Aretas II was King of the Nabateans from 103 BCE to 96 BCE. Aretas II was a contemporary of the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus, whose expansionist policies were a direct threat to the Nabatean Kingdom. During the siege of Gaza by Jannaeus in 99, the besieged Gazans requested help from "Aretas, King of the Arabs", but he did not come to their aid and the city was destroyed. Aretas is credited with beginning Nabatean minting. Like his predecessor, the king's name as transcribed in Arabic is الحارث, Al-Ḥāriṯ, or الحارثة, Al-Ḥāriṯa, stemming from Harith which means "the collector, provider; Plowman; Cultivator".