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Æ - Archelaus Caesarea
| Issuer | Kings of Cappadocia |
|---|---|
| Year | 9 BC - 8 BC |
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| Reference(s) | I#3614 , Simonetta#25 , Syd Malloy#35 , Ganschow I#26 |
| Obverse description | Diademed head of King Archelaus of Cappadocia facing right, rendered with flowing, layered hair falling to the neck in the Hellenistic tradition. The facial features are modelled in high relief, displaying a strong profile with a prominent nose and well-defined jaw. A simple diadem band is visible across the forehead, denoting royal status. The field is plain and unlettered, the portrait occupying the full flan in the manner typical of late Hellenistic royal bronze coinage. |
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| Reverse description | A conical cult stone (baetyl) of the goddess Ma, sacred at Comana Cappadocia, shown centrally on the reverse with what appears to be a horizontal object or sceptre across its apex. The regnal year numeral ΚΗ (28) appears to the upper right of the baetyl, denoting the twenty-eighth year of Archelaus's reign. The Greek legend ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΣ is inscribed along the lower portion of the field, identifying the mint city of Caesarea Mazaca. The overall composition is characteristic of Cappadocian royal bronzes, with the sacred stone serving as the principal reverse type. |
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| Additional information |
Archelaus ruled Cappadocia as a client king under Rome for over half a century — the longest reign of any Cappadocian monarch — yet his end came not on the battlefield but in a Roman courtroom. Summoned to Rome by Tiberius around 17 AD on charges widely considered pretextual, he died there shortly after, possibly by his own hand, and Tiberius promptly annexed Cappadocia as a Roman province. This issue predates that humiliation by roughly a quarter century, struck when Archelaus still held enough standing with Augustus to rename his capital Caesarea in the emperor's honor — the city known earlier as Mazaca.