Archaios | Seleukid Kings SELEUKOS I : Medusa / Bull | EX-RARE !!

Description: Archaios Numismatics Description: Greek Bronze coin, double unit, struck by Seleukos I, circa 290 to 285 B.C. Obverse: Winged Head of Medusa facing right Reverse: Bull butting right; BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΣΕΛEYKEoY above and below; no monograms visible; Mint: Antioch on the Orontes Size: 14 mm Weight: 2.5 g Ref: Unlisted in Newell WSM in this denomination but it is the Half unit complement of the types of 925 and 927 which are the double and single unit examples with full legend rather than the half unit examples of 928 that have only partial legends (BA, SEL) (Plate XVII,11 & 20-22);HGC Syria 117 as R3; Condition: gF/aVF. A nice example of this interesting type with the Winged headed Medusa. As always, Please use the Pictures as your judge as grading is subjective. Inventory #: 63.8 Notes: Seleucus (Seleukos) I 'Nicator', B.C. 312-280, was the founder of the dynasty of Seleucid kings. He had been one of Alexander the Great’s principal officers and was appointed satrap of Babylon by the regent Antipater in B.C. 321. Expelled by Antigonus five years later, he fled to Egypt, where Ptolemy gave him command of his fleet. In B.C. 312, after the victory of Gaza, he recovered his old satrapy. It was from the autumn of this year that the era of the Seleucidae was subsequently reckoned. Once re-established in Babylon, Seleucus embarked on a succession of campaigns which ultimately left him master of the whole Asiatic empire of Alexander, from the Aegean to the Indus (B.C. 282). In B.C. 306, following the example of the other Diadochi, he had assumed the title BASILEUS. Seleucus' wars took him as far as India, where, after two years of war (305–303 BC), he was defeated by the armies of the Maurya Empire and made peace by marrying his daughter to king Chandragupta, whereupon he was rewarded a considerable force of 500 war elephants, which would play a decisive role against Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and against Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC. Seleucus' victories against Antigonus and Lysimachus left the Seleucid dynasty virtually unopposed in Asia and in Anatolia. However, Seleucus also hoped to take control of Lysimachus' European territories, primarily Thrace and Macedon itself. But upon arriving in Thrace in 281 BC, Seleucus was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court with his sister Lysandra. The assassination of Seleucus destroyed Seleucid prospects in Thrace and Macedon, and paved the way for Ptolemy Ceraunus to absorb much of Lysimachus' former power in Macedon. Seleucus was succeeded by his son Antiochus I as ruler of the Seleucid empire. Seleuceia Pieria (Seleukiyeh) also known as Seleucia by the Sea, was an ancient Helenistic town with the port of Antioch in Syria (Antioch ad Orontes). The town was Founded by Seleucus I in 300 B.C. and was a mint of the Syrian kings in the second century B.C. The Bronze coinage produced here ( Æ ) in the second century BC was generally inscribed ΣΕΛΕΥΚΕΩΝ; ΣΕΛΕΥΚΕΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΜ ΓΙΙΕΡΙΑΙ; or ΣΕΛΕΥΚΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ. There were a variety of Types that included: Head of Zeus, rev. Thunderbolt ; Head of Apollo, rev. Tripod; Head of Zeus, rev. Three naked Kuretes (Hirsch, Auct. Cat., xiii. 4115). Also Æ of the Tetrapolis, see supra, p. 778. Eras—On the Æ, Seleucid; on the AR are years probably reckoned from the era of the autonomy of the town, beginning B.C. 108 (or 109). The Macedonians called the landscape Pieria, after a district in their homeland that was also between the sea and a mountain range (the Olympus). Seleucia was of great importance in the struggle between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies; it was captured by Ptolemy Euergetes in 246 BCE. As the Ptolemies (Lagids) and Seleucids fought over the city, it changed hands several times until 219 BCE, when the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great recaptured it during the Fourth Syrian War (219-217 BCE); his general Ardys is recorded as having distinguished himself during the siege. Then it obtained its freedom and kept it even to the end of the Roman occupation. It long enjoyed the right of coinage. Some Excerpts From Head, Hist. Num.; Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia We Thank You for stopping in and taking time to look at and bid on our listings. 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Price: 200 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-11-24T02:01:43.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4 USD