Calchedon's civic bronzes under Septimius Severus reflect the city's careful positioning during the civil wars of 193 AD — the Year of the Five Emperors. Calchedon sat directly across the Bosphorus from Byzantium, and when Severus besieged and punished Byzantium for supporting his rival Pescennius Niger, Calchedon's loyalty to the winning side almost certainly spared it a similar fate.
The city retained its minting privileges throughout the reign, an outcome far from guaranteed given the regional turbulence.
Calchedon's civic bronzes under Septimius Severus reflect the city's careful positioning during the civil wars of 193 AD — the Year of the Five Emperors. Calchedon sat directly across the Bosphorus from Byzantium, and when Severus besieged and punished Byzantium for supporting his rival Pescennius Niger, Calchedon's loyalty to the winning side almost certainly spared it a similar fate.
The city retained its minting privileges throughout the reign, an outcome far from guaranteed given the regional turbulence.