Æ33 - Marcus Aurelius ΔΙοϹΙΕΡΕΙΤΩΝ

Dios Hieron was a small Lydian community within the Ephesian conventus whose civic coinage under Marcus Aurelius coincides almost exactly with the opening years of his reign — and with the Parthian War of 161–166, during which Lucius Verus nominally commanded Roman forces in the east while Marcus governed from Rome. Provincial bronzes from minor Lydian mints during this window are frequently underdocumented; Dios Hieron itself struck in relatively limited volume, and the survival rate from sites this far inland reflects the disruption of the Antonine Plague, which reached the region around 165–166.