Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/707

SYRIA.] NUMISMATICS 649 by Antony, have a good head on the obverse. Of Armenia there are a few silver and bronze coins of late sovereigns. Syria. The great series of Syrian money begins with bronze coins of Trajan, struck, according to his custom, for the province. From these we pass to the money of the Seleucid kings of Syria, only rivalled for length and abundance by that of the Ptolemies, which it excels in its series of portraits, though it is far inferior in its gold money and wants the large and well-executed bronze pieces which make the Egyptian currency complete. The gold of the Seleucids is scarce, and their main coinage is a splendid series of tetradrachms bearing the portraits of the successive sovereigns. The reverse types are varied for the class of regal money. The execution of the portraits is good, and forms the best continuous history of portraiture for the third and second centuries before our era. The reverses are far less careful. The weight is Attic, but the cities of Phoenicia were ultimately allowed to strike on their own standard. Seleucus I. began by striking gold staters and tetra drachms with the types of Alexander the Great. The same king, like his contemporaries, then took his own types : for gold staters, his head with a bull s horn, and 011 the reverse a horse s head with bull s horns ; for tetradrachms, Alexander s head in a helmet of hide with bull s horn and lion s skin, and Nice crowning a trophy, or the head of Zeus, and Athene fighting in a car drawn by four or two elephants with bull s horns. The Zeus and elephant-car type is remarkable for presenting in some cases the names of Seleucus I. and his son Antiochus I. as colleagues. Antiochus I., like his father, first struck tetradrachms with Alexandrine types, and then with his own head, Heracles seated and Apollo on the omphalos occupy ing the reverse. The portrait of Antiochus has a characteristic realism, though marked by the deep recessing of the eye which is a characteristic of the school of Lysippus. The tetradrachms assigned to Antiochus II., Seleucus II., Antiochus Hierax (a doubt ful attribution), Seleucus III., and young Antiochus his son are not specially noteworthy. Antiochus III. is represented by a fine and interesting series. He alone of the Seleucids seems to have struck the great octadrachm in gold in rivalry of the Ptolemies. His por trait is vigorous, and the elephant which varies the seated Apollo on the reverse of his silver tetradrachms relieves the heraldic dry- ness of that type. There are rare copper coins of the rebel satraps Molon and Achreus. The regal series is continued under Seleucus IV., and again becomes interesting with the money of Antiochus IV. (Epiphanes). His portrait is extremely characteristic, marked by the mad obstinacy which is the key to the tyrant s history. The most remarkable coin is a tetradrachm with the head of Antiochus in the character of Zeus, an instance of audacity un exampled in coinage. In his time mints became numerous in the bronze coinage, and there is a remarkable series in that metal with Ptolemaic types, marking his short-lived usurpation in Egypt Passing by his son Antiochus V., we note a great change in the coinage of Demetrius I. The silver tetradrachms now bear both mints and dates, a custom that generally prevails henceforward. In one type the heads of Demetrius and Queen Laodice occur side by side. One of these coins in the British Museum is struck on a .tetradrachm of Timarchus, the revolted satrap of Babylon, who takes the style " Great King." With Alexander I. (Balas) Tyre and Sidon begin to strike royal tetradrachms on their own Phoenician weight. The money of Demetrius II. follows, then that of the young Antiochus VI., with the most carefully executed portrait in the whole series, which, despite its weakness, has a certain charm of sweetness that marks it as a new type in art. The same artist s hand seems apparent in the fine portrait of the cruel usurper Tryphon, whose features have a beauty of expression that must surely be ideal, and also in the picturesque spiked Macedonian helmet with a goat s horn and cheek-piece which occupies the reverse, on which is written after " King Tryphon" the strange title " auto- crator. " Antiochus VII. continues the series with, amongst other coins, the solitary bronze piece of Jerusalem, bearing the lily and the Seleucid anchor. On his money of Tarsus we note the first appearance of the pyre of the local Oriental divinity. The restored Demetrius II. now reappears, the Phoenician money with his beard less head, the rest usually with the beard he had grown in his Parthian captivity. Alexander II. (Zebina) follows, and then Cleopatra, widow of Demetrius II., Alexander I., and Antiochus VII., next appears as colleague of her son Antiochus VIII. Her coarse features are in keeping with the vileness of her character. Antiochus VIII. alone amid the subsequent Seleucids has an interesting coinage, and the empire closes with the coarse money of the Armenian Tigranes, his portrait with the lofty native tiara, and for reverse Antioch seated, the Orontes swimming at her feet. Comma- There is a copper coinage of the cities of Commagene, Samosata, igene. and Zeugma, and less important mints. The money of Samosata is of the time of the kings of Commagene and also imperial, this showing the type of the city derived from the famous statue of Antioch. The series of Zeugma is imperial, and has the subject of a temple on a mountain. The money of the kings of Commagene is in bronze, of late date, and