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Tetradrachm - Demetrius II Nicator Seleucia on the Tigris
| Issuer | Seleucid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 145 BC - 141 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15.9 g |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of Demetrius II Nicator facing right, rendered in the Hellenistic portrait tradition with finely modelled facial features and characteristically wavy hair swept back from the temples. The royal diadem, tied at the rear with trailing ends, is clearly visible across the brow. The portrait is executed in high relief with naturalistic detail, conveying the idealized yet individualised effigy typical of late Seleucid coinage. The design is enclosed within a fillet border. |
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| Mint | Seleucia on the Tigris |
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| Additional information |
Demetrius II retook the Seleucid throne from the usurper Alexander Balas in 145 BC with Ptolemaic backing — his father-in-law Ptolemy VI died in the same campaign — and immediately faced the eastern problem that had plagued the dynasty for decades. These Seleucia-on-Tigris issues date to precisely the window before the Parthians under Mithridates I drove him out of Mesopotamia entirely, capturing Demetrius himself around 141 BC. He spent roughly a decade as a Parthian prisoner, an episode almost without parallel among Hellenistic monarchs.