Æ30 - Elagabalus Α ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ Δ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΙ

Ephesus held the title of neokoros — temple warden of the imperial cult — four times by the reign of Elagabalus, a distinction fiercely competed among the great cities of Asia Minor and adjudicated by the Roman Senate. The legend ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΙ references the ecumenical games held at Ephesus, a festival of pan-Hellenic ambition that the city used aggressively to assert its primacy over rivals like Smyrna and Pergamon. Elagabalus confirmed and exploited these civic honors to shore up loyalty in the wealthy eastern provinces during his chaotic four-year reign.