95 INR 17 (2022): 95–127 Coins of Alexander Yanai (Jannaeus): A Battle over Identity DonalD t. ariel Israel Antiquities Authority dtariel@gmail.com Abstract Alexander Yanai (Jannaeus) was the frst Jewish high priest to strike coins proclaiming himself as king. In the mint’s transition from priestly to royal types, a mass overstriking event occurred, and the frst royal coins were overstruck with new priestly dies. It appears that those responsible were rogue, factional actors who strongly objected to Yanai’s change in self-presentation. This unsanctioned protest, apparently related to a protracted, popular violent insurrection in Judea at the time, seems to inform the ideological underpinning of the uprising. It also contributes to a chronological refnement of the revolt and of many of Yanai’s coin types. INTRODUCTION Historians have identifed a “sudden increase of studies on Hasmoneans in the last ffteen years, in which Janneus received a lion’s share” (Babota 2020:1 n. 1). 1 A number of reasons for this have been proffered, such as new archaeological excavations, completion of the Dead Sea Scrolls publication and the Brill Josephus Project (Babota 2020:1). Numismatics was not included in the list, although the feld is cited (Babota 2020:9 n. 45) and sometimes discussed (Atkinson 2016a:102–104). 2 In these studies, the fact that the Hasmoneans were both heads of the Jewish cult as well as civil leaders is often addressed. However, more often than not numismatists studying Jewish coins are primarily interested in knowing which of the Hasmoneans leaders minted coins, why they minted them, and what they depicted on them. The written record informs how the coins are attributed, but 1 For their help on this study, I am grateful to Ilan Shachar and Dafna Langgut for their comments, and especially to David B. Hendin, who has seen more Hasmonean coins than I will ever see, for following and contributing to this article’s development. 2 The subject of this paper, the coins of Alexander Yanai, takes as its starting point the consensual seriation of the Hasmonean rulers who minted coins that has coalesced in the past 30 years, beginning with Meshorer 1991. Meshorer’s 2001 volume, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (TJC), although an expression of only a decade of the 30 years, generally refects the current consensus, but not on some signifcant points. The sixth edition of Guide to Biblical Coins (GBC) is more up to date, but reference may also be made to Shachar 2004; Ariel 2019a; 2021; and Shaham 2020.