Bronze issue from Petra in Arabia, broadly dated to the 2nd–1st century BC, belonging to the coinage that developed during the period of the rising power of the Nabataean Kingdom, whose capital was Petra.
The city, located at the crossroads of major trade routes linking southern Arabia, the Levant, and Egypt, is well attested in ancient sources, including Strabo and Pliny the Elder, as an important center of the incense and aromatics trade. During this period Petra functioned as one of the principal political and economic centers of the region, and the development of local coinage reflects the increasing complexity of the Nabataean state's economic structures.
Greece
Arabia, Petra, Anonymous issue, AE, 2nd-1st century BC
Obverse: helmeted Athena right
Reverse: Nike standing left, holding wreath and cornucopiae
Diameter 17 mm, weight 3.58 g
