Sardes, Lydia

Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochos III, 223 - 187 B.C., Sardes, Lydia

obverse laureate head of Apollo right, hair in corkscrew curls down neck;
reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOΥ, Apollo standing left, naked, examining arrow in right, resting left on tripod

Antiochus' victory at the Battle of Panium in 198 B.C. transferred control of Judaea from Ptolemaic Egypt to the Seleukid Kingdom. When Antiochos conquered Asia Minor, however, the Romans responded. Antiochos' losses were so great that the whole of his empire was shattered and he was forced to content himself with the region that he had held in the beginning, Syria.