Featured Roman Provinces & Corruption

Gate to the agora (assembly place) of ancient Kibyra

I think it is only fair to offer caution that this post wanders a bit far from the coin, from provincial Phrygia to ancient Rome, from the Roman republic to the Roman empire, from dies to governance, and over ~350 years. I don't attempt to excuse this - it's just the way the story happened.

A Gordian III from Kibyra
I've had a bit of writer's block recently, after a burst of effort to put my "Notes on Ancient Coins" site together. This coin has been sitting for a while waiting for a write-up - my latest coin of Asia Minor, a rare Roman Provincial both number of known specimens (11 in RPC, 5 in ACSearch) and condition...

Gordian III, Æ 22mm of Kibyra (a.k.a. Cibyra or Cibyra Magna), Phrygia, AD 238-244, 6.11g, 22mm
Obv: A•K•M•AN•ΓOPΔIAN, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right
Rev: ΚΙΒΥΡΑΤΩΝ, eagle standing facing on caduceus, head to left, wings spread
Ref: RPC VII.1 665

This is a great coin in hand with a nice weight, and a good high relief strike, with a great portrait and the penguin-like eagle. With modern eyes, I have trouble seeing this eagle as a symbol of strength and power. Kibyra was know for ironwork and metallurgy - perhaps not surprising that they would mint nice coins. Although both spellings are used - I prefer Kibyra, if only because it better matches what I find on the coin, and it is more intuitive for me to see the pronunciation as "key-beer-ah" (or "key-boor-ah") vs. "Cibyra" which I see as "chi" or "see" - whether any of these pronunciations is what we would have heard in the streets of Kibyra is an open question for me.

Die-Sharing
A recent article (2021) by G.C. Watson on die-sharing practices in Asia minor describes die-sharing between cities in Asia Minor peaking around the time Gordian III. Die sharing in Kibyra however was reduced at this time - the following map serving to both show where Kibyra is located and how it shared dies in an "East Caria" region. Watson describes:

"Stratonicea, Bargasa, Tabae, Eriza, Themiso-nium, Cibyra, and Laodicea ad Lycum all shared for the first time in the period 198–211, but none except Bargasa and Laodicea shared again until the reign of Philip (244–249 CE)."

The article also raises the question of whether exchange of dies might have been between cities or facilitated by traveling workshops.

Watson, George Christopher. “The Development and Spread of Die Sharing in the Roman Provincial Coinage of Asia Minor.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 125, no. 1, 2021, pp. 123–142.

Eathquakes
There is a video with aerial views of the archeological site on youtube. Kibyra was heavily damaged by an earthquake ~23 AD.[*] Tacitus references the city being afflicted by earthquakes during the reign of Tiberius:

"Tiberius meanwhile, who did not relax his attention to business, and found solace in his work, occupied himself with the causes of citizens at Rome and with petitions from allies. Decrees of the Senate were passed at his proposal for relieving the cities of Cibyra and Ægium in Asia and Achaia, which had suffered from earthquakes, by a remission of three years' tribute"
-Tacitus, The Annals, 4.13

Strabo writes of Kibyra:

"It is said that the Cibyratae are descendants of the Lydians who took possession of Cabalis, and later of the neighboring Pisidians, who settled there and transferred the city to another site, a site very strongly fortified and about one hundred stadia in circuit. It grew strong through its good laws; and its villages extended alongside it from Pisidia and the neighboring Milyas as far as Lycia and the Peraea of the Rhodians."
-Strabo, Geography, 13.4.17 (see the link for the full description and context)

Lucius Cornelius Sulla?
All coins seem to eventually link to the Roman republic and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Perhaps not surprising, in this case, Sulla as a contributor to abuse and corruption. The impact of political leaders lasts much longer than they do. Julius Caesar positioned himself as avenger of the Marians, rival to the Sullan faction in the 80s BC, three decades after Sulla's death, and abolished the restrictions, established by Sulla, on political careers of the sons of proscribed men.

