ptolemaic coins and chronology: the dated silver coinage of alexandria / otto mørkholm

8/17/2019 Ptolemaic coins and chronology: the dated silver coinage of Alexandria / Otto Mørkholm

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THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC

SOCIETY

MUSEUM NOTES

2

THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC

SOCIETY

NEW YORK

1975

This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Mon, 01 Feb 2016 11:12:26 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions


2/29


3/29

PTOLEMAIC COINS

AND

CHRONOLOGY:

THE

DATED

SILVER COINAGE OF

ALEXANDRIA

(Plates

II-VI)

Otto

Morkholm

INTRODUCTION

The

purpose

of

this

paper

is to

present

survey

of the dated

silver

coinage

of

Alexandria

nd,

especially,

o assess the

contribution f

this

material

to our

knowledge

f

Ptolemaic

chronology

n

the

2nd

and

1st

centuries

.c.1

It

willbe demonstratedhat n

some

cases

the numismatic

evidence,

whichhas

neverbeen

systematically

pplied

to a

chronological

investigation,

s

able to

supplement

the

literary

and

documentary

sources and also to correct ome inferences rawnfrom hat material.

In

order

o

understand he

chronological

roblems,

t

willbe

necessary

to deal

briefly

with the

Egyptian

use of the

regnalyear.

In

our

period

the

Macedonian calendar

had been

completely

ssimilated

o the

Egyp-

tian,

in

which the

new

year began

on

Thoth 1. As the

Egyptian year

had

365

days,

nsteadof the

Julian

365

1]A,

he new

year

moved forward

one

day

every

fourth

ear

when

expressed

n

Julian dates.

Thus

year

27 of

Ptolemy

VI

began

on

Oct.

1,

155,

while

year

22

of

Cleopatra

tarted

on

Aug.

31, 31,

the

new

year

having

moved

forward little

more than

a month n 125 years. Whencounting he regnalyears,the time from

the

accession

to

the first

ew

year's day

thereafter as

reckoned s

year

1,

while

year

2

began

with this

new

year.

The first ull

year

of a

reign

thus

becomes

year

2.

The

length

of

year

1

will

vary

according

to the

date

of

accession

and

may

sometimes ave

comprised nly

a few

days.2

1

All

dates n this

aper

reb.c.

2

For

Egyptianhronology

n

general

ee

the

ntroductionso the

following

hree

works:

.

C.

Skeat,

he

Reigns

f

he tolemies

Münchener

eiträge

ur

Papyrus-

forschung

nd

ntiken

echtsgeschichte

9

(Munich,

954);

A.

E.

Samuel,

tolemaic

ChronologyünchenereiträgeurPapyrusforschungnd ntiken echtsgeschichte

43

Munich,

962);

. W.

Pestman,

hronologie

gyptienne'après

es extes

émotiques

(

332 av.

J.-C.

453

ap.

J.-C.),

apyrologica

ugduno-

ataua

5

Leiden,

967).

7



4/29

8 OTTO M0RKHOLM

It should also be noted that

we

are

dealing

withthe

coinage

of Alex-

andria.

While most

dates from

apyri

nd ostraka derive

from arious

parts

of the

country

nd are

quite

unevenly

distributed,

he chrono-

logical

nformation

rom he coinsconcerns

he

capital.

This s

important

because

otherevidence from

Alexandria

s

very

sparse.

Moreover,

his

means

that we

do not have

to

take

any

considerable ime

ag

into ac-

count between

change

of ruler nd a new series

of

regnalyears.

With

the papyri,posthumous atingsderiving,rom he ignorance f scribes

in

remote

villlages

ften

have to be considered.3

1ST

PERIOD.

155/4-135/4

The

coinage

we are

dealing

with

consists

of silver

tetradrachms

f

ordinary

Ptolemaic

types (head

of

Ptolemy

I/Eagle

on

thunderbolt)

inscribed

TTTOAEMAIOY

BAZIAEQI

and dated

by

a

numeral

in

Greekprecededby theEgyptiansignforyear L) indicating heregnal

year.

