Amyntas was the last king of Galatia (in central Asia Minor) before it became a part of Rome. As a Roman client, he was quite skillful moving his support from one Roman to another. After seeing that Brutus was not a long term proposition, Amyntas backed Antony until just before Actium when he became a supporter of Octavian/Augustus. His luck ran out in 25 BC when he murdered a rival neighbor prince and was in turn killed by the widow's agents. I strongly suspect that Augustus was relieved when the problem of what to do with the guy took care of itself. Scrappy old Amyntas was the definition of more trouble than he was worth. Galatia was annexed into the empire as a province. The coin is AE24 with head of Herakles and a lion. Under the lion is a nice monogram of AMYNTOY (of Amyntas). I am having second thoughts about buying the coin because the D above the lion is actually the bottom half of a large B abbreviating Basilews or king. Most people would prefer one of Amyntas' large tetradrachms but this type appealed to be with the lion and fancy monogram. These coins are not rare but there are not many shown online, I suspect, due to the low average condition of those available. You can find one nicer than mine but getting a mint state one may take a while. Post 'em if you got 'em.
Ah... I saw Amyntas and thought you were going to speak on Amyntas III, Grandfather to Alexander III and father of Philip II... But, your post has further enlightened. Thanks! Do not have this one, only of Amyntas III Makedonon...
Nice! The Roman client-kings of this period were for the most part bit players, but they were bit players at a very interesting time in history. Many would have had fascinating stories to tell about the things they had to do to survive the tumult of the Roman civil wars and the empire that came after them. I'd love a small sub-collection of these guys.
Good point. Wikipedia has a list of 23 people by that name including this one: Amyntas was Tetrarch of the Tectosages and King of Cilicia Trachea between 36 BC and 25 BC. Not to be confounded with Amyntas of Galatia, tetrarch of the Trocmii. My coin is of the Trocmii not of the Tectosages. Clear as Mudd?
LOL, clear as MUDD: Makedonon Amyntas III 393-369 BC Herakles lion skin Eagle Serpant SNG ANS 100ff Father of Philip II (The Mastermind), Grandfather of Alexander III The Great
The extra d was in honor of Dr. Mudd who treated the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth as he ran from shooting Lincoln and was sent to jail for treating an injured man who showed up at his door. It is where we get the phrase "Your name is Mudd." I used to live within ten miles of his house. There is still discussion as to whether he knew who Booth was or what he had done. Dr. Mudd was fortunate he was not hanged with the surviving conspirators.
another thing i don't have. i do have this contemporary client king, who was also a tetrach and the last in line before being executed my marc anthony Tetrarchy of Chalkis, Coele Syria, Lysanias, 40 - 36 B.C. O; female bust, R: double cornucopia, flanked by ligatures, 22 x 24 mm, 5.4 g
Ahaha, Gandalf .... you make me laugh, coin-brother (that is awesome ... thanks) https://www.google.ca/search?q=star trek mudd&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-hu-M_IfOAhUi2oMKHdL4DT0QsAQIIw&biw=1280&bih=935 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Mudd Yah, those are great old TV memories ... things were pretty easy back then, eh? You're a good "guy"
I learned several things on this thread and even got to dust off a great Star Trek episode from my childhood. Great post!
