Appendix

HASMONEAN COINS FOUND IN THE CA VE OF THE WARRIOR

Donald T. Ariel

The coins found in the Cave of the Warrior, while they do not relate to the important early fourth millennium finds in the cave, throw light on some interesting histor-ical events that took place between the years 40 and 37 BCE.' In general, the Judean Desert and in particular Jericho are reported by the historian Josephus as playing a prominent role in the events of those years. The coins from the Cave of the Warrior, together with the distribu-tion of similar coins found in the region, contribute to our understanding of the region's historical prominence.

THE COINS

The nine coins found in the cave are all of the reign of one king, the Hasmonean Antigonus (Hebrew: ~'nnr.> Mattathias), who ruled 40-37 BCE. All of Antigonus' coins were minted in Jerusalem. Unlike other contem-porary series of coins minted in the region, Antigonus minted bronze coins in three denominations following the Seleucid denominational system (Kindler 1967: 187-188). He struck a (small) perutalz denomination, and thus maintained continuity with the perutah (l.5-2.0 gm) denominations minted by his Hasmonean predeces-sors. In one case (AJC 1:158, Type W) Antigonus fol-lowed the classic Hasmonean type: inscription-within-wreath/double cornucopias, with the priestly sceptre be-tween them (generally identified as a pomegranate):The two larger denominations were four (AJC I: 158, Type V) and eight (AJC I: 158, Type U) times the perutalz. Similarly large denominations were also minted by Anti-gonus' rival Herod during the same period. It has been suggested (Kanae! 1967:227) that the larger denomina-tions were minted by Antigonus and Herod in order to supply the Roman troops with large coins such as they

were accustomed to (but compare Meshorer 1990:223). It can indeed be contended that soldiers were paid not in bronze but rather in silver. This is true for the stipendium (soldier's pay). For use as small change in daily transac-tions, the legionaries' preference would have definitely. been for large bronze coins.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND'

Between 63 and 40 BCE, Antigonus' uncle, Hyrcanus II, was high priest, and, for all or part of that time, also ethnarch, which was largely a titular position. As early as 56 BCE, Antigonus, with his father Aristobulus II, had been involved in an earlier unsuccessful military attempt to wrest control of the region from Roman rule. In 47 BCE Antigonus appeared before Caesar, and unsuccessfully presented his claim to rule.

By 42 BCE there were two contenders for control over Judea: Antigonus and Herod. The latter had been appointed (with his brother Phasael) tetrarch over the Jewish territory. Antigonus' installation as king/high priest by the Parthians in 40 BCE was based upon his promise to depose both his Roman-appointed uncle and the tetrarch Herod - as well as a promise to deliver to the Parthians 1000 talents of silver and 500 women (Josephus, War i.13.4 (257); Ant. xiv. 13.3 (330-331)). Antigonus proceeded to Jerusalem, where his supporters sparred with Herod and Phasael's supporters for control of the city (Josephus, War i.13.2 (250-252); Ant. xiv. 13.3-4 (334-337)). By early summer 40 BCE Phasael and Hyrcanus II were tricked into going to the camp of the Parthian Barzaphranes, where they were taken captive, while Herod and the rest of his family escaped Jerusalem towards Masada. On the way, near the future

132 DONALD T. ARIEL

site of Herodion, the forces of Antigonus attacked Herod (Josephus, War i. 13.8 (265); Ant. xiv. 13.9 (359)). This confrontation is the first indication of Antigonus' n1ilitary activity against Herod in the Judean Desert.

