ANTIOCHOS VI (SELEUKID) AE21______Disposed of by Diodotus______ELEPHANT WALKING

Description

27H085
FRASCATIUS ANCIENTS
A BEAUTIFUL BRONZE GREEK COIN OF ANTIOCHOS VI OF THE SELEUKID KINGDOM FROM 145 - 142 BC .
In 142 BC, Diodotus deposed and succeeded him and in 138 BC announced that he had contracted an internal disease and supposedly required surgery, which was presumably used to cover his murder at his supposed benefactor's bequest.
THE SIZE IS 21.4 MM AND 7.78 GRAMS.
SNG Cop 304-07, SC 2006
OBVERSE – Radiate and diademed head of Antiochos VI right, wreathed with ivy
REVERSE – Elephant left, holding torch with raised trunk
ANTIOCHOS VI
Antiochus VI Dionysus (148–138 BC), king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt.
Antiochus VI did not actually rule. He was nominated in 145 BC by the general Diodotus Tryphon as heir to the throne in opposition to Demetrius II, and remained the general's tool. In 142 BC, Diodotus deposed and succeeded him and in 138 BC announced that he had contracted an internal disease and supposedly required surgery, which was presumably used to cover his murder at his supposed benefactor's bequest.
SELEUKID EMPIRE
The Seleukid Empire (312-63 BC) was the vast political entity established by Seleukos I Nicator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great who claimed a part of his empire after Alexander's death in 323 BC.
When Alexander died, he left no certain successor to his kingdom but, allegedly, claimed it should go to “the strongest”. This resulted in the conflict between his top generals known as the Wars of the Diadochi (successors) which would divide Alexander's vast territory between five of them: Kassander, Ptolemy I Soter, Lysimachus, Antigonus, and Seleukos.
Of the four, Seleukos was arguably the most successful in that he accomplished what Alexander had set out to do: the creation of a multi-national empire which merged eastern and western cultures harmoniously. The Seleukid Empire, at first, was marked by religious and cultural tolerance, efficient bureaucracy, lucrative trade, and expansion through military campaign, creating a realm stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus Valley.
As with Rome, however, the vast expanse of the empire, and the desire for autonomy of many of the different regions, eventually became too great for the central government to control and the Seleukid Empire began to fracture. Adding to its problems was the rise of Rome as a Mediterranean superpower which could not tolerate another and more significantly, the loss of Seleukid I's original vision by his successors. The Seleukid Empire began to crumble after 100 BC and was finally toppled by Rome through the efforts of its general Pompey the Great in 63 BC.
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