has turned up a tKhan el-abde, o r

has been observed on the market a t

the time of the find.

* E . T .Newell, Seleucid Mint o fAntioch, p

.81.

*To reconcile the late chronology with the numismatic evidence, i twould b enecessary t osuppose that the "Attic” coinage o f Tryphon was not struck i nAntioch, but for instance i nPtolemais while Antiochus VII already was minting i nAntioch. I t i strue that Newell's attribution of those coins to the mint of the

capital i sbased o n

the monograms that they have i ncommon with those o f

thepreceding and following kings, a nargument perhaps not too certain i nitself, a s

there are numerous cases when asingle person signed the issues o f

several mints: i nthe present instance the monogram K N i scommon t othe Attic issues, attributed b y

Newell t oAntioch, and t othe Phoenician issues, which we have just attributed

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the synchronism established by Josephus between the

capture of Demetrius II and the accession of Tryphon. It

also hardly appears likely

that it took four years

forAntiochus VII to reduce Tryphon, especially if his forceswere rapidly increasing, as Josephus himself tells us.”

A mistake in Josephus could perhaps be explained by

the same writer's information about the death of the boyking Antiochus VI. Josephus says that Tryphon murderedthe child in order to succeed him, after the capture of Demetrius,” therefore about 139/138 B.c. This statement

has the support of Livy,” who reports the murder in138/137 B.C., and whose source is rather likely to be a lost

part of Polybius. If we accept this evidence,” it may be, asKolbe conjectured, that Tryphon did not kill the boy

immediately, but merely put him out of the way, and

murdered him only later. Josephus, then, knowing

Tryphon as the successor of Antiochus VI, may haveerroneously connected his accession with the boy's murder. A further probability in favor of such an assumptionmay be found in the fact that Josephus gives Antiochus

VI a reign of four years,” which is quite correct according

to Ptolemais. It was also possible to transfer the personnel of a mint to anothertown (E. T. Newell, Sel. Mint of Antioch, p. 91; E. T. Newell, Late Seleucid Mints,pp. 8 f

. ,54,61; A . R .

Bellinger, Hesperia, XIV (1945), p .

59; A . B .

Brett, A.N.S.Museum Notes, I (1945), p

.31). But Newell's reconstruction o

fthe mint o

fAntioch still appears a s asolid block. I nany case, the chronology o

f Josephus couldonly become valid i f i twas t o b esupported by a nentirely new and plausible arrangement o

fthe coins which have been attributed t othe capital, and ignored by

Kahrstedt.

* Joseph., Ant. jud., XIII, 223; cf. IMaccab., XV, 10. * Josephus, op. cit., XIII, 187: 218. *Liv., per. 55; cf. W. Kolbe, Beiträge zur syr. und jüd. Geschichte, p

.63–65. Cf.

Justin., XXXVI, 1,7; Appian., Syr., 6 7 f .

* I n IMaccab., XIII, 31, the boy's murder i salluded to, just before the report o n

the events o

f144/143 B.c. (Sel. 169), but no chronological relation i

simplied, and i

n

any case, the coins are adecisive obstacle t osuch achronology.-I also feel unable t odraw aconclusion from Diodorus Sic., XXXIII, 2 0(excerpta d elegat. II, 406).

See however W. Kolbe, op. cit., p .

64.

* Joseph., Ant. jud., XIII, 218.

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Aradus and Tyre Against Tryphon 17

to the numismatic sources, but remains in hopeless contradiction with Josephus himself, when it comes to thedating

of the child's death.Altogether, then, the early chronology seems the moreacceptable, and Tryphon's year 1 probably coincides withthe disappearance of Antiochus VI from the coins in142/141 B.C. as numismatists have always maintained.

5. ARADUS AND TYRE IN THE WARAGAINST TRYPHON

The following variety of the common tetradrachm of

Aradus has been published by E. T. Newell.”Obv. Bust of Tyche, r .

,with hair veiled. Border o

fdots.

Rev. Nike standing l . ,

holding aplustre. To r . :

APA A f ) N i n l . field: BKP, X, ITC Wreath o flaurel. Beyrouth, Museum o

fthe American University. 1 5

.20 grms.

