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Alexander I Balas.(152-145 BC).
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<p>[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 25116347, member: 103829"]Dear friends of ancient coin!</p><p><br /></p><p>Today I came across this thread about Alexander Balas. Because I have an older article about Alexander Balas too I am taking the opportunity to post it here.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Alexander I. Balas</b></p><p>I also enjoy dealing with historical personalities who are not so much at the centre of interest. And I believe that Alexander I Balas is one of them. It is also a historically exciting period between the decline of the Diadochi empires and the unstoppable rise of Rome. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>The coin:</b></p><p>Seleucid Kingdom, Alexander I Balas, 152-145 BC.</p><p>AE 19, 6.38g, 18.52mm, 0°</p><p>struck in Antioch on the Orontes</p><p>Obv.: Head of Alexander Balas, with boiotic helmet, r. </p><p>Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ - AΛEΞANΔΡOY (in right and left field from top to bottom) </p><p> Nike walking to the left, holding a palm branch in her left arm and a </p><p> wreath in her raised righ handt, in outer left field ear of grain, in inner </p><p> field monogram A</p><p>Ref: SNG Israel (Spaer) 1475: SC 1790.4; HGC 9, 899</p><p>Nearly VF, shiny brown patina, obv. somewhat off-centre, flan crack at 7h</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1602826[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Pedigree:</b></p><p>ex coll. David Sellwood</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Note:</b></p><p>David Grenville John Sellwood (1925-2012) was a British aeronautical engineer and numismatist who specialised in Parthian coins. He was president of the Royal Numismatic Society.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Alexander I Balas</b></p><p>Alexander I Balas (from Balas, Ba'al = lord) was usurper and ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 152-145 BC. Although he claimed that he was the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodike IV and thus the heir to the Seleucid throne, ancient sources (Polybius, Diodorus) say that this claim was false and that he and his sister Laodike VI actually came from Smyrna and were of low birth. However, when Polybius had been a guest in Rome together with Demetrios I, the opponent of Balas, he had become his friend, and so Polybios is not a neutral source in this matter.</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Diodorus, Alexander was originally proposed as a candidate for the Seleucid throne by Attalus II of Pergamon. Attalus felt challenged by the fact that the ruling Seleucid king Demetrios I had dethroned King Ariarathes V in Cappadocia and sought to establish a Seleucid government that was more friendly to Pergamon. Alexander, who was very similar in appearance to Antiochus V, who had been assassinated in 162 BC, was just what he needed and he began to build him up as pretender to the throne against Demetrios I Soter. But even here it is not clear whether the story of the resemblance was not just propaganda by Alexander's opponents.</p><p><br /></p><p>Alexander and his sister Laodike were taken in by Herakleides in Cilicia, a former minister of Antiochus IV and brother of Timarchus, a usurper in Media who had been executed by the ruling Demetrios I Soter. At the instigation of Attalus II, a friend of the Romans, Herakleides brought Alexander and his sister to Rome in 153 BC and presented them to the Roman Senate. The latter recognised him as the rightful Seleucid king, probably also through bribery, and agreed to support him in his accession to the throne. Attalus II and Demetrius I are also said to have been in Rome at this time.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>War against Demetrios I (150-152 BC)</b></p><p>After raising an army of mercenaries, Alexander and Herakleides set off for Ephesus. From there they landed in Phoenicia and conquered Ptolemais Acre. Coins show that by 151 BC Alexander had also gained control of Seleucia Pieria, Byblos, Beirut and Tyre. On these coins he imitated coin images of Antiochos IV, e.g. Zeus Nikephoros, in order to emphasise his alleged connection to Antiochos. He adopted the title Theopator ("divine father"), which was reminiscent of Antiochos' epithet Theos Epiphanes ("revealed god").</p><p><br /></p><p>On his coins he was depicted as Alexander the Great with flowing hair. The adoption of the Ptolemaic eagle on the coins shows the decisive influence of Egypt on the Seleucid Empire.