I really didn't know what I was picking; it is not rare and it is worn but the coin appealed to me I was told it was from Syria, but after some research I found out that it is Nabatean, my first. Of this coinage there are different variations of letters on the obverse, which like on this coin, frequently are worn and cannot be seen. Meshorer doesn’t list any coins without letters on the obverse, therefore, assuming that on this coin the letters are worn the attribution is Meshorer 112-114. Aretas had two wives: Huldu (Chuldu, 1-16 AD) and Shaqilath (Shuqeilat, his sister, from 23 AD). Since on this coin his second wife is depicted and Aretas IV died in 40 AD I think it was struck between 23 and 40 AD. It has a nice color, which makes me think it is a copper-based alloy: 15.2 x 16.60 mm; 3.850 g Arabia, Petra, (today in Jordan) ca. 39 - 40 AD; Meshorer, Nabatea, 112-114; SNG ANS 1438–43; Barkay 186; Fitzgerald 6124; GIC 5699; Ob.: Conjoined busts of king Aretas and his queen Shaquilath facing r. Aretas with v-shaped head decoration and a moustache, and Shuqailat with crown of Isis. Rev.: Two crossed cornucopiae and Aramaic inscription in 3 lines: חרתת / שקי / לת transcribed to: T T R H (Harithath, Aretas’ native name) / Y Q S (Shuqailat) / T L (his wife) Please share your Nabateans or anything related
I always think of Petra when I see these. I've had a few Nabatean coins. (Can't find the pix of them.) They tend to come with nice sandy patinas, and are pleasantly affordable. I need to get another one for my giveaway stock. And Petra reminds me of the Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade movie.
Why "but"? The Nabataean kingdom extended to Syrian territory. The city of Bostra, in South Syria, used to be the Nabataean northern capital. In the 2nd c. it became the capital of the Roman province of Arabia. Many Nabataean coins have been found in south Syria.
Malichus I, 60-30 BC. Æ 19 mm. Petra mint. Dated regnal year 27 (34/33 BC). Obv.: Diademed head right Rev.: Eagle standing left, date across field. Meshorer, Nabataea 15-6 I bought in in Petra when I was young... Aretas IV (9 BC-AD 40). Æ19mm. Petra mint. Probably dated regnal year 4 (6/5 BC). Obv.: Diademed head of Aretas right; Aramaic ḥēth-semkath across field Rev.: Woman (queen-mother Huldu?) standing facing, head left, raising hand; Aramaic semkath-ḥēth across field. Hoover & Barkay 49 The legend beginning on the lower right reads ShNT ... (Year ...) HRTT MLK NBTU (of Haritat king of the Nabataeans). These coins are known for Aretas' 3rd and 4th years. Aretas IV (9 BC-AD 40) and his wife Shuqilat. Æ17mm. Petra mint. Obv.: Jugate busts of Aretas IV and Shuqilat, draped, right Rev.: HRTT / ShQY / LT ( Haritat Shuqilat) between crossed cornucopiae. These coins are by far the most common of all Nabataean coinage, they were minted in industrial quantities at the end of Aretas' reign. Got this coin in Syria. Rabbel II (70-106 AD) and his wife Gamilat. AE 15 mm. Petra mint. Obv.: Jugate busts of Rabbel II and Gamilat, right Rev.: RB'L / GMLT ( Rabb'al, Gamilat) between crossed cornucopiae.
The Nabataean Kingdom was not just Petra. Petra was its capital, its main religious centre and commercial hub since the late 4th c. BC, Nabataeans being still nomads. But their kingdom grew and expanded, in the 1st c. BC it even included Damascus for some time. Under Aretas IV, c. 9 BC, it annexed Hegra in the Hijaz, c. 300 km NW of Yathrib (al-Madinah). Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, is a scenic Nabataean city. It used to be an oasis. Today the rock-tombs all around the city are all that's left standing and visible. It was already like this in Muhammad's time, in the 7th c.: people thought these tombs were the rock-cut houses of the people of Thamud, exterminated by Allah for killing his sacred camel. The story of al-Hijr (Hegra) is told in the Quran: these rock-cut houses full of human bones are a warning for people, for Allah will get you, even if you try to hide in a bunker ! Hegra remained Nabataean for a little more than one century, from c. 9 BC to 106 AD. Then it was occupied by the Romans, who had a small garrison and even an adjutor tabulariorum, an imperial freedman for finances. The city seems to have been completely abandoned c. 400 AD and was never settled again. The place where the urban settlement once stood is a barren desert. Nothing to see, not even a column drum... But it's covered with pottery shards and coins. Hundreds of coins have been recovered from Hegra since the 19th c., picked on the surface while just walking, or found in archaeological excavations. There are 3 kinds of coins : Lihyanite coins dating back from the 4th to the 1st c. BC, Nabataean coins of Aretas IV, Malichus II and Rabbel II, Roman coins from the 1st to the 4th c, the latest of which being a small AE4 of Honorius. The Nabataean century had obviously been Hegra's golden age : it lasted just a little more than 1 century but more Nabataean coins have been found there than Lihyanite and Roman coins taken together, which represent more than 6 centuries ! A silver sela' (drachm) of Aretas IV, dated year 4 (6/5 BC). Picked from the surface at Hegra. (Not my coin ...) A very worn Alexandrian AE coin of Cleopatra, found on the ground at Hegra too... (not my coin ...)
Wow, imagine going somewhere where you could just pick up Cleopatra’s coins, right up off the ground. Even if you couldn’t legally keep them and subsequently turned them over to the authorities, that would still be exciting. PS- that silver drachm must have had a thick, protective layer of patina/concretion on it when discovered. I find it difficult to imagine a silver coin like that laying in shifting desert sands for 2,000 years and coming out so pristine otherwise. I mean, I know desert sand can sometimes be a reasonably good medium for the preservation of some artifacts, but man- look at that thing. It looks Mint State!
Nice examples! Nabataea, Aretas IV, and Shuqailat I, Æ 17, Petra, yrs 26-48. Nabataean, Aretas IV, (9 BC-AD 40). Two AR selas, Petra, Left 4.34g; Right RY 44 (35-6 AD) 3.74g. The left sela was struck on a very narrow and quite thick flan.
Nabatean Bronze Drachm of Aretas IV and his wife Shaqilat (minted in Petra sometime between 20 and 40):