The dated

series from

Alexandria

begins

in

year

27

(155/4)

of

Ptolemy

VI Philometor

Plate

II,

1).

At this time

coins

dated

by

the

years

of the

reigning ing

had been

issued from

he

Cypriot

mints

of

Salamis,

Citium

nd

Paphos

for bout 35

years.

A

curious,

nd

as

yet

unexplained,

phenomenon

s the occurrence

on the

dated

coins

of

Alexandria

f the etters

TÍA n the

right

field f the

reverse,

n

exactly

the same

place

where

he

mint

of

Paphos

placed

its

initials

n the

usual

Cypriot

ashion.

Although

the ĪTA

continues

on the Ptolemaic

silver

of both

Paphos

and Alexandria

right

to the end of

production

t the

two

mints,

he

style

of

the coins s

so different

hat

it is

normally

uite

easy

to

separate

their

respective

ssues.4

However,

this

fundamental

distinction as not

made

by

Svoronos,

who,

n

his

standard

work

on

the

Ptolemaic

coinages,

scribed

a

number

of

the

coins

actually

struck

t

3

Skeat

.

4;

Samuel

p.

7-8.

4

See

E.

T.

Newell,

tandard

tolemaicilver

New

York,

941), .

7.

The

dis-

tinctionetweenhe oins fAlexandriandPaphoswillbedealtwithmorehor-

oughly

n

the

forthcoming

ublication

f

the

arge

aphos

hoard

GCH

1477)

by

Ino Nicolaou

nd Otto

Morkholm.



5/29

DATED SILVER COINAGE OF ALEXANDRIA 9

Alexandria to

Paphos

and

thus to a

considerable xtent

confused

he

chronological

vidence

afforded

y

the

coins.5

During

his

year

36

(146/5),

presumably

n

spring

145,

Philometor

placed

a

son,

Ptolemy

VII Neos

Philopator,

n

the

thronewith

himself.

A

system

f double

dating,year

36

of

Philometor

year

1

of

his

son,

was

also

introduced nd is knownboth

from

apyri

nd

from

few oins

issued in

Alexandria.

The

dating

formula

on the

coins reads

LAC

KAI A (Plate II, 4). Five specimensof this issue are knownto me,

all

struck

rom

he

same

obverse

die,

whichwas also used

for oins

from

the

same

year

dated

by

Philometor lone

(Plate

II,

5).

This was

duly

noticed

by

Newell

n

his

publication

f

the Keneh

hoard,6

but

a

closer

inspection

of

the

two coins shows that

the

specimen

dated

by

Philo-

metor lone was struck

fter

he

pecimen

with

double

date,

s the obverse

die,

when used with

the

former,

hows

obvious

traces of

greater

wear.

We

must conclude that the coins

with

double

date,

for

which

only

a

single

obversedie

was

used,

formed

special

ssue,

presumably

roduced

to celebrateor proclaimthe participationof Neos Philopator in the

royalpower.

Apparently tolemy

VI

soon

returned o

the

normal oin-

age

dated

by

his own

regnal year.

Five

obverse dies

are

at

present

known from

his

year,

including

he

one

also used for the

issue with

double

date. Another f the

five obverse

dies

had

already

been

used

in

year

35

(Plate

II,

2-3).

In

late

summer

45

Philometor

ied

during campaign

n

Syria,

nd

his

brother,

tolemy

VIII

Euergetes

I,

quickly

eized the

opportunity

to

remove

he

young

Neos

Philopator

nd

place

himself

n the

Egyptian

throne. At an earlierdate, in 170/69, e had been appointed co-regent

together

with

Philometor

nd

their

sister,

Cleopatra

II. He reckoned

his

years

of

reign

from

his date

and

consequently,

n

gaining

he

power

in

Alexandria,

he

started ff

with

year

25,

corresponding

o the

Egyptian

year

Sept.

29,

146

-

Sept.

27,

145.

His

accessionmusthave taken

place

5

J.

Svoronos,

á

vo/uía/uara.

ov

xgarovg

œv

lToKeļjiaiojv

I

(Athens,

904),

nos.

