IN 63 BC the Roman general Pompeymade Cilicia a Roman province withTarsus as its capital. (Figure 1 – map)He had been sent by the Roman senateto deal with Mithradates VI, the king ofPontus, who attempted to extend his ruleover Asia Minor. After defeating Mith-radates Pompey progressed throughCilicia to Syria which he also made aRoman province with Antioch as itscapital. From 51 to 50 BC the famousRoman orator, Cicero, resided in Tarsusas the governor of the province, and in47 BC Julius Caesar visited the city. In 41BC the fateful meeting of Mark Antonyand Cleopatra occurred at Tarsus. Cleo-

patra wanted to impress Antony andwhen her luxurious perfumed bargewas rowed up the Cydnus River she wasarrayed as the goddess Venus. Antonyquickly succumbed to her charms. Inthe movie Cleopatra the role of Cleopa-tra was played by Elizabeth Taylor.(Figure 2) Although some undatedbronze coins might have been minted atTarsus its mint was probably inactiveduring this period. Subsequently Cilicia was incorporatedinto the province of Syria and Antiochbecame the chief mint for the region.Coins were not minted at Tarsus untilthe reign of the Roman emperor Augus-

tus (31BC-14 AD) and then only in lim-ited numbers. There was a tetradrachmwith Augustus on the obverse and Tyche,the city goddess, seated on the reversewith the river god swimming at her feet.(Figure 3) This image of Tyche hadbeen copied from a famous statue inAntioch that showed her sitting on amountain (Mt Silpius), but as there wasno mountain close to Tarsus she is sittingon a throne with its front leg like ananimal’s leg.It was during the reign of Augustusthat a man generally known as Paul ofTarsus (or Saint Paul) was born in Tarsusprobably in about 5 AD. He played a

TheCoins of Tarsus

Part 3The Roman

Periodby Peter E. Lewis

Figure 1 – Map showing the Roman provinces. (Image courtesy of BibleStudy.org)Figure 2 – Elizabeth Taylor played the role ofCleopatra in the movie. (Wikimedia Commons)

major role in spreading Christianity be-cause he travelled widely in Asia Minorand Greece and he focused on convertinggentiles. His image appears on manymodern medals but my favourite is alarge French medal which capturessomething of his determination. (Figure4) His actual appearance is unknown,but in the Acts of Paul and Thecla, whichwas written in the second century AD,he is described as having a bald headand a hooked nose, and both of thesefeatures appear on the medal where therays of light refer to his conversion(Acts 9:3) and the halo above his baldpatch refers to his saintliness. In hisright hand he grasps some of his letters.Because Tarsus was built on a floodplain the city that Paul knew is buriedseveral metres below the modern citywhich has a population of about 150,000,but in 1993 when a site was being ex-cavated for underground parking anancient street was discovered with theremains of houses, shops and publicbuildings. (Figures 5 and 6) Paul prob-ably walked on this street. Augustus was succeeded by Tiberius(14-37 AD) and it was during his reignthat Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem,probably in 30 AD. Under Tiberius themonogram of Tarsus appears on only oneextremely rare tetradrachm. (Figure 7)It has his mother Livia, named as the god-dess Hera, on the reverse. He hated hismother and did not attend her funeral. There are some bronze coins whichwere minted at Tarsus probably duringthe reign of Tiberius but the date andemperor are not shown on them. (Figure8) On the reverse they have the namesof magistrates in the fields, and thisfeature appears on tetradrachms whichhave the head of Tiberius on the obversebut no indication of the mint. (Figure 9)These coins are important because ifthey were minted during the reign ofTiberius it is likely that Paul would havehandled them. If the coin is very wornas in Figure 10 then the chances of itbeing in the saint’s possession at sometime are greatly increased. He was a tent-maker and he would have handled coinsoften.Apart from some rare tetradrachms ofClaudius (41-54 AD) which have Zeus onthe reverse and might have been mintedat Tarsus, no other coins were mintedthere until after 72 AD when Cilicia be-came a separate province with Tarsus asits capital. Under the Roman emperorDomitian (81-96 AD) tetradrachms withTyche seated on rocks were minted in thecity (Figure 11) and probably someundated bronze coins with Tyche on theobverse and Zeus on the reverse. Similartetradrachms were minted by Trajan(98-117 AD). Under Hadrian (117-138 AD) Tarsus

Figure 3 – Tetradrachm of Augustus. Diameter 25 mms. The inscription on the reverse means “ofthe metropolis”. There is a monogram of TAP for Tarsus in the right field. (Classical NumismaticGroup, Electronic Auction 356, Lot 320. Website www.cngcoins.com)

Figure 4 – Bronze medal of the Mint of Paris with an image of St Paul probably by Annette Landyand struck in 1960. Diameter 59 mms. (Author’s Collection)

