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Denarius
| Issuer | Sabaean Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 100-300 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Unit (ca. 400 – 150 BC) |
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| Obverse description | Diademed male head facing left, rendered in the stylized South Arabian artistic tradition. The curved symbol of Almaqah, the principal lunar deity of the Sabaean Kingdom, appears in the left field, while the symbol of Athtar, the South Arabian astral deity associated with Venus, is positioned to the right. The portrait displays characteristic ancient Yemeni die-cutting style with schematized facial features. The coin's border is plain, consistent with hammered coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Facing boukranion rendered frontally at center, depicting a bull's head with prominent horns and detailed facial features in the South Arabian artistic style. The curved symbol of Almaqah occupies the left field, while a monogram appears in the right field. The border features a dotted or beaded inner circle, typical of Sabaean silver coinage of this period. The die work displays the characteristic schematic yet bold relief of hammered ancient Arabian coinage. |
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| Additional information |
The Sabaean kingdom, centered in what is now Yemen, operated one of the ancient world's most profitable trade networks — frankincense, myrrh, and spices moving north toward the Mediterranean made South Arabia extraordinarily wealthy by the early centuries AD. Their silver coinage draws directly from Athenian prototypes, a borrowing that persisted long after Athenian owls had ceased circulating in the wider Hellenistic world. The conservatism is striking: types that would have looked archaic elsewhere were maintained in Arabia for centuries, making precise dating within broad ranges essentially impossible without die studies.