Æ36 - Commodus ΕΦΕϹΙΩΝ Β ΝΕΟ ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ

The ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ (homonoia) coinage struck between Ephesus and Pergamon reflects a formal alliance between two cities that were bitter rivals for provincial status. Both held the title neokoros — temple warden for the imperial cult — and both had spent decades lobbying Rome for precedence. These homonoia issues were diplomatic theater: public, monumental in scale, and almost certainly driven by the need to present a unified front to Roman administrators who grew tired of inter-city squabbling. Commodus, freshly sole emperor after Marcus Aurelius died in 180, provided a convenient focal point for that performance.