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Denarius - Ptolemy
| Issuer | Mauretania |
|---|---|
| Year | 36 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | An upright Herculean club placed vertically at center within the field, serving as the principal type and dynastic emblem of the Mauretanian royal house. The regnal date RA XVI (year 16 of Ptolemy's reign, corresponding to AD 36) is distributed around the club in the field. The entire composition is enclosed within a laurel wreath border, its individual leaves rendered with fine detail despite the worn state of the die. The combination of the club and wreath evokes both Hercules, the mythological ancestor claimed by the dynasty, and the Hellenistic royal tradition of honorific imagery. |
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| Additional information |
Ptolemy of Mauretania ruled as a client king under Rome, a relationship that held until Caligula had him executed in 40 AD — allegedly out of jealousy over the reception Ptolemy received at a public spectacle in Rome. This coin predates that by only a few years, placing it squarely within the final, stable phase of his reign before Roman patience with the dynasty expired entirely.