Tetradrachm - Antiochos VII

Antiochos VII came to the Seleucid throne in 138 BC by sailing from Rhodes with a mercenary force, exploiting the chaos created when the Parthians captured his brother Demetrios II. These early tetradrachms — struck within the first year of his reign at Antioch — predate his ambitious eastern campaigns, which briefly reversed Parthian advances before ending in his death in battle in 129 BC. He remains the last Seleucid king to mount a credible challenge to Parthian expansion.