Israel Numismatic Research

Published by the Israel Numismatic Society

Volume 15  2020

Contents

3 Oliver Hoover: A New Tetradrachm of Demetrius II at Gaza and its Implications

13 Moshe Fischer, Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: The Coins of Khirbet el-‘Aqd: A Hellenistic-Roman Stronghold in Western Judea

45 Achim Lichtenberger and Tal Oren: A Hoard of Alexander II Zebinas Coins from Tell Iẓṭabba (Bet She’an), Israel (with an  
      appendix by Orit Shamir: The Textile Remains on the Hoard of Alexander II Zabinas Coins from Tell Iẓṭabba)

61 Haim Shaham: Yehudah Aristobulus Die Study Reveals Hasmonean Mint Chronology and Supports Josephus’ Narrative

89 David B. Hendin: Hasmonean Coins: Update and Observations

111 Yoav Farhi and Ronen Bachar: Iamneia (by-the-Sea?): A Newly Discovered Mint in First Century BCE Provincia Syria

127 Barkay Rachel: Addendum to “Coinage of the Nabataeans”

147 Ronit Palistrant Shaick: Perseus and Heracles: Two Greek Heroes on Roman ‘Akko-Ptolemais City-Coins

165 David M. Jacobson: Coins of the First Revolt Based on Procuratorial Types, with Special Reference to the Rare Quarter        Sheqel of Year Four

177 Linda T. Zollschan: The Female Figure on the IVDAEA RECEPTA Aureus

189 Gabriela Bijovsky: Some Enigmatic Coin Types from Roman Tyre

207 David Woods: Farewell to Khalid of Tiberias: Reading the Greek Legends of an ‘Enigmatic’ Arab-Byzantine Type

219 Robert Kool, Nikolaus Schindel and Michael Hollunder: Where Were the Umayyad Menorah Fulūs Struck?


Abstracts
 

3 Oliver Hoover: A New Tetradrachm of Demetrius II at Gaza and its Implications The author presents a previously unknown Phoenician-weight tetradrachm struck at Gaza in the first reign of Demetrius II and discusses its importance for understanding the political relationship between the Hasmonean Jewish state under Jonathan Apphus and the Seleucid kingdom. The
problematic ‘hoard’ context associated with the new coin is also analyzed.

13 Moshe Fischer, Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: The Coins of Khirbet el-‘Aqd: A Hellenistic-Roman Stronghold in Western Judea This paper discusses 104 coins retrieved during the archaeological excavations at Khirbet el-‘Aqd in the 1970s and 1980s. The numismatic finds include coins from surveys, trial probes and mostly systematic archaeological excavations carried out by the then Archaeological Division of the Department of Classics of Tel Aviv University. The coin finds are discussed against the
backdrop of the site’s history and archaeological remains.

45 Achim Lichtenberger and Tal Oren: A Hoard of Alexander II Zebinas Coins from Tell Iẓṭabba (Bet She’an), Israel (with an  
appendix by Orit Shamir: The Textile Remains on the Hoard of Alexander II Zabinas Coins from Tell Iẓṭabba). This paper discusses a recently discovered coin hoard in the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project whose copper-alloyed coins belong to the days of Alexander II Zabinas (129/8–124/3 BCE). The hoard is discussed in light of Tell Iẓṭabba’s history and archaeology — as a settlement founded in the Seleucid period and destroyed by John Hyrcanus in 108/7 BCE.

61 Haim Shaham: Yehudah Aristobulus Die Study Reveals Hasmonean Mint Chronology and Supports Josephus’ Narrative. Yehudah is the rarest name to appear on Hasmonean fiduciary bronze coinage. A die study of coins bearing his name was undertaken in order to determine the identity of this Yehudah, the chronology of his coins and the seriation of the names of the Hasmonean rulers appearing on coins both before and after his rule. The results of this study impact upon the current assumptions of Hasmonean coin chronology, the economy under Yehudah and the credibility of Josephus’ history regarding of his reign.

89 David B. Hendin: Hasmonean Coins: Update and Observations. In 1991, Ya‘akov Meshorer withdrew his 1967 theory that Alexander Jannaeus struck the first Hasmonean coins. Recently a scholar has attempted to resurrect the theory. This article argues that this attempt does not pass muster based on current evidence from archaeology, numismatics and the physical sciences. Various historical theories of Hasmonean chronology are examined and placed into the context of present knowledge, concluding firmly that the first Hasmonean ruler to mint coins was John Hyrcanus I.

