page_title: Alexander II Zabinas
section_title: War against Demetrius II
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander II Zabinas / King of Syria / War against Demetrius II
caption_attribution_description: English: 297, Lot: 80. Estimate $100. from the website: Sold for $60. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Alexander II Zabinas. 128-122 BC. Æ (15mm, 3.53 g, 1h). Antioch mint. Struck circa 125-122 BC. Head right, wearing elephant skin headdress / Aphlaston; to inner left, monogram above six-pointed star. SC 2234.1 var. (star symbol not noted); HGC 9, 1173. Good Fine, brown patina. Scarce type and perhaps unrecorded with star symbol.
context_page_description: Alexander II Theos Epiphanes Nikephoros was a Hellenistic Seleucid monarch who reigned as the King of Syria between 128 BC and 123 BC. His true parentage is debated; most ancient historians and the modern academic consensus maintain he was a pretender who claimed to be a Seleucid, either a son of Alexander I or an adopted son of Antiochus VII. His surname "Zabinas" is a Semitic name that is usually translated as "the bought one". It is possible, however, that Alexander II was a natural son of Alexander I, as the surname can also mean "bought from the god". The iconography of Alexander II's coinage indicates he based his claims to the throne on his descent from Antiochus IV, the father of Alexander I.
  Alexander II's rise is connected to the dynastic feuds of the Seleucid Empire. Both King Seleucus IV and his brother Antiochus IV had descendants contending for the throne, leading the country to experience many civil wars. The situation was complicated by Ptolemaic Egyptian interference, which was facilitated by the dynastic marriages between the two royal houses.
context_section_description: Between August 127 BC and August 126 BC, Ptolemy VIII regained Alexandria; Cleopatra II fled to Demetrius II with the treasury of Egypt. Despite Alexander II's success in taking the capital, Demetrius II retained Cilicia, and Seleucia Pieria remained loyal to him, so did many cities in Coele-Syria; this led Alexander II to launch a campaign in the region. The armies of the two kings passed through Judea causing a plight for the inhabitants. This led the Jews to send an embassy to Rome demanding "the prohibition of the marching of royal soldiers through the Jewish territory 'and that of their subjects'"; the embassy was between c. 127-125 BC. By October 126 BC, Ashkelon fell into Alexander II's hands. Numismatic evidence indicates that Samaria came under Alexander II's control. In the beginning of 125 BC, Demetrius II was defeated near Damascus and fled to Ptolemais. Cleopatra Thea refused to allow her husband to stay in the city, so he headed to Tyre on board a ship. Demetrius II asked for temple asylum in Tyre, but was killed by the city's commander (praefectus) in the spring or summer of 125 BC.
  Alexander II minted bronze coins depicting him with an elephant scalp headdress on the obverse, and an aphlaston appears on the reverse; this can mean that Alexander II claimed a naval victory. The sea battle between Alexander II and Demetrius II, which is not documented in ancient literature, may have occurred only during the voyage of Demetrius II from Ptolemais to Tyre. The elephant scalp headdress was a theme in Alexander the Great's posthumous coinage minted by his successors. According to Ehling, by appearing with the elephant scalp, Alexander II alluded to Alexander the Great's conquest of Tyre which took place in 332 BC after seven months of siege. The 125 BC gold staters containing Alexander II's epithets were probably struck to celebrate his victory over Demetrius II.
caption: Bronze coin of Alexander II probably struck to celebrate his naval victory over Demetrius II
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