Æ17 - Aretas IV and Shaqilath

Aretas IV ruled the Nabataean Kingdom for nearly five decades — one of the longest reigns in the dynasty's history — and his coinage is notable for the consistent inclusion of Shaqilath, his queen, making these among the earliest issues anywhere to feature a royal couple in a co-regnal capacity rather than as a purely honorific arrangement. The Nabataeans were a literate, commercially sophisticated people whose caravan networks stretched from the Hejaz to the Mediterranean, and their bronze civic coinage reflects a monetized economy rather than mere ceremonial production.

Aretas IV was the king whom the Apostle Paul narrowly escaped in Damascus, according to 2 Corinthians 11:32 — a detail that places this very coin type in active circulation during a documented biblical episode.