Æ19 - Caracalla COL MET ANTONINIANA AVR ALEX

Edessa occupied an uncomfortable middle position between Rome and Parthia for much of its existence, but Caracalla's visit to the city in 213–217 AD coincided with his broader eastern campaign and his increasingly erratic personal cult. The colonial title COL MET ANTONINIANA — granting Edessa the status of a Roman colony — was awarded by Caracalla himself, a privilege that came with tax exemptions and legal rights under Roman law, and which this coinage was minted to advertise.

Caracalla was murdered in 217 near Carrhae, a short distance from Edessa, by a soldier acting on orders from the praetorian prefect Macrinus. The colonial coinage ceased almost immediately after.