Asimilar coin, but with the Phoenician letter 9 , i s i n

the De Clercq Collection, i nParis: 14.83 grms. This coin, dated from the 122nd year (138/137 B.C.) o f

the era o fAradus, i sthe earliest known specimen o f alongand popular series. To b esure, i t i sonly one year olderthan the oldest one hitherto published, but the period i n

which i twas minted remains s oobscure, that even ayear's

difference may b e o f

interest.Aradus, under the Seleucid monarchy, always enjoyed

singular privileges, probably due t oher almost impregna

ble position o nher island, t othe strength o f

her fleet andwealth o

fher foreign trade." This situation i sreflected i n

* E

.

T

.

Newell, Miscell. numism. (N. N

.

M. No. 82), p .

35, no. 15. *On the liberties o fAradus: Strab., XVI, 2

, 1 4(p. 754). Cf. U

.Kahrstedt, Syrische Territorien, p . 27; 7 5 f

. ; A .

H. M. Jones, Cities o fthe Eastern Roman Provinces, p .

239; E . Bikerman, Institutions des Séleucides, p

.140; 155; M. Rostovtzeff, Soc.

and Econ. Hist. o f

the Hellenistic World, p .

846.

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the early autonomy of her coinage." Aradus apparently

never served as a royal mint, and remained entirely free tostrike bronze and small silver in her own name. Restric

tions however seem to have been put on her issues of

tetradrachms. In their earlier period, indeed, these large

coins carry the types and legends of Alexander, and do notexpress the town's sovereignty: a mint-mark is the only

sign of their origin. Quite exceptionally, and for reasonswhich are not known, an isolated tetradrachm, struck in

the town's name, appeared in 174/173 B.C.,” but threeyears later, in 171/170 B.C., perhaps owing to a tightening

of royal authority in such matters, even the Alexander

issues come to an end. Then, after forty-three years of silence, in 138/137 B.C., the mint suddenly begins its

famous series of autonomous tetradrachms, showing onone side the head of the city-goddess, on the other a figure

of Nike holding an aplustre. These issues, of which ourcoin is the earliest, were to continue, with a few interruptions, as late as 46/45 B.C.

It seems unlikely that mere chance should explain thecoincidence of this sudden, massive output of autonomouscurrency, the first of its kind in Syrian annals, with thepressing need for Aradian help, which the Seleucid king

must have felt at that very moment." The preceding year,

139/138 B.C., had witnessed the arrival in Seleucia Pieriae

of the legitimate heir to the Seleucid throne, Antiochus

VII. All elements loyal to the dynasty, disgusted by Tryphon's tyranny, gathered around the new king, whosefirst and immediate concern it was to run down theusurper. Tryphon had to leave Antioch and fled to

* On the history of the coinage of Aradus: G. F. Hill, BMC, Phoenicia, p. XII f.;E. T. Newell, Reattrib. of Certain Tetrs. of Alexander, p. 47 ff.; J. G. Milne, Iraq,V, 1938, pp. 12 f f .

* E .Babelon, Perses acheménides, no. 964; G

. F .Hill, Brit. Mus. Cat., Phoenicia,

p .

20, no. 146.

*See above, p .

1 3 f .

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Phoenicia, where Tyre and Sidon alone had the strengthto resist him, and where Ptolemais seems to have been his

stronghold. In recent years also the Maccabees had takenadvantage of the struggle to extend their boundaries, andwere holding several towns and tracts of land on the seaboard between Dora and the border of Egypt. One of thefirst steps in order to reconquer the coast must have beenfor Antiochus VII to secure the assistance of a strong fleet.In such an enterprise, a state like Aradus was certainlyable to play a leading part. The Aradians however arelikely to have asked for compensations, of which our coin,

and the subsequent issues, may well have been the visible

S1gn.

Another coin also seems to bear the trace of an episode

in the same struggle.

