Bronze Coin of Nabatean King Aretas IV, 9 BCE
Bronze and Gold
FJ.2895
Aretas IV, shown here in a double portrait with his queen Shuquailat, was the greatest king to rule the Nabateans. During his reign, the trading empire on the edge of...
Aretas IV, shown here in a double portrait with his queen Shuquailat, was the greatest king to rule the Nabateans. During his reign, the trading empire on the edge of the Arabian desert flourished both politically and culturally. That abundance is symbolized by the two cornucopiae that adorn the reverse of this coin. To wear it today in its frame of radiant gold is to touch upon the magic and mystery of a vanished world.