111 Yoav Farhi and Ronen Bachar: Iamneia (by the Sea?): A Newly Discovered Mint in First Century BCE Provincia Syria. The authors present two unpublished bronze coins of Iamneia (Yavneh), a mint unknown so far from the Early Roman period. In addition, the authors suggest attributing another type to this mint, one previously assigned to Gaza. The historical and numismatic context of the coins and their implications for our understanding of Iamneia are discussed.

127 Barkay Rachel: Addendum to “Coinage of the Nabataeans”. The last comprehensive book on Nabatean coins was published by the author in 2019, entitled Coinage of the Nabataeans. Thirty-seven coins are now added to the 237 coins published in the above volume. This is an important addition, which contains unpublished types and variants. With the already published coins we now have an updated picture of the Nabatean issues known today.

147 Ronit Palistrant Shaick: Perseus and Heracles: Two Greek Heroes on Roman ‘Akko-Ptolemais City-Coins. The article examines the representations of Heracles and Perseus on ‘Akko-Ptolemais coins. Perseus’ presence, known only from coins, finds support in a myth mentioning Andromeda’s parents’ kinship to Agenor’s house and by the local identification of the river-god Belus with Andromeda’s grandfather, Belus. Perseus and Andromeda’s marriage scene (unique) was adopted from a similar scene in Tyre (Cadmus and Harmonia). The unique coin-type of Heracles — Perseus’ descendant — receiving a medicinal plant, which resembles the Hydra, from Belus, perpetuated Heracles’ bond to Phoenicia and publicized ‘Akko as a healing-center. The scenes, attesting to kinship between Greeks and Phoenicians, proclaim ‘Akko’s proud identity.

165 David M. Jacobson: Coins of the First Revolt Based on Procuratorial Types, with Special Reference to the Rare Quarter
Sheqel of Year Four. Arguments have been presented by Donald T. Ariel (2011) for the minting of the “year two” and “year three” bronze units (prutot) by John of Gischala’s faction and its Zealot allies. These coins bear the hallmark of a procuratorial issue in their design. The exceptional “year four” silver quarter sheqel similarly owes its design to two linked procuratorial coins, so if John of Gischala (Gush Ḥalav) was behind the minting the abovementioned bronzes one wonders if the same applied to these rare and short-lived quarter sheqels. The choice of the specific procuratorial issues for these coin types is also discussed.

177 Linda T. Zollschan: The Female Figure on the IVDAEA RECEPTA Aureus. The posture of the woman depicted on the reverse of the of the unique IVDAEA RECEPTA coin (Gambash, Gitler and Cotton 2013) is not of a Jewish captive, as proposed in the editio princeps of the coin. Many elements are present in the iconography of the figure that are found solely associated with the Roman goddess, Salus in the guise of Hygieia. A history of the political use of the image of Salus shows that Vespasian borrowed elements from the last century of the republic to present himself as the savior and healer (salus) of the state.

189 Gabriela Bijovsky: Some Enigmatic Coin Types from Roman Tyre. During the second and third centuries CE the mint of Tyre in Phoenicia was one of the most prodigious in the southern Levant — and most outstanding in terms of its iconographical diversity. This study deals with a number of coin types that for several reasons including their rarity, lack of publications — and the difficulty in identifying their reverse types — remain enigmatic to this today. In most cases, beyond the iconographical analysis, these coins attest to competition between cities, expressed in the granting of titles and highlighting Tyre’s relationship to Rome.

207 David Woods: Farewell to Khalid of Tiberias: Reading the Greek Legends of an ‘Enigmatic’ Arab-Byzantine Type. A new reading is proposed of the Greek legend on the reverse of an Arab-Byzantine type struck in Tiberias during the late seventh century. While this legend has often been interpreted to refer to a certain Khalid, it is argued here that it contains a brief statement of quality similar to that found on the coins of several other Arab-Byzantine mints.

219 Robert Kool, Nikolaus Schindel and Michael Hollunder: Where Were the Umayyad Menorah Fulūs Struck? One of the more intriguing Umayyad coin types features a candelabrum, mostly with five branches. Because of their similarity to the Jewish menorah, these coins have attracted the interest of scholars and collectors studying not only in Islamic numismatics, but also Jewish and biblical coins. So far, most authors have assumed that these fulūs were struck in Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Judaism. However, the analysis of 23 specimens with archaeological provenances in the IAA collection does not support such an attribution. Rather, the mint seems to have been located in the central or southern part of the coastal plain of present-day Israel. A possible candidate is Ashqelon, although the evidence is not yet decisive.