Conveners
S24. ANTIQUITY 4. ANCIENT THRACE – A REGION OF COINAGE DIVERSITY
- Ulrike Peter (Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie Der Wissenschaften)
S24. ANTIQUITY 4. ANCIENT THRACE – A REGION OF COINAGE DIVERSITY
- Selene Psoma (National and Capodistrian University of Athens)
Description
Org.: Lily Grozdanova, chair: Ulrike Peter, Selene Psoma
Ancient Thrace was a region with multiple monetary systems and some of the earliest coinages. The intensive scholarly interest in these diverse coinages starts in the 18th c. and continues uninterrupted to the modern digital era. The intensification of the archaeological investigations in the region in the last century and a half has brought to light enormous quantities of materials, a substantial part of which are the numismatic artefacts which leave a crucial number of questions open for analysis.
The recent implementation of digital technologies in the research has changed the paradigm of historical and numismatic study permanently and essentially. It calls for scientific debates, the development of new methodologies for the reevaluation of existing theories and the formulation of new. They could affect historical knowledge beyond the local level of Thrace, due to the complexity of the region as a meeting point of multiple civilizations and identity constructs in Antiquity. A wide range of research questions is open as regards the coinages, confirming the value of coins as a complex historical source.
Thrace offers key numismatic topics such as the specifics of the Thracian tribe coinages; the interpretation and analysis of the coinages of the Thracian Chersonese; the economic and cultural interactions of the Greek colonies; the Roman monetary system combining central and local monetary and economic practices and concepts. The abundance of themes is a strong argument that the only functional form for the current proposal is a double session.
The potential audience is a wide circle of international experts, representing universities, research centres, museums, auction houses etc. The importance of the region's interdisciplinary approach makes this event attractive for scholars from many areas of Ancient world studies.
The electrum stater of Cyzicus was the most significant currency in the Propontis and the Black Sea region from the mid-5th c. BC to the reign of Alexander III, as revealed by literary sources, epigraphic evidence, hoards and occasional finds. These coins were minted in large numbers and several types referring not only to Cyzicus. In a recently published article, I proposed to explain this...
The small silver uninscribed coins showing a lion protome on the obverse and a quadripartite incuse square on the reverse are known in the numismatic literature as “the hemidrachms of the Thracian Chersonese''. They form one of the main currencies in Thrace during the 4th century BC. Only recently their intensive issue, together with the other poleis on the peninsula, has been revisited in...
The so-called Thracian Chersonese, today the Gallipoli / Gelibolu Peninsula, has always been an important strategic point as a bridge between Europe and Asia. The peninsula extends parallel to the coast of Asia Minor, with the Hellespont between the two. The coinages of most Greek coastal settlements situated there were short-lived, represented by a small volume of bronzes of different...
According to the generally accepted view coins bearing the head of goddess r. on the obverse and spearhead with legend X A on the reverse were struck at Chalkis in Aiolis. Currently their circulation has been confirmed in the Troad, especially in Kebren and its vicinity. As there is no city in the region with a name starting with “Xa”, these coins could have be minted by Charidemos, a famous...
Despite its key role in the current historical discourse, the early Hellenistic coinage of Adaios is, at the same time, one of the most controversial topics in Thracian numismatics. After a half-century long discussion, the identity of this figure, as well as the chronology of his coins and the location of the mint, remain uncertain. While taking into account both textual and material...
The Roman world was flooded by images; images which carried cultural, religious, ethical and political messages. They could be encountered everywhere, from jewellry to public and private buildings, and obviously, on coins issued by the imperial and the provincial mints alike.
The issues of the cities the Roman province of Thrace appeared just after the integration into the Roman Empire....
Technological development has introduced an entirely new research environment. Due to the need for new types of scientific resources, and access to the materials, Digital Numismatics (DN) has become a field of dynamically developed tools and research databases.
The number of operating products is already impressive, and the topic of the user perspective on their actual implementation in the...
