Apollonia Pontika — the Black Sea Greek colony founded by Miletus around 610 BC — struck these drachms across a remarkably long production window, with the magistrate name pairings serving as the primary chronological anchors for modern scholars. The Nikon and Aristippou pairing correlates to a later phase of the series, when the city was already under increasing pressure from Thracian neighbors and, eventually, Roman commercial dominance of the region. Sulla sacked Apollonia in 84 BC and removed the famous bronze colossus of Apollo — the city never fully recovered.
Apollonia Pontika — the Black Sea Greek colony founded by Miletus around 610 BC — struck these drachms across a remarkably long production window, with the magistrate name pairings serving as the primary chronological anchors for modern scholars. The Nikon and Aristippou pairing correlates to a later phase of the series, when the city was already under increasing pressure from Thracian neighbors and, eventually, Roman commercial dominance of the region. Sulla sacked Apollonia in 84 BC and removed the famous bronze colossus of Apollo — the city never fully recovered.