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Herodian coinage

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Herodian coinage were coins minted and issued by the Herodian Dynasty, Jews of Idumean descent who ruled the province of Judaea between 37 BC – 92 AD. The dynasty was founded by Herod the Great who was the son of Antipater, a powerful official under the Hasmonean King Hyrcanus II.

Herod the Great, 37–4 BC

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Largest coin of Herod the Great
(Obverse) Second largest coin of Herod. Greek letter Chi within a diadem
(Reverse) coin of Herod. Ceremonial bowl on a tripod

The coinage of Herod the Great continued the Jewish tradition of not depicting a graven image. However, a prutah of Herod was the first coin since the Persian period to depict a living creature—an eagle, which may have been an allusion to the golden eagle that Herod erected over the entrance to the Second Temple, and which caused such great offence to the Jews.

Other objects depicted on coins of Herod include a winged caduceus and pomegranate ('rimmôn'), one of the seven species mentioned in the Bible as blessings to the Land of Israel, a plumed helmet and shield, a ship's stern and a palm branch. The largest denomination coin issued by Herod, bears a year, "year 3", and displays a series of unusual designs, such as a helmet with long cheek pieces, surmounted by a star. The second largest denomination features a crested helmet and a shield, as well as the Greek letter Chi within a diadem and a tripod holding a ceremonial bowl. These designs are surrounded by the Greek inscription Ancient Greek: 'ΗΡΩΔΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ' (of Herod Basileus, Of King Herod).

The Greek letter Chi representing the "crown of Kehunah (High Priest)" and the diadem representing the "crown of Malchus (Kingness)" (BT: Horayot, Keritot) are taken to mean that Herod claimed both offices for himself.[1]

The most common prutah issued by Herod the Great is similar in design to that of the Hashmonean coinage, an anchor with Greek inscription "ΉΡωΔ ΒΆCΙ" (King Herod), and a caduceus between double cornucopiae,[2] which was meant as a continuation of the Hashmonean coinage as well as a continuation of the Hasmonean dynasty. However, Herod used only the Greek script on his coins, not the dual Greek and Hebrew method of the Hasmoneans.[3]

Coin of Herod Archelaus

Herod Archelaus, 4 BC – 6 AD

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The most common coins of Herod Archelaus are small prutot depicting a bunch of grapes, also one of the seven species, and a crested helmet with his name (Herod) and title (Ethnarch) in Greek (ΗΡΩΔ ΕΘΝ ), and a ship's prow and wreath with his name and title abbreviated. Grapes were commonly depicted on Jewish coins, serving as s reminder of the fertility of the country. Other coins of Archelaus showed the bow of a ship and a laurel wreath.[4]

A rare double prutah of Herod Archelaus depicts a galley and conjoined double cornucopiae, also inscribed in Greek with his name and title.[5]

Coin of Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas, 6/5 BC de jure, 1 BC de facto, to AD 38/39

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The coinage of Herod Antipas is rather rare, and can be divided into four categories: i) coins dated 'year 24' with the inscription 'ΤΙΒΕΡΙΑC' (Tiberias), where the coins were minted, contained within a wreath on the reverse; ii) coins from the years 33, 34 or 37, which also have the inscription 'ΤΙΒΕΡΙΑC' on the reverse; iii) coins dated 'year 43' with the inscription ΓΑΙΩ ΚΑΙCΑΡΙ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΩ (Gaius Caesar Germanicus) on the reverse; iv) only one known example of a coin dated 'year 4' with the inscription ΤΕΤΡΑ—ΗCΔ, ΗΡΩ[Δ].[6]

The coinage of Herod Antipas was minted in four denominations, with the inscription 'ΤΙΒΕΡΙΑC' on the reverse within a wreath for those minted in his years 24, 33, 34, and 37. The obverse has the Greek inscription "Herod the Tetrarch" (ΗΡΩΔΟΥ ΤΕΤΡΑΡΧΟΥ) with an upright palm branch.[7] A variant type depicted an upright reed.

Antipas's coins have been used to date his reign, and the dates they give are not in complete correspondence with the dates given in the older Herodian chronology, that of Emil Schürer, particularly with Schürer's dates for the beginning of his reign.[8] Antipas's ending date of reign, AD 39, can be established quite definitely by dating the time that Gaius Caesar (Caligula) banished Antipas and his wife to Gaul. Before coming to Rome to seek Gaius's favor, Antipas had his year 43 coin minted that honored the emperor. However, upon arriving in Rome, Herod Agrippa (I) turned the emperor against Antipas, so that Gaius banished Antipas and his wife to Gaul. This must have been before the fall of AD 39, because Gaius left for Gaul in the fall of that year, not returning until August 31, AD 40.[9] According to the Judean way of reckoning that started the regnal year in the fall month of Tishri,[10] this would have been in the Judean calendar year that started in the fall of AD 38. This can be written as AD 38t (the 't' for Tishri) in the calculation to determine when Antipas reckoned has reign to begin. That year would be AD 38t - 43 - 1 (no year zero) = 6t BC,[11] that is, the Judean governmental year that began in Tishri of 6 BC. Notice that this is before the date of 4 BC given by Schürer,[12] and also before the 4 BC date that Filmer, by somewhat inexact calculations, said marked the de jure time to which Herod's sons antedated their reigns, whereas their de facto reigns began on the death of their father in early 1 BC.[13] This rather surprising result comes not only from the date coins of Herod Antipater; it also agrees with the dates derived from the dated (year-number) coins of Philip.

