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Æ23 - Philip I ΙΕΡΑΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ
| Issuer | City of Hierapolis (Conventus of Cibyra) |
|---|---|
| Year | 244-249 |
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| Weight | 6.19 g |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Otacilia Severa facing right, rendered in the provincial style typical of Phrygian civic coinage of the mid-third century AD. The empress wears a stephane diadem and her hair is elaborately dressed. The bust is set within a border of dots, with the Greek legend disposed around the periphery of the field. The portrait displays the characteristic features associated with Otacilia Severa's official iconography, including a refined facial profile and elaborately arranged coiffure. |
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| Reverse description | Hygieia, goddess of health, is depicted seated to the left upon a throne or chair, her drapery rendered in flowing folds. She extends her right hand holding a patera from which a large serpent, coiling upward before her, feeds. To the right of the central group stands the diminutive figure of Telesphorus, the chthonic deity of recuperation, wearing his characteristic hooded cloak. The composition reflects the strong association of Hierapolis with healing cults, and the legend ΙΕΡΑΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ encircles the reverse field. |
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Philip I came to power after the death of Gordian III on the Mesopotamian campaign in 244 — circumstances suspicious enough that ancient sources accused Philip of engineering the murder himself. Cities across the eastern provinces responded quickly to the new emperor, issuing civic bronzes to signal loyalty and secure goodwill. Hierapolis in Phrygia, a prosperous textile center sitting on the travertine terraces above the Lycus valley, was among them.
The city's coins of this period fall under the administrative jurisdiction of the Cibyra conventus, one of the assize districts through which Roman governors conducted judicial circuits in Asia Minor.