437-51

Ptolemy I)

and

nos.

501-32

Ptolemy III).

6

E. T.

Newell,

wo

Recent

gyptian

oards,

ANSNNM

33

(1927),

pp.

25-6.

In thispublicationewellhoughthat hecoinswere romaphos, ut ater e

changed

is

mind.

A.

E.

Samuel,

Year27

30

and 88

b.c.,

ChroniqueÉgypte

(Brussels,

965), .

397

till

scribes

hem o the

Gypriot

int.



6/29

10 OTTO M0RKHOLM

before

ept.

19,

145

according

o the

documents,

ut as his Alexandrian

coinage

of

year

25

(Plate

II,

6)

was struck

from

t least five different

obverse dies

this event should

be

placed

as

early

as

possible,

hat

is

to

say,

in late

July

or

early

August

145,

leaving

one

and a

half to two

months

of the

year

for

this

rather

ntensive coin

production.

Con-

sequently,

he

latest known date

by

Philometor nd

Neos

Philopator,

August

21, 145,

is

in

all likelihood

o

be

regarded

s

posthumous.7

Duringthis firstperiodwe thus have two coin series: Philometor's,

dated

from

year

27

to

year

36

(155/4-146/5),

nd

Euergetes',running

from

year

25

(146/5)

onward.

As

they

re

separated

by only

11

years

t

becomes

evident

hat a differentiationased

on

stylistic

onsiderations

alone is a

rather

hazardous

affair.

It

seems

better

o

admit

that

up

to

year

36

of

Ptolemy

VIII

(135/4)

the

list of ssues

in

our tabular

survey

(below p.

19)

represents

nly

the

most

probable

arrangement

nd

may

be

subject

to

changes.8

2ND

PERIOD.

134/3-123/2

With

the coins

dated

year

37

and later we

are

on certain

ground

because

only

the

reign

f

Ptolemy

VIII

will accommodate

coins

of these

dates.

In

132/1

he sister nd

wife f

Ptolemy

VIII,

Cleopatra

I,

raised

a revolt

against

her brother

nd

appears

as sole

ruler for a

couple

of

years.

Documents

from

the Thebaïs

are

dated

by

her

1st and

2nd

years

which

correspond

o

years

39

and 40

of

Ptolemy

VIII

(132/1-

131/0).9

n the

reconstruction

f

the events

t is

generally

ssumed

that

the

revolt

started

n

Alexandria

and

that

Ptolemy

VIII had to leave

7

For

he vents

f

146/5

ee

Walter

tto,

Zur

Geschichte

erZeitdes

6. Ptole-

mäers, bhandlungen

er

Bayerischen

kademie

er

Wissenschaften

Philos.-hist.

Abt.

New

eries

No.

11

Munich,

934),

p.

128ff. nd

Walter

tto

nd

Hermann

Bengtson,

Zur

Geschichte

es

Niederganges

es

Ptolemäerr

lches, bhandlungen

der

Bayerischen

kademie

er

Wissenschaften

Philos.-hist.

bt.,

New

Series

No. 17

(Munich,

938),

p.

24-8.

cited

Otto-Bengtson).

ee

also Skeat

p.

34-5;

Samuel

pp.

144-5;

estman

p.

54-6.

8 This ppliesspeciallyo the oins ated othe 0's. Only completeie tudy

will

nable

s

to

arrive

t

a final olution.

9

See

Otto-Bengtsonp.

47 ff. Samuel

.

146.



7/29


his

capital

and

withdraw o

Cyprus

during

his

39th

year

of

reign.10

Against

his t shouldbe

pointed

out that we have coins

from

Alexandria

not

only

from

year

39

(Plate

II,

7)

but

also a few

specimens

from

single

obverse

die dated

year

40

(Plate

III,

1).

As

Cleopatra

I

intro-

duced

her

own

new

dating,

these coins can

only

have been struck

by

Ptolemy

VIII.

They

show

beyond

any possible

doubt

that he

was

still

recognized

n Alexandria

fter

ept.