The city of Tyre was powerful enough to keep Tryphon

out of her walls. A royal epistates probably resided in thetown, and the royal mint never stopped its issues, withthe head of Demetrius II until he was captured, andthenceforward with the head of Antiochus VII." Amongthe issues of Demetrius, there is a very exceptional one" in141/140 B.C., which, instead of bearing, according to thecustom, the king's name alone with the mint-mark of

Tyre, bears as a secondary legend the town's name in full: Túpov lepås kol dot)\ov. There certainly must be a reasonfor this unprecedented appearance. It will be noted thatthe subsequent issues of royal silver from Tyre, althoughthey do not bear the city's name in full, never fail to bearin their field, along with the Tyrian monogram, twogroups of letters not to be found earlier, which are abbrevia

tions of the titles tepd, &ov\os." Our special issue, in*F. T. Newell, Seleucid Coinages of Tyre (N.N.M. 73), p. 31 f.* F. Rogers, Second and Third Seleucid Coinage of Tyre (N.N.M. 34), nos. 39–40.“These letters appear immediately after the special issue just considered, in

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141/140 B.C., is therefore the head of a series, and it cannotbe doubted that this first and emphatic use of the titles,“sacred and inviolable,” means that the city did not havethem before, and that the royal authority allowed byspecial favor their full mention on the first issue thatfollowed their grant.

The date of the asylia of Tyre being thus ascertained,"it remains to see what reason may have prompted itsconcession. In an earlier article,” the writer endeavoredto show that the procedure for acquiring the privilege of asylia was the following. The king, as sovereign, consecrated the town to one of its principal deities, making it

“sacred,” tepd, and probably thereby renouncing some of his rights in favour of the god, to whom the city now wasreputed to belong. The town then sent embassies to theforeign powers, including the great sanctuaries of theancient world, asking them to recognize it as “inviolable,”&ov\os. As a result, every violation of the town was considered as a sacrilege, and the transgressor was liable to be

140/139: E. Rogers, op. cit., no. 38 (where the coin in rather unfortunately putamong the earlier series, in which the letters are absent). On the interpretation of

the letters, which is certain in spite of their somewhat curious arrangement: E.Babelon, Rois de Syrie, p. CXXXIV. See also the same titles abbreviated in anotherfashion on the “Attic” coinage of the Tyrian mint: E. Rogers, nos. 126 f f .

*Ad. Wilhelm, Anzeiger Wiener Akad., LIX, 1922, p . 1 3followed by M. Rostovtzeff, Soc. and Econ. Hist. o

fthe Hellenistic World, p

.846, writes that Tyre

received the privilege o fasylia from Antiochus IV, but quotes no precise evidence

t othat effect, --and there i snone.

*Syria, XX, 1939, p . 3 5

f f . (Antiq. syr., III, p . 1ff.). On the asylia o fSyrian towns

see especially E .Bikerman, Institutions des Séleucides, p

.149-156; M. Rostovtzeff,

Soc. and Econ. Hist. o f

the Hellenistic World, pp. 844 f f .

With regard t othe latterreference, I should not b einclined t othink that the Syrian cities applied for arecognition o

ftheir asylia on the part o

fthe pirates. As the reader will find i tex

pressed below, Iwould rather believe that a nattack o n a“sacred and inviolable”town brought upon the offender some sort o

freprisals on the part o f

the states

which had recognized

that privilege,

and that very possibly

the town would alsosometimes b eprotected by akind o freligious awe. Nor do we know that the kingever found i tnecessary t orecognize the asylia o

fone o

fhis own towns: h edeclared

the town "sacred,” and the application for asylia remained for the town itself amatter o

fforeign policy.

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outlawed. It is difficult for us to see in what measure andfashion such offences were really punished, but the eager

ness shown by Hellenistic cities to acquire that form of inviolability certainly testifies that a deep religious fearwas attached to such violation, perhaps less by somecynical generals or condottieri, than by their simpler

minded troops. In the present case, it is interesting to see Tyre, anxious to spread that religious fear at large bypublicizing her new title on the issues of her mint.

In the majority of cases, fear of the pirates seems tohave induced the coastal towns to apply for asylia. Theinterest of the present case is in the fact, which followsfrom the date on our coin, that Tyre must have appliedfor such a privilege by fear of no other than Tryphon.Very probably the same reasons explain the asylia of Seleucia.”

