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Stater - Rhoemetalces Hadrian
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom (Bosporos) |
|---|---|
| Year | 133 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Stater (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΒΑϹΙΛΕωϹ ΡΟΙΜΗΤΑΛΚΟΥ (Translation: [coin] of King Rhoemetalces) |
| Reverse description | Laureate and draped bust of the Roman Emperor Hadrian facing right, rendered with a short beard characteristic of Hadrianic portraiture, the hair arranged in neat layered curls. The portrait is set within a beaded border and occupies the full field of the reverse. Below the bust, the three-letter Bosporan era date ΘΚΥ appears in the lower field, corresponding to year 429 of the Bosporan era (133 AD). The design reflects the standard Bosporan coinage convention of pairing the reigning local king on the obverse with the contemporary Roman emperor on the reverse. |
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| Additional information |
Rhoemetalces ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client king under Roman suzerainty, and this stater belongs to the peculiar coinage tradition of Bosporos whereby the reigning local dynast shared the obverse or reverse with the Roman emperor — a practice that made explicit the political dependency holding the kingdom together. By Hadrian's reign the Bosporan gold stater had been debased far below its nominal weight relative to the Roman aureus, yet the series continued because Rome found the arrangement administratively convenient and the Bosporan court needed the prestige of a gold issue.