Antiochos VII Euergetes (Sidetes), tetradrachm, AR, 138–129 BC

Antiochos VII Euergetes (Sidetes), tetradrachm, AR, 138–129 BC, 16.31 g, 28 mm. Diademed head of Antiochos VII right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EYEPΓETOY; Athena Nikephoros standing left, holding Nike and spear; control marks in the fields; struck at Antioch (Seleucia ad Orontes) on the Attic standard. Houghton & Lorber, Seleucid Coins II 2061.1t. Antiochos VII, the last vigorous ruler of the Seleucid kingdom, consolidated power after defeating the usurper Diodotos Tryphon and mounted a major campaign to recover Mesopotamia and Babylonia from the Parthians, temporarily restoring Seleucid control before his death in 129 BC. His epithet Euergetes (“Benefactor”) appears in the legend, and large silver issues from Antioch financed his military operations and administration, illustrating the continued central role of the Syrian capital in late Seleucid monetary policy.