It is likely that similar circumstances will explain thegradual extention of asylia to the cities of inner Syriaduring the first century," while it had been almost restricted to the coast in Hellenistic times. The chaos that

followed the decay of the monarchy, and the constant

* Seleucia does not bear any titles on her issues of 147/146 B.c. (BMC, nos. 11 ff.;etc.); then come undated issues, two of which have the mere title of lepá (unpublished; cf. E. T. Newell, apud C. B. Welles, Royal Correspondance, p. 292, note 3),showing the preliminary stage to the grant of asylia, which usually rather closely

follows it (Syria, XX, 1939, p. 38). The title of āovXos then appears in 139/138 B.c.(on the issue quoted above, note 21). The whole procedure is almost certainly inrelation with the beginnings of Tryphon's power, when, as a minister of AntiochusVI, about 144 R.c., he made an expedition to Cilicia in order to weaken the partyof Demetrius II (then residing in Seleucia). According to Strabo (XIV, 5, 2, p. 668)he made the fortress of Coracesium the center of a vast organization of piracy, thusthreatening a

l lthe coastal towns i nthe neighborhood. M. Rostovtzeff (op. cit.,

p .

846) writes that Seleucia probably owed her asylia t o Tryphon. The dates would f i t

all right, but Seleucia having remained constantly loyal t o the legitimatedynasty, there i s n oprobability that the usurper spent his favors o nher.

*Syria XX, 1939, p .39. I nthose days, the long formalities and consultations thathad attended the petition for asylia i nHellenistic times seem t ohave been reduced t o aminimum, obviously owing t othe fact that the Romans were now the onlyauthority able t ogrant asylia and t oenforce its respect. We thus find Caesarbestowing o nAntioch by asingle action the three titles o

fsacred, inviolable andautonomous (Joh. Malalas, p

.216) c f

.Syria, xxvii, 1950, pp. 10; 14.

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changes brought about by the civil wars of Rome, madesecurity an illusion, and men saw no other refuge than

divine protection.

The grant of asylia to a town probably had its politicalimplications; it may have had, as Professor Rostovtzeff maintains, i t

seconomical aspects; but above all, i tbears

a nexceptionally striking and interesting testimony t othe

religious mentality o f

the times.

SYNOPSIS OF THE COINAGE OF TRYPHON

I .ATTIC SERIES. MINT OF ANTIOCH. REVERSE TYPE: HELMET.

Monograms

No. Metal |

Denomin. I

and Letters Reference

1 A. Tetradr. | None BMC 2 ;

Khan el-abde 1–4. 2

- - Q *: Rois d eSyrie, 1044; Kan el-abde-12. 3

-Drachm R

NEgger Sale, Jan. 1908, 615 =Newell, Sel.

Mint o fAntioch, 271. 4

- Tetradr. R

Npellet Khan el-abde 13–14. 5

- -RN A T

** -15.

6 - *-

WN A | N'alel (Pozzi), 2996; Khan el-abde16–17. 7

- - RN I T . A Khan el-abde 18–19. 8

- - Q & - “ 20. 9

*- |-© Regling-Sallet, Die ant. Münzen (Berlin

1922), p .

43.10

- - X Babelon, Rois, 1043; Egger Sale XLI

1912, 716.11

-Drachm | X Hirsch Sale 1905 (Rhousopoulos) 4461.

12 - Tetradr. | xno Wreath Macdonald, Hunterian Coll., no. 1 .

13 - Drachm X Newell, Antioch 265a; Naville Sale X(Rogers) 1245.

14 - - x P Macdonald, Hunterian Coll., no. 3 .

15 - *-

A: Babelon, Rois, 1046; Voigt, journ. intern.d'arch, num., 13, 1911, p . 161,541.

16 - -

T l P Egger Sale XLI 1912, 717 =Newell,

#" 268; Naville Sale VII (Bement)1696.17

- - T Hirsch Sale XXX, 597 =Newell, An

tioch, 272.18

- - I f Macdonald, Hunterian Coll., 2

;Forrer,

Weber Coll, 7918, Newell, Antioch,267; Rollin e t Feuardent Sale 1910£), 626; Naville Sale X(Rogers),1246.

19 --

A Babelon, Rois, 1045; BMC 3 ;

Voigt.

journ: int. d'arch. num., 13, 1911, p .

161, 540; Jameson, Monn. gr., 1729,Naville Sale X(Rogers), 1247; Syll.Num. Gr. I 2(Newnham Davis) 424.

20 /x\ Naville Sale I (Pozzi) 2997.

