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Æ24 - Commodus ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Philadelphia, Lydia (under Roman Imperial authority) |
|---|---|
| Year | 184-190 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Tyche, the city goddess of Philadelphia, standing facing left, wearing a kalathos (modius crown) upon her head. She holds a ship's rudder in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left arm, emblematic of fortune, prosperity, and divine protection over the city. The figure is rendered in the conventional provincial Greek style, with drapery falling in loose folds. The ethnic legend of the Philadelphians is inscribed around the reverse field. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΩΝ |
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Philadelphia in Lydia — modern Alaşehir in western Turkey — was a city with an unusually strong tradition of civic loyalty to Rome, and its bronze coinage under Commodus reflects the studied flattery typical of provincial mints angling for imperial favor. Commodus was renamed from Lucius Aurelius to Marcus Aurelius Commodus upon adoption, and later styled himself the new Hercules, demanding divine honors that made even his own court uneasy.
The city survived a catastrophic earthquake in 17 AD and was rebuilt substantially under Tiberius, which cemented a long civic memory of dependence on imperial goodwill.