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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |Roman Provincial| ▸ |Roman Arabia||View Options:   | | | Arabia Petraea, Petrea, or simply Arabia, consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, the Sinai Peninsula and northwestern Arabian Peninsula. It was bordered on the north by Syria, on the west by Judaea (merged with into Syria Palestina from 135 A.D.) and Egypt, and on the south and east by the rest of Arabia, known as Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix. The territory was annexed by Trajan, like many other eastern frontier provinces of the Roman Empire, but held onto, unlike Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria, well after Trajan's rule, its desert frontier being called the Limes Arabicus. Trajan declared Bostra to be the capital of the province, he also awarded Petra the status of metropolis. Most of Arabia's territories were sparsely populated. In addition to Bostra and Petra, major cities included Jerash (Gerasa), Canatha, Adraa, Maximianopolis, Philippopolis and Amman (Philadelphia). The only major sea port was Aqaba, at the tip of the wide Gulf of Aqaba at the Red Sea. Though subject to eventual attack and deprivation by the Parthians and Palmyrenes, it had nothing like the constant incursions faced in other areas on the Roman frontier. |
Melqart was the tutelary god of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre and a major deity in the Phoenician and Punic pantheons. Many cities were thought to be founded (in one way or another) and protected by Melqart, no doubt springing from the original Phoenician practice of building a Temple of Melqart at new colonies. To the Greeks and the Romans, who identified Melqart with Hercules, he was often distinguished as the Tyrian Hercules.SH09037. Silver tetradrachm, Prieur 1478, RPC Online III 3523, McAlee 450, Wruck 142, Choice EF, a touch flat on high points, very nice metal, weight 14.69 g, maximum diameter 27.2 mm, die axis 180o, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, 98 - 99 A.D.; obverse AVTOKP KAIC NEP - TPAIANOC CEB ΓEPM (Imperator Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus Germanicus), laureate head right, eagle below, club lower right, palm frond transverse left on far side of bust; reverse ΔHMAPX - EΞ YΠAT B (holder of Tribunitian power, consul for the 2nd time), large laureate bust of Melqart-Herakles right, Nemean lion-skin around neck tied at front; SOLD
Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Charachmoba, Arabia
Coins of Charachmoba (Kerak, Jordan today) were struck only for Elagabalus and are very rare. Kerak has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age. It was an important city for the Moabites. In the Bible it is called Qer Harreseth or Kir of Moab and was subject to the Assyrian empire; in the Books of Kings (16:9) and Book of Amos (1:5, 9:7), it is mentioned as the place where the Syrians went before they settled in the regions north of Palestine, and to which Tiglath-Pileser III sent the prisoners after the conquest of Damascus. It became important in the late Hellenistic Period, and eventually fell under Nabataean rule. Rome took it in 105 A.D., with support from the Arab Ghassanid tribe (who still live in there). Today Karak is best known for the crusader's Kerak Castle.RP72143. Bronze AE 23, Spijkerman 1; Rosenberger 1; BMC Arabia p. 27, 1; Sofaer p. 157 and pl. 134, 1; Meshorer City-Coins 276 var. (retrograde rev leg); SNG ANS -, VF, nice green patina, a few pits, weight 7.750 g, maximum diameter 22.9 mm, die axis 135o, Charachmoba (Kerak, Jordan) mint, 16 May 218 - 11 Mar 222 A.D.; obverse AV K M AV ANTWNINO, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, flower (star?) in right field; reverse XAPAX MWBA, Tyche standing facing, head left, wearing kalathos, chiton, and mantle, holding rudder by tiller in right, cornucopia in left; none of the references mention the flower (or star) on the obverse, but it may have originally been present on most specimens; very rare; SOLD
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Bostra, Arabia