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Synopsis 23SYNOPSIS OF THE COINAGE OF TRYPHON-Continued

MonogramsNo. Metal | Denomin. and Letters Reference

21 Ad. Chalkous | pilei Babelon, Rois, 1053; 1054; BMC 8; 9; 10.22 ** 44 aplustre Babelon, Rois, 1051; BMC 14.23

** **star Babelon, Rois, 1052; BMC 11; 12.

24 ** 44

palm-branch | Babelon, Rois, 1049; 1050; BMC 13.25

** **ear of wheat (?) Newell, Antioch, p. 173.

26 - ** A X BMC 6

27 ** **

A X K Babelon, Rois, 1047; 1048; BMC 5.28

** 4-B > K (?) BMC 7.

29 **

% chalk | pilei BMC 15.

II. PHOENICIAN SERIES

No. | Metal | Denomin. Types of Rev. |Mint-marks | Mint Reference

30 | AR Tetradr. Eagle with palm | 8 \9/ LB | Byblus Saulcy, Mel. de num.1877, p. 83 (nowde Clercq Coll.,

Paris).31 A. | }% chalk. Six-winged god | None

**As above.

of Byblos32 A' | Tetradr. Eagle on thun- | f

fLT M

E | Ptolemais Babelon, Rois, 1056.

derbolt, withear of wheat

33 | | “ ** ** LT ñ 2 **

Imhoof, Z.f.N. III1876, p

.81.

34 “ | Didrachm Eagle o n

thun- | $ LT AX ** BMC.1.

derbolt35 “ | Tetradr. ** LA A ** Khan el-abde 2136

44 44 *4 2 LA ** - - 22

37 44 ** **

X L .A ** ** ** 23

38 44 4- **

R. L .A ** Babelon, Rois, 1057;

#" el-abde 24–39 A

. | Chalkous Zeus standing |LA AYKA Ascalon | Babelon, Rois, 1058;

BMC 1640 go ** - AX KA LA ** Babelon, Rois, 1059.

II. SOME ABBREVIATIONS ON SYRIAN COINS

1 . MINT-MARKS OF ARADUS

The tetradrachms struck i nlarge numbers a tAradusbetween 138/137 B.C. and 46/45 B.C.” bear i ntheir left

field the following signs: 1 ) aGreek date; 2 )

aPhoenicianletter; 3 ) agroup o

ftwo Greek letters. The dates are clear;

the Phoenician letters, o

f

which there are six varieties,

areprobably serial numbers, o r the marks o fofficinae; the

The earliest known tetradrachm o f

the series i sdiscussed above, p .

17.

*BMC, Phoenicia, p .35,291.

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pairs of Greek letters have been the subject of carefulstudy,” but are perhaps liable to a simpler explanation,

towards which the present note is an attempt.

It was first suggested by Hill that the first letter in thepair could have denoted the month of issue. The lettersknown to him were A, B, T, A, E,e, I, K, M, and N, which,it must be confessed, do not make a very satisfactorysystem of numeration." Dr. Milne, more recently, suggested that the second letter (N, X, seldom E) could havestood in each case for a distinct shop of the mint.

The whole system, however, suffers from the fact that itonly takes into account the letters on the tetradrachms,

while there are similar pairs of letters on some of thedrachms and bronze coins. To quote only one instance,the letterseC, current on tetradrachms of year 141(Arad.), are also to be found on the bronze of the sameyear,” obviously with the same meaning, and prove thatbronze and silver should both be consulted. The following

table is an attempt to put together the whole material:the pairs given without reference are those already listedby Dr. Milne, while additions are justified by theirreferences.

A N AC, AX | N 6 C | 8A C, AX € N KN C N 9B C € C, EX KX C T 10

T C e€ , eE Mc, M x C CON4 "A | GN N C , NX & X 12A N O C, e C [TC 7 XN 13

* More recently G. F. Hill, BMC, Phoenicia, p. XXXIII; J. G. Milne, Iraq, w,1938, pp. 16 f t

.

‘See the doubts already expressed by E . T .Newell, Miscell. numism., p

.36.

*BMC, Phoenicia, p .

39, 319. *BMC, Phoenicia, p

.41, 333 (bronze, 85/84 B.c.).

*See above, p .

16.


42, 339 (bronze, 76/75 s.c.).