Although none of the coins of Herod Archelaus bears a year number, dating his ten years of reign back from his final year, AD 5t (before his banishment to Vienna in the spring of AD 6) gives AD 5t - 10 - 1 (no year zero) = 6t BC. All the dated coins of the Herodians who succeeded Herod the Great are in agreement on this date to which they antedated their reigns, which was approximately four years before the death of their father in early 1 BC.

Philip, 6/5 BC de jure, 1 BC de facto, to AD 32/33

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The coins of Philip are mostly bronze of middle-size. He was the first Jewish ruler to put portraits of himself and the Roman Emperors on his coinage. Philip issued coins in eight series, dated years 5, 12, 16, 19, 30, 34, and 37. These dates establish that the year-figures on the coins refer to the years he reckoned for his tetrarchy, not the years of the reigning Roman emperor, as assumed by one writer.[5]. That all the Herodians reckoned according to their assumed years of reign instead of the years of the emperor is the common assumption of modern numismatists, and the coins of Philip actually establish this as the correct view, in the following way. Philip's "year 19" coin has a portrait of the Emperor Augustus, with the Greek inscription TIB KAICAPI ΣEBAΣ, "for Tib[erius] Caesar Augustus" on the obverse, and ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ ΤΕΤΡΑΡΧΟΥ, "of Philip the Tetrarch," on the reverse, followed by L (for 'year') and the number 19. "It likely commemorates Tiberius's ascension to the imperial throne on September 18, AD 14, following the death of Augustus on August 19, AD 14. The coin was probably issued not long after the news of Tiberius's accession reached Judea. Taking this as the Judean year AD 14t would place Philips first year as 6t BC [i.e., the Judean Tishri-based year beginning in Tishri of 6 BC]. Thus, upon hearing of Tiberius’s accession sometime on October or November of AD 14, it is likely that Philip issued the coin in that year or early in AD 15[14] Since Philip's year 19 coin can be dated to a time in the reign of Augustus, likely immediately after news of his appointment as emperor in AD 14, Philip's year 37 coin cannot refer to the 37th year of Caesar Augustus, who did indeed reign more than 37 years (27 BC to AD 14), and further cannot refer to a regnal year of Tiberius, who only reigned 22 years. This puts the final year of Philips tetrarchy in AD 32t, that is, the Judean civil year that began on Tishri 1 of AD 32 and ended the day before Tishri 1 of AD 33. He therefore considered that his 37-year tetrarchy began in AD 32t - 37 - 1 (no year zero) = 6t BC, that is, the year beginning in Tishri 6 BC. This year is exactly consistent with the time that the other Herodians who succeeded Herod the Great began their reign, as will be shown when the same analysis of their dated coins is applied to these other Herodians. It is uncertain whether his father Herod actually assigned Philip the tetrarchy of Iturea and Trachonitis at this time, or whether he actually began his tetrarchy on the death of his father in 1 BC according to the more modern scholarship[15], or 4 BC according to the older (1890) study of Schürer.[16]

The dated coins of the Herodians establish contemporary evidence that, whether Schürer’s now superseded date for the death of Herod (4 BC) or the 1 BC date of more modern scholarship is taken, all of Herod's successors gave the de jure date for the beginning of their reigns as some time before the death of Herod the Great. Steinmann explains why Herod’s heirs antedated their reigns to the Jewish calendar year that began in Tishri of 6 BC in the following summary:

Given the explicit statements of Josephus about the authority and honor Herod had granted his sons during the last years of his life, we can understand why all three of his successors decided to antedate their reigns to the time when they were granted a measure of royal authority while their father was still alive. Although they were not officially recognized by Rome as ethnarch or tetrarchs until after Herod’s death, they nevertheless appear to have reckoned their reigns from 6t BC[17]

Philip's year 37 coin has also proved to be important in settling a controversy regarding the length of his reign:

Determining Philip's accession year from the texts of Josephus turns out to be problematic, largely due to textual questions in the relevant Josephan passages . . . The total years of Philip's reign is also called into question, with many manuscripts giving 37 years, but others giving 32 and 36 years. In light of these variables, it will be more convenient to use the numismatic data in determining the Philip's starting and ending dates. The advantage of coins is that they are a primary source of information, unlike manuscripts that are copies of copies over periods of centuries and are subject to intentional and unintentional scribal emendations.[18]

Herod Agrippa I, 37–44 AD

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Most common prutah of Agrippa I (Obverse). Inscription "of king Agrippa"
Prutah of Agrippa I (Reverse), inscription "year 5"

