Catalog
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| Issuer | Nicomedia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 244-249 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Philip I facing right, seen from the rear, with the radiate crown rendered in bold relief. The emperor's military dress is indicated by the paludamentum draped over the cuirass. The surrounding Greek legend runs along the beaded border of the coin's obverse field. |
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| Obverse lettering | Μ ΙΟΥΛΙΟϹ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ ΑΥΓ (Translation: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus) |
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| Additional information |
Nicomedia's title ΔΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ — "twice temple warden" — reflects the city's hard-won status as host to two imperial cult temples, a designation that carried real political weight in the competition among Bithynian cities for Roman favor. Philip I, an Arab from the Hauran region who seized power after the death of Gordian III on the Euphrates, was an emperor the eastern cities needed to court carefully given his uncertain dynastic footing and the persistent rivalry between Nicomedia and Nicaea for provincial preeminence.