Antiochos VII Sidetes AR Tetradrachm, Antioch, 138–129 BC, Athena/Nike

Antiochos VII Euergetes (Sidetes), tetradrachm, silver, reign 138–129 BC; struck at Antioch on the Orontes, 138–129 BC; 16.75 g; 27 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed head of Antiochos VII right, hair long at the nape. Reverse BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY EYEΡΓETOY; Athena standing left, helmeted, holding Nike and resting her left hand on a grounded shield; vertical spear rising from her arm; monograms in left field; laurel-wreath border. Struck on a broad, well-centered flan; reverse die of coarse engraving with soft detail in places. Reference: SC 2146.4.

Antiochos VII restored Seleucid control in Syria after defeating Diodotus Tryphon, compelled John Hyrcanus I to accept terms in 134 BC, and mounted the 130–129 BC expedition that briefly recovered Babylonia before his death fighting Phraates II of Parthia in 129 BC. The Antioch wreathed tetradrachms with Athena and Nike were a principal silver issue of his reign, financing these campaigns and circulating widely across the Levant.