Denarius of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene

A denarius of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene, with the profile of a young man wearing a diadem and the text REX IVBA on the front. The back face features the headdress of Isis on the left and a sistrum on the right. Below them is the text BACIΛICC KΛEOΠTP.

This is one of the few coins attributed to a woman along with her husband. This was probably a Roman influence since both Juba and Cleopatra grew up in Rome. Juba’s father Juba I was King of Numidia until Julius Caesar conquered his kingdom and Juba I committed suicide. His son was taken to Rome and was raised by Julius Caesar and later by Emperor Augustus. Cleopatra Selene was the daughter of Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt’s Ptolemaic dynasty, and Mark Antony. Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony committed suicide after losing the war against Augustus. Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were married, and Juba II was made King of Mauretania under Roman rule. Roman coins could use spouses’ names or portraits, especially later in the imperial period, unlike in the Hellenistic kingdoms. On Greek coins, the portraits of goddesses were typical, but ordinary mortal women were not portrayed.

This coin was sort of split between the couple. The front face features a possible portrait of Juba II and the name REX IVBA (King Juba), written in the Latin alphabet. The symbols on the back relate to the history of Cleopatra Selene’s family as rulers of Egypt, and the Greek name BACIΛICC KΛEOΠTP (Queen Cleopatra) refers to her Greek roots.