Figure 5 – Roman road excavated in the centre of Tarsus. (Wikimedia Commons)

became a major mint, and tridrachmswith a variety of reverses were issued.The local god, Sandan, reappears on someof Hadrian’s coins. (Figure 12) FromHadrian to Gallienus (253-268 AD) Tar-sus regularly issued bronze and occas-ionally silver coins. The reverse typesmostly reflect Greco-Roman mythologyand religion. Heracles (known as Her-cules to the Romans) was a popularsuperhero and he appears frequently onthe coins performing one of his TwelveLabours. Presumably he reflected thevalour of the emperor and his militaryforces.On a coin of Caracalla (198-217 AD)Heracles is fighting Antaeus (Greek:Antaios) who was the son of Poseidon(god of the sea) and Gaia (Earth). Thisincident occurred during his EleventhLabour when he was sent by Eurystheus,the king of Tiryns in Greece, to fetch thegolden apples of the Hesperides whowere the daughters of Atlas. The applesgrew on a tree that was guarded by aserpent. After killing the serpent andgetting the apples (Figure 13) Heracleswas returning to Greece when he waschallenged by Antaeus. He was a bellig-erent fellow who liked to wrestle withmen and kill them. He always won be-cause whenever his body came in contactwith the earth his strength was restored.When they began to wrestle, Heracleswondered why Antaeus would throw

Figure 6 – Roman houses excavated in the centre of Tarsus. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 7 – Tetradrachm of Tiberius. Diameter 27 mms. As the goddess Hera, Livia (Julia) holdstwo ears of grain and a poppy head. The inscription means “of the Augusta Julia Hera.” (Collec-tion of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

Figure 8 – Bronze coin of Tarsus probably minted under Tiberius. Diameter 21 mms. On the ob-verse Tyche sits on a throne. Behind her is the magistrate’s Greek name ΟΡΤΥΓΟΘΗΡΑ (Ortu-gothera) which means ‘quail-hunting’. On the reverse Zeus holds Nike on his hand. Magistrates’names are in the left field. (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 88, Lot 1000)

Figure 9 – Tetradrachm of Tiberius probably minted at Tarsus. On the reverse there are magis-trates’ names behind Zeus. (Collection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

Figure 10 – Very worn bronze coin of Tarsus.Diameter 27 mms. Tyche holds a large ear ofgrain. Zeus holds Nike and below is the nameof the magistrate ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΔΗΣ (Apollonides).Paul would have known of him. Behind Zeus isΤΑΡΣΕΩΝ (of the Tarsians). (Author’s Collection)

himself down on the ground before jump-ing up again. When Heracles realizedwhat was happening he grabbed Antaeusaround the waist and held him up sothat his feet could not touch the ground.Then he squeezed him so hard that hedied. On the coin (Figure 14) Heraclesis holding up Antaeus who is strugglingto touch the ground with his feet. Itbecame a popular subject in painting(Figure 15) and sculpture (Figure 16). Tarsus prospered during the 2nd and3rd centuries. It was a university citynoted for its intellectual life especiallyfor Stoic philosophy. The philosopherAthenodorus, who was the advisor ofAugustus, came from Tarsus and diedthere in 7 AD. Architecturally it musthave been impressive with temples andpublic buildings, and several coins showa large temple with ten columns in itsfaçade. (Figure 17) It was an importantcentre in the Roman Empire and whenthere was a shortage of grain Caracallaarranged for a shipment to be sent fromAlexandria in Egypt. (Figure 18)The whole of Cilicia prospered duringthe Roman period and Tarsus had tocompete with the other cities in theprovince such as Adana and Anazarbus.On the coins of Tarsus the wordΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙC (metropolis = mother city)usually appears, often with the lettersAMK, which stand for Greek words

Figure 11 – Tetradrachm of Domitian. Diameter 26 mms. (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 90, Lot 1082)

Figure 12 – Tridrachm of Hadrian. Diameter 25 mms. Sandan stands on a mythical beast (a lionwith horns and wings) and holds a garland and a double-headed axe in his left hand. (ClassicalNumismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 64, Lot 689)

Abacus Auctions . . . . . . . . . . .17AFS Coins & Investments . . . . .61Bexley Stamp & Coin Accs. . . .39 Chris Rudd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Coin Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65Coinworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Downies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84Drake Sterling Numismatics .39,61Éditions Victor Gadoury. . . . . .21Edlins of Canberra & Yass . . . .21IAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4IBNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20I.S. Wright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Jaggards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Klaus Ford . . . . . . . . . . . .42-43Liz’s List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Melbourne Coin Co. . . . . . . . .30Noble Numismatics . . . . . . . . . .2Phoenix Auctions WA . . . . . . .25Principality of Hutt River . . . . .34Romanorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Royal Australian Mint . . . . . . .13Roxburys Auction House . . . . . . 83Status International . . . . . . . .13Sterling and Currency . . . .35, 67Tony James Noteworld . . . . . .67Trevor Wilkin . . . . . . . . . . . . .82Mick Vort-Ronald . . . . . . . . . . .6Ye Olde Coin Company . . . . . .34

