This is the coin of King Aretas IV of the Nabateans, who reigned from 9 BC- AD 40. The Nabataean Kingdom was situated in the north-western Arabian Penninsula. It stretched south along the Red Sea coat into the Hejaz, and as far north as Damascus ,which was briefly under Nabataean control.
The obverse shows Aretas and his wife, Queen Shaqilat, facing right. The reverse shows crossed cornucopias with letters in between them for the names of the king and queen.
It is 18mm in diameter and was struck in the city of Petra the capital of the Nabatean kingdom, which today is a tourist attraction in modern day Jordan and has featured in movies such as “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Aretas is mentioned in the New Testament where the Apostle Pauls recounts his escape from Damascus. "In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands." (2nd Corinthians 11v32-33)
The Apostle Paul was previously called “Saul” - a fierce opponent and persecutor of Christians who even took part in the execution of the first martyr, Stephen, in Acts 7v57-60. He was in Damascus because he had travelled there to persecute and imprison Christians (Acts 9v1) but, before his escape from the city of Damascus, we read that he was preaching that Jesus was the Son of God (Acts 9v20).
Why the dramatic and sudden change in his life? He had met the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus! Today many of us, including myself, can testify to a time when we came to know who Jesus is and put our faith and trust in him. Jesus is still saving sinners and changing lives today. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2nd Corinthians 5v17)