Philip I Philadelphos was a son of Antiochos VIII Epiphanes and got himself turmoiled in a brother vs brother civil war. In his early life his father and his uncle Antiochos IX were fighting over control of Antioch, the capital of the Seleukid empire. Antiochus VIII got assassinated and Antiochus IX toke control. A brother of Philip, Seleukos VI toke revenge and killed Antiochos IX capturing Antioch. The son of Antiochos IX, Antiochos X, avenged his father again by defeating Seleukos VI, who was eventually killed, and toke control of Antioch. Philip I and his brother Antiochos XI resided in Cilicia in the meanwhile, and when hearing of the death of their brother Seleukos VI, the brothers intended to avenge him. While Philip I remained in Cilicia, Antiochus XI advanced on Antioch and drove Antiochus X from the city in the beginning of 93 BC. By autumn 93 BC, Antiochus X regrouped and defeated Antiochus XI, who drowned in the river Orontes. Following the defeat, Philip I is thought to have retreated to his capital in Cilicia, which was probably the same base from which he and his brother operated when they first prepared to avenge Seleukos VI, which was most likely Tarsos. Antiochos X eventually captured Cilicia and Philip made Beroea his new captal. The situation by 92 B.C. Philip I struck coins in Cilicia, most likely Tarsos, to pay for his soldiers: Philip I Philadelphos (circa 95/4-76/5 B.C.) AR Tetradrachm. Uncertain mint in Cilicia (Tarsos?), lifetime issue, circa 94/3-88/7 B.C. Obverse: Diademed head of Philip I to right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΦIΛIΠΠΟΥ - EΠIΦΑΝΟΥΣ / ΦIΛAΔEΛΦΟΥ. Zeus seated left, holding Nike in his right hand and long scepter in his left; to outer left and below throne, monograms; to inner left, M; all within laurel wreath. Reference: SC 2460c 15.81g; 27mm Ca. 88 BC. Antiochos X most probably died fighting the Parthians. Taking advantage of his death, Demetrios III, his brother who ruled Damaskos, rushed to the capital and occupied it. To raise the siege, Philip I's ally Straton, the ruler of Beroea, called on the Arab phylarch Aziz and the Parthian governor Mithridates Sinaces for help. The allies defeated Demetrios III and Philip I toke control of Antioch in 88/7 BC. He was faced with the need to replenish the empty treasury to rebuild a country destroyed after years of civil war, and in case a new pretender to the throne arose. He started to recycle the tetradrachms of his predecessors and reissued them with his own types. Besides propaganda, he reissued them with a lighter weight of around 0.35g. By doing so, Philip’s treasury profited by about half an obol every time an older tetradrachm was recoined. Philip's reign of Antioch was relatively long for this time, around 12 years, and it was quite peaceful, eventhough Cleopatra Selene hid in Syria with Antiochos XIII, her son by Antiochus X, waiting for an opportunity to regain the throne. According to Hoover, 75 B.C is generally the accepted death of Philip I. Eventually Tigranes II, king of Armenia, toke control of Syria and ruled until Pompey annexed Armenia in 69 BC. Antiochos XIII toke the throne and ruled as client king of Rome. Eventually in 64 BC, Pompey had him deposed and killed by a Syrian chieftain, taking control of Syria. Philip I's coins were still mainly in circulation when the Romans annexed Syria in 64 BC. Since Philip recycled his competitors coins, the tetradrachms of Philip I were the trusted currency used in Antioch and parts of Syria. Therefore the first Roman coins struck in Syria were copies of Philip I's coins, and bore his image with the monogram of the Roman governor and later on the monogram AT (AYTONOMOY). The first issue was in 57 BC under governor Aulus Gabinius and the types were minted all the way to 12 BC. Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch. temp. Sextus Julius Caesar. Proconsul, 47-46 BC. AR Tetradrachm. In the name and types of Philip I Philadelphos. Dated year 3 of the Caesarean Era (47/6 BC). Obverse: Diademed head of Philip I right within fillet border. Reverse: Zeus Nicephorus seated left; monogram to inner left and below throne, Γ (date) and thunderbolt in exergue; all within wreath. Reference: McAlee 4; Prieur 4; RPC I 4127; SC 2491.1; HGC 9, 1360a. 14.85g; 26mm What we forget however is that Philip I had a son called Philip II (what a coincidence). He was in competition with Antiochos XII to rule over Antioch. He was a Philoromaeus, 'friend of the Romans', most probably to seek the favour of Pompey. Generally is thought that Philip II did not issue any coins, unlike his rival Antiochos XIII who struck small amounts of tetradrachms. However, there is a possibility Philip II actually did issue coins. In the gap of 69-57 BC between the defeat of Tigranes and the first Roman pseudo-issues by Aulus Gabinius, tetradrachms were issued in the name of Philip I. These so called 'posthumous' issues were not the issues made by the Romans as they did not start until 57 B.C. The portraits on these 'posthumous' issue are very different from both the lifetime issues and the later Roman issues. The portraits of the later Roman issues look more like the portrait on the lifetime issues (compare my 1st coin with the 2nd one) rather than the posthumous issues (see coin below). Philip II Philoromaeus (?). AR Tetradrachm. Antiochia on the Orontes mint, posthumous issue, circa 69-57 B.C. Obverse: Diademed head of Philip to right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΦIΛIΠΠΟΥ - EΠIΦΑΝΟΥΣ / ΦIΛAΔEΛΦΟΥ Zeus seated left, holding Nike in his right hand and long scepter in his left; to inner left, Φ; in exergue, uncertain control. Reference: SC 2488.6-7. 15.55g; 28mm The different portrait can actually be explained. The nickname of Philip II was Barypous (Βαρύπους), meaning "Heavy-foot" or "Thick-foot". When looking at the above portrait, it looks like someone with goitre (swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland), and bulging eyes. Most likely because of all the incest that was happening in the Seleukid dynasty, Philip II had Graves' disease, which causes thyroid problems and eye swelling. Graves' disease also causes edema, which explains his nickname "heavy-foot", since edema (swelling caused by abnormal accumulation of fluid), mostly happens in the feet/lower legs (because of gravity). This is not uncommon, the same symptoms and obesity were seen in the later kings of the Ptolemaic dynasty where incest was also a generally 'normal' thing. In other words, I think the so called "posthumous" issues between the lifetime and Roman issues are actually from Philip II. It would be very interesting if this hypothesis could ever be properly researched. Please post your coins of Philip I!
Pavlos, You did a good job unraveling the complex history of that period ! That's a lovely Tet of Philip I, great portrait & gem mint state . Pictured below is a Tet of his father I scored last year . SELEUKID EMPIRE. Antiochos VIII Epiphanes (Grypos), 121-96 BCE. Antioch on the Orontes, 3rd reign (c. 109-96). AR tetradrachm: 28 mm, 16.24 gm, 1 h. Ex Numismatics Fine Arts XVII, lot 439, June 27, 1986. Below is a later coin of Philip I struck at Antioch under Roman control. The quality of his portraits greatly declined when the Romans controlled Syria .
A third possibility would be under civic authority for Antioch. Philip I 95 to 75 BC Mint: Antioch or Eastern mint AR Tetradrachm Obvs: Diademed head of Philip right within fillet border. Revs: BAΣIΔEΩΣ ΦIΛIΠΠOY to right, EΠIΦANOYΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY to left. Zeus enthroned holding Nike and scepter, laurel wreath border. N in ex. 23x26mm, 15.31g SC 2464a; HGC 9, 1320
Thank you @Andres2, nice coin! Thank you @Al Kowsky. What a wonderful tetradrachm of Antiochos VIII! A lovely example of the type and nice toning. You are right, forgot about that one. Nice coin too with a clear obverse and reverse.