Herod's entourage survived the attack and continued on to Masada, where the family remained, while Herod continued to Petra and then to Rome to seek support for his cause. In Rome Herod was appointed (vassal) king by Marc Anthony, and the appointment was rati-fied by the Senate. All this time Antigonus' men besieged Herod's family at Masada (Josephus, War i. 15.1 (286-287); Ant. xiv. 14.6 (390-391)). Meanwhile the Parthian army was defeated by the Roman legions, and Herod returned to the region to prepare for his campaign against Antigonus. Herod (with the intermittent aid of Roman forces under Silo) succeeded in subduing large parts of the country. Herod then turned to free his family in Masada, which until then had been under siege by Antigonus' men (Josephus, War i.15.1 (293-294); Ant. xiv. 14.6 (398)). Apparently, somewhere in the Judean Desert, Antigonus tried to stop Herod's advance, but Herod succeeded in getting to his family in Masada. Herod proceeded to Jerusalem and mounted a siege, but as the winter of 39/38 approached, Herod also had to arrange for provisions for his and Silo's armies. He prepared a convoy of provisions in Jericho, \vhich, on its way from there to Jerusalem was ambushed by Antigonus' forces. Thereupon Herod himself, with a large contingent of soldiers, descended to Jericho and found the town almost abandoned (Josephus, TYar i.15.6 (300); Alli. xiv. 15.3 (409)). Silo's forces soon arrived as \Vell and plundered the tO\Vll. Not wanting to cause further disaffection in the local population Herod moved the Ro1nans to \Vinter quarters elsewhere. Around this time Herod fortified the Judean desert fortress of Alexandrium.

After the final fall of the Parthians in June 38 Herod \vent to Satnosata, leaving his now augn1ented forces under the command of his brother Joseph, together with the Roman forces based in Samaria. Joseph took these Roman troops to mountains apparently above Jericho and planned a foray to confiscate the harvest in that town. Antigonus' troops were also in the area. Along with the sympathetic population which had returned to a plundered Jericho, they attacked Joseph 'on difficult ground in the hills' (Josephus, War i.17.1 (324); Ant. xiv. 15.10 (449)), won the skirmish and killed Joseph. On his return, Herod led Ro111an and other troops to Jericho to avenge his brother's death. The day after his arrival so111e 6,000 of Antigonus' men attacked the town

from the hills (Josephus, War i.17.4 (332); Am. xiv. 15.2 (456)). In the battle that ensued, Herod was wounded by a spear in his rib. As we shall see (below), the hills noted above were in all liklihood the place of the archae-ological survey and excavations of Operation Scroll, where many coins of Antigonus were found.

While we do not know the outcome of the battle, Herod succeeded in extricating himself: later he went on to subdue Antigonus' troops, besiege Antigonus in Jerusalem, conquer the city and capture Antigonus. Consequently Herod gained full control of his kingdom in the summer of 37 BCE.

DISTRIBUTION OF ANTIGONUS' COINS (see Fig. Ap.l)

Isolated coins of Antigonus have been found in numer-ous excavations, and as well as stray finds in the region. It is not surprising that the majority were found in Jerusalem, where they were minted. (A mould used for making the flan employed in his large coins was unco-vered in excavations in Jerusalem; see An1iran and Eitan 1975:53-54.) Twenty-two isolated coins of Antigonus have been published from Jerusalem and environs: 14 in Ariel 1982:322 (one of these is published in Mazar 197l:Pl. XXVIII:3, and another three in Gitler 1996: 348-349, Nos. 238-240); 1 in Ariel 1990:105, C 135; 4 in Lawrenz 1985:160, Nos. 149-152; and 3 from unpub-lished excavations in Jerusalem (!AA 27968, 33124-33125). In addition, a hoard of 31 coins of Antigonus was found in the excavations of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (Avigad 1983:75, and Illus. 49-50; !AA 63301-63330, 63385).

To the north, west and south of Jerusalem, Antigonus' coins were found in small numbers at Yodefat (1 coin; unpublished, !AA 48853), Samaria (4 coins; Kirkman 1957:45 and p. 54), Bet She'an (1 coin; unpublished, !AA 63671 ), Shoham ( 1 coin; unpublished, !AA 66599), Khirbet el-' Aqd (two coins, one, along with a contem-porary large module Herod coin, prepared for restriking during the Bar Kokhba revolt, and the second, appar-ently also meant for that purpose; Kindler 1986-1987: 49-50, Nos. 15-17), Jaffa (1 coin; unpublished, !AA 61384), and Tel Qeshet (near Beer Sheva, Israel grid 1274 1052, l coin; unpublished stray find, !AA 59934).

