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Æ28 - Severus Alexander ΜΗΤ ΚΟΛ ΕΔΕϹϹΗΝωΝ
| Issuer | Edessa (Mesopotamia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 222-235 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.71 g |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | The Tyche of Edessa enthroned left upon a decorated base, holding in her extended hand a small tetrastyle temple with pediment; her turreted crown is surmounted by a figure of Aquarius standing facing, pouring water from a skin carried over the shoulder. A lighted altar stands at her feet, and two stars are placed symmetrically in the field on either side of the throne. In the exergue, a river god — likely the Daisan — swims to the left, personifying the local waterway of Edessa. The reverse legend identifies the city as a Metropolis and Colony of the Edessenes. |
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| Additional information |
Edessa occupied a uniquely precarious position during Severus Alexander's reign — nominally a Roman colony (Colonia Metropolis, hence the ΜΗΤ ΚΟΛ legend) yet deeply embedded in the cultural orbit of Parthia and, increasingly, the rising Sasanian Empire. The city's Abgarid dynasty had only recently been deposed by Caracalla in 216 AD, and the colonial status was as much an instrument of political control as an administrative designation.
Severus Alexander was killed by his own troops on the Rhine in 235, ending a dynasty. Provincial bronzes from Edessa effectively cease at that moment.