Owner Comments:
Seleucid Kingdom Alexander I, Balas
152-145 BC
Sear #7040
Grade is VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5,
Census - NGC does not provide census info on ancient coins
Obv. No legend, head of Alexander I facing right wearing a crested helmet.
Rev. BASI?EOE on right, A?E?AN?POY on left, Nike standing left, crowning the King's name with a laurel wreath and holding a palm; corn-ear in field to left, monogram before Nike.
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state created by Seleucus I Nicator following the carve up of the empire created by Alexander the Great following his death.Seleucus received Babylonia and from there expand his dominions to include much of Alexander's near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pamir and present day Pakistan.
The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture which maintained the preeminence of Greek customs and where a Greek-Macedonian political elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by emigration from Greece. Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt was frustrated by Roman demands. Much of the eastern part of the empire was conquered by the Parthians under Mithridates I of Parthia in the mid-2nd century BC, yet the Seleucid kings continued to rule a rump state from Syria until the invasion by Armenian king Tigranes the Great and their ultimate overthrow by the Roman general Pompey.
Alexander I Balas was a king in the Seleucid Kingdom, one of the kingdoms that formed after Alexander the Great left his empire to "the strongest". His generals (the Diadochi) then proceeded to divided it among themselves and the next 250 years was spent fighting to determine who, indeed, was the strongest - until the Romans rose up and conquered them all. Alexander I Balas was a controversial figure set up by a rival king as a long lost son of a departed Seleucid king and therefore the rightful lord of the kingdom (Balas means lord - this one self proclaimed). Much fighting ensued and his reign was short even with his support from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Rome. Well, the Ptolemaic king did support him early on, being his father-in-law and all, but as Alexander Balas turned to a life of debauchery, the support shifted to a rival and Alexander Balas lost it all, including his head. He did put out a lot of coins though in his short reign as he tried to cement his right to rule. For those that don't remember, the Seleucid Empire was a big one stretching from Syria to India at one point, while the Ptolemaic Kingdom was also large, composed mainly of Egypt and North Africa and across the sea to include parts of Asia Minor - the ruler and probably the most famous to us was Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt.
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