Agrippa I was the son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and was a grandson of Herod the Great. Agrippa spent much of his boyhood at the Imperial court in Rome. His friend, the Emperor Caligula, granted him the former territories of his uncles Philip and Herod Antipas. The Emperor Claudius later also added Judaea. The most common prutah issued by Agrippa I shows a royal fringed umbrella-like canopy on the obverse, with the inscription 'ΑΓΡΙΠΑ BACIΛEΩC' ('King Agrippa') in Greek, while the reverse shows three ears of barley between two leaves with the year. All the other coins of Herod Agrippa I contain graven images, with portraits of the Emperor or even of Agrippa himself. A very rare issue has a portrait of Agrippa with his son Agrippa II on horseback.[19]

Herod Agrippa II, 55–92 AD

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Agrippa II was the last ruler of the Herodian Dynasty. His coins include both Jewish and pagan symbolism. A Jewish type, for example, depicts a palm branch on the obverse with the inscription 'ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΥ KAICAPOC' (Claudius Caesar) in Greek, and a wreath on the reverse surrounding the inscription 'TIBERIAC' ('Tiberias'), also in Greek. In 66 AD he issued a prutah showing his own bust on the obverse with the Greek inscription 'ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΟΥ' (King Agrippa). The coin's reverse depicts an anchor with the letters L and I on either side, giving the tenth year of the king's reign.[20] Agrippa II also minted a 'Judaea Capta' coin. This large bronze coin was minted at Tiberias and shows a portrait of Titus on the obverse with the Greek inscription ' KAICAP CEBAC AVTOKP TITOC', while the reverse depicts the goddess Nike advancing right holding a wreath and palm branch over her shoulder, with a star in upper right field and the inscription 'ETO – KC BA ΑΓΡΙ-PPA'.

Another coin of Agrippa was issued in the name of Claudia, the daughter of Nero. These coins show a temple with a seated figure within and the inscription 'DIVA POPPAEA AVG' on the obverse, while the reverse shows a round temple with a female figure standing within and the Greek inscription 'DIVA CLAVD NER F'.

Salome

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Although not a ruler of Judaea, Salome is included here because she was a granddaughter of Herod the Great and therefore was a member of the Herodian Dynasty. As the queen of Chalcis and Armenia Minor she appeared on the reverse of coinage issued by her husband, Aristobulus of Chalcis. Minted in 56-57 AD, only three copies of this coin, all quite worn, have been discovered to date.[21]

The obverse depicts Aristobulus with the Greek inscription 'BACIΛEΩC APIΣΤΟΒΟΥΛΟΥ' (King Aristobulus), while the reverse shows Salome and, on one example, the Greek inscription 'BACIΛIC ΣΑΛΩΜΗ' (Queen Salome).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ancient Jewish Coinage, Ya'akov Meshorer
  2. ^ Handbook of Biblical Numismatics pg 9
  3. ^ Reifenberg, A. Ancient Jewish Coins, 1965, p.18
  4. ^ "Article on King Herod Archelaus". Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  5. ^ a b Handbook of Biblical Numismatics pg 10
  6. ^ Morten Hørning Jensen, 'Herod Antipas in Galilee' Pub.by Mohr Siebeck (2006) pg203
  7. ^ Jensen (2006, p. 204)
  8. ^ Emil Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, 5 vols., trans. John Macpherson (reprint: Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009), 1.416.
  9. ^ Suetonius, Life of Caligua 8, 49.
  10. ^ Andrew E. Steinmann and Rodger C. Young, "Elapsed Times for Herod the Great in Josephus", Bibliotheca Sacra 177 (2020), 313-14. Online at https://rcyoung.org/articles/Antedating.pdf; accessed January 11, 2025.
  11. ^ In this calculation, accession-year or non-inclusive counting is done. That this was the method used by Josephus and the Herodians was firmly established by W. E. Filmer, "The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great," Journal of Theological Studies ns17 (1966): 293, 296.
  12. ^ Schürer 1890/2009, p. 1.465)
  13. ^ Filmer (1966, p. 291-92).
  14. ^ Andrew E. Steinmann and Rodger C. Young, "Dating the Death of Herod and the Reigns of His Sons," Bibliotheca Sacra 178 (Oct.-Dec. 2021): 450. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  15. ^ Filmer (1966, p. 293). O. Edwards, "Herodian Chronology," Palestinian Exploration Quarterly 114 (1982) 29-42. Ernest L. Martin, "The Nativity and Herod's Death," in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan, eds. Jerry Vardaman and Edwin Yamauchi (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 91. Jack Finegan Handbook of Biblical Chronology, rev. ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998), 300. Andrew E. Steinmann, From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology 2nd. ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2024), 196-200.
  16. ^ Schürer & 1890/2002, p. 1.465)
  17. ^ Steinmann (2024, p. 205)
  18. ^ Steinmann and Young (2021, p. 14)
  19. ^ Handbook of Biblical Numismatics pg 11
  20. ^ Larry Joseph Kreitzer, Striking New Images: Roman Imperial Coinage and the New Testament World Pub. by Continuum International Publishing Group (1996) pg 22
  21. ^ New Portrait of Salome 1 January 2004 Archived 4 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
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