Æ26 - Marcus Aurelius Τ Κ ΖΗΛΟϹ ΑΝΕΘ ΑΦΡΟΔΕΙϹΙΕΩΝ

Aphrodisias had a peculiar relationship with Rome built almost entirely on the city's claim that Aphrodite — divine ancestor of the Julians — made it a natural ally of Rome from the start. Julius Caesar granted the city significant privileges on that basis, and Augustus confirmed them. By Marcus Aurelius's reign the city was trading on that connection still, issuing civic bronzes as an assertion of continued local autonomy under the *conventus* system, where assizes brought Roman judicial authority directly into provincial towns.

The magistrate name ΖΗΛΟϹ preserved in the inscription is a rare attestation of that individual's office.