not of much interest. Cyrrhestica has bronze coins of a few cities, nearly all imperial Cyrrhes- the ch le f mints being Cyrrhus and Hierapolis. The last bear the tica inscription 0EAS 2YPIA2 lEPOLTOAITftN, and have figures of the goddess seated on a throne flanked by lions or riding on a lion, thus directly connecting her with Cybele. Of Chalcidene there are bronze coins of Chalcis and of the Chalci- tetrarchs, and Palmyrene shows only the small bronze pieces of dene &c 1 almyra, the money of Zenobia and the family of Odenathus being found in the series of Alexandria. Seleucis and Pieria, the brother states (on the coins AAEA$fiN AHMftN), have bronze coins, dated (149-147 B.C.) and undated. But the bulk of the money of this territory is of the great city of Antioch on the Orontes. This long series, second only to that of Antioch. Alexandria in quantity, is of far less interest from the want of variety in the types, but it is curious chronologically. The coinage is both autonomous bronze before and of Roman times, and imperial base metal and bronze. The base metal money is at first of debased silver, then of potin, and at last of bronze washed with silver. The imperial bronze coins have at the same time both Greek and Latin inscriptions, the last with S.C. Trajan combines the Greek inscription with the Latin S.C., and when the city had been made a colonia by Caracalla this is indicated in Greek inscriptions from Elagabalus downwards. No less than four eras are used. The era of the Seleucids, the dates being from 97 to 37 B.C., occurs on the autonomous money ; so also the Pharsalian era, from 38 to 22 B.C., and on imperial coins as late as Titus ; the Actian era on autono mous coins, from 6 B.C. to 13 A.D., continuing under the early emperors ; and the Csesarian era on the autonomous class, from 55 to 158 A.D. The mass of imperial coins and all after Titus are dated by the tribunitian years of the emperors. The leading types are the figure of Antioch seated, the river Orontes swimming at her feet, from the famous statue by Eutychides, and the eagle on a thunderbolt, a palm in front. Under Hadrian the eagle is repre sented carrying an ox s leg, a reference to the story of the foundation of the city when an eagle carried off part of the sacrifice and de posited it on the site which was consequently chosen. There are few other types. The art is rude, though certain base metal coins show a largeness and decision in the heads, while wanting Hellenic refinement. The imperial series is very full and has an historical value as showing what emperors ruled Syria. It includes money of Sulpicius Antoninus, the Uranius Antoninus of Roman gold also struck in Syria. The series ends with Valerian, though it begins anew in the Roman provincial money of the reform of Diocletian, to be noticed later. Of Apamea there are bronze coins of the age of the Seleucids, Apamea, the elephant type which occurs being appropriate. At Emesa in the &c. bronze imperial money Sulpicius Antoninus reappears, one of his coins having for reverse the characteristically Syrian type of a sacred conical stone in a temple. The money of Gabala is autono mous and imperial, with, in this class, curious mythological types. Laodicea has an important series. It begins with Phoenician tetra drachms and bronze money of the later Seleucids. The tetradrachms have a turrcted and veiled female bust of the city, a favourite Syrian and Phoenician type. These autonomous coins are followed by an imperial coinage like that of Antioch ; from Caracalla downwards Laodicea is a colonia ; the inscriptions become Latin, then, very strangely, Greek on the obverse of the coins and Latin on the reverse. Seleucia has a similar autonomous and imperial currency, but does not become a colonia. There is a curious type of an apparently open shrine of Zeus Casius containing a sacred stone. In Ccele-Syria there is bronze of Damascus, late autonomous and Coele- imperial ; the city becomes a colonia. The imperial money of Syria. Heliopolis, a colonia, shows a great temple in perspective, another temple containing an ear of corn as the central object of worship, and a view of the Acropolis with the great temple upon it, and steps leading up the rock. The coinage of Phoenicia is a large and highly interesting series. Phoeni- The autonomous money is here important, and indicates the cia. ancient wealth of the great marts of the coast. The earliest coins were struck during and shortly after the Persian rule, and the most important classes have not been certainly fixed. It is therefore needful to speak of them before describing the attributed money of the cities. These coins are of Phoenician weight, except one class, which follows the Persic standard. The great currency is of silver octadrachms. The types, limited in number, are Oriental in character ; the leading one is the war-galley ; the king of Persia also occurs, and the fish-god Dagon. The ail is hard, but has a force that reminds us of archaic Greek ; it is, however, Oriental. The inscriptions are in the Phoenician character. Three great classes are distinguished. Octadrachms range from about 400 B.C. to Alexander s time. The types are a war-galley in full sail and the king in a car ; then for the obverse the war-galley beneath the walls of a fort, and below two lions. Didrachms with a similar obverse have for reverse the king slaying a lion. Octadrachms follow with the war -galley and the king in his car apparently followed by a vassal. These coins have been assigned to Sidon. A series of tetradrachms is of less importance. The obverse has a XVII. 82