Mesembria

Topography and History

Mesembria, modern-day Nessebar, is located on the western Black Sea coast on the peninsula of the same name,¹ which was twice as large in antiquity as it is today.² The city is situated in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains and was considered by Strabo to be the border between Thrace and the Getic lands.³ It was a Doric apoikia of the poleis Chalcedon and Byzantium, in which colonists from Megara, the metropolis of Chalcedon, also possibly settled;⁴ its foundation dates either to the late 6th or early 5th century BC.⁵ The existence of an indigenous settlement on the ground of the later apoikia is considered to be certain on the basis of archaeological findings.⁶ Mesembria was one of the most important economic centres of the Classical and Hellenistic periods,⁷ which is reflected not least in the lively minting activity from the late 5th century until the conquest of the city by the Romans. The economic importance of the city is also reflected in the fact that in the 3rd century, the city apparently also established smaller colonies.⁸ The tetradrachms and the gold staters of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC bear witness to the strong influence of the Hellenistic kings on the Black Sea coast.⁹ Despite this, Mesembria remained a military power in Hellenistic times and took part in a coalition against the Galatians in 260 BC,¹⁰ in 180 BC, the city was involved in a dispute between Pergamon, Bithynia, and Cappadocia.¹¹

After the conquest of Mesembria, which had fought against the Romans in the Second Mithridatic War, the city gradually lost its prominent position.¹² Thus, the relatively modest bronze coinage of Mesembria could not keep up with the neighbouring Thracian cities in the Roman Empire. The city finally lost its role as a local administrative centre to neighbouring Anchialus.¹³ In the 2nd century Mesembria belonged at times to the province Moesia Inferior, but was again added to the province Thracia in the course of a renewed border regulation.¹⁴ A research controversy exists concerning a presumed Homonoia treaty between Mesembria and Ephesus, the existence of which is suggested by the numismatic findings.¹⁵

State of Research

The two catalogues presented by I. Karayotov, The Coinage of Mesambria, are fundamental to the typology of Mesembria coins. These are Vol. I: Silver and Gold Coins of Mesambria and The Coinage of Mesembria and Vol. II: Bronze Coins of Mesembria, in which the coinage of Mesembria is analyzed and the coin types as well as stamp identities are shown in catalogue form. As E. Schönert-Geiss noted in her review of the first volume of I. Karayotov's catalogue, this collection is by no means complete, especially since the coin material for Mesembria is extremely extensive.¹⁶ Thus, some coin types that appeared later in commerce have not found their way into the catalogues of I. Karayotov, but are also taken into account in our type catalogue. The extensive catalogue of M. Price¹⁷ is fundamental for the posthumous Alexander coinage. The few gold staters from Mesembria were examined by A. Rogalski¹⁸ and recently by E. Petac.¹⁹

Coin Production und Metrology

Mesembria minted coins both during the autonomous period and during the Roman imperial period. During the autonomous period, there was very intensive minting activity in bronze as well as in silver. While the silver and bronze coinage in the Classical period was limited to a manageable ensemble of motifs, a large number of tetradrachms were created with a variety of different accompanying signs in the Hellenistic period, which are to be understood as posthumous imitations of the tetradrachms of Alexander the Great.²⁰ In Hellenistic times, however, the bronze coinage was minted in parallel. Interestingly, gold was also minted in Mesembria, which is very rare in Thracian mints: in the 3rd century BC, Mesembria published several gold staters,²¹ some of which also belong to the posthumous coins of Alexander the Great,²² and others of which were minted by Lysimachus.²³ In Augustan times, a Rhoemetalces issue and another coin type minted for Augustus were emitted.²⁴ The minting of Mesembria then came to a standstill for more than a century before the Roman provincial minting began anew under Hadrian.²⁵ The mint of Mesembria experienced an upswing under Gordian III and Philip the Arab before it ended after the death of Philip and his son, Philip the Younger. As far as the choice of denomination is concerned, most imperial coin types are worth four units. The only exceptions are the few five-unit coins minted under Hadrian²⁶ and the small denominations (two and three units) of the issues for Hadrian,²⁷ Geta,²⁸ Otacilia Severa,²⁹ and Philip the Younger.³⁰

The Coinage of the Classical Period

During the Classical period, Mesembria minted some obols³¹ with the head of Athena or a Corinthian helmet on the obverse and a quadratum incusum on the reverse. The city also circulated numerous diobols with a Corinthian helm on the obverse and a wheel with the letters M, E, T, and A inserted in its spokes on the reverse. Some magistrate abbreviations are legible in the left and right fields of the obverse,³² but others were minted without corresponding abbreviations.³³ A drachma with the aforementioned pictorial motifs, in whose reverse legend the name of the governor is also mentioned, should be emphasized;³⁴ its legend reads ΑΝΘΕΣΤΗΡΙΟΣ ΜΕΤΑ. The iconography of these coin types cannot be interpreted with certainty. It is possible that the helmet refers to the mythical hero Melsas,³⁵ and the wheel operates as a symbol of Apollo in the Black Sea region.³⁶ It would also be conceivable to interpret the wheel as an allusion to Ares, who was worshipped in Thrace as a sun god.³⁷

