On the obverse of the miniature , which researchers found in the oldest part of Jerusalem – the City of David, is the portrait of Queen Berenice II. The reverse features a cornucopia and two stars, along with an inscription in ancient Greek: “Basileisses,” meaning “of the queen.”
Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who made this discovery, dated the artifact to the reign of the queen’s husband, Ptolemy III Euergetes, from 246 to 221 B.C.
The Ptolemies were a Macedonian royal dynasty founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Ptolemy I Soter, during the Hellenistic period of (approximately 323-30 B.C.).
The coin was first spotted by archaeologist Rivka Lengler, who participated in the excavations for two years, as reported by Live Science. “I was sifting through the soil when I suddenly noticed something shiny,” the researcher recounted.
According to the IAA, the coin was likely one of those given to soldiers returning from the Third Syrian War (246-241 B.C.), a conflict between the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire.
“This is a remarkable coin. Only 17 of these have been found in the last 100 years, and this is the first of its kind discovered outside of Egypt and during organized excavations,” noted Robert Kool, head of the IAA’s numismatics department.
What else did the scientists report?
Images of queens from the Ptolemaic dynasty occasionally appeared on coins. One of the most famous examples is the renowned VII, daughter of Ptolemy XII.
This new find is significant as it is one of the oldest such coins. It serves as a reminder that Queen Berenice II wielded considerable political power and influence, as noted by the archaeologists in their statement.
It remains unclear how the coin ended up in Jerusalem. However, its discovery indicates that the ancient city was quickly recovering after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 or 587 B.C., following the siege of Jerusalem.
“Until now, scholars generally believed that after the siege, Jerusalem was a small, underdeveloped, resource-poor city. However, Jerusalem began to recover during the Persian period (586-333 B.C.) and strengthened under the Ptolemies,” emphasized Iftach Shalev, an IAA archaeologist and one of the excavation leaders.
According to him, “For centuries after the destruction of the First Temple, Jerusalem was not abandoned and isolated; rather, the city was in a state of renewal, reestablishing connections with dominant political, economic, and cultural centers.”
