Judea (Ancient)
Mattatayah Antigonus (Mattatayah). 40-37 BCE. AE 8-Prutot (13.75 g). Jerusalem. 'Mattatayah the High Priest and Council of the Jews' (Paleo-Hebrew), double cornucopiae. Reverse: {BACIAΛEΩC} ANTIΓONOY, ivy wreath tied with ribbons. Hendin 1162; TJC 36c AJC U. Attractive light green patina. A very choice example. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $500
In 40 BCE, at the head of a Parthian army, Mattathias Antigonus drove Herod the Great and his puppet, the Hasmonaean ethnarch, John Hyrcanus II, out of Jerusalem and was proclaimed king and High Priest by the Parthians and his Jewish supporters. Unfortunately, the wily Herod was not so easily defeated and returned in 39 BCE armed with recognition as the Roman client-king of Judaea. The hapless Mattathias was ultimately defeated and crucified for his troubles, leaving Judaea to begin a new period in its troubled history under the often hated Herodian dynasty.