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Figure 13 – Bronze coin of Gordian III (238-244 AD). Diameter 35 mms. Heracles holds the goldenapples in his left hand with his lion’s skin draped over his forearm. The dead serpent hangs inthe branches of the tree. (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 93, Lot 934)

Figure 14 – Bronze coin of Caracalla (198-217 AD). Diameter 33 mms. Heracles wrestles withAntaeus. (Numismatik Naumann, Auction 65, Lot 452)

Figure 15 – Detail from Painting “Hercules and Antaeus” by Antonio del Pollaiolo, c. 1478, in theUffizi Gallery in Florence. (Wikimedia Commons)

meaning ‘first, greatest, most beautiful.’(Figure 19) But AMK and ‘metropolis’also appear on coins of Anazarbus. During the reign of Trajan Decius

(149-151 AD) a series of amusing coinswas minted at Tarsus. They have Her-ennia Estruscilla, the wife of Decius, onthe obverse, and Dionysus, the god of

wine and revelry, on the reverse. On thefirst (Figure 20) Dionysus is probablyDRUNK because he holds a cantharus(a large wine cup) but he stands with his

Figure 16 – Statue of Hercules and Antaeus on the fountain at the Medici Villa of Castello, Flo-rence, 16th century. (Wikimedia Commons. Photo by cyberuly)

Figure 17 – Bronze coin of Commodus (177-192 AD). Diameter 34 mms. Below the temple theGreek words mean “Twice temple-guardians (of the imperial cult)” and the word “Commodeian”on the temple suggests that Commodus actually visited the city. (Nomos Auction 6, Lot 157).

Figure 18 – Bronze coin of Caracalla (198-217AD). Diameter 33 mms. The galley is carryingwheat to Tarsus. The rudder is clearly shown atthe stern of the ship, and the shape of the sailindicates that it is going backwards! (Dr BussoPeus Nachfolger, Auction 366, Lot 1005)

Figure 19 – Bronze coin of Gordian III (238-244AD). Diameter 36 mms. Tyche, the city goddess,holds a cornucopia and a rudder on a globe. Theletters AMK are prominent. (Classical Numis-matic Group, Electronic Auction 192, Lot 126)

garment around his waist and a pantherby his side. On the second (Figure 21)he is VERY DRUNK and his garmenthas fallen down exposing his genitals.On the third (Figure 22) he is LEGLESSleaning on a satyr and his garment hasfallen down even further. Little is knownabout Herennia Estruscilla but if shehad actually approved of these coins shemust have been a real ‘party girl’. During the reign of Valerian (253-260AD) a series of events weakened theeastern half of the Roman Empire. Therewere Gothic invasions in Asia Minorand Persian invasions of Syria. Valerianmoved to counter the Persian threat but

when he foolishly agreed to meet withthe Persian king, Shapur I, he was cap-tured and later died in Persia. During theperiod of confusion that followed mostof the mints were closed permanently,including the mint at Tarsus. The last coins minted at Tarsus werebronze coins of Gallienus (253-268 AD)who was Valerian’s son. (Figures 23and 24) Although Roman ProvincialCoinage came to an end a sufficientnumber of coins had been issued togive us a fascinating insight into theancient world before Christianity be-came dominant.

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Figure 20 – Bronze coin with Herennia Etruscilla on the obverse. Diameter 28 mms. On the re-verse Dionysus stands with his garment around his waist. (Classical Numismatic Group, Elec-tronic Auction 266, Lot 271)

Figure 21 – Bronze coin with Herennia Etruscilla on the obverse. Diameter 28 mms. On thereverse Dionysus stands with his genitals exposed. (Classical Numismatic Group, ElectronicAuction 352, Lot 338)

Figure 22 – Bronze coin with Herennia Etr-uscilla on the obverse. Diameter 31 mms. Onthe reverse Dionysus stands with his garmentbelow his knees. He would fall over withoutthe support of the satyr on whom he leans.(Numismatik Naumann, Auction 32, Lot 350)

Figure 23 – Bronze coin of Gallienus (253-268 AD). Diameter 32 mms. Artemis the huntress ispulling an arrow out of a quiver on her back. (Roma Numismatics, May 2013 Auction, Lot 1043)

Figure 24 – Modern sculpture of Artemis thehuntress and moon-goddess. She is standingon the moon and shooting flaming arrows oflight at the earth while a wolf howls in thenight. Her flaming bow is the shape of thecrescent moon. (Author’s Collection)