The Koinon of Bithynia -- Sabina & Octostyle Temple

The Greek word koinos means "common" in the broadest sense of that word. The word has many cognates. Koinonia, for example, means "fellowship." Another cognate, koinon, might be translated as "commonwealth" or "federation," but is commonly translated as "league."[1]

Throughout their history, the Greeks formed many leagues (koina) to pool the resources of cities. Later, when Greeks were under Roman rule, the reasons for forming leagues were less pragmatic, and often they were dedicated to worship of the Imperial cult. Koina were typically comprised of groups of cities that had historical, economic, social, religious or defense ties that predated the Roman occupation. Some leagues that issued coins were those in Macedon, Thessaly, Lycaonia, Crete, Bithynia, Pontus, Ionia, Phrygia, Galatia, Lycia and the islands of Lesbos and Cyprus.

This coin was issued in the Koinon of Bithynia during the reign of Hadrian. David Vagi asserts these coins depicting an octostyle temple issued under Hadrian were "probably … struck for federal games held during an Imperial visit."[2]

Sabina, AD 117-137.
Roman provincial Æ 24.5 mm, 8.12 g, 6 h.
Bithynia, Koinon of Bithynia.
Obv: CΑΒЄΙΝΑ ϹЄΒΑϹΤΗ, draped bust of Sabina, right, with hair coiled and piled on top of head above double stephane.
Rev: ΚΟΙ-ΝΟΝ BЄIΘΥΝΙΑϹ, octastyle temple on podium; pellet in pediment; Nikes erecting trophies (?) on raking cornices.
Refs: RPC III, 1016A; SNG von Aulock 291; cf. BMC 13.107,30.​

Bithynia and Pontus were originally separate geopolitical entities, but they had a largely common culture, and were co-administered as one province beginning in 63 BC under Pompey. The province of Bithynia and Pontus comprised the western portion of Asia Minor along the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus; "hospitable sea") coast.

Asia Minor: Roman Administrative Organization under Trajan (98-117 AD)[3]​

Under the Roman principate, all Roman provinces were divided into either imperial provinces or senatorial provinces. Imperial provinces were those border provinces which required a permanent military presence to protect the empire from invasion. As such, only the emperor (as supreme commander of the army) had the right to appoint the governors of those provinces.

Senatorial provinces, not bordering hostile territories, did not possess any significant military force. The province of Bithynia and Pontus was initially a senatorial province: The senate used a sortition to select a proconsul who would have imperium over the territory and be assisted by a legatus (lieutenant governor) and a quaestor who handled financial issues.

However, according to Cassius Dio, around AD 134 the Senate ceded control of Bithynia and Pontus to the emperor in return for Lycia et Pamphylia and it became an imperial province.

The Koinon first issued coins under the emperor Vespasian. The location of the mint within the province is unknown; Nicomedia, Nicaea, Chalcedon, Heracleia, Apameia and Amastris all had functioning mints in pre-imperial times and are potential candidates for minting during the period of the Koinon. During the Flavian period, these coins typically bore the name of the proconsul of the province and often the inscription, ΒΙΘΥΝΙΑ (Bithynia), which identifies the coins as being struck for use in the province at large. It is not until the reign of Hadrian, however, that we see the word KOINON appear. Dating these coins during the reign of Hadrian is difficult, but I wonder if the appearance of KOINON in their inscriptions coincides with the province changing its status in AD 134 from a senatorial province to an imperial one.

