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Æ27 - Septimius Severus ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ
| Issuer | Nicomedia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 193-211 |
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| Reference(s) | RPC V.2#73418 |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥ Κ Λ ϹΕ ϹΕΥΗΡΟϹ Π Ϲ (Translation: Emperor Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus) |
| Reverse description | A frontal view of a tetrastyle or octastyle temple set upon a stepped podium, rendered in schematic perspective with multiple columns visible across the facade. The triangular pediment above the colonnade contains a pellet at its centre, a conventional decorative motif. The structure almost certainly represents the neocorate temple of Nicomedia, asserting the city's twice-granted honour of housing an imperial cult. The Greek legend is inscribed in two lines in the lower exergual area and around the field, proclaiming Nicomedia's double neocorate status. |
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| Additional information |
Nicomedia's claim to the title ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ — "temple warden," here held twice, as the ΔΙϹ specifies — was a fiercely political designation in the imperial period. Cities across Asia Minor competed aggressively for neokorate status, which required direct imperial authorization and conferred enormous prestige in the provincial hierarchy. Nicomedia, as the administrative capital of Bithynia-Pontus, held its first neokorate under Hadrian and pressed for the second under Severus himself, likely leveraging loyalty during the civil wars of 193–194 against Pescennius Niger, whose base of support ran deep through the eastern provinces.