Laodikeia ad Lycum was founded by Antiochos II around 261–253 BC and named for his wife Laodike, growing into one of western Phrygia's wealthiest cities largely on the strength of its textile trade — particularly the glossy black wool produced locally. The city's silver coinage of this period reflects a municipal autonomy that expanded significantly after the Peace of Apameia in 188 BC stripped the Seleucids of their Anatolian holdings. By the time this didrachm was struck, Laodikeia operated under loose Attalid and then Roman suzerainty, minting on a reduced Rhodian weight standard rather than the Attic — a deliberate regional alignment.
Laodikeia ad Lycum was founded by Antiochos II around 261–253 BC and named for his wife Laodike, growing into one of western Phrygia's wealthiest cities largely on the strength of its textile trade — particularly the glossy black wool produced locally. The city's silver coinage of this period reflects a municipal autonomy that expanded significantly after the Peace of Apameia in 188 BC stripped the Seleucids of their Anatolian holdings. By the time this didrachm was struck, Laodikeia operated under loose Attalid and then Roman suzerainty, minting on a reduced Rhodian weight standard rather than the Attic — a deliberate regional alignment.