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Æ23 - Traianus Ascalon
| Issuer | Ascalon (Philistia/Judaea) |
|---|---|
| Year | 117-118 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Tyche-Astarte, the city goddess of Ascalon, depicted standing left atop the prow of a galley, holding a sceptre in her raised right hand and an aphlaston (ornamental ship's stern piece) in her lowered left hand. An altar appears to the left of the figure, while in the right field a dove is depicted above the civic date mark corresponding to regnal year 215 of the Ascalonian era (117/118 AD). The composition reflects the strong maritime identity of the city and the syncretic nature of its chief deity. |
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| Reverse lettering | ACKAΛO AKC (Translation: Ascalon [117/118 AD]) |
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| Mint | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Ascalon was one of the few cities in the southern Levant that retained mint activity with relative continuity through the early imperial period, partly owing to its status as a free city — a privilege it had held since Pompey reorganized the region in 63 BC. This piece dates to the transition year of Trajan's death and Hadrian's accession, a moment of genuine political uncertainty along the eastern frontier, where Trajan's Parthian campaigns had just collapsed and the province was still absorbing the aftermath of the second Jewish revolt under Quietus.
Ascalon's civic era dating, beginning 104/3 BC, is the key to pinning issues like this one to specific regnal transitions.