However, to the east of Jerusalem, in the Judean Desert, Antigonus' coins are plentiful relative to the overall numbers of coins found there. Thus, already before the 'Operation Scroll' survey, Antigonus' coins were found in most of the late Hellenistic period sites

-------------

APPENDIX. HASMONEAN COINS FOUND IN THE CAVE OF THE WARRIOR 133

Yodcfal (I) e

Be! Shc'an(l)e

San1aria(4) e

Jaffa( I) e Shoha1n {I J

Cavr of th(' \Varrior{9)e 0 Cave 4 (I) Hasmoncan 0 Cave 5 (2)

Kh. cl-'Aqd (2) e Cave (2) * Tulul Abu (2?) 9 cl-Alaiq (20)

Jerusale1n (~~~~cshk~:(~1;:c1 I Wadi

TdQcshr! (I) Mmabba'at(l)e t:i " ~

:0 ::~:~~d Coins En Ged1 (2) J J) 30

--==--'km

Fig. Ap.l. Distribution of Antigonus' coins.

excavated there: at 'En Gedi (I coin fron1 a survey; Mazar, Dothan, and Dunayewsky 1963:19; and 1 un-published stray find, IAA 48937), 'Ein Feshkha (1 coin; de Vaux 1973:66), Qumran (l coin; de Vaux 1973:19-23), and Wadi Murabba'at (1 coin; de Vaux 1961:45, No. "Mm. 274"). In addition, a hoard of 20 coins was uncovered at Tulul Abu el-Alaiq (Netzer 1977:6, and p. 7, Fig. 9). Now, the finds from "Operation Scroll" have almost doubled the number of sites in the Judean Desert yielding coins of Antigonus: Besides the nine coins fron1 the Cave of the V/arrior, five coins of Antigonus were found in three caves (one in Cave 4, the 'Column Cave'; two coins in Cave 5, the 'Loculi Cave'; t\VO or three in the 'Hasmonean Cave'). In Cave 4 and the 'I-Iasinonean Cave', the Antigonus coins are the latest coins found.

Seven caves examined in 'Operation Scroll' had either coins of Alexander Jannaeus as their latest \Yell-identi-fied coins, or it was found that any coins later than these

Jannaeus issues related to a completely different phase of occupation of the cave. Jannaeus' coins ren1ained in circulation until Herod's reign, after 37 BCE. A number of these caves may also have been visited in the days of Antigonus. That was probably the case in the 'Has-n1onean Cave' noted above, where, besides the t\0 cer-tain Antigonus coins, there are coins of Hyrcanus I, Alexander Jannaeus, and one uncertain Has1nonean issue.

On the other hand, in Cave 5 the Antigonus coins (of the penttah denomination) appear with coins of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE), and Herod (also small denominations, after 37 BCE). Therefore it is equally likely that the Antigonus coins (along with the Jannaeus coins) were deposited there after 37 BCE, and not between 40 and 37 BCE.

The character of the coin finds from 'Operation Scroll' will be discussed in a later volume dealing with nu1nisn1atic material fro1n a larger nu1nber of sites. Nevertheless, for the purpose of placing the coins of the Cave of the Warrior into their proper context, son1e points are noteworthy. The overall picture presented by the coin finds of 'Operation Scroll' is the lack of a con1mon regional distribution pattern. Caves or co111-plexes of caves had their individual, isolated, short-term occupations. One cave will have only late Persian period coins, while another will yield only coins from two years of the Jewish War. Occasionally two (or more) distinct periods of occupation are indicated by the coins, just as two distinct periods of occupation \Vere found in the Cave of the Warrior. Although many of the caves have occupations dating to the period of Judean Desert nlon-asticisn1, most of the other ti111e-fra111es encountered were periods of strife in the country, and hence it is easy to view those caves functionally as refuges for people fleeing their homes - albeit in a number of differ-ent time periods (for this idea see Schwartz and Spanier 1992). The appearance of the coins of Antigonus in four sites of 'Operation Scroll', along with the possibility that the dates of other caves belong to this horizon, is strong evidence that the period bet\veen 40 and 37 \Vas one of the more important periods of upheaval, as far as the region around Jericho \Vas concerned.

