PHRYGIA, HIERAPOLIS - AE 35 of Medaillon, circa 100-170 AD vf

weight 23,07gr. | bronze Ø 35mm.

obv. Draped bust of the youthful Senate facing right,
surrounded by the legend ΙЄΡΑ ϹΥΝ  -  ΚΛΗΤΟϹ,
within border of dots
rev. Tyche standing, left, wearing kalathos, holding poppy, ears of
corn and rudder in het right hand, cornucopia resting on her left arm,
surrounded by the legend ΙЄΡΑΠΟ  -  ΛЄΙΤΩΝ, within border of dots
As early as the Iron Age, a settlement existed at the site of Hierapolis. Before the Greek colony was established the cult area dedicated to Cybele around a cave and the surrounding rocks was the center of the archaic settlement. From well before the time of the Greek colonization, the area was seen as a gateway to the underworld and a place of communication with the underworld deities because of the toxic gasses that emerge from a hot spring inside the cave. The Phrygians built a temple dedicated to the mother goddess Cybele on the site probably in the first half of the 7th century BC. This temple, originally used by the indigenous communities living in the Lycus valley would later form the center of Hierapolis. When the Greek colonists arrived and built the city on the pre-existing pattern of settlement, the ancient cult of Cybele was gradually assimilated into the Greek religion. The hot springs were a major draw to city. After the process of assimilation into Greek culture, it was associated with Hades (Pluton) and Persephone instead of Cybele and the temple was named Plutonium. Hierapolis was founded by the Seleucids in the time of Antiochus I (281 - 261 BC) and received polis status by Eumenes of Pergamon (197-160 BC). The city was famous for its high quality woolen fabrics and dye products. While the Phrygian inhabitants of the valley were gradually Hellenized, Hierapolis was a Greek foundation from the start. Antiochus the Great sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by more from Judea. The Jewish congregation grew in Hierapolis and has been estimated as high as 50,000 in 62 BC. The city was expanded with the booty from the 190 BC Battle of Magnesia where Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Roman ally Eumenes II. Following the Treaty of Apamea ending the Syrian War, Eumenes annexed much of Asia Minor, including Hierapolis. Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began minting bronze coins in the 2nd century BC. These coins give the name Hieropolis. It remains unclear whether this name referred to the original temple (hieron) or honoured Hiera, the wife of Telephus, son of Heracles and the Mysian princess Auge, the supposed founder of Pergamon′s Attalid dynasty. This name eventually changed into Hierapolis ("holy city"), according to the Byzantine geographer Stephanus on account of its large number of temples. In 133 BC, when Attalus III died, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. Unlike other cities in the region, it was never reconstituted as a Roman colony, though some Romanization took place. In AD 17, during the rule of the emperor Tiberius, a major earthquake destroyed the city. The philosopher Epictetus was born as a slave in the city in 50 AD. In the year 60, during the rule of Nero, an even more severe earthquake left the city completely in ruins. Afterwards, the city was rebuilt in the Roman style with imperial financial support. Through the influence of the Christian apostle Paul, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus. The Christian apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here. The town′s martyrium was alleged to have been built upon the spot where Philip was crucified in AD 80. His daughters were also said to have acted as prophetesses in the region.
When Caracalla visited the town in 215, he bestowed the much-coveted title of neocoros upon it, according the city certain privileges and the right of sanctuary. This was the golden age of Hierapolis. Thousands of people came to benefit from the medicinal properties of the hot springs. New building projects were started: two Roman baths, a gymnasium, several temples, a main street with a colonnade, and a fountain at the hot spring. Hierapolis became one of the most prominent cities in the Roman Empire in the fields of the arts, philosophy, and trade. The town grew to 100,000 inhabitants and became wealthy. During his campaign against the Sassanid Shapur II in 370, the emperor Valens made the last-ever imperial visit to the city. During the 4th century, the Christians filled Pluto′s Gate (a ploutonion) with stones, suggesting that Christianity had become the dominant religion and begun displacing other faiths in the area. Originally a see of Phrygia Pacatiana, the Byzantine emperor Justinian raised the bishop of Hierapolis to the rank of metropolitan in 531. The Roman baths were transformed to a Christian basilica. During the Byzantine period, the city continued to flourish and also remained an important centre for Christianity. In the early 7th century, the town was devastated first by Persian armies and then by another destructive earthquake, from which it took a long time to recover. In the 12th century, the area came under the control of the Seljuk sultanate of Konya before falling to crusaders under Frederick Barbarossa and their Byzantine allies in 1190. About thirty years later, the town was abandoned before the Seljuks built a castle in the 13th century. The new settlement was abandoned in the late 14th century. In 1354, the Fall of Gallipoli toppled the remains of the ancient city. The ruins were slowly covered with a thick layer of limestone. Bronze coins of this size and weight were probably not intended for normal circulation, but were more likely minted during a special occasion. Religious festivals are a possibility in this regard. In that context, it is more accurate to speak of a medallion. RPC listed only 5 specimens, all of which are located in prominent museum collections. Extremely rare.

BMC 83var. | SNG.Copenhagen 412 | Weber Collection- | Slg.Leypold-
L. Weber, NC 1913, 151, XXVIII, nos. 4-5 | SNG.v.Aulock 3630
SNG.München - | SNG.Tübingen- | RPC online 9990 RRR
very attractive specimen of a wonderful style
vf

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