Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A couple of Aksumites
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="+VGO.DVCKS, post: 4870836, member: 110504"]I got these from the last CNG auction, in early May. They helped out with the increasingly long slog involved for anyone who collects this. Here's the first one.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1176150[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Aphilas (c. 290- early 4th c. ACE).* AR unit, with gilding on the reverse.</p><p>Obv. Aphilas r., wearing headcloth and earring (most of which is very worn).</p><p>(From 8 o'clock: ) AφIλA [crescent with star] βαςιλI</p><p>("Aphila Bacili;" King Aphilas.)</p><p>Rev. Profile (Possibly of a son and heir of Aphilas, or even of Ousanas, his successor, as a co-issue; see Munro-Hay's note). Thank you, with gilding.</p><p>(From 6 o'clock: ) IAφιλAς β [crescent with star] Aςιλεγς ("Iaphilas Basileus.")</p><p>(Munro-Hay /Juel/jensen Type 10. Cf. Phillipson, <u>Foundations of an African Civilization</u>, 184-5; Munro-Hay, <u>Aksum</u>, 186-8; "Aksumite Coinage" (In <u>African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia</u>), p. 105, no. 18.)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1176172[/ATTACH]</p><p>Ezana (c. 330-360 CE --again from Phillipson). AR unit, pre-Christian phase of his reign.</p><p>Obv. Ezana rt., wearing headcloth and earring (more visible than for Aphilas).</p><p>(From 8 o'clock: ) HζA [crescent with star] Νλς ("Ezana Basileus;" King Ezana.)</p><p>Rev. Small profile, again with a headcloth (tied in back, like a 4th-c. Roman diadem).</p><p>(From 1 o'clock: ) βαςιλεγς.</p><p>I have to wonder about the religious significance of the crescent and star. There's the obvious Sasanian precedent, with Zoroastrian connotations, but what was happening in <i>this</i> part of the world, in real time? Fleetingly, I thought the motif showed up in Himyarite issues, c. 2nd c. CE, but have never found any confirmation of that.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>*The regnal chronology is from Philipson, <u>Foundations of an African Civilization: Aksum and the Northern Horn 1000 BC - AD 1300</u> (2012 /2014), p. 82. Munro-Hay (<u>Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity</u>, 1991, p. vii) puts Aphilas more vaguely at the beginning of the 4th century.</p><p>...And it's like this. Think of the sheer amount of documentation that was permanently desroyed in central and western Europe, over the course of the last couple of 'world wars.' Heck, you could start from the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648. Or even the Hundred Years War, 14th-15th centuries, in which, regarding the scale of destruction, whatever was lacking in military technology was more than compensated by sheer industry.</p><p>This is why it's so much easier, for instance, to do genealogy from the UK than from the Continent. There's just not enough there to start with. This is effectively what happened to the Aksumites. From the 7th century (CE / AD? depends on who you were talking to), as the Sasanian empire, then the Rashidin Caliphate, conquered Alexandria. As succeding Caliphates inexorably occupied or destroyed Aksum's own coastal ports on the Red Sea, the country's entire political infrastructure was forced to migrate farther inland, eventuating in the modern kingdom of Ethiopia. It's a safe guess that vast amounts of primary-source documentation, in MS, whether in Koine Greek or Ge'ez, was lost.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="+VGO.DVCKS, post: 4870836, member: 110504"]I got these from the last CNG auction, in early May. They helped out with the increasingly long slog involved for anyone who collects this. Here's the first one. [ATTACH=full]1176150[/ATTACH] Aphilas (c. 290- early 4th c. ACE).* AR unit, with gilding on the reverse. Obv. Aphilas r., wearing headcloth and earring (most of which is very worn). (From 8 o'clock: ) AφIλA [crescent with star] βαςιλI ("Aphila Bacili;" King Aphilas.) Rev. Profile (Possibly of a son and heir of Aphilas, or even of Ousanas, his successor, as a co-issue; see Munro-Hay's note). Thank you, with gilding. (From 6 o'clock: ) IAφιλAς β [crescent with star] Aςιλεγς ("Iaphilas Basileus.") (Munro-Hay /Juel/jensen Type 10. Cf. Phillipson, [U]Foundations of an African Civilization[/U], 184-5; Munro-Hay, [U]Aksum[/U], 186-8; "Aksumite Coinage" (In [U]African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia[/U]), p. 105, no. 18.) [ATTACH=full]1176172[/ATTACH] Ezana (c. 330-360 CE --again from Phillipson). AR unit, pre-Christian phase of his reign. Obv. Ezana rt., wearing headcloth and earring (more visible than for Aphilas). (From 8 o'clock: ) HζA [crescent with star] Νλς ("Ezana Basileus;" King Ezana.) Rev. Small profile, again with a headcloth (tied in back, like a 4th-c. Roman diadem). (From 1 o'clock: ) βαςιλεγς. I have to wonder about the religious significance of the crescent and star. There's the obvious Sasanian precedent, with Zoroastrian connotations, but what was happening in [I]this[/I] part of the world, in real time? Fleetingly, I thought the motif showed up in Himyarite issues, c. 2nd c. CE, but have never found any confirmation of that. *The regnal chronology is from Philipson, [U]Foundations of an African Civilization: Aksum and the Northern Horn 1000 BC - AD 1300[/U] (2012 /2014), p. 82. Munro-Hay ([U]Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity[/U], 1991, p. vii) puts Aphilas more vaguely at the beginning of the 4th century. ...And it's like this. Think of the sheer amount of documentation that was permanently desroyed in central and western Europe, over the course of the last couple of 'world wars.' Heck, you could start from the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648. Or even the Hundred Years War, 14th-15th centuries, in which, regarding the scale of destruction, whatever was lacking in military technology was more than compensated by sheer industry. This is why it's so much easier, for instance, to do genealogy from the UK than from the Continent. There's just not enough there to start with. This is effectively what happened to the Aksumites. From the 7th century (CE / AD? depends on who you were talking to), as the Sasanian empire, then the Rashidin Caliphate, conquered Alexandria. As succeding Caliphates inexorably occupied or destroyed Aksum's own coastal ports on the Red Sea, the country's entire political infrastructure was forced to migrate farther inland, eventuating in the modern kingdom of Ethiopia. It's a safe guess that vast amounts of primary-source documentation, in MS, whether in Koine Greek or Ge'ez, was lost.[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
A couple of Aksumites
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...