Syllaeus was the powerful chief minister of the Nabataean king Obodas III — and almost certainly the true power behind the throne during the late 1st century BC. His ambitions extended to a proposed marriage alliance with the Herodian dynasty, which Herod the Great refused, and to guiding (some sources say deliberately sabotaging) the Roman expedition into Arabia Felix under Aelius Gallus in 25–24 BC. Augustus later had him executed, around 6 BC, on charges brought partly by Herod.
Coins naming Syllaeus as a minister rather than king are extraordinarily rare and politically anomalous for Nabataean issues.
Syllaeus was the powerful chief minister of the Nabataean king Obodas III — and almost certainly the true power behind the throne during the late 1st century BC. His ambitions extended to a proposed marriage alliance with the Herodian dynasty, which Herod the Great refused, and to guiding (some sources say deliberately sabotaging) the Roman expedition into Arabia Felix under Aelius Gallus in 25–24 BC. Augustus later had him executed, around 6 BC, on charges brought partly by Herod.
Coins naming Syllaeus as a minister rather than king are extraordinarily rare and politically anomalous for Nabataean issues.