Denomination: AR Billon-Silver Denier Date: 1163 - 1201 CE

Description: Obverse: Helmeted bust left of knight wearing chainmail with crescent pointing up in left field and 5 pointed star in right field, 'BOAMVNDUS'
Reverse: Cross with crescent top right field pointing left, 'ANTIOCNIA'

Bohemond III was a son of Constance of Antioch (Princess regnant of the Principality of Antioch,a crusader state), by her first husband Raymond of Poitiers. Bohemond's father was killed at the Battle of Inab in 1149, and his mother ruled as regent until he was old enough to rule on his own. Constance, however, married a second time, to Raynald of Châtillon, who ruled as Prince of Antioch until being taken captive and imprisoned in Aleppo in 1160 (he remained there until 1176). Bohemond was by now of legal age to succeed, but Constance refused; King Baldwin III of Jerusalem intervened and declared Bohemond ruler of the principality. In 1163 Constance asked the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia for aid in order to maintain her rule; the citizens of Antioch then rioted and exiled her. She died later that year, allowing Bohemond to take full control.

This coin was minted for the Principality of Antioch, a state established during the first crusade that was at various times, and for most of its history, a vassal to Constantinople, The Kingdom of Jerusalem, or the Kingdom of Armenia before being conquered by Muslim forces under Baibars, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. The coin and its distinctive abstract portrait of a crusader knight was minted and issued during the reign of Bohemond III, prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201 AD.

The Principality of Antioch was founded in 1098 by Bohemond of Toranto (Bohemond I), an Italian crusader prince who led a Christian army in a siege of the Syrian city of Antioch held at the time by Seljuk Turks. The once great city had been in steady decline for more than 300 years since it found itself on the frontlines of the wars between Muslim and Christian rulers. During this time the city would change hands several times. It was in the possession of the Sultanate of Rum who had only held the city for 14 years by the time of the crusaders arrival. After a long and grueling siege of the city which boasted formidable defenses, Bohemond gained entry to the city and captured it only to be forced to immediately defend it against relief forces sent by the Sultan of Mosul. The crusaders defeated the relief force and, after some dispute over who would control the city, Bohemond declared himself Prince of Antioch and the rest of the crusaders moved on to Jerusalem.