Obverse: Hebrew Legend Translated as “Yehohanan the High Priest and the Community of Jews” Reverse: Double Cornucopias with Pomegranate between Horns . The ancient Kingdom of Judea reached the height of its power during the reign of the Maccabean (or Hasmonean) King Alexander Jannaeus, who ruled Ancient Israel from 103-76 B.C. The youngest son of Jehohanan Hyrcanus, Jannaeus was imprisoned for a year by his oldest brother, Aristobulus. Released by his widowed sister-in-law, Salome, whom he later married, Alexander conquered a series of coastal cities from Gaza to Carmel, extending Judean control from the Mediterranean to Gadara across the Jordan River. He ruled more territory than any Judean king since the time of Solomon. Yet he faced mounting criticism from Jews inside Jerusalem for embracing the increasing Hellenization of the Near East. Eventually, a civil war erupted between those forces loyal to Jannaeus and the pious rebels who enlisted the aid of King Demetrios of Syria. Whose Kingdom, the Seleucids, once ruled the lands of Judea and Samaria before Maccabean Independence. However, after being led to a stunning victory by Demetrios’ forces, the rebels soon realized that the Syrian army planned to march onwards into Jerusalem and they rallied around their King Jannaeus. In the end, Alexander met his fate on the battlefield, on the outskirts of Gadara, ever battling to secure the borders of his Kingdom. These coins include inscriptions in hebrew . Depicted on the obverse, the pomegranate was one of the seven celebrated products of Israel and among the fruits that brought to the temple as offerings of the first-fruits. Two hundred pomegranates decorated each of the two columns in the temple and were an integral part of the sacred vestment of the High Priest, as bells and pomegranates were suspended from his mantle.
WHO CAN SAY WHO MIGHT FIRST HAVE HELD THIS BRONZE COIN IN ANCIENT JUDAEA? PERHAPS IT WAS A COURTIER, WITNESS TO THE INTRIGUES OF THE ROYAL PALACE. IT MAY HAVE BEEN A MERCHANT WHO TRADED RARE SILKS IN THE MARKETS OF JERUSALEM OR A DANCING GIRL WHO PERFORMED INFRONT OF THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM.