SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos IX Eusebes Philopator (Kyzikenos), 114/3-95 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 29 mm, 16.55 g, 12 h), Antiochia on the Orontes, spring/summer 113-spring/summer 112. Diademed head of Antiochos IX to right.
Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ANTIOXOY - ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤOPOΣ Athena standing front, head to left, holding Nike in her right hand and spear and shield in her left; to outer left, monogram of NT above A; to inner right, Δ; all within laurel wreath. SC 2362f. SMA 383. Beautifully toned and unusually well preserved. A few tiny marks
, otherwise, extremely fine.
From the Basileiai Hellēnikai Collection of Exceptional Tetradrachms, ex Münzen & Medaillen AG 47, 30 November-1 December 1972, 528.
This coin dates from the first emission of Antiochos IX, following his initial conquest of Antioch from his half-brother, Antiochos VIII. Although his rule over the city - the most significant still under Seleukid control - lasted only a year, he regained control in 110/9 and once again in 96-95, shortly before his death in battle. The turbulent dynastic struggles of this period, with their complex dynastic civil wars and rapid shifts in power, represent one of the most challenging phases to reconstruct in Hellenistic history, epitomizing the decline of the once-great imperial power
