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Tetradrachm - Zenobia and Selene Alexandria
| Issuer | Palmyrene Empire (Roman splinter states) |
|---|---|
| Year | 272 |
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| Diameter | 20 mm |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Queen Zenobia (Septimia Zenobia) facing right, her hair elaborately coifed and bound, wearing a diadem and imperial robes. The bust is rendered in a provincial Alexandrian style, with bold, somewhat stylized features characteristic of late third-century Egyptian coinage. The encircling Greek legend reads ϹЄΠΤΙΜΙΑ ΖΗ ΝΟΒΙΑ ϹЄΒ, identifying the queen by her full name and title. The coin's fabric is typical of Alexandrian potin tetradrachms of the period, with a slightly irregular flan. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Zenobia's Egyptian coinage was struck during her son Vaballathus's nominal co-rule with Aurelian — a fiction that collapsed entirely in 272 when she dropped the pretense, declared herself Augusta, and issued coins in her own name. The Alexandrian mint, then under Palmyrene control, produced this issue in the final months before Aurelian's campaign decisively ended the empire at the Battle of Immae.
Surviving examples are scarce by any measure. The mint's output under Palmyrene authority spanned less than two years.