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Æ26 - Elagabalus ΜΑΡ ΑΥΡ ΑΝΤ ΕΔΕϹϹΑ
| Issuer | Edessa (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 218-222 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and cuirassed bust of Emperor Elagabalus facing left, depicted holding a decorated shield viewed from the front, presenting the emperor in a martial, military aspect. The bust is rendered in the provincial style characteristic of Mesopotamian civic coinage of the Severan period. A partially legible Greek imperial titulature legend surrounds the field. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥΤΟΚΡ(?) ΑΝΤ... |
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Edessa occupied a uniquely precarious position during Elagabalus's reign — a nominally Roman client city in Mesopotamia that had been formally annexed under Caracalla in 214 AD, just four years before this coin was struck. The city retained strong Aramaic cultural identity and its own civic coinage tradition, which Rome permitted as a tool of local legitimacy rather than suppressing it. Elagabalus himself had Syrian roots through his mother Julia Soaemias and his priestly role at Emesa, making his acceptance in eastern cities like Edessa less politically fraught than it might otherwise have been.