NABATAEA, Kingdom of
Aretas IV with Shaqilat, 9 BC - AD 40
AE14. 1.81g, 14.4mm
MINTED: NABATAEA, Petra mint, circa AD 16
REF: Meshorer 97; SNG ANS 1435
OBVERSE: Aretas IV in military attire standing left, holding spear and placing hand on hilt of sword in scabbard; palm branch to left, monogram to right
REVERSE: Shuqailat, veiled, wearing long robe standing left; raising right hand with palm extended, wreath to left.
 
Notes:
Original green earthen desert patina. 
Historically interesting coin struck in the famed city of Petra. 
According to Meshorer, this issue, with standing figure types unusual in Nabataean coinage, was likely struck immediately after the coronation of Queen Shuqailat, the second wife of Aretas IV.  Where Meshorer had given AD 18 as the possible date of this event, Schmitt-Korte revises this to AD 16, the 25th year of the reign of Aretas.
 
Historical Notes:
The Nabataeans were a tribe of Arab nomads and traders who settled in an area between the Arabian and Sinai Peninsulas, bordering Judaea and Egypt.  From their well-protected capital of Raqmu (better known to us as the historic city of Petra in Jordan), the Nabataeans became a regional power in the late 4th century BC, dominating the trade in frankincense and other spices, and controlling a confluence of carvan routes that travelled through their lands.  

Aretas IV was the Nabataean king from around 9 BC to AD 40.  His daughter Phasaelis was married to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee.  This was the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded for criticizing his decision to divorce Phaselis and marry the wife of his brother.  In response to this slight against his daughter, Aretas invaded Herod's lands, defeated his army, and sent him fleeing from his own city.  The famous rock-carved facade of Al-Khazneh ('the Treasury') in Petra is believed to have been the mausoleum of Aretas IV.