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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pavlos, post: 3315774, member: 96635&quot;]Happily I have obtained a Seleukid municipal bronze coin from the city Cyrrhus in Cyrrhestica. Coins from that city are not that uncommon for Roman Imperial coins but this mint is very rare for the Seleukid empire and was only used by one king: Alexander I Balas.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sR1ctrn.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><b>Alexander I Balas Æ Bronze. Cyrrhus mint (149/8 B.C.)</b></p><p><b>Obverse:</b> Diademed head of Alexander I Balas right.</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> KYPPHΣΤΩN; Zeus standing facing, head left, holding filleted wreath, at his feet an owl; ΔΞP (year 164, 149/8 B.C.) in left field, monogram below.</p><p>21mm; 6.41g</p><p><br /></p><p>There is not much known about this mint during the Seleukid empire. Alexander I Balas started the mintage of municipal bronze coins in Cyrrhus at around 151/0 B.C. and it only lasted until 149/8 B.C. The coins show on the obverse the portrait of the king, but on the reverse some local type. It shows Zeus standing holding a filleted wreath, one of the most popular reverse types used across the Levant (especially by his &#039;father&#039; Antiochos IV Epiphanes). It also shows the name of the city (KYPPHΣΤΩN = Cyrrhus) in place of that of the king. Noticeable is the owl at the feet of Zeus, most likely it had local religious significance but with a Hellenized iconography. Similar municipal &#039;Zeus with animal&#039; types were issued by Alexander I Balas at Laeodicea (dolphin) and by Antiochos IV Epiphanes in Hierapolis (lion).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>History about the city:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Cyrrhus was founded by Seleukos I Nikator (or Antiochos I Soter?), probably in the first half of the third century BC. It was situated at the place where the road from Antioch to Zeugma or Hierapolis (a major cult center on the west bank of the Euphrates) crossed the Sabun, a minor river. Two bridges survive and are still in use. The city, which is named after a town in Macedonia, is situated in a fertile plain, just north of the agricultural settlements that are now known as the &quot;Dead Cities&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.stilus.nl/oudheid/wdo/GEO/KAART/SYRIA.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Like all Macedonian settlements, the town consisted of a straight and wide main street (about 800 meter long). The course of the walls was determined by the shape of the site, and there was a large citadel on a hill that rises about one hundred meter above the town. It was a typical Macedonian colony. </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6046/6328065942_15716cfe69_b.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>The city remained in Seleukid hands for almost two centuries, but became part of Armenia during the reign of king Tigranes II the Great. He was defeated by the Romans, and the Seleukid Empire was briefly restored, until the Roman general Pompey decided to add the kingdom as a Roman province. Because of its strategic position the city was used as a military base in Roman times.</p><p><br /></p><p>I by the way decided to continue the educational topics, because of many requests both public and private, however I do try to make it understandable for everyone and not tóó long.</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your coins from Cyrrhus (also Roman ones!) and coins from rare mints in the Seleukid empire.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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