Description: Judean Kingdom, John Hyrcanus I 134-104. scarce Authentic Ancient Coin of:John Hyrcanus I Jerusalem mint also a C.O.A Jewish King John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan)Jerusalem mint 132-130 B.C. Reference: Hendin 460..16mm Obverse: Hebrew (Yehohanan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews) surrounded by wreath. Reverse: 2 Cornucopias (represents abundance, plentitude and prosperity), pomegranate between horns. This type of coin is known as "widow's mite" in ancient biblical history. Very rare authentic ancient biblical coin with Certificate of Authenticity. Don't miss your chance to bid today before this item vanishes into history forever! The Lesson (or Parable) of the widow's mite is a story present in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 12:38-44, Luke 20:45-47,21:1-4), in which Jesus is teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem, and condemns the Pharisees for their show of wealth, ostentation, and self importance. Witnessing the donations made by the rich men, Jesus highlights how a poor widow donates only two mites, the least valuable coins available at the time, but that this everything she had to her name, while the other people give only a small portion of their own wealth. The Gospel of Mark specifies that a mite was worth less than a quadrans, the smallest Roman coin, implying that Mark's intended audience were more familiar with Roman culture than with Jewish. Liz Lemon Swindle, The Widow's Mites This tale is held by most modern Christians to mean that a gift should to be judged not by its absolute value, but by how it compares relatively; that it is not the impressiveness or purchasing power which matters, but what it means. John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan), 134-104 B.C.E. John Hyrcanus I ruled from 134 B.C.E. until his death in 104 B.C.E. He was the son of Simon the Maccabee and nephew of the folk hero Judah Maccabee. According to Josephus, the first John Hyrcanus was endowed with three godly gifts—the temporal power, the dignity of a high priest, and the gift of prophecy. The real power of the young Jewish kingdom ended when he died after a 30-year reign. Indeed, according to Heinrich Graetz's History of the Jews, "The reign of Hyrcanus is at once the pinnacle and the turning-point of this period. He not only carried on his father's work, but completed it. Under his predecessors Judaea was confined to a narrow space, and even within these bounds there were territories in the possession of foreign foes. Hyrcanus enlarged the boundaries to the north and to the south, and thus released the State from the external pressure that had been restricting its growth. His genius for war was aided by fortunate circumstances in bringing about these happy results." Hyrcanus had the Hebrew name Yehohanan, which appears on all of his coins. It is generally believed that the governing council, referred to on coins as Hever ha 'Yehudim, became known as the Sanhedrin during his reign or immediately after it. Apparently satisfied with the title high priest for all of his life, he never assumed the title of king. While his reign was successful by all accounts, it began and ended during difficult times. When he ascended, he was unable to avenge his father's death. Simon's murderer was Ptolemy (Hyrcanus's brother-in-law), and Hyrcanus managed to confine him in the fort called Dagon. But every time Hyrcanus attempted an attack, Ptolemy subjected Hyrcanus's mother to cruel tortures on the walls of the fort. Even though his mother was said to have borne the torture heroically, encouraging her son to punish the murderer, Hyrcanus nevertheless was forced to lift his siege after several months. Ptolemy killed his mother-in-law anyway, and also another of Hyrcanus's brothers, and fled to Rabbath Ammon in 135 B.C.E. Not long after Hyrcanus's reign began, Antiochus VII Sidetes and a large army marched on Jerusalem and besieged it. The Jews suffered from a general lack of provisions, but the Syrians were very short of water. After a full summer, facing the dangerous Parthians to his east, Antiochus entered into peace negotiations with Hyrcanus, who had bolstered his army with mercenaries, mainly Pisidians and Cilicians. (Hyrcanus was the first Hasmonean ruler to imitate the Syrians by hiring mercenaries to supplement the Jewish army.) Antiochus first agreed to a seven-day armistice which took place during the Feast of Tabernacles. He even sent bulls with gilded horns for sacrifice and spices for the Temple incense. In the ensuing treaty, Hyrcanus gave up weapons and paid tribute for a number of towns that were formerly Syrian. Antiochus in turn agreed not to suppress the Jewish religion and not to occupy Jerusalem. Hyrcanus also gave Antiochus hostages—including his own brother—and paid Antiochus 500 talents of silver. Josephus reports that Hyrcanus took the initial portion of the payment, 300 talents, from the treasure in King David's sepulcher. Thus a vassal to the Syrian king, Hyrcanus marched on his behalf against the Parthians in 130 B.C.E. Antiochus Sidetes died in this battle, and his brother Demetrius II ascended to the Syrian throne for the second time, although he retained it for only a short time. Hyrcanus took advantage of this weakness to expand his territories and to send an emissary to Rome. He captured Medaba in Transjordan. He also conquered the Samaritans who lived in Shechem and destroyed their temple on Mt. Gerezim. Before finishing off the Samaritans, Hyrcanus marched against Idumaea, conquering the cities of Adora, near Hebron, and Marissa, near Beit Guvrin. He gave the Idumaeans (also called the Edomites) the choice of leaving the land or converting to Judaism. Most of them chose the latter, and thus became Jews in every respect. This episode is said to have been the first example of forced conversion in Jewish history. Ironically, it later led to the downfall of the Hasmonean dynasty. The Herodian family was among the Idumaens forcibly converted to Judaism, and it was their descendant, Herod I (the Great) who took the throne from Hyrcanus's descendant Antigonus Mattathias in 37 B.C.E. The Samaritans still held their strongly fortified town of Samaria, and they remained hostile to the Jews. Hyrcanus once again turned his armies against the Samaritans, sending his sons Antigonus and Aristobulus to attack and besiege them. The Samaritans got some help from Antiochus IX, but Aristobulus routed him and chased him to Beth-shean (Scythopolis). Next Ptolemy Lathyrus was called to assist the Samaritans. In spite of the Syrian reinforcements, the two sons of Hyrcanus successfully conquered Samaria and all of the Jezreel plain, as well as the town of Beth-shean. Meanwhile Hyrcanus was in Jerusalem, refortifying the walls and raising it to a level with its neighboring states in the eyes of Rome. His embassy to Rome requested the Senate to "send envoys to bring about the restitution of the places taken from the Jews by Antiochus and to estimate the value of the territory ruined during the war." The Senate granted this and issued a decree that "King Antiochus, son of Antiochus, shall do no injury to the Jews, the allies of the Romans and that the fortresses, harbors, territory and whatever else he may have taken from them shall be restored to them; and that it shall be lawful for them to export goods from their harbors and that no king or people exporting goods from the territory of the Jews or from their harbors shall be untaxed except only Ptolemy, king of Alexandria, because he is our ally and friend; and that the garrison in Jaffa shall be expelled, as they have requested." During Hyrcanus's reign the sects of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes became well established. Hyrcanus was a faithful student of the Pharisees, but broke with them late in his life and made the Sadducee beliefs the basis of the law. J. Klausner notes that Hyrcanus "died at a ripe old age, showered with honors, and a magnificent mausoleum was erected on his grave, which even at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple was known as 'the Tomb of Jonathan the Priest.' Not without reason was he favorably referred to even in the Talmud, although he had become a Sadducee."
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