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Æ22 - Antoninus Pius ΜΗΤ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΩΤ ΝΙΚοΜΗΔΕΙΑϹ
| Issuer | Nicomedia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 138-161 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Reverse description | Cybele, the Phrygian mother goddess, depicted seated on a throne facing left, wearing a turreted crown (kalathos) upon her head, her body draped in a long chiton and himation. She extends her right hand forward holding a patera, while her left arm rests upon a tympanum placed beside the throne. The composition is set within a circular Greek legend denoting the city's titles, and the provincial style of the engraving is consistent with Nicomedian civic bronzes of the Antonine period. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΜΗΤ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΩΤ ΝΙΚοΜΗΔΕΙΑϹ (Translation: of Nicomedia, metropolis and first) |
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| Additional information |
Nicomedia's claim to the title encoded in that reverse legend — "Metropolis and First of Bithynia" — was bitterly contested by Nicaea throughout the imperial period, a rivalry so persistent and undignified that both cities repeatedly petitioned emperors for adjudication. The dispute was essentially about fiscal and ceremonial precedence within the provincial assembly, with real consequences for where imperial cult festivals were hosted and which city's elite collected the associated revenues.
Under Antoninus Pius, Nicomedia held the advantage. The title was not permanent.