SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos IV Epiphanes, 175-164 BC. AE (Bronze, 21 mm, 6.21 g, 12 h), quasi-municipal coinage, Laodikeia in Phoenicia (Berytus), circa 168-164. Diademed head of Antiochos IV to right. Rev. [ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ] - 𐤋𐤋𐤀𐤃𐤊𐤀 𐤀𐤌 𐤁𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 ('Laodikeia, mother in Canaan' in Phoenician) Ba'al-Berit (Poseidon) standing facing, holding phiale in his right hand and trident in his left; across field, ΛΑ and monogram. HGC 9, -, cf. 664 (Antiochos' head radiate). SC -, cf. 1449 (Antiochos' head radiate). Apparently unpublished and of great interest. Minor deposits and faint cleaning scratches and the reverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, about very fine.



The Phoenician inscription 𐤋𐤋𐤀𐤃𐤊𐤀 𐤀𐤌 𐤁𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 means 'Laodikeia, mother [city] in Canaan.' The Semitic word 𐤀𐤌 (ʾM, 'mother') is used here in the figurative political sense of 'mother city' or 'metropolis,' emphasizing Laodikeia’s pre-eminent position within the region. The name Canaan is attested in ancient Near Eastern texts from the second millennium BC onward as a geographical designation for parts of the Levant, although its precise extent varied according to period and source and at times included the Phoenician coast.

In the Hebrew Bible, Canaan denotes above all the land promised to Abraham and his descendants, as well as the land inhabited by the pre-Israelite Canaanites (cf. Gen. 10; 12:5–7; Num. 34:1–12; Josh. 1–12). In biblical tradition, the Canaanites frequently appear as Israel’s adversaries, giving the term a pronounced theological and historical significance in addition to its geographical meaning. The use of this ancient Semitic name on a Hellenistic coin is therefore particularly noteworthy: while the city was known in Greek as Laodikeia in Phoenicia, its Phoenician legend retained the traditional indigenous name Canaan.