None of the large coins of Herod was found in 'Opera-tion Scroll'. Only three were found elsewhere in the vicinity, one at 'Ein Feshkha (de Vaux 1973:23, n. l, and p. 66) and two at Masada (Meshorer 1989:87, No. 110; and an unpublished stray find, !AA 74504). This s1nall nun1ber 111ay support the consensus that 1-Jerod's large coins \Vere minted in Sa1naria, son1e\vhat n1ore

134 DONALD T. ARIEL

distant from the Jericho region than is Jerusalem, \Vhere Antigonus' mint was located. Alternatively, it may reinforce our contention that the people occupying the Cave of the Warrior were not simply fleeing the battles of 40-37 BCE but, rathe1; were organized supporters of Antigonus, preparing attacks upon the Herodian forces from their hiding places. It would then be less likely that they could have coins of Herod in their possession.

On the other hand, one cannot categorically argue that all the coins of Antigonus found in the region relate directly to the presence of Antigonus' warriors. For ex-ample, the three coins (among 3,857 coins) identified in the excavations at Masada should not be used as evi-dence for the actual presence of Antigonus' forces on the summit. In fact these forces remained below the summit, besieging Herod's family for a long period of time. At the same time, the coins' appearance there supports their circulation in the region.

CONCLUSIONS

The historical background (above) focused on the his-torian Josephus' frequent references to events which took place in the Judean Desert between 40 and 37 BCE. When all the references are considered together with the numismatic evidence presented here, the follow-ing conclusions can be offered: 1. While there were military activities in Galilee, and along the Mediterranean coast, there \Vere also impor-tant engagements in the Jericho region. Jericho was a place to be coveted. An indication of its contemporary importance is evidenced by the fact that in 34 BCE, after the battles were over, Cleopatra received the town and its environs from Anthony, whereupon Herod leased it back from her (Josephus, War i.18.5 (361); An!. xv. 4.2 (96)). 2. Jericho and its surroundings were an important center of support for Antigonus (Stern 1995:269). His troops were unimpeded in their pursuit and attack on Herod and his family when they escaped Jerusalem. Antigonus' forces were able to conduct a long siege of Masada, although they were unsuccessful in preventing Herod from later relieving his family. At the same time Josephus portrays the local populace as pragmatic, rallying to Herod mostly out of a wish to be on what appeared to be the winning side (Josephus, War i.15.4 (293); An!. xiv. 15.1 (398); see also War i.17.6 (335); Ant. xiv. 15.2 (458)). Antigonus' forces succeeded in their attack on the convoy of provisions in the winter of 39/38, in their

a111bush against the Ro1nan forces under Joseph, and later against Herod \vhen he returned to Jericho.

Herod's only activity in the Judean Desert in which, according to Josephus, Herod did not encounter resis-tance, was the fortification of Alexandrium (Sartaba; Josephus, War i.16.3 (308); Ant. xiv.15.5 (419)). But Alexandrium lies much further north, not in the vicinity of Jericho. In fact the interesting subject of the Judean Desert palace/fortresses of the Hasmonean and Herod-ian kings does not relate to the nature of the occupation in the caves. Those structures served as forts com-manding views over main roads, as adn1inistrative and agiicultural centers, and even as prisons and mausolea (Tsafrir 1982:142), but not as staging areas for military activity. Even Antigonus' siste1; after Antigonus' defeat, remained sequestered in Hyrcania (until 32). This fort-ress served her as a refuge, and not a base for renewed resistance (Josephus, War i.19.l (364)). 3. That Herod could find Jericho abandoned in the winter of 39/38, and then repopulated in the summer of 38 is consistent with and even reinforces the above picture. The town people were able to find temporary refuge in the vicinity. It is possible if not likely that they fled to the many nearby caves in Wadi Makkukh and near Qarantal. Josephus states: 'Antigonus issued orders throughout the country to hold up and waylay the convoys. Acting upon these orders, large bodies of men assembled above Jericho and took up positions on the hills, on the lookout for the conveyors of the supplies' (Josephus, War i.15.6 (300)). In fact, there was probably little difference between the able-bodied men of Jericho who hid in the those caves and the warrior bands who attacked the convoy of winter provisions on their way out of Jericho. Whether the fighters were local townsmen who went up from Jericho into hiding in the caves or whether they were out-of-towners, it is clear that they conducted classic guerilla warfare against Herod's regular troops.

