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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,064 |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Awwww, is there anything more sweet than a King and his camel?M.Aemilius Scaurus AR-Denarius58 BC Weight: 3.8 grams Obverse: King Aretas of Nabataea kneeling in supplication, beside camel, giving an olive branch. M SCAVR / AED CVR above, S C in r. field Reverse: Jupitur in quadriga l., scorpion below horses. PHVPSAE/ AED CVR above horses, CAPTV in r. field and in ex. C HVPAE COS/PREIVER Reference: S-379 Var., Craw 422 Other: A very busy little coin ... A-VF   Edited by stevex6
09/29/2012 1:26 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 3352 Posts |
Quote:
Aretas III was king of the Nabataean kingdom ... During his reign, he extended his kingdom to cover what now forms the northern area of Jordan, the south of Syria, and part of Saudi Arabia. Probably the greatest of Aretas' conquests was that of Damascus, which secured his country's place as a serious political power of its time. Nabataea reached its greatest territorial extent under Aretas' leadership. Quote:
Damascus straddled the primary commercial route from the Mediterranean Sea to India and the Middle East. In taking the city from the loosening grip of the Seleucid Empire in 85 BCE, Aretas III brought the Nabataeans from a backward nomadic tribe to a minor Eurasian power. Quote:
Aretas advanced towards Jerusalem at the head of 50,000 men, besieging the city for several months. Eventually, Aristobulus bribed Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, deputy of the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Scaurus ordered Aretas to withdraw his army, which then suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Aristobulus on the journey back to Nabatea. Quote:
Despite the compliance of Aretas, in 62 BCE Scaurus marched on Petra. However, a combination of the rough terrain and low supplies, obliged Scaurus seek the aid of Hyrcanus, now High Priest (not king) of Judea, who sent Antipater to barter for peace with Aretas. The siege was lifted in exchange for several hundred talents of silver (to Scaurus himself) and recognition of Roman supremacy over Nabatea. Aretas would retain all Nabataean territory and possessions, becoming a vassal of the Roman Empire. Edited by stevex6
09/29/2012 1:27 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
You have a nack finding really nice coins, this one is a beauty congrats.  |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Hey, thanks echizento!! ...  yah, I really do tend to try and search-out the really unique and cool looking coins (oh, and just in case you haven't noticed yet => they "usually" have an animal on them!! => ya gotta love the animal coins!!)  |
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
Where did you locate this beautiful specimen?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
that is NICE. |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Thanks chrsmat71 ... yah, I know => man, this coin is all that and several bags of chips and even some homemade dip! FinanceGuru => we meet again ... ummmm, I have several sources, but vcoins and numismall are two pretty rockin' locations to go wild and spend money like a drunken sailor with a fist full o' silver denarius' ...   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Giving someone an olive branch in some cultures means that you are making peace with someone or forgiving another person for doing something bad to you. It also indicates implied peace and success in Ancient Greece while it served as an offering to strive for peace during a war in the Roman age. The giving of olive branch also signifies the branch brought by the dove to Noah after the Great Flood which means that peace was again on earth.
... man, everything about these coins is interesting, no?
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
No comments from the regular peanut gallery? ... are you guys bored of my stuff, or what?
Edited by stevex6
09/29/2012 10:12 pm
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Valued Member
Ireland
86 Posts |
Wow that's a beautiful looking coin. I believe that the Nabataeans were pagan though, so would the olive branch symbolism really stem from the Old Testament? Although, obviously it's quite likely that there were some cultural and religious sharing in the region. I was in Petra...absolutely out of this world. Would recommend it to anyone. While I was there, a friend found an arrow head which he's managed to date to ancient times. I bought a few coins which I'm pretty sure are fake, but they were so cheap I said I'd take the risk. Also, they're terribly worn and dirty, so I figured if someone was gonna go to the trouble of faking a coin, they'd do something a bit more up-market. I might upload them here, get some opinions.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/do...th/voc2.htmlAs a historical specimen it is hard to get better than this IMHO. I explain a bit of it on my page linked above but my specimen shown below is missing due to centering one of the legend details that makes the coin interesting. The camel side is unusual because it honors the action of the issuing official himself rather than that of an ancestor. This is just a little self serving by Republican standards but not as bad as Caesar who a short time later would place his portrait on coins. Since the coin was a joint issue by two officials and each got one side, the reverse official placed his name at the top and his ancestor's name at the bottom making it extra clear that he was not blowing his own horn like the guy on the other side. My coin's small flan loses the first initial of both issuer and ancestor so the point is lost but your coin has the C and P quite clearly. This is a really neat Republican type for many reasons. 
Edited by dougsmit
09/30/2012 12:10 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
Very nice coin. I never saw one of those before.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
Awesome coin Steve....  ...love these Republican coins, they have those 16 legs going...  |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Thanks guys ... => Oh, and thanks a lot dougsmit for your coin-link and for your super-knowledge!!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Another nice addition Steve.
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,064 |
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Posted 09/29/2012 1:51 pm