Let's see your coins of the Koinon!

~~~

Notes

1. "Koinon." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koinon.

2. Vagi, David. "Ancients: Roman Provincial Coins." NGC, www.ngccoin.com/news/article/1884/Roman-Provincial-Coins/.

3. "Map -- Asia Minor: Roman Administrative Organization under Trajan (98-117 AD)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Apr. 2021, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Asia_Minor_in_the_2nd_century_AD_-_general_map_-_Roman_provinces_under_Trajan_-_bleached_-_English_legend

 

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Very interesting post @Roman Collector !

 

Very informative post, RC.

Here is a coin that I am not sure is technically "Koinon" but it has a temple and the word "ΚΟΙΝΟC ΚΙΛΙΚΙ" across the architrave, which sounds kind of Koinon-y. Apologies in advance for the lousy photo:



Pseudo-Autonomous Æ 19
Cilicia, Tarsus
n.d. (2nd Century A.D.)
ΤΑΡСΟV Μ[ΗΤΡΟΠΟΛЄ]OC Tyche turreted, veiled & draped bust right / Decastyle temple, with eagle in pediment and ΚΟΙΝΟC ΚΙΛΙΚΙ on architrave, A C across field.
RPC III 3305; Ziegler 670-1; SNG BN 1435-6; SNG Levante 1007 var. (obv. legend).
(4.67 grams / 19 x 17 mm)

 

Nice writeup and clarification (in my head) of Koinon. Thanks, @Roman Collector . LOL, so ROMAN interpretation of KOINON is "CONTROL" .

I do not have any from Bithynia, but I do have a few from Makedon (later Macedonia):


Roman Republic
Macedon occupation / Koinon
Alexander - flowing hair
Club Coin chest Quaestor Chair wreath Aesillas Quaestor
AR Tet
Thessalonika Mint BCE 90-70

This coin is a bit strange. It bears legends in two different languages. On the obverse Makedonon ("Of the Makedonians") is written in Greek letters while the reverse features the Latin word Aesillas - the Quester in Roman Macedonia.

King Mithradates VI of Pontos started to establish an empire of its own in the east.
When he attempted to conquer Cappadocia, he came into conflict with another ruler of the east, King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia. Nicomedes asked the Romans for help. The Romans wanted to increase their presence in Asia Minor. Yeah, Imerator / Dictabor Sulla saw his opportunity during the First Mithridatic War!

The Romans had to secure supplies. Therefore the Via Egnatia (Roman road) through Thrace and to Asia needed to be secure. The Via Egnatia was arguably the most important strategic route connecting the West and the East.

In the first century, a major part of the Via Egnatia crossed areas on which the belligerent tribes of Thrace had some influence. The Romans needed to ensure the Thracians as allies.

The Romans were no dummies. They knew that they could just buy the Thracians support. So, they paid the Thracians for staying put and not to harrass the Roman Legions or their supply route. The Romans created the coins in such a way that they could be readily accepted by the Thracians. Since the time of their King Lysimachus, between 305 and 281 BC, the Thracians were used to circulating coins that bore the portrait of Alexander the Great. Therefore, the Romans depicted Alexander with flowing hair and the horn of Ammon.

During the time of Aesillas the Via Egnatia allowed the Romans to transport troops, supplies, and money. Mithradates fate was sealed. In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey cornered him during the Third Mithradatic War. Mithradates saw no other way than to take his own life. Placating the Thracians with payments in generally accepted Alexander coinage enabled troops and arms to freely move from Rome to Asia. The Romans became the unchallenged masters of Asia Minor.

 

Thanks for your another interesting post, RC. Great information about Roman provinces in the Asia Minor.

 

Here is my bronze coin from the Bithynia area.

Kings of Bithynia, Prusias II (182-149 BC).
Æ (23mm, 5.85g, 12h).
Obv: Wreathed head of Dionysos r.
Rev: Centaur advancing r., playing lyre.
RG 26; SNG Copenhagen 635; HGC 7, 629.

 

Very interesting, @Roman Collector. The more I read about the provinces...the more I have to read. The history and politics there reach so far back before Rome arrived that you have to untangle a lot of questions to get a real feel for what happened later. So many provinces changed borders and constituent parts that a set of maps to go along with the text is almost required just to follow along.

 

Great new coin!

I have a Sabina with the same hairdo, but from Rome:

SABINA
Dupondius, 136 CE
Mint: Rome
26.3 mm, 10,2 g.
Rarity : R1
Obverse legend : SABINA AVGVSTA - HADRIANI AVG PP, Obverse: Diadémé bust and drape of Sabina on the right, hair raised, artistically capped.
RIC.- - BMC/RE.1900

That said, the request was for Koinon

Macedon. Koinon of Macedon. Beroea mint. Nero AD 54-68.
Bronze Æ, 30 mm, 15,68 g
Obv: Nero facing left. ΝΕΡΩΝ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ
Rev: Mars standing, l., holding wreath and spear; to r., Macedonian shield. ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ
Axis: 1, 12
Reference: AMNG 240–1, BMC 147. RIC I, 1613
nearly very fine
11 known specimens
Savoca listed as Unpublished variety. Purchased Savoca March 2021

