Catalog
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| Issuer | Adraa (Arabia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 253-268 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A dome-shaped baetyl (sacred stone) is depicted resting upon a stepped altar or base, flanked by columns, with horizontal lines between the columns indicating a stepped architectural setting. The baetyl, a cult object of particular significance in Arabian religious practice, is centrally positioned and forms the dominant reverse type. The composition reflects local religious iconography common to civic bronze coinage of the Decapolis and Arabian region during the Imperial period. The reverse legend names the city of Adraa and records the civic era date 151 (ΡΝΑ) in the era of the province of Arabia, corresponding to the reign of Valerian and Gallienus. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Adraa — modern Deraa in southern Syria — was a minor Decapolis city that punched above its weight in civic coinage during the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus. The city's bronze issues from this period reflect the last gasp of autonomous provincial minting in the region; after the Palmyrene crisis of the 260s fragmented Roman authority across the eastern provinces, civic bronze production in Arabia effectively ceased. This piece dates to a window when the empire was simultaneously managing Sassanid pressure on the eastern frontier and the catastrophic capture of Valerian at Edessa in 260.