The same motifs can be found on a few bronze issues³⁸ that date to a few years later.³⁹ Furthermore, there are two bronze coin types from the Classical period that bear this wheel as a reverse motif, on whose obverse Athena is depicted looking to the left or right, respectively. Another type that dates back to the Classical period features the head of Melsas on the obverse, with the letters M, E, T, and A on a pelta, the characteristic shield of the Amazons,⁴⁰ on the reverse.⁴¹ Melsas is known as the mythical founder of Mesembria, who gave the city its name.⁴²

The Coinage of the Late Classical and Hellenistics Periods

In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Mesembria minted a multitude of posthumous tetradrachms for Alexander the Great featuring the canonical depiction of the head of Heracles with a lion exuvia on the obverse and Zeus Aëtophoros on the reverse. A small Corinthian helmet is depicted as a mintmark to the left of the enthroned Zeus on the reverse.⁴³ Various monograms can be recognized below the helmet and under the throne. Each one is defined as an independent type in the database of the Pella project, which is primarily aligned with M. Price. Some gold staters were minted in addition to the tetradrachms. However, these posthumous staters minted for Alexander the Great depict the head of Athena on the obverse and a Nike with a stylis and laurel wreath on the reverse; a Corinthian helmet lies at Nike’s feet. On the gold staters embossed in the name of Lysimachus, the head of the deified Alexander appears on the obverse, while an Athena Promachos enthroned to the left is featured on the reverse, with a statuette of Nike to her right.

Innovations were also made in the bronze coinage during the Hellenistic period. One coin type repeats the well-known motifs of the Corinthian helmet and wheel; however, the letters M, E, Σ, and A can now be read in its spokes.⁴⁴ Thus, the T had been replaced by a Σ ersetzt. Another type with the same obverse has a celtic shield with the city ethnic written out as an inscription on the reverse.⁴⁵ A completely new emission comprises four types with the head of an Amazon⁴⁶ on the obverse and a depiction of Athena Alkis⁴⁷ on the reverse.⁴⁸ The city ethnic is used as the reverse legend in two variants: METAMBRIANΩN and MEΣAMBRIANΩN; in the case of the first, three further variations can be distinguished according to I. Karayotov, which would suggest stylistically different datings and therefore also form different types. In the late Hellenistic period, some types with entirely new motifs appeared. These include the head of Athena with a pelta,⁴⁹ Dionysus and grapes,⁵⁰ Demeter and an ear of barleycorn,⁵¹ Demeter and a caduceus,⁵² and Demeter und Apollo Kitharoidos.⁵³

The Coinage of the Roman Imperial Period

The coins minted under Augustus mark the transition from autonomous minting to imperial city minting. A coin type shows Augustus on the obverse with the legend ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ and Rhoemetalces I on the reverse.⁵⁴ Apollo with a patera and lyre is depicted on the reverse of another coin type minted for this emperor.⁵⁵

Under Hadrian, Mesembria issued coins whose reverse feature Apollo,⁵⁶ Dionysus,⁵⁷ and Hermes.⁵⁸ A coin type with the portrait of the deified Trajan on the reverse is particularly noteworthy.⁵⁹ During the Severan period, different gods serve as reverse motifs, but Apollo Kitharoidos in particular remained popular.⁶⁰ Furthermore, the exceedingly rare⁶¹ depiction of the Corybants with swords and shields appeared in the figural repertoire for the first time under Septimius Severus.⁶² Additionally, small nominals were minted under Geta, on whose reverse appear three stars and a moon,⁶³ grapes,⁶⁴ and a dolphin with trident.⁶⁵

The majority of the coins from the reign of Gordian III follow a trend popular in Thrace and Lower Moesia⁶⁶ and shows the confronted portraits of the imperial couple on the obverse. The various obverse legends often define new types. Traditional depictions such as Apollo Kitharoidos,⁶⁷ Demeter,⁶⁸ and Dionysus⁶⁹ are chosen for the reverse, but new motifs appear as well. The god Serapis,⁷⁰ who was regarded as the protective deity of the army since the time of Caracalla,⁷¹ enjoyed great popularity. The large number of Nemesis depictions with various attributes is also significant.⁷²

Two special emissions arose under Philip the Arab. One is for Philip and his wife, Otacilia Severa, who appear as confronted busts on the obverse of the coin. The other is for his son, Philip the Younger, whose bust is juxtaposed with the bust of the god Serapis.⁷³ The depiction of Philip the Younger together with this god is a regional convention in the Balkan area. Of particular interest is a coin type in which Serapis is not only depicted together with Philip the Younger on the obverse, but also on the reverse.⁷⁴ The varied sceptre postures⁷⁵ of Serapis can be used to distinguish various types.

Our type catalogue represents the state of research from August 2019 and does not take into consideration any coin types that have become known later. Further information, especially about new types, is always welcome.