| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 149 | Auction date: 2 December 2024 |
| Lot number: 84 Price realized: 1,500 CHF (Approx. 1,690 USD / 1,614 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Antiochus III 'the Great', 223 – 187 Tetradrachm Tarsus circa 223-211, AR 31mm, 17.12 g. Diademed head of Antiochus III r., with delicate youthful features, hair in bangs over forehead. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ – ANTI – OΧOY Apollo seated l. on omphalos, testing arrow in r. hand and resting l. arm on grounded bow; in outer l. field, AK monogram and in outer r. field, HP monogram. CSE 462. SC 1025c. Light iridescent tone. Minor marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex CNG sale 121, 2022, 489. The young Antiochus III was immediately proclaimed king upon the assassination of his brother in 223 BC and moved his court from Seleucia on the Tigris to Antioch on the Orontes to prepare a campaign aimed at detaching Coele Syria and Phoenicia from the Ptolemaic kingdom of Ptolemy IV Philopator. The king's western focus soon allowed the satraps of Babylonia and Persis, Molon and Alexander, to rise up against him. The generals of Antiochus III failed to crush the rebels and his own invasion of Ptolemaic territory was abortive, but in 220 BC, the king personally marched against Molon and Alexander. Half of the rebel armies refused to fight when they saw the legitimate king at the head of his forces and the satraps committed suicide rather than face execution. After settling these eastern problems, Antiochus III returned to Antioch to resume the struggle with Ptolemy IV. In the Fourth Syrian War (219-216 BC) that followed, the Seleucid king recovered Seleucia in Pieria-lost since the disastrous reign of Seleucus II-and conquered Coele Syria and Phoenicia, almost to the gates of Egypt, only to be defeated at the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC. He was subsequently forced to withdraw and abandon all his gains except for Seleucia before pivoting to deal with Achaeus, a general he had dispatched to reconquer Asia Minor, but who had claimed the kingship for himself since 220 BC. By 215/14 BC, Antiochus III had cornered Achaeus in the citadel of Sardes. A siege resulted in the sack of the lower city before Achaeus was captured and put to a miserable death. With many of the inland regions of Asia Minor now under his control, the dynamic king then looked to the East and spent the seven years from 211 to 204 on a grand campaign to restore Seleucid power in the Upper Satrapies. This was a major success. In 209 BC he drove the Parthians out of Media and compelled the Parthian king to accept his suzerainty in the long-lost satrapy of Parthyene. After a long struggle with Euthydemus I of Bactria from 208 to 205 BC, Antiochus III similarly forced his submission to the Seleucid throne. Returning from these victories in 204 BC, the king began to style himself as Megas ("the Great") and to compare his deeds to those of Alexander the Great. Never one to rest on his laurels, Antiochus III resumed operations to reclaim Asia Minor in 204/3 BC and entered into an agreement with Philip V of Macedon to divide the overseas possessions of the new Ptolemaic child-king Ptolemy V Epiphanes, before planning a new attempt on Coele Syria and Phoenicia. The Fifth Syrian War (202-195 BC) was an incredible success in which Antiochus III conquered regions that had been an object of dispute between Seleucid and Ptolemaic kings for a century. Coele Syria and Phoenicia would never again be Ptolemaic possessions. As a final kick at Ptolemy V, Antiochus III followed up this victory with an expedition to expel all remaining Ptolemaic strongholds in Asia Minor and bring the important coastal cities back under Seleucid influence. Unfortunately, Antiochus III had come to be a true believer in his own greatness and balked when the Romans warned him against conquering cities that they had friendly relationships with. His anger at being told how to behave in his own ancestral kingdom led him to accept the invitation of the disgruntled Aetolian League to invade mainland Greece and expel the Roman presence there in 192 BC. The invasion was defeated by the Romans and their allies and Antiochus III was forced to flee back to his possessions in Asia Minor. As expected, the Romans, led by the consul L. Cornelius Scipio, followed and brought him to battle near Magnesia by Mount Sipylus in 190/89 BC. In a stunning reversal of fortune, the king was utterly defeated in battle and subsequently forced to accept the Peace of Apamea (188 BC), which changed the territory and historical trajectory of the Seleucid kingdom forever. Under the terms of the treaty, Antiochus III was forced to cede all territory in Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains, most of which was divided by the Romans among his enemies, Eumenes II of Pergamon and the Rhodians. He was also compelled to pay an indemnity of 15,000 talents, give up his war elephants, and drastically limit his naval capabilities. Not long after signing the Peace of Apamea, Antiochus III began a new eastern campaign which is sometimes thought to have been intended to raise funds to pay the Roman indemnity. After leaving his son as coregent at Antioch, he marched to Seleucia on the Tigris and then to Elymais, where he attempted to plunder the temple of the native deity Bel in 187 BC. He never got to make use of it. As he and his men were exiting the temple laden with their impious treasure they were attacked and killed by a mob of angry Elymaeans. Estimate: 500 CHF |  |