This type was previously attributed to Caesarea, Cappadocia but recent hoard evidence indicates it was struck in Bostra, Arabia.RY10962. Silver tridrachm, SNG ANS 1160, SNGvA 6396, Sydenham Caesarea 190a, aEF, weight 10.26 g, maximum diameter 24.8 mm, die axis 135o, Bostra (Bosra, Syria) mint, 112 - 114 A.D.; obverse AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANOC CEB ΓEPM ΔAK, laureate head right with drapery on left shoulder; reverse ΔHMAPX EΞ YΠATOC (holder of Tribunitian power, consul), distyle temple, eagle in pediment, containing cult image of Artemis of Perge; some areas with mint luster, others a little frosty, ex Edward J. Waddell; SOLD
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Struck for Use in Roman Arabia
This type was previously attributed to Caesarea, Cappadocia, but the Tell Kalak hoard and a lack of finds in Cappadocia indicate the type circulated in Arabia. Slightly more than two-thirds silver, the composition of this type is identical to contemporary Syrian tetradrachms. The weight indicates they are tridrachms, but there is no consensus as to the denomination. Sydenham and Kindler refer to them as tridrachms, McAlee as light tetradrachms, and Butcher as tetradrachms. The type has no iconographic link with Arabia and Arabian drachms are considerably more debased, typically at a 50:50 ratio of silver to bronze. RPC III notes they may have been struck in Rome for circulation in Arabia, or at least, the dies were made in Rome.RS97644. Silver tridrachm, RPC Online III 4071; Henseler 267; SNG Cop 5433 (Caesarea); SNG ANS 1161 (Caesarea); BMC Galatia p. 55, 74 (Caesarea), VF, superb "Roman" dies portrait, toned, flow lines, light bumps and scratches, reverse slightly off center, edge splits, weight 10.347 g, maximum diameter 23.7 mm, die axis 180o, Bostra (or Rome?, see note) mint, 112 - 114 A.D.; obverse AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANOC CEB ΓEPM ΔAK (Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus), laureate and draped bust right, seen from slightly behind; reverse ΔHMAPX EΞ YΠATO ς (Tribunicia Potestate Consul VI), distyle temple, podium of four steps, cult image of Artemis of Perge within, eagle standing on pediment with head left and wings open; SOLD
Julia Domna, Augusta 194 - 8 April 217 A.D., Petra, Arabia
| Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabatean Kingdom, is a famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert. UNESCO describes Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." The BBC selected Petra as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die." Accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq, it contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the "Rose City." Perhaps its most famous structure is 45m-high Al Khazneh, a temple with an ornate, Greek-style facade, and known as The Treasury. After the last Nabataean king, Rabbel II, died in 106 A.D., Trajan incorporated Nabataea into the Roman province Arabia Petraea. One of the latest known Nabataean language inscriptions, from 191 A.D., records "...This in the year 85 of the Eparchy [Roman Rule], in which Arabs destroyed the land." It seems likely that raiding Arab tribes extinguished what remained of a weakened Nabataean culture. In 747 A.D. what was left of the Nabataean cities was destroyed in a major earthquake. |  |
Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Petra, Arabia
| Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabatean Kingdom, is a famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert. UNESCO describes Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." The BBC selected Petra as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die." Accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq, it contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the "Rose City." Perhaps its most famous structure is 45m-high Al Khazneh, a temple with an ornate, Greek-style facade, and known as The Treasury. After the last Nabataean king, Rabbel II, died in 106 A.D., Trajan incorporated Nabataea into the Roman province Arabia Petraea. One of the latest known Nabataean language inscriptions, from 191 A.D., records "...This in the year 85 of the Eparchy [Roman Rule], in which Arabs destroyed the land." It seems likely that raiding Arab tribes extinguished what remained of a weakened Nabataean culture. In 747 A.D. what was left of the Nabataean cities was destroyed in a major earthquake. | |
Nabataean Kingdom, Aretas IV and Huldu, 9 B.C. - 15 or 16 A.D.
