#romanprovincial

[scurra-vagus-provincial-blog]

Alexandria Troas, Troas; Caracalla Caracalla Bellinger A298, Type 22. Date 214-217 AD, obverse M AVREL - ANTONIN Reverse COLALE - XANAVG image of Apollo Smintheus, with one leg up.

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In 140 BC the Phoenician village called "Biruta" was destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon in his contest with Antiochus VII Sidetes for the throne of the Macedonian Seleucid monarchy. Later it was soon rebuilt on a more conventional Hellenistic plan and renamed Laodicea in Phoenicia (Greek: Λαοδίκεια ἡ ἐν Φοινίκῃ) or Laodicea in Canaan in honor of a Seleucid Laodice. The city was conquered by the Romans of Pompey in 64 BC and renamed "Berytus", as a reference to the name of the old original phoenician port-village. The city was assimilated into the Roman Empire, veteran soldiers were sent there, and large building projects were undertaken. Berytus was considered the most Roman city in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.[5] It was one of four Roman colonies in the Syria-Phoenicia region and the only one with full Ius Italicum (meaning: exemption from imperial taxation). Its territory under Claudius reached the Bekaa valley and included Heliopolis: it was the only area mostly latin-speaking in the Syria-Phoenicia region, because settled by Roman colonists who even promoted agriculture in the fertile lands around actual Yammoune. From the 1st century BC the Bekaa valley served as a source of grain for the Roman provinces of the Levant and even for the same Rome (today the valley makes up to 40 percent of Lebanon's arable land):Roman colonists created there even a "country district" called Pagus Augustus. PHOENICIA, Berytus. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ (30mm, 24.03 g, 6h). Laureate and cuirassed bust right / Tyche-Astarte standing facing, with left foot on prow, holding stylis in right hand; to right, Nike on short column, crowning her; all with tetrastyle temple. Sawaya – (but obv. die D340). Good Fine, dusty green patina. An apparently rare obverse die with bust seen from front, which Sawaya only knew of from one coin (his no. 1705). That coin features a more ornate temple with sculptural acroteria along the roofline and Cupids riding dolphins to either side of the steps.

[scurra-vagus-provincial-blog]

CILICIA, Selinus. Maximus. Caesar, 236-238 AD. Æ 21mm (5.78 g). Bare-headed and draped bust right / TRAIAN Q CELIN, twin goddesses facing, each holding grain-ears. SNG Levante -. VF, dark brown patina. Rare.

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Unlike Imperial coins of Rome, cities outside of Rome proper often have their own designs and their local mints. These provincials are fun to collect and offer very wide subject matters. Their legends are in Greek, so it is a little harder to decipher than imperial design. This one is from the city or Amasia.

The city of Amasya (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈmasja]), the Amaseia or Amasia of antiquity,[3] stands in the mountains above the Black Sea coast, set apart from the rest of Anatolia in a narrow valley along the banks of the Yeşilırmak River. Although near the Black Sea, this area is high above the coast and has an inland climate, well-suited to growing apples, for which Amasya province, one of the provinces in north-central Anatolia Turkey, is famed. It was the home of the geographer Strabo and the birthplace of the 15th century scholar and physician Amirdovlat Amasiatsi. Located in a narrow cleft of the Yesilirmak (Iris) river, it has a history of 7,500 years which has left many traces still evident today.

In antiquity, Amaseia (Greek: Αμάσεια) was a fortified city high on the cliffs above the river. It has a long history as a wealthy provincial capital, producing kings and princes, artists, scientists, poets and thinkers, from the kings of Pontus, through Strabo the geographer, to many generations of the Ottoman imperial dynasty. With its Ottoman-period wooden houses and the tombs of the Pontus kings carved into the cliffs overhead, Amasya is attractive to visitors. In recent years there has been a lot of investment in tourism and more foreign and Turkish tourists visit the city.

PONTUS, Amasia. Severus Alexander. AD 222-235. Æ (34mm, 24.58 g, 1h). Dated CY 228 (AD 225/6). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Altar of Zeus Strateus, surmounted by eagle standing facing, head left, with wings spread; tree to left; above, Helios driving facing quadriga. RG 105; BMC 39. Good Fine, green-brown patina.

[scurra-vagus-provincial-blog]

CILICIA, Flaviopolis-Flavias. Domitian. AD 81-96. Æ Laureate head right; Tyche seated right, holding grain ears; at feet, half-length figure of river-god Pyramus swimming right. RPC II 1758; SNG France 2168; SNG Levante 1530

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LYCAONIA, Iconium. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ. Laureate and draped bust of Antoninus Pius right / Helmeted head of Athena right. von Aulock, Lykaoniens, 308; SNG France -; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG von Aulock 8648.

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Judaea, Ascalon 105-106 A.D Obverse: Veiled & turreted head of Tyche right, ACK to right. Reverse: War Galley right with oars, date ΘC (209) in top field above.

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LYDIA, Magnesia ad Sipylum. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Time of the Antonines, AD 138-192. Æ . Head of Sipylos right / River-god Hermos reclining left on overturned amphora. Cf. RPC 1228; cf. BMC 18-23.