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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 7489537, member: 57495&quot;]Great coin, interesting type, and a cool lost provenance discovered!&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Below is a fairly common reverse type struck at Amasia that depicts the altar of Zeus Stratios.&nbsp; The altar was a traditional place of sacrifice for the kings of Pontos and was situated on a plateau behind a mountain near Amasia.&nbsp; Appian has an account of a sacrifice made there by Mithradates VI after a victory over Rman forces:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;<i>[Mithridates] drove all of Murena&#039;s garrisons out of Cappadocia and offered sacrifice to Zeus Stratius on a lofty pile of wood on a high hill, according to the fashion of his country, which is as follows. First, the kings themselves carry wood to the heap. Then they make a smaller pile encircling the other one, on which they pour milk, honey, wine, oil, and various kinds of incense. A banquet is spread on the ground for those present (as at the sacrifices of the Persian kings at Pasargadae) and then they set fire to the wood. The height of the flame is such that it can be seen at a distance of 180 kilometers from the sea, and they say that nobody can come near it for several days on account of the heat. Mithridates performed a sacrifice of this kind according to the custom of his country.</i>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1295356[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>CARACALLA</b></p><p>AE32. 17.31g, 32.3mm. PONTUS, Amasia, dated CY 208 (AD 208/9). SNG Cop 112; Dalaison 385. O: AV KAI M AVΡ ANTΩNINOC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: AΔΡ CEV ANT AMACEIAC MH NE ΠΡ ΠO, High altar (of Zeus Stratios) surmounted by smaller flaming altar; tree to left, ET CH (date) in exergue.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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