Selge was one of the few Pisidian cities with a long independent minting tradition stretching back to the fourth century BC, and its provincial bronzes under the joint reign of Valerian I and Gallienus reflect a city still asserting civic identity through coinage even as the empire fractured around it. The years 253–260 encompassed the catastrophe at Edessa, where Valerian was captured by Shapur I — the only Roman emperor taken prisoner in battle — an event that effectively ended the joint reign and plunged the western provinces into the chaos of the Gallic Empire.
Selge was one of the few Pisidian cities with a long independent minting tradition stretching back to the fourth century BC, and its provincial bronzes under the joint reign of Valerian I and Gallienus reflect a city still asserting civic identity through coinage even as the empire fractured around it. The years 253–260 encompassed the catastrophe at Edessa, where Valerian was captured by Shapur I — the only Roman emperor taken prisoner in battle — an event that effectively ended the joint reign and plunged the western provinces into the chaos of the Gallic Empire.