Person

Aretas III

r. c. 87–62 BCE · 1st century BCE

Aretas III was king of the Nabataeans who extended his kingdom north and took Damascus around 85 BCE, ruling it for several years. He intervened in the Hasmonean civil war in Judaea and was forced to withdraw by the Roman general Scaurus, to whom he later paid tribute. He was the first Nabataean king to strike coins.

Aretas III
Image: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Nabataean Kingdom

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Aretas III. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aretas-iii
MLA
“Aretas III.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aretas-iii. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Aretas III.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aretas-iii.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Aretas III’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aretas-iii (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