SAMARIA. 'Middle Levantine' Series. Yehw'nah, circa 375-333 BC. M'h (Silver, 9 mm, 0.63 g, 12 h). Artaxerxes III, crowned and in the guise of Zeus-Baaltars, seated right on throne with back terminating in swan's head, holding lotus flower in his right hand and lotus-tipped scepter in his left; before, incense-burner; above, [IEYΣ]. Rev. Satrap (?) on horseback to right, thrusting spear; below, [יהוענה] (YHW’NH in Aramaic); all within incuse square. CSC 158. Jeselsohn 61. Meshorer & Qedar 40. Darkly toned. Very fine.


The IEYΣ on the obverse should be understood as the Greek name Zeus. It is probably a Greek rendering of the Aramaic בעלתרז (BʿLTRZ, 'Baal of Tarsos'), as on Tarsian prototypes. The figure depicted, however, is unmistakably the Great King; cf. SNG Levante 183 and SNG Paris 426–7.