Editing Alexander II Zabinas (section)

===War against Demetrius II===
[[File:Zabinas anchor.jpg|thumb|alt= Coin of Alexander II. On the obverse, a bust of the king wearing a headdress in the shape of an elephant head. On the reverse, a ship aphlaston is shown|Bronze coin of Alexander II probably struck to celebrate his naval victory over Demetrius II]]
[[File:Alexander II zabinas.png|thumb|alt= Coin of Alexander II. On the obverse, a bust of the king is depicted. The reverse depicts a seated Zeus|Gold stater minted in 125 BC to celebrate Alexander II's victory over Demetrius II]]
Between August 127 BC and August 126 BC, Ptolemy VIII regained Alexandria;{{sfn|Mitford|1959|pp=103, 104}} Cleopatra II fled to Demetrius II with the treasury of Egypt.{{sfn|Green|1990|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S6MwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA540 540]}} Despite Alexander II's success in taking the capital, Demetrius II retained [[Cilicia]],{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=441}} and Seleucia Pieria remained loyal to him, so did many cities in [[Coele-Syria]]; this led Alexander II to launch a campaign in the region.{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=146}} The armies of the two kings passed through Judea causing a plight for the inhabitants. This led the Jews to send an embassy to Rome demanding "the prohibition of the marching of royal soldiers through the Jewish territory 'and that of their subjects{{'}}";{{#tag:ref|The Jewish delegation was led by Simon son of Dositheus, Apollonius son of Alexander and Diodorus son of Jason.{{sfn|Shatzman|2012|p=61}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Shatzman|2012|pp=62, 64}} the embassy was between c. 127–125 BC.{{sfn|Finkielsztejn|1998|p=45}} By October 126 BC, [[Ashkelon]] fell into Alexander II's hands. Numismatic evidence indicates that [[Samaria]] came under Alexander II's control.{{sfn|Finkielsztejn|1998|p=45}} In the beginning of 125 BC, Demetrius II was defeated near [[Damascus]] and fled to [[Ptolemais in Phoenicia|Ptolemais]].{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=146}} Cleopatra Thea refused to allow her husband to stay in the city, so he headed to [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] on board a ship.{{sfn|Ehling|1996|p=88}} Demetrius II asked for [[Asylum (antiquity)|temple asylum]] in Tyre, but was killed by the city's commander (''praefectus'') in the spring or summer of 125 BC.{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=147}}

Alexander II minted bronze coins depicting him with an elephant scalp headdress on the obverse,{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=146}} and an [[Beakhead|aphlaston]] appears on the reverse; this can mean that Alexander II claimed a naval victory.{{#tag:ref|The inscription of [[Antigonus (Seleucid admiral)|Antigonus son of Menophilus]], a Seleucid admiral (''nauarchos''), was discovered in the city of [[Miletus]]. Antigonus described himself as the "admiral of Alexander, king of Syria"; Alexander II could be the king mentioned.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9UWdAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 112]}} The archaeologist Peter Herrmann considered it possible that Alexander II was the king in question, but maintained that a better candidate would be Alexander I, who was known for his relations with Miletus.{{sfn|Herrmann|1987|p=185}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=147}} The sea battle between Alexander II and Demetrius II, which is not documented in ancient literature, may have occurred only during the voyage of Demetrius II from Ptolemais to Tyre.{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=147}} The elephant scalp headdress was a theme in Alexander the Great's posthumous coinage minted by his successors.{{#tag:ref|In Ptolemaic Egypt, Alexander the Great was shown wearing an elephant scalp, a motif not used by the Macedonian king himself. It first appeared on posthumous coins issued by [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy I]].{{sfn|Maritz|2016|p=41}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Rice|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-aFtPdh6-2QC&pg=PA33 33]}} According to Ehling, by appearing with the elephant scalp, Alexander II alluded to Alexander the Great's conquest of Tyre which took place in 332 BC after seven months of siege.{{#tag:ref|In the view of Hoover, although Alexander II appeared wearing the elephant scalp, Alexander the Great was probably not alluded to. According to Hoover, in a Seleucid context, a king's utilisation of the elephant scalp probably indicated a victory in the East.{{sfn|Hoover|2002|p=54}} This view is contested by many scholars, such as Wright, who maintained that Alexander II's usage of the elephant scalp motif was connected to Alexander the Great.{{sfn|Wright|2011|p=45}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ehling|1998|p=147}} The 125 BC gold staters containing Alexander II's epithets were probably struck to celebrate his victory over Demetrius II.{{#tag:ref|Alexander II's gold staters did not have any magistrate marks, indicating that they were a special issue and not part of the regular production. Therefore, the gold staters must have been issued under special circumstances.{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=449}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=449}}