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Zeus Nikephoros
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The image of Zeus with Nike (Zeus Nikephoros) was introduced by Seleukos I Nikator at Seleukeia on Tigris mint around 300 BC.
The initial iemissions from this mint in the name of Seleukos maintained the Zeus Aetophoros (eagle) reverse image typical of the earlier "Alexanders". However, shortly after the mint was established, the Zeus Nikephoros (Nike) image was introduced, eventually replacing the Zeus Aetophoros image on Babylonian coinage. The Nikephoros reverse was a direct allusion to Seleukos victory over Antigonos at Ipsos in 301 BC. This victory was the penultimate victory required to cement the Seleukid dynasty in a near unassailable position during the forty year struggle that ultimately saw Seleukos emerge as the most successful of the Diadochi.
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