The date, at the end of the reverse legend, is off flan. We were unable to find a definite die match, but the style and epigraphy seem most similar to specimens from year 14. Until a definite die match is identified, the date will remain less than certain.GS111367. Silver drachm, cf. Barkay CN 139 (year 14), Al-Qatanani 90 (year 14), Meshorer Nabataean 86 (year 14), Cohen dated 973, VF, toned, off center, edge crack, weight 4.346 g, maximum diameter 15.9 mm, die axis 0o, Petra (Jordan) mint, 5 - 6 A.D.(?); obverse Nabataean legend, "Aretas, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people" (counterclockwise), laureate and draped bust of Aretas IV right, with long wavy hair combed behind his ears, Nabataean heth below chin; reverse Nabataean legend, "Huldu, queen of the Nabataeans, year [...]" (year off flan, perhaps 14, counterclockwise), veiled bust of Huldu right, Nabataean heth below chin; SOLD
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Bostra, Provincial Arabia
Bostra was first mentioned in the documents of Tutmose III and Akhenaton (14th century BC). Bosra was the first Nabataean city in the 2nd century B.C. The Nabataean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, a general of Trajan, in 106 A.D. Under the Roman Empire, Bosra was renamed Nova Trajana Bostra, and was the residence of the legio III Cyrenaica and capital of the Roman province Arabia Petraea. The city flourished and became a major metropolis at the juncture of several trade routes, including the Roman road to the Red Sea. The two Councils of Arabia were held at Bostra in 246 and 247 A.D. The city continued under the Byzantine Empire, was conquered by the Sassanid Persians in the early 7th century, and finally conquered by the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate under Khalid ibn Walid in the Battle of Bosra in 634.RS46939. Silver drachm, Kindler Bostra 11, Sydenham Caesarea 205, Metcalf 18, VF, nicely centered, weight 3.267 g, maximum diameter 20.4 mm, die axis 180o, Bostra (Bosra, Syria) mint, 112 - 114 A.D.; obverse AVTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANW APICTW CEB ΓEPM ΔAK, laureate and draped bust right; reverse ΔHMAPX EΞ YΠA TO Σ (holder of Tribunitian power, consul for the 6th time), Bactrian camel, with two humps, walking left on exergual line; SOLD
Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D., Kanatha, Decapolis, Provincia Arabia
Kanatha (or Canatha), 16 miles N. of Bostra, is today Qanawat, Syria. It was the Biblical Kenath, which was captured by Nobah from the Amorites (Numbers 32:42 and Judges 8:11) and taken back by Geshur and Aram. The epithet Gabinia (Γ.ABI in the reverse legend) was probably derived from Gabinius the Proconsul of Syria.SH13649. Bronze AE 19, Sofaer p. 154 & pl. 132, 7 (same dies); Rosenberger IV p. 18, 8 (same); Spijkerman p. 92, 8; SNG ANS 1267 ff., aVF, weight 2.71 g, maximum diameter 19.1 mm, die axis 0o, Kanatha (Qanawat, Syria) mint, obverse KOMO ANTONC (sic, A unbarred), laureate, draped, and cuirassed right, seen from behind; reverse ΓABI KANAΘ (A's unbarred, Θ appearing as O), bust of Athena right, draped, wearing crested Corinthian helmet; rare coin and city; SOLD
Septimius Severus, 9 April 193 - 4 February 211 A.D., Rabbathmoba-Areopolis, Arabia
Rabbathmoba (also called Areopolis or Aresopolis), on the Karak plateau, was probably the Biblical Ir-Moab conquered by Alexander Jannaeus. Its ruins are 18 kilometers north of Kerak in Jordan. Rabbath-Moba minted coins during the reigns of the Severan emperors between 193 and 222 A.D.SH73035. Bronze AE 28, Sofaer 3, SNG ANS 1414; Spijkerman p. 265, 12; Rosenberger IV 3, VF, very nice for the type, weight 11.732 g, maximum diameter 28.1 mm, die axis 180o, Rabbathmoba (near Kerak, Jordan) mint, obverse AVT KAIC Λ CEΠ CEOVHPOC CEB, laureate head right; reverse PABBAΘM-ΩBΩN APHC, cult statue of Ares standing facing in military dress, sword erect in right, spear and round shield in left, on platform with four legs set on base; rare; SOLD
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