25, 131,

and that

his

flight

o

Cyprus

mustbe placed after hat date. It is also ofsome mportance o be able

to show that

the

revoltof

Cleopatra

II

started

n

the

country

nd

that

she

gained

control

f

the

capital

only

at

a

later

date.u

In

131/0

Ptolemy

VIII

was

already attempting,

rom

Cyprus,

o

re-

coverhis

kingdom.

Alexandria,

however,

tood

firm

gainst

his attacks.

No

coins

from

ts

mint

howthe dates 41 and

42.

The

coinage

of

Ptolemy

VIII was

resumed

nly

n

year

43,

Sept.

24,

128

-

Sept.

23,

127

(Plate

III,

2),

during

which

the

king

must

have

recovered

his

capital.12

A

few

coins of

year

44 are

known,13

ut then the

mint

pparently

ay

idle

throughoutyears 45^48.

3RD

PERIOD.

122/1-89/8

In

year

49

(122/1)

continuous nd

extensive

minting egan,

running

through

the

remainingyears

of

Ptolemy

VIII until

year

54

(117/6)

(Plate

III,

3)

and

on

into the

next

reign.

After he

death of

Ptolemy

VIII

on

June

28,

11614

he

coinage

of

Alexandria

continuedwith a

series

dated

year

1

(Plate

III,

4)

to

year

10 (Plate III, 5). Duringthe same year 116, the death of Cleopatra

11 leftthe

royal

power

with her

daughter

nd

rival,

Cleopatra

II,

who

10

Otto-Bengtson

p.

56-7.

11

Samuel

.

147

has

he orrectrder f

he

vents,

ut annot e

right

n

dating

the

returnf

Euergetes

I to

Alexandria

efore

anuary

5,

130.

The situations

further

omplicated

y

he

contemporary

evolt f an

indigenous

uler,

arsiesis.

See

Pestman

p.

58-62.

12

Otto-Bengtson

p.

95-9.

13The forthcomingorkby Nicolaou nd Merkholm,illpublish hem s

Alexandrian

oins os.

33-5.

14

For

the

date

ee

Otto-Bengtson

p.

113-4.



8/29

12 OTTO M0RKHOLM

had

accepted

her

own elder son

by Ptolemy

VIII,

Ptolemy

IX

Soter,

as

co-regent.15

he

relationship

etween

mother

nd son soon deteri-

orated

and on two

occasions,

n

110/9

nd

again

in

109/8,

he

son was

temporarily eprived

of his

rights

nd

replaced

by

his

younger

rother,

Ptolemy

X

Alexander

.16 These eventsmade

no

impact

on

the

coinage.

In

107

Soter

II was

finally

xpelled

from

Alexandria and had to take

refuge

n

Cyprus,

while

his

younger

rother ook

his

place

as

co-regent

withthedominantmother.17 he change ngovernment as advertised

by

a series

of coins with

double

dates

running

rom

year

11=8,

107/6

(Plate

III,

6)

to

year

16=13,

102/1

Plate

III,

7),

8

he

higher

numeral

representing

he

regnal

year

of

Cleopatra

III,

the lower

one that of

Alexander

,

who reckonedhis

reign

from

14/3

when

he

took

the

title

of

king

n

Cyprus

nd struck oins

theredated

by

his own

regnal

years.

Thus we are

not

dealing

with a retroactive

dating,

as

some

scholars

have assumed.19We

have

neither oins

dated to

year

11

alone,

nor

any

carrying

he double

date

year

10=7.

The conclusionmust

be that

the

changing f co-regentswas effected eryclose to the beginning f the

Egyptian

New

Year,

Sept.

19, 107,

when

Cleopatra

II

moved

from

er

10th

to

her 11th

year

of

reign.20

During

the

oint

rule of

Cleopatra

II and

Alexander

,

a

singleyear,

14=11

(104/3),

aw no

coinage

t all. We

know f no

political

reasons

for

this

gap

in

the

coinage

nd

may presume

conomic

nd financial

actors.

