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Trichalkon - Alexander I Balas
| Issuer | Seleucid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 150 BC - 146 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of Alexander I Balas facing right, rendered in the Hellenistic portrait tradition with delicate facial features. The royal diadem is tied at the nape, its ends falling behind the head. The portrait is set within a plain, unadorned field typical of Seleucid bronze coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Alexander I Balas seized the Seleucid throne by claiming to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes — a claim almost certainly fabricated, and one that Rome and Pergamon chose to endorse anyway, purely to destabilize Demetrius I. His reign lasted only until 145 BC, when he was defeated by Demetrius II and fled to Arabia, where he was murdered by his own father-in-law. The bronze coinage of his reign, struck at multiple Syrian mints, reflects the administrative ambition of a ruler whose political position was shakier than his output suggests.