Archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered a rare mini -golden currency depicting the Egyptian Queen II and dates back to her husband, the third ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt.
Totoimi, a Macedonian royal strain founded by one of Alexander the Great The generals, Ptolemy Anna Souter, during the Hellenistic period in Egypt (around 323 to 30 BC).
The coin in Alexandria is likely to be 2,270 years ago, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which made the discovery in Jerusalem. Perhaps it was part of a group of coins that were talented for soldiers returning from the third Syrian war (246 to 241 BC), A conflict between the Kingdom of Palahaima Egypt and the Seleucid Empire in Syria.
“It’s a great currency,” Robert ColeThe head of the money science at IAA, said in a video Description of discovery. “we [have] Only 17 of these currencies have been found over the past 100 years. “
Among those coins, this is the first to be found outside Egypt and in organized excavations. It was discovered in the city of David, an archaeological site in East Jerusalem is the essence of the old settlement in the city.
Rivka Langler, which was transporting an area of the site called the Gifty parking for two years, monitored the currency while sifting the soil. Langler said in a statement. “At first, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but within seconds I was running enthusiastically through the excavation site.”
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One side of the currency shows a picture of Queen II wearing Tiara, veil and necklace. The other side, which depicts Forto and Najman, carries the ancient Greek inscription, “Basileisses”, which means “Queen”.
Berenice II was the wife and union of Ptolemy III, who ruled in Egypt between 246 and 221 BC – but the coin inscription indicates that Berenice may have been ruler against her, according to the statement.
“The queen of an area was called Kiriniaca, today in eastern Libya,” Cole explained in the video. “When she got married to her cousin Ptolemy III, this region became part of this large, rich and rich Hellenistic kingdom. When she invaded her husband, Ptolemy III, Syria, he assumed the position of Regent Egypt.”
Queens of the Timma strain sometimes appeared on metal currencies, with one famous example Cleopatra VII (It is simply known as Cleopatra), daughter of Ptolemy XII. But the new discovery still stands out as one of the oldest coins and suggests that Queen Pernes II has great power or political influence, according to the statement.
It is unclear how the currency ended in Jerusalem, but its discovery there indicates that the old city was quickly recovering from the destruction of the first temple in 586 or 587 BC, when it was Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II put the siege in Jerusalem.
“Until now, this prevailing scientific opinion was that [after the siege] Jerusalem was a small, marginal, and poor town. Yifta ShalvThe archaeologist said with the IAA who participated in driving excavations, in the statement.
However, “it seems that Jerusalem has already begun to recover during the Persian period [586 to 333 B.C.] Shalif said: “It has grown stronger in light of the disciplinary rule. Jerusalem was not in the centuries after the destruction of the first temple abandoned and isolated, but rather a city in the process of renewal, and re -establishing relations with the dominant political, economic and cultural centers,” Shalif said.
The elite in Jerusalem will likely share relations with the ruling elite in Egypt, Yoval JadotIn Tel Aviv University and Director of Drilling, Antiquities and Director of Drilling said in the video. “The golden currency that we found here … tells us that Jerusalem was an important city,” he said.