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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pavlos, post: 3351289, member: 96635&quot;]I have a weakness for these Seleukid usurpers, and the whole civil war chaos of the Seleukid empire in general. Alexander I Balas, one of the usurpers, has especially some nice and interesting coin, with quite some variety. However, Alexander II Zabinas also managed to usurp the throne and from him I got a tetradrachm with a really nice portrait in my opinion. His coin portraits shows him with a sweet, almost girlish face quite distinct from that of other Seleukid rulers.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/q4BTkft.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Alexander II Zabinas AR Tetradrachm (128 B.C. - 122 B.C.). Antioch mint.</b></p><p><b>Obverse:</b> Diademed head of Zabinas right</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOV , Zeus seated left, holding Nike and scepter; monogram to outer left, Σ below throne.</p><p>16.12g; 28mm</p><p><br /></p><p>What I really noticed is that most of these usurpers all gained the throne with support of the Ptolemaic Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Short history about this usurper:</p><p><br /></p><p>Although possessing no royal blood, Alexander II Zabinas successfully usurped the Seleucid throne with the aid of the Egyptian king Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Probably the son of an Egyptian merchant, he claimed at different times to be the son of Alexander I Balas (150-145 BC) or the adoptive son of the last really capable Seleukid ruler, Antiochus VII Sidetes, who died on campaign against the Parthians in 129 BC. After Sidetes&#039; death, his brother Demetrios II briefly resumed the Seleukid throne after more than a decade spent in Parthian captivity, but quickly became embroiled in an Egyptian civil war between Ptolemy VIII and his sister, Cleopatra II. For a couple of years, Alexander ruled Antioch and it&#039;s surroundings, where he was beloved for his generosity with Ptolemy VIII&#039;s money. However, most of the Seleukid empire backed a regime headed by the ferocious queen Cleopatra Thea and her son Antiochos VIII Grypos (&quot;hook-nosed&quot;). An end to the Egyptian civil war in 125 BC caused Ptolemy VIII to cut off his support to Alexander.</p><p><br /></p><p>Alexander fled to his capital Antioch and began plundering the treasures of its temples. He was said to have joked, while melting down a golden statue of Nike previously located in the hand of an idol of Zeus, that &quot;Zeus lends me victory&quot;. Since the gold was needed to pay his troops, this action was accepted by the citizens of Antioch. However, a few days later, his men were discovered in the act of removing a great golden statue of Zeus himself and in 123 BC the people of Antioch revolted and ejected him from the city. He was soon captured by a band of robbers and handed over to Cleopatra Thea, who executed him early in 122 BC.</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your Seleukid and other Greek usurpers![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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