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Æ26 - Severus Alexander ΜΗΤ Κ (Λ) ΕΔΕϹϹΗΝωΝ
| Issuer | Edessa (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 222-235 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of Severus Alexander facing right, depicted in three-quarter frontal view, with paludamentum fastened at the shoulder. The effigy displays the emperor's characteristic youthful features. A circular Greek legend surrounds the portrait in the field, reading ΑΥΤ Κ Μ Α ϹΕΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟϹ ϹΕΒ, identifying the emperor with his imperial titles. The style is typical of provincial bronze coinage from the Severan period, with bold relief and somewhat irregular flan. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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Edessa occupied a uniquely awkward position under Roman rule — nominally a client kingdom until Caracalla abolished the Abgarid dynasty outright in 214 AD, just eight years before Severus Alexander's accession. The city's civic coinage under Alexander therefore reflects a municipality still recalibrating its identity, issuing bronzes under the title of metropolis (ΜΗΤ) that the newly reorganized colonia status demanded rather than earned through any traditional Roman process.
Mesopotamian provincial bronzes of this weight class are frequently found with heavy deposits from burial in alluvial soil — the Balikh River valley has produced the bulk of known examples.