Conveners
S22. ANTIQUITY 2. ANCIENT SOUTHERN ASIA MINOR IN ANTIQUITY: UNITY IN DIVERSITY?: 22. ANTIQUITY 2. ANCIENT SOUTHERN ASIA MINOR IN ANTIQUITY: UNITY IN DIVERSITY?
- Wilhelm Müseler (Independent Researcher)
S22. ANTIQUITY 2. ANCIENT SOUTHERN ASIA MINOR IN ANTIQUITY: UNITY IN DIVERSITY?: ANTIQUITY 2. ANCIENT SOUTHERN ASIA MINOR IN ANTIQUITY: UNITY IN DIVERSITY?
- Wilhelm Müseler (Independent Researcher)
Description
Org. and chair: Wilhelm Müseler
Geographers and historians have a tendency to use the terms ‹Southern Asia Minor› or ‹The Southern Shore› thereby suggesting that this part of the Anatolian peninsula forms a specific unit. In fact, the area is divided into the regions of Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia and Cilicia, which have frequently been the subject of separate studies. The speakers of this panel propose to explore whether the uniformity of Southern Anatolia carries more weight than the diversity of its regions, or whether the differences between different local units indeed prevail, and these general references to the area as a whole should only be used with circumspection. The analysis shall base primarily on a comparative analysis of the numismatic record. Aftern an introduction to different coinages of the area, Achaemenid through Hellenistic to the Roman period, the four speakers will discuss similarities and differences in the purpose and structure of the various regional coin-issues, and between the mint authorities involved. Within this context a number of different aspects such as the beginning of the local use and production of coins, their standards and compatibility as well as the geographical spread and the average timespan of their circulation will be considered.
Under the overlordship of the Achaemenids Lycia consisted of several tribal units led by different dynastic clans. The population was dispersed over a great many isolated valley systems, but shared a number of distinct cultural traditions as, for example, a common language and writing system. When coinage was introduced to the area at the beginning of the 5th century BC it soon evolved from an...
In Pamphylia the production of coins started in the Achaemenid period when Aspendos and Side began with minting silver coins on the Persic standard. The exact chronology of the earliest coins of the two cities has not yet been exactly determined. The dating confined to the beginning and the middle of the 5th c. are under discussion. Although Side and Aspendos were neighbours, and their...
Recent research would suggest that some of the earliest coinages of Caria (c. 530-500 BC) were struck in connection with the activities of the Achaemenids, and in some instances, as a reaction to their rule in that region. Carians had their own language and cultural traits that are reflected on some of their coin issues, especially in the 5th century BC. The Greek foundations, all established...
Cilicia, located on the southeastern coast of Anatolia, from the time of Cyrus the Great to the Macedonian conquest in 333 BC, was part of the Achaemenid state administrated by local dynasts (called Syennesis) and subsequently, by satraps. The satrapy played a strategic role as a mustering point and recruiting area for the Persian army. Minting activity in Cilicia began around the middle of...
In the division of Alexander’s realm Lycia fell under the control of the Ptolemies of Egypt and issued only very few coins throughout the 3rd century BC. In 188 BC with the peace of Apamea the Romans entrusted the administration of most of the Lycian peninsula to the island of Rhodes. Opposing this step several Lycian communities formed a political league wishing to bring about Lycian...
The conquest of Asia by Alexander left the cities of Southern Asia Minor with perceptible limitations of their freedom. Side was a mint of Alexander, but ceased producing coins in 317 BC. The monarchs of the Hellenistic period controlled, restricted or prohibited the cities’ minting activities. Antiochos III. forced several cities of Pamphylia to mint posthumous Alexander coins. Only the...
The conquest of Alexander the Great had a significant impact on the coin production of Carian mints, similarly as in most of the territories subdued by the Macedonian king. His successors and their officials minted in their own names, while civic mints continuing to strike their own coins. The next century was marked in Caria by a continuous struggle for power of Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and...
After the Macedonian conquest, the position of the governor of Cilicia was taken by Balakros, who minted coins on his own. Alexander the Great used Tarsos and Myriandros to strike imperial types. During the Hellenistic period, Cilicia was the subject of rivalry between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids. The latter used several Cilician mints for the production of coins. Besides the royal issues,...