A little mystery, that I believe may have been minted around or in the reign of Nero. This belief is mainly due to similar styled coins from Macedon that we can attribute to the time of Nero.

Pseudo-autonomous issue, 1st century AD. (Bronze, 17 mm, 4.97 g), Beroia. Macedonian shield. Rev. MΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ Nike standing to left on globe, holding wreath with the extended right hand and palm branch with the left. SNG Cop. 1331. SNG ANS.-. RPC -. Unusual and rare; a very interesting exampleA very interesting and scarce emission of the Macedonian Koinon
MACEDON. Koinon of Macedon. Ex: Munzzentrum

My complete Koinon set of Augusti honored with the Macedonian shield reverse:


The last hold out to the series for me is a highly rare (wait for it)... Faustina II (Thought that'd make RCs ears perk up

NOT MY KOIN...NON. (borrowed from wild winds (( Look at that near unique cutie!))


Faustina II, AE24 of the Koinon of Macedonia.

obv (from top right): FAVCTEINA CEBACTH, draped bust right
rev: KOINON MAKEDONWN, shield.

Moushmov 5894; Varbanov 3065.


Contributed by BA, May 2011

 

Caracalla. 98-217 AD. Philippopolis, Thrace. Æ "Medallion" (35mm, 25.54 gm, 8h). Struck 215 AD. Obv: AVT K M AVΡ CEΥH ANTΩNEINOC, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: K(OINO)N ΘΡAKΩN AΛEΞANΔΡIA/ EN ΦIΛIΠΠOΠOΛΙ, table seen in perspective to right, surmounted by prize urn containing two palms and inscribed ΠΥΘΙΑ (worn off here); below, five balloting balls, palm branch and amphora. Moushmov, Philippopolis__ ; Varbanov 1485, rarity 6.

Writes a major numismatic source: "The reverse of this medallion is one of many similar types struck by Philippopolis to commemorate the Pythian Games (τὰ Πύθια), one of the four Greek Panhellenic Games that occurred in the second year of each four-year Olympic cycle. Held in honor of Apollo, the god of arts and “civilization,” these games featured competitions for music and poetry in addition to feats of athletic skill, and were meant to evoke the best of Greco-Roman culture. These particular games in 215 AD, coming as they did in during Caracalla’s march east to battle the Persians, must have invested the event with further significance: by situating the occurrence of the games at such a crucial moment, the gods had signaled their approval for Caracalla’s enterprise against the “barbarians.”.

 

Great coin and as usual write up as well, time to dust off my Alexander .
MACEDON. Koinon of Macedonia. Pseudo-autonamous 222 AD to 249 AD
. Æ (27mm, 11.19 g, 6h). Beroea mint.
OBV: AΛEΞANΔPOC bust of Alexander the Great right, flowing hair.
REV: KOINMA KE ΔONΩN.B.NE Two tetrastyle temple façades; in field between, column surmounted by statue.
Unpublished in the standard references. VF, green surfaces, ragged edge, some smoothing and roughness.

 

Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you found it interesting.

That's an interesting coin. It identifies the city in which it was minted -- Tarsus -- but also notes the fact that it was part of the Koinon of Cilicia. A decastyle temple, too -- reminds me of the dodecastyle temple on this Æ 19 in my collection I've had a terrible time attributing. I can't find it in RPC, Sear, Lindgren, or in any of the Mionnet or SNG volumes.

That's a gorgeous tet, @Alegandron, with an interesting historical back-story, too. I'm glad you found my post helpful.

What a cool coin, @happy_collector, illustrating the pre-koinon coinage of Bithynia. That centaur reverse is very appealing. No wonder you acquired it for your collection!

 

Thank you for the kind words, @Andres2. Those semi-autonomous issues of the Macedonian koinon are attractive, yours especially. I think it's interesting how yours was issued for a particular games/festival.

Here's the only koinon of Macedonia I have in my collection.


Time of Severus Alexander, AD 231-235.
Quasi-autonomous AE 25.1 mm, 11.60 g, 7 h.
Koinon of Macedon.
Obv: AΛЄΞANΔPOV, diademed head of Alexander the Great with flowing hair, right.
Rev: KOINON MAKЄΔONΩN NЄΩ, Alexander, his cloak fluttering behind him and raising right arm, galloping his horse, right.
Refs: AMNG III 388; cf. BMC Macedonia p.24, 120; cf. Lindgren II 1374.

Thank you for the kind words, @nicholasz219. Yes, the administration of the provinces varied not only from province to province, but over time. A set of maps would be VERY helpful, indeed.

Man, oh man, oh man! You know what I like, @Ryro! Hendrix, Sabina, and Faustina II!!! And what a cool subcollection of Koinon of Macedon coins in the group photos! It shows the usage of a certain reverse type across several imperial reigns.

That's a very interesting coin of the Thracian Koinon, @PeteB! You might be interested in this write-up I posted on a coin of the Pythian games. I note a passage in Lucian's Anacharsis which notes that among the prizes awarded to winners of the contests in the Pythian games were apples from the sacred grove of Apollo. I believe the so-called "balloting balls" on your coin are actually supposed to represent the apples awarded as a prize at the games.

What a cool coin, @Ancient Aussie, with its side-by-side temples!