Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Edessa (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 218-222 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Tyche of Edessa seated left upon a rocky outcrop, holding stalks of grain (corn ears) in her extended right hand, personifying the city's fortune and fertility. A lighted altar appears at her feet, and below the rock, the river god Skirtus is depicted swimming left, representing the local waterway associated with Edessa. The reverse legend identifying the Macedonian Aurelius colony of Edessa is disposed around the field in Greek characters. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Edessa occupied a peculiar position in the Roman imperial order — nominally subject to Rome since Trajan's eastern campaigns, yet governed by its Abgarid dynasty with considerable autonomy well into the third century. Coins struck there under Elagabalus reflect that hybrid status: a Roman emperor's titles rendered in Greek, issued from a city that still thought of itself as the capital of Osrhoene.
Elagabalus himself never visited Mesopotamia. His connection to the eastern provinces was Syrian, not Edessene, and the city's continued output under his name was administrative reflex rather than imperial attention.