SYRIA, Coele-Syria. Chalkis ad Libanon. Lysanias, tetrarch, 40-36 BC. AE (Bronze, 20 mm, 5.29 g, 12 h). Diademed head of Lysanias to right; to right, monogram. Rev. ΛYΣANIOY TETPAP[ΧOY KAI APXIEPEΩΣ] Athena standing front, head to left, holding Nike in her right hand and resting her left on shield set on ground; to right, monogram. BMC 6. RPC I 4770. SNG Copenhagen 415-6 var. (countermark). An attractive example with an unusually well preserved portrait. Patina stripped and with minor traces of corrosion, otherwise, good very fine.



Lysanias, son of Ptolemaeus (himself the son of Mennaeus), ruled from approximately 40 to 36 BC as tetrarch - or possibly even king - over the territory of Chalkis ad Libanon and Abila Lysaniou, located on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in the region of Ituraea. According to Josephus, his dynasty was notable for pursuing Parthian-friendly and pro-Jewish policies, a stance that earned him both local allies and the suspicion of Rome. Ultimately, the rumor - likely fueled by Cleopatra - that he had supported the Parthian prince Pakoros led Mark Antony to order his execution around 36 BC, after which his domains were transferred to Cleopatra.

Lysanias is also mentioned in Luke 3:1 in the New Testament, where he is named as the tetrarch of Abilene during the ministry of John the Baptist. This reflects the enduring association of his name with the region in Jewish and early Christian tradition. While some scholars once questioned the chronological accuracy of Luke’s reference, the discovery of inscriptions and coins referring to a later 'Lysanias the tetrarch' strongly supports the existence of at least two rulers with that name and lends credibility to the Gospel account.

Chalkis ad Libanon was strategically situated at the intersection of Greco-Hellenistic, Jewish Hasmonean, Parthian, and eventually Roman spheres of influence. The Hasmonean kingdom had previously expanded into this area, underscoring its importance within broader Jewish political aspirations. As a local ruler on the fringes of Jewish-influenced territory, Lysanias’s reign exemplifies the complex entanglement of Jewish regional ambitions with the shifting dynamics of imperial power in the late Hellenistic East.