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Prutah - Alexander Jannaeus
| Issuer | Judea |
|---|---|
| Year | 104 BC - 76 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.15 g |
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| Obverse description | Paleo-Hebrew inscription arranged in multiple lines within a wreath. The legend reads the royal and priestly title of the Hasmonean ruler Yehonatan (Alexander Jannaeus), inscribed in ancient Paleo-Hebrew script. The wreath encircles the field, serving as the primary decorative border element. The flan is irregularly shaped, as characteristic of struck Hasmonean bronze coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Paleo-Hebrew |
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| Additional information |
Alexander Jannaeus was the first Hasmonean ruler to mint coins with a Hebrew inscription on one face and a Greek inscription on the other — a deliberate bilingual policy reflecting the dual cultural pressures his kingdom navigated. His reign saw Judea expand to its greatest territorial extent since Solomon, funded in part by near-constant military campaigning. The prutah was the workhorse of that economy, struck in enormous quantities across roughly three decades of rule.
Jannaeus faced violent domestic opposition from the Pharisees; according to Josephus, he crucified 800 of them in a single episode. Some scholars have connected periods of die variety proliferation to specific political crises during his reign, though attribution remains contested.