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AFRICAN COINS] coins in this period, sometimes under the name of Laodicea in Canaan. Ace-Ptolemais (Acre) was an important mint under the Ptolemies; for a time, under the Seleucidae, it was called Antiochia in Ptolemais. Besides the Seleucid era autonomous eras are in use at some of the cities, as at Aradus (259 ), Sidon (111 ) and Tyre (126 ). Under the empire there are some very large coinages of bronze, besides a certain amount of silver resembling that of Antioch. The quasi-autonomous silver of Tyre was also issued as late as 57. Berytus (a colonia) has types relating to the cults of Astarte and Poseidon; Astarte is also prominent at Sidon (a colonia from Elagabalus onwards; a common type represents the wheeled shrine of the goddess) and Tripolis. At Byblus a temple is represented with a conical fetish. Tyre has many interesting types: Dido building Carthage; the Ambrosial Rocks; Cadmus fighting the serpent or founding Thebes, &c. Ptolemais issued coins as a colony from Claudius onwards.

In Trachonitis, the only city of importance is Caesarea Panias, with a famous grotto of Pan, perhaps represented on an imperial coin. Several cities in Decapolis issued imperial coins, among them Gadara and Gerasa. In Galilee the coins struck at Tiberias by its founder, Herod Antipas, may be mentioned. Samaria has money of Caesarea, both autonomous

and imperial, the last for the most part colonial, and also imperial of Neapolis, among the types of which occurs the interesting subject of Mount Gerizim surmounted by the Samaritan temple. The coinage of Judaea is an interesting series. The money of Jerusalem is of high interest, and more extensive than appears at first sight. Here was struck the coin of Antiochus VII., with the native lily as a type, the series of the Maccabaean princes, that of the Roman procurators, and the bronze coins countermarked by the tenth legion, quartered by Titus in the ruins of the city. One of these bears the remarkable symbol of a pig. After the reduction of Judaea in the reign of Hadrian, Jerusalem was rebuilt as a colonia with the name Aelia Capitolina. The earliest coin commemorates the foundation. The coinage lasts as late as Valerian. Ascalon strikes autonomous silver and bronze, including remarkable tetradrachms with the portraits of Ptolemy Auletes, of his elder son Ptolemy XIV., and of his daughter Cleopatra (see Pl. II. fig. 21). There is also money of Gaza of some importance; the earliest coins are Attic drachms, &c., of barbarous style, inspired by Greek, especially Athenian models; on its imperial coins the god Marna, and Minos and Io are named.

The independent Jewish coinage begins with the famous shekels. They have been assigned to various periods, but the preponderance of evidence would class them to Simon Maccabaeus, to whom the right of coining was granted by Antiochus VII. The series is of shekels and half-shekels, of the weight of Phoenician tetradrachms and didrachms.

The obverse of the shekel bears the inscription “the shekel of Israel,” and for type a sacred vessel of the temple, above which (after year 1) is the letter indicating the year of issue and the initial of the word year. The reverse reads “Jerusalem the Holy,” and the type is a flowering branch (Pl. II. fig. 19). The half-shekel differs in having the inscription “half-shekel” on the obverse. The types are markedly peculiar; the obverse inscription is equally so, for the regular formula of the neighbouring cities would give nothing but the name of the city; but the reverse inscription is like that of Tyre and Sidon, for instance, “of Tyre sacred and inviolable.” This agreement is confirmatory of the assignment to Simon Maccabaeus. This coinage bears the dates of years 1, 2, 3, 4 (rare), and 5 (very rare). There has been much discussion as to the date. It is best reckoned from the decree of Antiochus VII. granting the right of coinage to Simon (139–138 ). The coins of the fifth year were then struck by John Hyrcanus. The certain coins of the successors of Simon are small bronze pieces of John Hyrcanus (135–104), of Judas Aristobulus (104–103), of Alexander Jannaeus (103–76), who strikes bilingual Hebrew and Greek and also Hebrew coins, showing his native name to have been Jonathan, and of Antigonus (40–37), who has the Hebrew name

