cf. NAC, auction70, lot 153 (in xf CHF 2.750 + 18%) | Abkürzungen
17,00 mm
weight 3,96gr. | silver Ø 17mm.
obv. Turred head of Kybele right A•PLAVTIVS AED•CVR•S•C• rev. ″Bacchius the Jew″ (the jewish high priest Aristobulus II) in attitude of supplication, kneeling right beside camel, presenting olive-branch, BACCHIVS in exergue, IVDAEVS on right
Aulus Plautius strikes as Curule Aedile The curule aediles, were the magistrates responsible for the care and supervision of the markets. They also issued edicts. This type refers to the submission of Aristobulus II, younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, to Pompeius Magnus in 63 BC Aristobulus brought a train of camels loaded with gold as part of his "peace offering." after Magnus intervened on the side of Aristobulus in the civil war of 66-63 BC. This offering included, according to Josephus, the gigantic golden vine that had been set up in front of the temple doors to the Temple of Solomon. In 66 BC at the outset of civil war in Judea, whilst under seige from his older brother (and rightful ruler) Hyrcanus, rebel Aristobulus managed to send an envoy to Pompey′s representative in Syria, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus. The Jewish leader promised about 8,000 kg of silver, a bribe of roughly two million denarii, in exchange for Roman intervention, the pretext for Roman intervention was ostensibly that Aristobulus′ rival (and brother) Hyrcanus had enlisted in the aid of the Persians. When Pompey arrived on the scene, he received an even larger present: Aristobulus sent him a golden vine of weighing some 800 kg, which Pompey forwarded to the temple of Jupiter in Rome. Shortly afterwards, however, Pompey had Aristobulus arrested, ending his rivalry for the kingship held by Hyrcanus. Aristobulus had either had the gall (if he was lying) or the naiveté (if he was truthful) to accuse Scaurus of extorting the two million denarii bribe from him in exchange for Roman assistance. The golden vine is mentioned by Strabo as being in Rome during time time of Augustus, so evidently no attempt was made to repatriate the golden relic given away to the Romans by a rebel usurper. This Roman intervention in Judean affairs would continue to take on a more ominous note over the next hundred and thirty years, while more and more of Judaea′s golden treasures wound up.In about 55 BC the Roman moneyer Aulus Plautius issued a denarius with a peculiar reference to Judaism in its reverse inscription. Its obverse bears a turreted head of Kybele, probably a reference to the Megalesian games, sponsored by Rome′s curule aediles, a title Plautius included on his coin. The reverse shows a man kneeling aside a camel, extending an olive branch to a Roman soldier. The legend inscribed on the reverse, is ″BACCHIVS IVDAEUS″ (Bacchius Judaeus). When Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, the two sons of Alexander Jannaeus, were engaged in civil war over the office of High Priest of Judea, Herod Antipater intervened on behalf of Hyrcanus, convincing Aretas to provide an army to assist Hyrcanus. The Roman general Scaurus, military tribune under Pompey, was at this time in Syria, having just taken part in the campaign resulting in the surrender of Tigranes the Great. Freed from this task, Scaurus took the opportunity to enrich himself by intervening in this Judean dispute. Just when Aretas had mobilized troops on behalf of Hyrcanus, Scaurus arrived and threatened Aretas with Pompey′s army. There was no actual battle between Scaurus and Aretas the King merely paid a tribute/bribe of 300 talents to Scaurus, who then moved on to Damascus. Pompey later arrived in Jerusalem and heard arguments from the rival brothers, eventually siding with Hyrcanus. Aristobulus fled, but was tracked down, captured, and taken to Rome as a prisoner. A few years later in 57 BC, Aristobulus escaped from Rome, returned to Judea and raised another army. He was again defeated, captured and sent to Rome in late 56 or early 55 BC, where he was imprisoned by decree of the Roman Senate. Thus Aristobulus was in the Roman news right at the moment when Aulus Plautius issued the second Roman coin to show an eastern leader submitting to Rome by extending an olive branch next to a camel. This current event allowed Plautius, general under Pompey at the time of the first capture of Aristobulus, to link himself with the war hero Pompey through a conquest now fresh in the minds of the Roman Senate and through parallel association with Scaurus′s coin of three years earlier. Bacchius of Judea, on the reverse of the denarius of Aulus Plautius, can with confidence be identified as Aristobulus II (100 - 49 BC), Jewish king and high priest of Judea from 66 to 63 BC. His reign brought an end to the independent Jewish state and marked the beginning of Roman rule over the Jews. The coin shows that Plautius and the Senate either equated YHWH with Bacchus or believed that Aristobulus worshiped Bacchus or equated these gods. That Aristobulus did in fact equate Bacchus and YHWH seems plausible, if not probable, based on Josephus, 2nd Maccabees and archaeological evidence. Thus it is likely that the coin′s reverse inscription, "BACCHIUS IVDAEVS," accurately reflects the defeat and capture of a Jewish high priest of Bacchus. In the aftermath, client kings such as Herod the Great, or governors such as Pontius Pilate, ruled the Jews on behalf of Rome until the Jews were driven out of Jerusalem and its environs after a series of revolts in the first and second centuries AD.
cf. NAC, auction70, lot 153 (in xf CHF 2.750 + 18%) Crawford 431/1 | Sydenham 932 | Albert 1359 | Sear 395 Wonderful coin with attractive tone and fine details. xf-/xf
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