Æ18 - Septimius Severus ΚΟΛωΝΙ

Carrhae needed little introduction to any Roman soldier — the site of Crassus's catastrophic defeat against the Parthians in 53 BC, where some 20,000 Romans died and the legionary standards were lost for decades. Septimius Severus, himself born in North Africa and acutely aware of the eastern frontier's instability, campaigned aggressively in Mesopotamia and briefly reduced Carrhae to a Roman colony, which is precisely what the colonial title in the legend records.

The city's colonial status under Severus was short-lived relative to the broader provincial coinage tradition.