20 Lira Aphrodisias

Part of the Darphane's ongoing ancient cities series, this issue highlights Aphrodisias, the Carian city in southwest Anatolia whose cult of Aphrodite gave it unusual political leverage during the Roman Imperial period — emperors including Augustus and Julius Caesar cultivated direct ties with the city, granting it tax exemptions and autonomy that it jealously guarded for centuries. Excavations led by Kenan Erim beginning in the 1960s transformed scholarly understanding of the site, particularly its exceptionally preserved sculpture school.