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1602827[/ATTACH] </p><p>AR - Tetradrachm, Alexander I Balas, SC 1830.2, Civitas Galleries, Vcoins </p><p><br /></p><p>During this war, both Alexander and Demetrios I courted Jonathan Apphus, the leader of the Maccabees in Judea. With the promise of a high position at the Seleucid court and the office of high priest in Jerusalem, which made him the official leader of the Jews, Alexander was able to win him over to his side. In 150 BC, Alexander fought a decisive battle with Demetrios, which was decided by Jonathan's soldiers. Demetrios was killed and at the end of 152 Alexander's rule was recognised throughout the Seleucid Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Reign (150-147 BC)</b></p><p>He also gained control of Antioch and his chancellor Ammonios had all of Demetrios I's courtiers murdered, as well as his wife Laodike and his son Antigonos. Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt concluded an alliance with Alexander and sealed it by marrying Alexander to his daughter Kleopatra Thea. Jonathan, the leader of Judea, was also present at this wedding, which took place in Ptolemais, and he honoured him in particular. Coinage celebrates this wedding and the alliance with the Ptolemies. Some scholars even believe that Alexander was merely a puppet of the Ptolemies and that Ammonius was a Ptolemaic agent. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Collapse of the East</b></p><p>The Seleucid positions in the east had already been weakened by the failure of the previous king to contain the Parthians and the Greco-Bactrian troops. Now they collapsed almost completely. The Parthians under Mithridates I took advantage of the instability caused by the civil war to invade Media. Media was lost in the middle of 148 BC. Local rulers in Elymais and Persis, which had declared themselves independent, were subjugated by the Parthians and in 147 BC the Parthians stood on the borders of Babylonia, a heartland of the Seleucids with Seleucia on the Tigris, one of the two capitals. </p><p><br /></p><p>It is not known that Alexander did anything to stop the erosion of his power in the East. Ancient historians describe him as dissolute and devoted to the sensual life and therefore too distracted to do anything about the Parthians. He is said to have left the administration to 2 commanders, Hierax and Diodorus, who only seemed to be concerned with their own interests. This may be partly propaganda by his opponents. But the fact is that the Seleucid Empire declined in size and power under his rule.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>War with Demetrios II and death (147-145 BC)</b></p><p>At the beginning of 147 BC, Demetrios' son Demetrios II returned to Syria with a troop of Cretan mercenaries led by a man named Lasthenes. Jonatan attacked Demetrios from the south and conquered Jaffa and Ashdod, while Alexander Balas was busy with an uprising in Cilicia. In 145 BC, Ptolemy VI of Egypt invaded Syria, ostensibly in support of Alexander Balas. However, he demanded a high price: with Alexander's permission, he took control of all Seleucid cities along the coast, including Seleucia-Pieria, but while Ptolemy was in Ptolemy's Acre, he switched sides. According to Josephus, Ptolemy discovered that Alexander's chancellor Ammonius was planning to assassinate him. But when he demanded that Ammonius be punished, Alexander refused. Ptolemy took his daughter away from him and remarried Kleopatra Thea to Demetrius II and continued his march northwards. Alexander's commanders in Antioch, Diodotus and Hierax, surrendered the city to Ptolemy without a fight.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Coin #2:</b></p><p>Seleucid Kingdom, Demetrios II Nicator, 1st reign, 146/5-130 BC.</p><p>AE 18, 5.13g</p><p>stuck in Antioch</p><p>Obv.: Laureate head of Zeus r.</p><p>Rev.: left side in 2 lines from top to bottom BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΔHMHTPIOV</p><p> right side in 2 lines from top to bottom THEOY / NIKATOPOΣ</p><p> Nike walking l., holding palm branch in left arm and wreath in raised right arm </p><p>Ref.: Hoover 1133; SC 2170</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1602828[/ATTACH] </p><p>Alexander was probably no longer supported by Rome and Pergamon. He returned from Cilicia with his army and fought a battle at the river Oinoparas outside Antioch, where he was defeated by the troops of Ptolemy VI and Demetrios II. Prior to this, Alexander had sent his young son Antiochus to the Nabataean Zabdiel Diocles. When he now tried to flee to him as well, he was killed. It is not clear whether the murderers were two of his generals who wanted to change sides or Zabdiel himself. Alexander's head was taken to Ptolemy, who also died shortly afterwards from his wounds.</p><p><br /></p><p>Zabdiel continued to look after Alexander's young son Antiochus, who was even declared king by the general Diodotos in 145 BC to serve as the figurehead of a rebellion against Demetrios II. In 130 BC, another pretender to the throne, Alexander Zabinas, also claimed that he was the son of Alexander Balas, which was almost certainly false.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Sources:</b></p><p>(1) Diodorus, Bibliotheke historike </p><p>(2) Iustinus, Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi </p><p>(3) Flavius Josephus, Jüdische Altertümer </p><p> (considers Balas, however, to be a genuine Seleucid, namely an illegitimate son of Antiochus IV.)