Kibyra is mentioned by Cicero in his trial orations against Gaius Verres. Verres was elected quaestor, an auditor working in treasury, in 84 BC, when he was 30 years old. He was next a legatus under governor Dolabella in Cilicia. Legatus was a general or high ranking military leader who would be well paid with the spoils of battle. Verres turned on Dollabella in 78 BC, providing evidence in Dollabella's corruption trial, and subsequently became governor or Sicily. I won't recount the full story which you can find thoroughly and thoughtfully described as a Famous Trial. It is a tale, mostly known through Cicero, of a corrupt officials and Sulla's legislative impact is a factor.

In 81 BC, one of Sulla's acts to restore the senatorial oligarchy reversed legislation of Gracchus that granted equites control over the judiciary. This meant that a provincial governor, like Verres, being tried for abuse of power or extortion, was now judged by a jury of other senators who might either be equally guilty of exploiting the provinces or at least wanting to have the same options to gain wealth for themselves.

Cicero recounts a connection between art thieves Tlepolemus and Hiero in Kibyra who, fearing trial, brought art to Verres, a collector and connoisseur:

"He has kept them (Tlepolemus and Hiero) with him ever since that time; and in the robberies he committed, and in the booty he acquired during his lieutenancy, he greatly availed himself of their assistance and their advice."
- Cicero against Verres, 2.4.30

Epilogue
Before the trial concluded, Verres fled to self-imposed exile in Massalia (today Marseilles) where he lived for twenty-seven years, having taken some of his plundered treasures with him. Mark Antony, as triumvir, had him executed in 43 BC in the end for not complying with a request to return some Corinthian vases. The same year, Mark Anthony, named Cicero an enemy of the state, and assassins killed Cicero on December 7, 43 BC. His decapitated head was displayed on the rostra in the Roman Forum.

On that note, I will add this coin of Mark Antony in 42 BC, from the final years of the republic evolving into empire.

The Triumvirs, Mark Antony, 42 BC, AR Denarius, military mint traveling with Antony in Greece
Obv: M ANTONI IMP, Mark Antony, bare head right
Rev: VIR R.P.C. [tresVIRi Rei Publicae Constituendae which translates to "one of three men for the regulation of public matters"], facing head of Sol on disk within distyle temple
Ref: Crawford 496/1

Gordian III's grandfather (commonly referred to as Gordian I), was born 159 AD in Phrygia the region where the coin of Gordian III coin was minted - another link between coin, city, and emperor. As always, corrections, additions, references, observation and comments are much appreciated.

Post provincial coins of Gordian III or Kibyra, provincial die matches, stories of provincial governance, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.

 

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Interesting write up!

The book you describe, Connections, Communities, and Coinage: The System of Coin Production in Southern Asia Minor, AD 218–276, by George Watson, is reviewed here in Coins Weekly.



The book sounds like a worthwhile acquisition for numismatists interested in the Roman provincial coins of Asia Minor.

And now for the fun part -- the coins! I love Gordian provincials! Here are just some of my favorites:


Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman provincial Æ 25.6 mm, 10.61 g, 2 h.
Macedon, Thessalonica, AD 238-244.
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓΟΡΔIANOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: ΘЄCCAΛΟΝΙΚЄΩΝ ΝЄ, tripod surmounted by five apples; Π-V/Θ-Ι/Α across field.
Refs: Touratsoglou, Thessaloniki 80; Varbanov 4523; Moushmov 6815.


Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman Provincial Æ 35 mm, 26.72 g, 6 h.
Pisidia, Antioch, AD 238-244.
Obv: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III, r., seen from rear.
Rev: COL CAES ANTIOCH, S-R, Mên standing r., wearing Phrygian cap, foot on bucranium, holding sceptre and Victory (standing r., on globe, holding trophy), resting elbow on column; behind his shoulders, crescent; to l., rooster standing, l.
Refs: RPC VII.2, — (unassigned; ID 3431); Krzyżanowska XXII/94; BMC xix.187, 70.


Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman provincial Æ tetrassarion, 9.53 g, 24.2 mm, 1 h.
Thrace, Hadrianopolis, AD 238-244.
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: AΔPIANOΠOΛEITΩN, Artemis standing left, holding patera and bow; stag at side.
Refs: BMC 30; Moushmov 2685; Varbanov 3888; Jurukova 476; SNG Cop --; Lindgren --; GIC --.
Notes: Obverse die match to Varbanov plate coin.

 

Thanks for the link - and the excellent provincials of Gordian III - I especially like the one with Mên on the reverse !