A

simple xplanation

might

e that

the coin

production

f

the

preceding

years

was so

extensive hat

for

singleyear

no

new

coinage

was

actually

needed.

In

102/1

Cleopatra

II was murdered

y

Alexander

,

who was

unwilling o remainforever nder the strict uthority f his impetuous

16

For

he

ircumstances

f he

hange

f

eign

n

117/6

ee

Otto-Bengtsonp.

112 f.

Ptolemy

III had married

othhis

sister,

leopatra

I,

and his

niece,

leopatra

III,

daughter

f

Ptolemy

I and

Cleopatra

I.

16

See

Otto-Bengtsonp.

162-5,

74-5.

17

Otto-Bengtsonp.

178ff.

18

Svoronos

os.1727-31.

19

Otto-Bengtson.

172.

The

numismatic

vidence

ill

be set

out

n

detail

y

Nicolaou

nd

Morkholm

n the

forthcoming

ublication

f

he

Paphos

hoard.Cf.

alsoPorphyryn F. Jacoby,ie Fragmenteer riechischenistorikerI B, Berlin,

1929),

o.

260,

F 2

8).

20

Otto-Bengtson

.

180;

Samuel

.

151.



9/29


mother.

The exact date of

Cleopatra's

death has been

disputed,

but

the existenceof a coin dated to

year

13 of Alexander

I

alone

(Plate

III,

8)

shows that

Cleopatra

had died

before

he end of her 16th

year

(corresponding

o Alexander's

13th),

i.e. before

Sept.

16,

101.

1

The

single

ostrakon

dated

year

17=14

must

be

posthumous.22

Ptolemy

X

Alexander

continued

his

reign

n

Alexandria,

nd

issued

a

continous eriesof dated

coins

from

year

13

(102/1)

o

year

26

(89/8).

Withthe issues of the last twoyears, 5 and 26,we arrive t numerals,

which had

already

been used

by Ptolemy

VIII

at the

beginning

f

his

sole

reign.

But

by

now the

distance

n

time,

a. 55

years,

has

brought

o

obvious

stylistic

hanges

that the two series cannot be confused.

A few

years

ago

the events

surrounding

he

disappearance

of Alex-

ander I

from

the

Egyptian

throne nd the

reinstatement

f his

elder

brother,

oter

II,

in

Alexandria were examined.23

However,

the con-

tribution f the

Alexandrian

coinage

to the

complicated hronological

problem

was not taken

into

account,

although

t

is

quite

decisive. The

numismaticmaterialat disposal is listed here:24

Ptolemy

X

Alexander

LKE

(year

25

=

90/89)

1.

Al

-

PI

14.45

gm.

BritishMuseum

Plate

IV,

1).

2.

A2-P2

13.67

gm.

ANS

(Plate

IV,

3).

3. A3

-

P3 13.61

gm.

Paris,

acq.

1967

(Plate

IV,

6).

Ptolemy

X

Alexander

LKC

(year

26

=

89/88)

4. Al

-

P4

14.26

gm.

Paris

ex Dattari

(Plate

IV,

2).

5. A2 - P5 13.95gm. Copenhagen, cq. 1974 (Plate IV, 4).

Ptolemy

X

Soter

II

LK0

(year

29

=

89/88)

6.

A2

-

P6

14.17

gm.

ANS

(Plate

IV,

5).

7. A3

-

P7

13.60

gm.

Osnabrück:

Svoronos 1687

y

(Plate

IV,

7).

21

Otto-Bengtson.

134,

note

;

Skeat

.

36;

Samuel

.

152.

22

Pestman

.

71.

23

A. E.

Samuel,

hronique'Égypte

965,

p.

376-85.

M In the ist hedies re numberedeparately,standingor nvil robverse

die,

P for

punch

r

reverse ie.

My

thanks re dueto the curators

ho

have

kindly ermitted

e

o

publish

oins romollections

n

their

harge.



10/29

14 OTTO M0RKHOLM

8.

A3-P8 14.23

gm.

ANS.

9.

A3-P9 13.65

gm.

ANS.