Mattathiah. The types represent only inanimate objects. The Maccabaean coinage is followed by that of the Herodian family, equally of bronze, the two most important issues being those of Herod the Great and Agrippa II. The silver coinage under the early empire was chiefly supplied by the issues of Antioch and Roman denarii; the “penny” with Caesar’s image and superscription was such a denarius. The money of the procurators of Judaea, in part parallel with the Herodian, is of small bronze coins, struck between 6–7 and  58–59, the latest period of their administration being as yet unrepresented. These are followed by two classes, the money of the first revolt ( 66–70) and that of the second (suppressed 135). Both risings caused the issue of native coinage, some of which may be assigned with certainty to each. Of the first revolt are bronze pieces of years 2, 3 and 4. Of the second revolt are restruck Antiochene tetradrachms and Roman denarii, usually with the name of Simon, which appears to have been that of the leader surnamed Bar Cochebas. The obverse type of the tetradrachms or shekels is the portico of the temple; on the reverse are a bundle of branches and a citron, symbols of the feast of tabernacles. Besides this native currency there are coins struck in Palestine by Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.

Of Roman Arabia there are bronze imperial coins of Bostra and less important mints; the kings of Nabataea also issued silver and bronze coins from Aretas III. (c. 87–62 ) to Rabbel II. ( 75–101). From S. Arabia comes a remarkable silver coinage issued by the Himyarites, beginning in the 4th century, and imitated originally from Attic tetradrachms

(both of the old and new style). In Mesopotamia the colonia of Carrhae deserves notice, and the city of Edessa, which issues imperial money as a colonia, and has a series of coins of its kings, striking with Roman emperors in silver and bronze. Curiously, this and the colonial issue are long contemporary. The colonial coinages of Nisibis and of Resaena, which became a colonia, close the group. Babylon was probably a mint of Alexander the Great and of many of the Seleucid kings, certainly of the usurpers Molon (222–220) and Timarchus (162 ).

Africa.

The coins of Africa are far less numerous then those of the other two continents, as Greek, Phoenician and Roman civilization never penetrated beyond Egypt and the northern coast to the west. The series of Egypt is first in geographical order. As yet no coins have been here assigned of a date anterior to Alexander. The old Egyptians kept their

gold, electrum and silver in rings, and weighed them to ascertain the value. During the Persian rule the Persian money must have been current, and the satrap Aryandes is said to have issued a coinage of silver under Darius I. With Alexander a regular Greek coinage must have begun, and some of his coins are of Egyptian mints. A rare bronze coin was struck at Naucratis, probably during his lifetime. With Ptolemy I. the great Ptolemaic currency begins, which lasted for three centuries. The characteristics of this coinage are its splendid series of gold pieces and the size of the bronze money. The execution of the earlier heads is good; afterwards they become coarse and careless. At first the fine pieces were issued by the Phoenician, Cyprian and other foreign mints, the Egyptian work being usually inferior. While the Seleucids were still striking good coins, the Ptolemies allowed their money to fall into barbarism in Egypt and even in Cyprus. The obverse type is a royal head, that of Ptolemy I. being the ordinary silver type (see Pl. II. fig. 22), while that of Arsinoë II. was long but not uninterruptedly continued on the gold. The head of Zeus Ammon is most usual on the bronze coinage. A type once adopted was usually retained. Thus Ptolemy I., Arsinoë II., Ptolemy IV., Cleopatra I., have a kind of commemoration in the coinage on the analogy of the priesthoods established in honour of each royal pair. The almost universal type of reverse of all metals is the Ptolemaic badge, the eagle on the thunderbolt, which, in spite of variety, is always heraldic. For art and iconography this series is far inferior to that of the Seleucids. The weight after the earlier part of the reign of Ptolemy I. (who experimented with the Attic and Rhodian standards) is Phoenician for gold and silver; the metrology of the bronze is obscure. The chief