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As
a youth, Alexander was taught by Aristotle. Upon the
assassination of his father in 336BC, Alexander became the King of
Macedonia at age 20. His army quickly conquered the Greek states and he
then set off across Asia.
With brilliant military and political tactics he soon conquered
Egypt,
where he founded the city of Alexandria, and the Persian Empire.
He
continued conquering all in his path. In 326BC he reached
India. There his army, weary from the endless fighting,
tropical rains and from being away from home, mutinied, refusing to go
any further. Alexander
was forced to return to Susa, the capital of the former Persian
Empire.
He died three years later, after a prolonged banquet and drinking
binge.
Until his reign, Greek coins did not show mortals. But Alexander sought
to
proclaim himself as a God. On his coins Alexander portrayed
himself
as Hercules, dressed in a lion's skin. The obverse of these
silver coins of Alexander features the head of Alexander dressed as
Hercules. The reverse shows Zeus seated. We offer three
attractive silver coins of Alexander the Great, struck during his
lifetime or shortly after his death. The Tetradrachm , which is
equivalent to 4 Drachms, the Drachm, and the tiny and scarce (11mm)
Hemidrechm, or half drachm. All three have the same basic design
and are struck in high relief. All are guaranteed to be genuine
and date between about 336 and 310BC.Modern Greek Coin Set includes Alexander the
Great portrait
ROMAN EMPEROR AURELIAN - THE FATHER
OF CHRISTMAS?
Emperor Aurelian ruled Rome from 270 to 275AD. In
274AD he proclaimed December 25, a holiday to honor Saturnus, the Roman
harvest god, and Mithras, the ancient god of light. Christians in third
century Rome were frequently persecuted, so being seen celebrating a
Christian festival was dangerous. It became a tradition of early
Christians to celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25, the occasion of
this new, official public holiday. Thus Emperor Aurelian, a pagan,
became known as the “father of Christmas” He is pictured on this
bronze Antoninianus coin issued during his reign. The reverse
pictures
a Roman deity. The coin grades Fine.
LAST BYZANTINE
COIN OF ALEXANDERIA
This bronze 12 Nummia
coin of Emperor Heraclius was one of the last Byzantine coins minted in
Alexandria, Egypt before it fell to the armies of the newly organized
armies of Islam. Heraclius became Emperor of the (Eastern) Roman
Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, in 610AD, when he overthrew
the unpopular and incompetent Phocas. The empire was torn by
internal dissension and was being attacked by its enemies. Early
in Heraclius’s reign Damascus, Jerusalem and the Holy Land was lost to
the Sassanid (Persian) Empire. Heraclius stripped the churches of
Constantinople of their gold to finance an expanded reorganized
military. After years of war he defeated the Sassanians in 628AD
and regained the lost territories. The victory was to be
short-lived however. The nearly constant warring between
Byzantine and Sassanid Empires left them both weakened and
vulnerable. The Arab tribes, united and filled with religious
zeal under the newly established Islamic religion, soon conquered the
weakened Sassanians and defeated the larger but exhausted Byzantine
army. By the time of Heraclius’s death in 641AD Syria and
Jerusalem were lost as well as most of Egypt to the armies of
Islam. Alexandria fell the following year. The coin
pictures Heraclius, and his son, Heraclius Constantine on the
obverse. The reverse has the Alexandria mint name and the
denomination in Greek. 
These 13th
century silver coins of the
Crusaders have something for
everyone. They are Crusader copies of Islamic coins that feature
a
Star-of-David! The coins were struck by the Crusaders at Tripoli
(Tarablus, Lebanon) from about 1220 to 1240AD. In order to
simplify
trade with neighboring Muslim kingdoms, the Crusaders simply copied the
then widely circulating coins of al-Zahir Ghazi that had been struck in
Aleppo (Halab, Syria). The Crusader versions however used
fictitious
dates and blundered legends. We offer both the silver 1/2 Dirhem
and 1
Dirhem. The 1/2 Dirham is a smaller, though much scarcer, coin. The
coins grade Very Good or better, however they are poorly struck, with
part of the design either off the flan or not struck-up.