 

A great write-up and some great coins. An interesting map, too. All now part of Turkish cultural heritage, according to our latest MOU!

Here is my only Provincial of Gordian III, from Anchialus in Thrace -- now in Bulgaria, and not on the map. But no doubt still part of Turkish cultural heritage if President Erdogan had his way.

Gordian III with wife Tranquillina, AE 26 mm., 241-244 AD, Thracia, Anchialus [Pomorie, Bulgaria]. Obv. Confronted busts of Gordian III right, laureate, draped and cuirassed, and Tranquillina left, draped and wearing stephane; ΑVT Κ M ANT / ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ clockwise around; CEB TPAN // KVΛΛINA in exergue; border of dots/ Rev. Apollo standing left, holding patera in right hand; left arm resting on column; ΟΥΛΠΙΑΝωΝ / ΑΓXΙΑΛEωΝ clockwise around; border of dots. RPC Online VII.2 48961; Moushmov 2939 [H. Moushmov, Ancient Coins of the Balkan Peninsula (1912)], Varbanov II 668 [Ivan Varbanov, Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Vol. II, Thrace (from Abdera to Pautalia) (English Edition) (Bourgas, Bulgaria 2005)], AMNG II 656 [F. Münzer & M. Strack, Die antiken Münzen von Thrakien, Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands Vol. II (Berlin, 1912)]. 26 mm., 11.91 g.

 

Very interesting coins and write-up. Thank You.

 

A nice Gordian III with wife Tranquillina. Do you know when/how we might see regulations come into effect or where one could see what it proposed? e.g. would it apply to coins coming from Turkey or from anywhere? [Relevant March Update on CoinWorld] The UK seems to have found a reasonable way to balance commerce and protection of cultural heritage.

 

his Wife:

 

I've posted this "hockey puck" before but will post again since it seems to fit in with this thread . This coin is heavier than most of his sestertii from the Rome Mint.

Antioch - Pisidia, Gordian III, AD 238-244. Reverse: She-wolf suckling Romulus & Remus. AE 34 mm, 26.43 gm, 6 h. SNG France 1211.

 

Not a provincial, but one about 300+ years earlier than the G III. Also, an interesting tidbit on annotating production runs on a specific coin:

Kibyra, PHRYGIA. Circa 166-84 BC. AR Drachm (16mm; 2.94 gm; 5h). Obv: Draped male bust right, wearing crested Boeotian helmet. Rev: Horseman galloping right, holding couched spear and shield; grape cluster behind, KEΔ and KIBYPA below. KEΔ is not a monogram in the "usual" sense. It is a number asserting the number of drachms in that production run; in this case, 1,000,000. F. De Luca, Monograms on Kibyra’s coins: names or numbers? Revue Numismatique OMNI no.12 (6-2018), pp. 54-84. BMC Phrygia pg. 133, 14 var.

 

Nice coin and interesting write-up. I don’t have much to add, but I can share this Gordy III provincial from Thrace that recently arrived as part of a group lot from the last Naumann auction.

Gordian III, Thrace, Mesambria, AE 26mm, 10.8g, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III to r.,/ Rev. ΜΕⳞΑΜΒΡΙΑΝΩΝ, Demeter standing l., holding ears of corn and torch. RPC VII.2 48416

 

The most recent reports I've been able to find relating to the new MOU with Turkey, signed in the last days of the previous administration, are these two from early last month. They're certainly not promising, although apparently they're not intended to apply retroactively. Which is some comfort.

https://culturalpropertynews.org/turkish-mou-last-minute-state-department-deal-sparks-outrage/

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/new...facts-divides-historians-and-preservationists

Meanwhile, I know that the five-year extension of the MOU with Italy was signed in October, but I've seen nothing since then regarding whether the types of coins restricted have, as was proposed, been extended to all Roman Republican and Roman Imperial coins (regardless of whether they were found in Italy) -- as opposed to the previous MOU, which covered only Roman Republican coins from before 211 BC.

 

I'm still digging to find a die matched pair of provincials from neighboring cities....
Thanks,
@Shea19, that is a well preserved Gordian portrait!
@PeteB, an interesting AR from Kybira! with mintage numbers....I'll have to look up this article.
@Al Kowsky, nice provincial puck!

Thanks for the useful links.