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Æ34 - Marcus Aurelius ϹΤΡ ΠΟ ΑΙΛ ΑΡΙΖΗΛΟΥ ϹΜΥΡΝΑΙΩΝ
| Issuer | Smyrna (Conventus of Smyrna) |
|---|---|
| Year | 175-177 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 21.74 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Two Nemeses, depicted as standing female figures, ride a biga drawn by a pair of griffins moving to the left. Each Nemesis reaches up to pluck her chiton at the neckline, the characteristic gesture of the twin goddesses; the left figure additionally holds the bridle of the griffins, while the right figure bears a cubit rule. The composition is a well-attested Smyrnaean type celebrating the city's particular devotion to the twin Nemeses. The reverse legend in Greek letters naming the strategos is distributed in the field. |
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| Additional information |
Smyrna's civic coinage under Marcus Aurelius reflects a city aggressively cultivating imperial favor — it held the title of neokoros twice over by this period, having built temples to Rome and later to Hadrian, and its magistrates competed fiercely for the prestige of naming their tenures on locally struck bronze. The strategos named in this issue, Popelius Ailios Arizelios, represents exactly that class of provincial elite who financed civic life in exchange for the immortality of a die.
The 175–177 window corresponds to the immediate aftermath of Avidius Cassius's revolt, during which Smyrna's loyalty to Marcus went unquestioned — a detail that likely accelerated the city's continued minting privileges.