This picture may also hold for the fighting that took place in the eaves which abound in the vicinity of Mt. Arbel in the Galilee (Josephus, War i.16.2 (304-306), i.16.4 (310-311); Ant. xiv. 15.4 (415-417), xiv. 15.5 (420-428)). There are in that case no published numismatic (or archaeological) finds to illustrate what transpired there. At the same time, Josephus' description of the caves, and Herod's treat1nent of them, confor111s 111ore to their function as refuges than as staging areas for guerilla attacks.

Parts of the Judean Desert were ideal for guerilla warfare. Tsafrir (1982:122) comments that the Judean Desert was employed as a 'base of mobilization' during

APPENDIX HASMONEAN COINS FOUND IN THE CAVE OF THE WARRIOR 135

the beginning of the Maccabbean movement. Neverthe-less, the phenomenon we describe, although close, is still different from the use of the desert as a mobilization base. While Herod was on his way to Masada to free his family, 'Antigonus sought to obstruct his advance by posting ambuscades in suitable passes .. .'(Josephus,

3

War i.15.4 (294); see also Josephus, Ant. xiv. 15.2 (399)). Antigonus clearly employed this relative advantage whenever Herod's troops passed through. But such war-fare at best can only achieve localized victories When the battleground moved elsewhere, Antigonus' troops lost that advantage, and were ultimately subdued.

Fig. Ap.2. The Has111onean coins.

CATALOGUE OF COINS Mattathias Antigonus ( 40-37 BCE), Jerusalem

Obv. 0'11i'!'i1 i:::ini ?i:i. Ti1:>i1 il'nnb Cornucopias. Rev. BACIJ\EQC ANTirONOV Within ivy wreath.

1. Reg. No. 47, Kl6003. i'E, '-, 12.21 gm, 23 mm. AJC 1:155, No. Ul.

2. Reg. No. 60, K!6010. i'E, j, 16.31 gm, 24 mm. Cf. AJC 1:155, No. U4. Inscription: ;~m ;i Jc[,;i c']nni" 3. Reg. No. 54, Kl6004. Fig. Ap.2. i'E, j, 14.72 gm, 25 mm. Cf. AJC 1:155, No. U6. Inscription: 0'/i1i' i:in 7i:i. Fl:> iPnni'J

4. Reg. No. 56, Kl6006. Fig. Ap.2. i'E, j, 13.95 gm, 24 mm. AJC 1:155, No. U6.

Obv. n i:ini ?i:i. F1:>il irnn1:) Cornucopia. Rev. BACIJ\EQC ANTirONOV Within wreath.

5. Reg. No. 61, Kl601 l. i'E, -+, 7.83 gm, 19 mm. AJC 1:157, No. V.

6. Reg. No. 57, Kl6007. Fig. Ap.2. i'E, ,,- , 6.97 gm, 18 mm. AJC 1:158, No. V2.

7. Reg. No. 58, K!6008. Fig. Ap.2. i'E, j, 7.55 gm, 19 mm. Cf. AJC 1:158, No. V3. 8. Reg. No. 55, K!6005. Fig. Ap.2. i'E, /', 7.53 gm, 19 mm. AJC 1:158, No. V4.

9. Reg. No. 59, Kl6009. i'E, ,...- , 7.36 gm, 19 mm. Cf. AJC 1:158, No. V7.

-

136 DONALD T. ARIEL

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APPENDIX. HASMONEAN COINS FOUND IN THE CAVE OF THE WARRIOR 137

NOTES

1 The historical background for the reign of Mattathias Anti-go nus, and some of the \York on the distribution of Antigonus' coins, \Vere researched by Nili Ahipaz in an MA sen1inar paper submitted to the Hebre\v University in 1996. My thanks to her for pennission to use son1e of the n1aterial here.

1 For the best summary of the period, see Stern 1995:249~ 274, Chap. 20: 'The Parthian Invasion of 40-38 BCE.'