Æ25 - Philip I ΙΟΥ ϹΕΠ ΚΟΛΩ ΝΕϹΙΒΙ ΜΗΤ

Nisibis occupied a strategic crossing point on the Mygdonius River and spent much of the third century shuttling between Roman and Parthian — later Sasanian — control. Philip I granted the city the title of metropolis, almost certainly as a political reward tied to the peace treaty he negotiated with Shapur I in 244 AD, a settlement widely condemned in Rome as humiliating. The colonial title encoded in the obverse legend reflects that same moment of imperial favor.

Philip's reign ended at the Battle of Verona in 249, cut short by Decius. Provincial bronze from Nisibis effectively ceased with him.