Seleucid Kingdom Demetrios II Nikator AR Tetradrachm Antioch 129–125 BC

Demetrios II Nikator, Tetradrachm, silver, reign 129–125 BC; struck at Antioch on the Orontes, 129–125 BC. 13.36 g; 28 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed bust of Demetrios II right within beaded border. Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΝΙΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ; Zeus Nikephoros seated left on throne, holding Nike in right hand and vertical scepter in left. Struck at the Seleucid imperial mint of Antioch on a late Hellenistic fabric. SNG Spaer 1675. Issued during Demetrios II’s restored rule after release from Parthian captivity, this Antioch tetradrachm proclaims the royal epithets “Theos” and “Nikator,” aligning the king with divine favor and victory at a moment of renewed civil war. The Zeus Nikephoros type reflects the Seleucid dynastic association with the Olympian god and served as high-value pay for troops and administration as Demetrios attempted to reassert authority in Syria before his death at Tyre in 125 BC.