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Denarius
| Issuer | Sabaean Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 100-300 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Ancient South Arabian |
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| Reverse description | Facing boukranion rendered frontally at center, depicting a bull's head with prominent horns and detailed facial features in the South Arabian artistic style. The curved symbol of Almaqah occupies the left field, while a monogram appears in the right field. The border features a dotted or beaded inner circle, typical of Sabaean silver coinage of this period. The die work displays the characteristic schematic yet bold relief of hammered ancient Arabian coinage. |
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| Additional information |
The Sabaean kingdom, centered in what is now Yemen, operated one of the ancient world's most profitable trade networks — frankincense, myrrh, and spices moving north toward the Mediterranean made South Arabia extraordinarily wealthy by the early centuries AD. Their silver coinage draws directly from Athenian prototypes, a borrowing that persisted long after Athenian owls had ceased circulating in the wider Hellenistic world. The conservatism is striking: types that would have looked archaic elsewhere were maintained in Arabia for centuries, making precise dating within broad ranges essentially impossible without die studies.