DOI issue:
Artykuły
DOI article:Stroobants, Fran: How the Sagalassians stick to their gods: some unpublished 3rd-century coins from Sagalassos
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31073#0027
Kraków 2014
FRAŃ STROOBANTS
The Royal Library of Belgium - Coin Cabinet
How the Sagalassians Stick to Their Gods. Some
Unpublished 3^-Century Coins Rom Sagalassos
[NTRODUCTtON'
High in the Taurus Mountains of Southwest Turkey, the city of Sagaiassos
issued its own civic coins for centuries during Heilenistic and Roman times." Post-
humous Alexander tetradrachms^ were issued between 223 and 191 BC, and can be
linked to Seieucid military campaignsd Very probabiy, during the reign of Amyn-
tas, smaH anonymous bronze coins, the most frequent type representing the head
ofZeus on the obverse and two goats on the reverse,^ were produced in iarge num-
bers. Moreover, the modest production of siiver drachms^ and didrachms^ should
presumabiy also be dated to this period.^ The iocai bronze coinage was continued
during Roman times, when smail change was issued intermittently from the reign
' This research was carried out within the framework of the project "Comparing regionality and sustain-
ability in Pisidia, Boeotia, Picenum and northwestern Gaul between Iron and Middle Ages (1000 BC-1000 AD)"
which is part of the lnter-university Attraction Poles Phase VII (2012-2017), funded by BELSPO. A special word
of thanks should be addressed to the following curators, who gave me the opportunity to study their collection
of coins from Sagalassos and include some of them in this paper: Bernhard Weisser (Munzkabinett Staatliche
Museen, Berlin), Klaus Vondrovec (Munzkabinett Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), Peter van Alfen (Ameri-
can Numismatic Society, New York) and Johan van Heesch (Coin Cabinet Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels).
Moreover, 1 would like to thank Jeroen Poblome, director of the Sagalassos Archaeologica! Research Project for
the access to the excavation materiał and Johan van Heesch (Royal Library of Belgium - Coin Cabinet), for his
constructive remarks on an earlier draft of this paper.
^ References to coin types madę in the text are not exhaustive, but refer to published specimens in the most
common works, like the 5y//ogg Ar/wworrzw Croeco/*:/w series.
^ M. PR1CE, gozzrag-g ;'/7 t/zg wawg o/)4/gxaz7z7g7* t/?g Cz*grz/ czyjP/zz/zp^rr/z/r/ćrgM', London 1991, no. 2985.
** A detailed study of the silver coinage of Sagalassos is in preparation by Johan van Heesch and Frań
Stroobants.
s SNG Paris 1735-1741; SNG PfPs 306-308; SNG vonAulock 5156-5158.
6 SNG Paris 1729-1731.
' SNG Paris 1727-1728; SNG von Aulock 5153.
^ See notę 4 above.
FRAŃ STROOBANTS
The Royal Library of Belgium - Coin Cabinet
How the Sagalassians Stick to Their Gods. Some
Unpublished 3^-Century Coins Rom Sagalassos
[NTRODUCTtON'
High in the Taurus Mountains of Southwest Turkey, the city of Sagaiassos
issued its own civic coins for centuries during Heilenistic and Roman times." Post-
humous Alexander tetradrachms^ were issued between 223 and 191 BC, and can be
linked to Seieucid military campaignsd Very probabiy, during the reign of Amyn-
tas, smaH anonymous bronze coins, the most frequent type representing the head
ofZeus on the obverse and two goats on the reverse,^ were produced in iarge num-
bers. Moreover, the modest production of siiver drachms^ and didrachms^ should
presumabiy also be dated to this period.^ The iocai bronze coinage was continued
during Roman times, when smail change was issued intermittently from the reign
' This research was carried out within the framework of the project "Comparing regionality and sustain-
ability in Pisidia, Boeotia, Picenum and northwestern Gaul between Iron and Middle Ages (1000 BC-1000 AD)"
which is part of the lnter-university Attraction Poles Phase VII (2012-2017), funded by BELSPO. A special word
of thanks should be addressed to the following curators, who gave me the opportunity to study their collection
of coins from Sagalassos and include some of them in this paper: Bernhard Weisser (Munzkabinett Staatliche
Museen, Berlin), Klaus Vondrovec (Munzkabinett Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), Peter van Alfen (Ameri-
can Numismatic Society, New York) and Johan van Heesch (Coin Cabinet Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels).
Moreover, 1 would like to thank Jeroen Poblome, director of the Sagalassos Archaeologica! Research Project for
the access to the excavation materiał and Johan van Heesch (Royal Library of Belgium - Coin Cabinet), for his
constructive remarks on an earlier draft of this paper.
^ References to coin types madę in the text are not exhaustive, but refer to published specimens in the most
common works, like the 5y//ogg Ar/wworrzw Croeco/*:/w series.
^ M. PR1CE, gozzrag-g ;'/7 t/zg wawg o/)4/gxaz7z7g7* t/?g Cz*grz/ czyjP/zz/zp^rr/z/r/ćrgM', London 1991, no. 2985.
** A detailed study of the silver coinage of Sagalassos is in preparation by Johan van Heesch and Frań
Stroobants.
s SNG Paris 1735-1741; SNG PfPs 306-308; SNG vonAulock 5156-5158.
6 SNG Paris 1729-1731.
' SNG Paris 1727-1728; SNG von Aulock 5153.
^ See notę 4 above.