They are
interesting and historic coins from the Holy Land.
Saladin, foe of Richard the
Lionheart and the Crusaders
was a Kurd who
founded the Ayyubid Dynasty. His diplomatic skills, backed by
well-disciplined army enabled him to gain control of Egypt, Palestine
and Syria from Islamic as well as
Christian opponents. Even his
opponents admired him for his chivalry, justice and piety. The
silver Dirham of Salidin was minted between 1174 and 1193AD at his mint
in Damascus. The coin grades Fine, though it will have some dark
spots and be weakly struck in some area. 
James (Jaime) I, known as
James The Conqueror, was the most renowned
medieval King of Aragon (Spain). He ascended to the throne in
1213 at
the age of five. He was trained and educated by the Knights
Templars.
He was fearless warrior and capable monarch that greatly expanded the
Aragon Kingdom during his 63 year reign.. This base-silver Denar
was
struck by James in Valencia. The coin features a crude portrait
of the
monarch.
This
bronze Jital was struck in Kuruzwan, a city in Central Asia,
in 1221AD while the city was under siege by the Mongol Armies of
Ghenghiz Khan. Kuruzwan was a major mint and trade center
of the Khwarezm
Empire. Ghenghiz Khan attacked the Khwarezm Empire in revenge for
an
attack
on a caravan of merchants under his protection. His revenge included
the
massacre of a substantial portion of the population and the siege and
destruction of most major towns. The city of Kuruzwan fell to the
Mongols after about two months and most of the remaining inhabitants
were slaughtered. As
might be expected under such severe circumstances, the coins are
crudely struck,
with many being partially off-center or unevenly struck. This is one of
the
few identifiable "siege" coins of the Islamic world and is a scarce and
interesting
reminder of this violent period in history. Because the coin was
minted
for about two months, few examples are available today. 
Jalal al-Din Mangubarni (Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu,
Jalal-ud-din Mangubirni) achieved almost mythical proportions in his
fight against Ghenghiz Khan. He assumed
command over the Khwarizm Empire in 1220AD, a kingdom in Afghanistan
and Iran, after the Mongols executed his father. He assembled an Afghan
coalition that decisively defeated the Mongols under Ghenghiz Khan.
However the coalition quickly collapsed in arguments over the division
of the spoils. The Mongols then went after him, forcing him to
retreat to the Indus River. Tradition has it that though he was
outnumbered 50 to one, he continued his fierce attacks against
the Mongols. Eventually the Mongols closed in, and only he and a
few followers were able to escape across the river into India.
There he assembled a new army, which was financed by raids on the
treasuries of nearby kingdoms. This base silver Jital was minted
by Mangubarni, probably in Nandana, while he was in India, between 1221
and 1224AD. In 1224AD he and his army left India. He gained
control over parts of Iran, and the Mongols resume their pursuit of
him. He was pursued through Iran, Iraq, Georgia and into Turkey.
In 1231 he was probably by Kurdish bandits who did not know who he
was! Coins of Mangubarni are rare, however we recently purchased
a group so can offer them at a reasonable price - until we run
out. The coins grade Very Fine, though may have spots.
The Golden
Horde were the successors of
Ghenghiz Khan that ruled much of Russia, Central Asia and Eastern
Europe from the mid-13th century until the early 15th century.
Following the Black Death in 1346 and internal fighting the horde
declined and disintegrated. Though the Horde may have been
golden, these coins are crudely made, undated, bronze Puls. Item
8A&M 8 IDENTIFIED
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL COINS, INCLUDING 2 SILVER $19.50COLLECTIONS
OF ANCIENT ROMAN COINS
THE STRANGE MEDIEVAL MONKEY DIRHAM OF
YEMEN
ANCIENT
AND MEDIEVAL COINS OF AFGHANISTAN
ANCIENT
AND MEDIVAL COINS OF IRAQ
ANCIENT
AND MEDIEVAL COINS OF INDIA and PAKISTAN
MEDIEVAL COINS OF
THE MIDDLE EAST
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL CHINESE
COINS
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