Æ16 - Augustus ΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΥΣ ΑΣΚΛΑΣ ΕΦΕ ΤΡΥΦΟΝ

This issue belongs to a class of civic bronze produced by Ephesus under the supervision of local magistrates whose names — here ΑΣΚΛΑΣ and ΤΡΥΦΩΝ, with ΤΡΥΦΩΝ holding the title of grammateus — appear prominently as the issuing authority. The title ΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΥΣ designates a high priest of the imperial cult, an institution Augustus actively encouraged in the eastern provinces as a mechanism for integrating local elites into Roman religious and administrative structures. Ephesus had been named the capital of the province of Asia by the late Republic and was a natural center for this cult activity.