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Mint-Marks of Aradus 25

From this series, it appears that there are at leastthirteen varieties of the first letter: more than are necessary

for the twelve months.Among the twenty-four groups listed above, eight endin the letter N, and eleven end in the letter X, while the remaining five end in €, I, M, and T. Yet our table does notdo justice to the frequency of N andX : one and the samegroup sometimes recurs on a large number of issues, anda glance at Dr. Milne's survey will show that the pairs

with N and X occur, in fact, in the overwhelming majorityof Aradian issues.

It seems difficult to forget, in this connection, that theletters N and X also form the ending of the overwhelmingmajority of Greek men's names. I should therefore like tosuggest that the coins of Aradus show a very exceptional,

but a very clear system of abbreviation by contraction, inwhich the name of the magistrate or official of the mint isrepresented by its initial and final letters. The reader willeasily supply, from the treasure of current Greek onomastics, a number of names to f i tthe clues o nthe coins.

There remain, t o b esure, the five groups that do not end i n N o

rX, but

a l l

o f

them are immediately intelligible a s

Greek names abbreviated by suspension: for instance

A l (ww), e€(ööopos), C (uos), C T(parov), CCOM (8poros).

I nsome cases i t i seven possible t oconjecture the reason,

for which those magistrates did not conform t othe general

custom. Magistrate e € ,for instance, occurs i nyears 174,

177 and 183 o f

the Aradian era: the presence o f

his colleague eC o nnumerous issues between years 152 and 176


41, 330 f .(bronze, 86/85 B.c.); c f .

Babelon, Perses etc., 1085.


42, 339 (bronze, 76/75 B.c.).

* E . Babelon, Perses etc., 1097 (bronze, 79/78 B.c.); BMC, Phoenicia, p .44, 355(under Antony, prob. 35/34 B.c.).

”BMC, Phoenicia, p . XXXI; p . 22, 165 (attic drachm, 152/151 B.c.).

*Beyrouth, collection o fMr. Ibrahim Sursock (tetradrachm: AMP, , XN)

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would seem to have justified the choice of a differentsignature to prevent confusion, unless ee and eC are simply

one and the same person.

The case of C1, CT,and CCOM,

a l l three beginning with C, i sdifferent: apparently thesegentlemen wished t oavoid the signature CC. Their colleague C Nhad been less disturbed. For Al, I have n oexplanation, and probably i tdoes not need one.

Perhaps i tshould b e

added that the way i nwhich the

two letters are closely coupled on the coins, seems best

explained i fthey both belong t othe same word. There do

not seem t o b eany instances, a

tleast o

nSyrian coins,

where serial letters o f

different meanings are s ointimately

joined together.Abbreviation by contraction, although agood many ex

amples o f i thave been collected even for classical times,

always remained exceptional, and close parallels t o the

practice o f

Aradus are rare." Coins o fSmyrna" i nthe

second and first centuries B.c. seem t obear the letters

BAYC for 8aat)\ebs./\OX i sfound for Aoûxios a t

Tithora i n

Boeotia," and KAX for KAabówos a t Magnesia o n theMaeander." To these examples, however, afew others can b eadded, t oshow the special favor which such asystem

seems t ohave enjoyed i nSyria.

An inscription from Atil" i nthe Hauran has the letters *See especially E

. Nachmanson, “Die schriftliche Kontraktion i ngriech. Inschriften” (Eranos, X, 1910, pp. 101–141). Also L . Traube, Nomina sacra (1907),an d the important remarks o

f U .

Wilcken, Grundzüge und Chrestomathie derPapyruskunde, I 1

, p . XLIII f.; M. Avi Yonah, Abbrev. i nGreek Inscr. (Suppl. t o

vol. IX, Quart. o fthe Dept. o fAnt. i nPalestine, 1940), p . 2 5

f t .

Further bibliography

i nW. Larfeld, Griech. Epigraphik, 3rd. ed., pp. 279 f . K .

Regling's article "Abkürzungen,” i nSchrötter's Wörterbuch der Münzkunde, i smost disappointing. Tworecently published examples are: I .Robert, Rev. déphilol., 1944, p

.41, note 4

:8xov

=8aakoobvn (with the first letter o f

each syllable); C .

Bonner, Studies i nMagicalAmulets, p

.50: r r =robro.

*BMC

Ionia, p .

246, no. 105; c f .

R .

Münsterberg, Beamten namen, p .

102 f . B .

Keil, Anonymus argenti

Documents

Notes on Syrian coins / by Henri Seyrig