</p><p>4) Polybios, Historía</p><p>(5) Appian, Syriace</p><p>(6) Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronic </p><p>(7) Bible, AT 1st Book of the Maccabees</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Secondary literature:</b></p><p>(1) Der Kleine Pauly</p><p>(2) Meshorer</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Online sources:</b></p><p>(1) Wikipedia</p><p>(2) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope you enjoyed this article.</p><p>Jochen[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 25116347, member: 103829"]Dear friends of ancient coin! Today I came across this thread about Alexander Balas. Because I have an older article about Alexander Balas too I am taking the opportunity to post it here. [B]Alexander I. Balas[/B] I also enjoy dealing with historical personalities who are not so much at the centre of interest. And I believe that Alexander I Balas is one of them. It is also a historically exciting period between the decline of the Diadochi empires and the unstoppable rise of Rome. [B]The coin:[/B] Seleucid Kingdom, Alexander I Balas, 152-145 BC. AE 19, 6.38g, 18.52mm, 0° struck in Antioch on the Orontes Obv.: Head of Alexander Balas, with boiotic helmet, r. Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ - AΛEΞANΔΡOY (in right and left field from top to bottom) Nike walking to the left, holding a palm branch in her left arm and a wreath in her raised righ handt, in outer left field ear of grain, in inner field monogram A Ref: SNG Israel (Spaer) 1475: SC 1790.4; HGC 9, 899 Nearly VF, shiny brown patina, obv. somewhat off-centre, flan crack at 7h [ATTACH=full]1602826[/ATTACH] [B]Pedigree:[/B] ex coll. David Sellwood [B]Note:[/B] David Grenville John Sellwood (1925-2012) was a British aeronautical engineer and numismatist who specialised in Parthian coins. He was president of the Royal Numismatic Society. [B]Alexander I Balas[/B] Alexander I Balas (from Balas, Ba'al = lord) was usurper and ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 152-145 BC. Although he claimed that he was the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodike IV and thus the heir to the Seleucid throne, ancient sources (Polybius, Diodorus) say that this claim was false and that he and his sister Laodike VI actually came from Smyrna and were of low birth. However, when Polybius had been a guest in Rome together with Demetrios I, the opponent of Balas, he had become his friend, and so Polybios is not a neutral source in this matter. According to Diodorus, Alexander was originally proposed as a candidate for the Seleucid throne by Attalus II of Pergamon. Attalus felt challenged by the fact that the ruling Seleucid king Demetrios I had dethroned King Ariarathes V in Cappadocia and sought to establish a Seleucid government that was more friendly to Pergamon. Alexander, who was very similar in appearance to Antiochus V, who had been assassinated in 162 BC, was just what he needed and he began to build him up as pretender to the throne against Demetrios I Soter. But even here it is not clear whether the story of the resemblance was not just propaganda by Alexander's opponents. Alexander and his sister Laodike were taken in by Herakleides in Cilicia, a former minister of Antiochus IV and brother of Timarchus, a usurper in Media who had been executed by the ruling Demetrios I Soter. At the instigation of Attalus II, a friend of the Romans, Herakleides brought Alexander and his sister to Rome in 153 BC and presented them to the Roman Senate. The latter recognised him as the rightful Seleucid king, probably also through bribery, and agreed to support him in his accession to the throne. Attalus II and Demetrius I are also said to have been in Rome at this time. [B]War against Demetrios I (150-152 BC)[/B] After raising an army of mercenaries, Alexander and Herakleides set off for Ephesus. From there they landed in Phoenicia and conquered Ptolemais Acre. Coins show that by 151 BC Alexander had also gained control of Seleucia Pieria, Byblos, Beirut and Tyre. On these coins he imitated coin images of Antiochos IV, e.g. Zeus Nikephoros, in order to emphasise his alleged connection to Antiochos. He adopted the title Theopator ("divine father"), which was reminiscent of Antiochos' epithet Theos Epiphanes ("revealed god"). On his coins he was depicted as Alexander the Great with flowing hair. The adoption of the Ptolemaic eagle on the coins shows the decisive influence of Egypt on the Seleucid Empire. [ATTACH=full]1602827[/ATTACH] AR - Tetradrachm, Alexander I Balas, SC 1830.2, Civitas Galleries, Vcoins During this war, both Alexander and Demetrios I courted Jonathan Apphus, the leader of the Maccabees in Judea. With the promise of a high position at the Seleucid court and the office of high priest in Jerusalem, which made him the official leader of the Jews, Alexander was able to win him over to his side. In 150 BC, Alexander fought a decisive battle with Demetrios, which was decided by Jonathan's soldiers. Demetrios was killed and at the end of 152 Alexander's rule was recognised throughout the Seleucid Empire. [B]Reign (150-147 BC)[/B] He also gained control of Antioch and his chancellor Ammonios had all of Demetrios I's courtiers murdered, as well as his wife Laodike and his son Antigonos. Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt concluded an alliance with Alexander and sealed it by marrying Alexander to his daughter Kleopatra Thea. Jonathan, the leader of Judea, was also present at this wedding, which took place in Ptolemais, and he honoured him in particular. Coinage celebrates this wedding and the alliance with the Ptolemies. Some scholars even believe that Alexander was merely a puppet of the Ptolemies and that Ammonius was a Ptolemaic agent. [B]Collapse of the East[/B] The Seleucid positions in the east had already been weakened by the failure of the previous king to contain the Parthians and the Greco-Bactrian troops. Now they collapsed almost completely. The Parthians under Mithridates I took advantage of the instability caused by the civil war to invade Media. Media was lost in the middle of 148 BC. Local rulers in Elymais and Persis, which had declared themselves independent, were subjugated by the Parthians and in 147 BC the Parthians stood on the borders of Babylonia, a heartland of the Seleucids with Seleucia on the Tigris, one of the two capitals. It is not known that Alexander did anything to stop the erosion of his power in the East. Ancient historians describe him as dissolute and devoted to the sensual life and therefore too distracted to do anything about the Parthians. He is said to have left the administration to 2 commanders, Hierax and Diodorus, who only seemed to be concerned with their own interests. This may be partly propaganda by his opponents. But the fact is that the Seleucid Empire declined in size and power under his rule. [B]War with Demetrios II and death (147-145 BC)[/B] At the beginning of 147 BC, Demetrios' son Demetrios II returned to Syria with a troop of Cretan mercenaries led by a man named Lasthenes. Jonatan attacked Demetrios from the south and conquered Jaffa and Ashdod, while Alexander Balas was busy with an uprising in Cilicia. In 145 BC, Ptolemy VI of Egypt invaded Syria, ostensibly in support of Alexander Balas. However, he demanded a high price: with Alexander's permission, he took control of all Seleucid cities along the coast, including Seleucia-Pieria, but while Ptolemy was in Ptolemy's Acre, he switched sides. According to Josephus, Ptolemy discovered that Alexander's chancellor Ammonius was planning to assassinate him. But when he demanded that Ammonius be punished, Alexander refused. Ptolemy took his daughter away from him and remarried Kleopatra Thea to Demetrius II and continued his march northwards. Alexander's commanders in Antioch, Diodotus and Hierax, surrendered the city to Ptolemy without a fight. [B]Coin #2:[/B] Seleucid Kingdom, Demetrios II Nicator, 1st reign, 146/5-130 BC. AE 18, 5.13g stuck in Antioch Obv.: Laureate head of Zeus r. Rev.: left side in 2 lines from top to bottom BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΔHMHTPIOV right side in 2 lines from top to bottom THEOY / NIKATOPOΣ Nike walking l., holding palm branch in left arm and wreath in raised right arm Ref.: Hoover 1133; SC 2170 [ATTACH=full]1602828[/ATTACH] Alexander was probably no longer supported by Rome and Pergamon. He returned from Cilicia with his army and fought a battle at the river Oinoparas outside Antioch, where he was defeated by the troops of Ptolemy VI and Demetrios II. Prior to this, Alexander had sent his young son Antiochus to the Nabataean Zabdiel Diocles. When he now tried to flee to him as well, he was killed. It is not clear whether the murderers were two of his generals who wanted to change sides or Zabdiel himself. Alexander's head was taken to Ptolemy, who also died shortly afterwards from his wounds. Zabdiel continued to look after Alexander's young son Antiochus, who was even declared king by the general Diodotos in 145 BC to serve as the figurehead of a rebellion against Demetrios II. In 130 BC, another pretender to the throne, Alexander Zabinas, also claimed that he was the son of Alexander Balas, which was almost certainly false. [B]Sources:[/B] (1) Diodorus, Bibliotheke historike (2) Iustinus, Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi (3) Flavius Josephus, Jüdische Altertümer (considers Balas, however, to be a genuine Seleucid, namely an illegitimate son of Antiochus IV.) 4) Polybios, Historía (5) Appian, Syriace (6) Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronic (7) Bible, AT 1st Book of the Maccabees [B]Secondary literature:[/B] (1) Der Kleine Pauly (2) Meshorer [B]Online sources:[/B] (1) Wikipedia (2) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia I hope you enjoyed this article. Jochen[/QUOTE]
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