10.

A4

-

PIO

13.31

gm.

Paris ex

Dattari:

Svoronos

1687

ç.

11.

A4-P11

13.83

gm.

Athens:

Svoronos

1687

cc,

pl.

lvii,

31.

12.

A5

-

P12

14.39

gm.

ANS

(Plate

IV,

8).

13. A6-P13

14.22

gm.

British

Museum:

BMC

p.

114,

no.

70,

pl.

xxviii,

8;

Svoronos

1687

ß.

The importance f the numismatic vidence ies in thefactthat two

obverse

dies

A2

and

A3)

were

used

in

both

year

25

(of

Ptolemy

X)

and

year

29

(of

Ptolemy

X),

and

one of

hem

A2)

also

in

year

26

(of

Ptolemy

X).

It

is thus

quite

certain

hat

Ptolemy

X

Soter

II

was

reigning

n

Alexandriabefore he

end

of

89/88

or

in

Julian

terms

before

Sept.

13,

88.

The use of

five

different

bverse

dies for

the

issue

of

year

29

in-

dicates

that

the

reinstatement

f

Soter

II

took

place

well

before his

date. The

evidence of the

papyri

must

be

considered

next. A

papyrus

in

Cairo shows hat

on

May

29,

88 an

Egyptian

cribe n

the

countryside

dated bybothyear26 ofAlexander and year29 of Soter II.25 In the

Thebaïs

a

papyrus

of

Sept.

6,

88

is

dated

by

Alexander

alone,

while

anotherof

Oct.

4,

88

is

dated

by

both

kings,year

27

=

year

30.

Im-

mediately

fterward,

n

Oct.

5,

88,

a scribe

n the

same

region

dated

by

Soter II

alone.26

Our

documentary

nformation

s,

of

course,

both

intermittent

nd

haphazard,

but

as

it

stands at

present

t

shows

that

rather

arly

n

89/88

Soter II

took

Alexandria.

The

two

double

dates

show

that

afterward

ome

confusion

xisted

among

the

scribes

as to

who

was

king.

In

the

Thebaïs

Alexander

I was

recognized

until ate

in89/8, nd theuncertaintyere nthisdistant egionwas onlydispelled

early

n

the

following ear, 88/7.

The

conclusion s

that,

after

eaving

Alexandria,

Alexander

(whether

ersonally

r

through

his

loyal

sup-

porters

we

cannot

tell)

was

able to

maintainhis

control f

part

of the

country

nd

that

this

situation

asted until

the

beginning

f

88/7.

The

earlier

reconstruction

f

the

events,

hat

Alexander

remained

n

possession

f

Alexandriauntil

well

nto

his

27th

year

(late

88)

and then

25

Pestman

p.

74-6

W.

Spiegelberg,

ie

Demotischen

enkmäler

I,

Catalogue

généralesantiquitésgyptiennesumusée u Caire Cairo, 906-8), 0, 614,6.

26

A.

E.

Samuel,

hronique

'Égypte

965,

p.

381-2.

Samuel

oesnot

mention

the

Cairo

apyrus

eferredo n

the

preceding

ote.



11/29


marched

ut to

fight

oter

II in the

country,

wherethe latterhad suc-

ceeded

in

establishing

imself,27

ust

be

turned

exactly

the

other

way

around.

Soter II

undoubtedly

irst ecoveredAlexandria rather

early

in

88 and

then

fought

Alexander in the

countryside.

The

wrong

nter-

pretation

derives

from

an excessive

confidence n

Porphyry's

short

account

of the

events.

According

o

this,

Soter

II was recalled

by

the

citizens of

Alexandria at a

time

when

Alexander

I

had

already

been

driven ut ofEgypt.28Porphyry's hronologyfthereigns f hevarious

kings

is

generally

reliable,

but

his

historical

comments

on the

exact

sequence

of the events cannot be

accepted

in

the face

of

contradictory

evidence

from

ontemporary

ocuments

nd coins.

4TH

PERIOD.

82/1-58/7

After

his

recovery

f

the

Egyptian

throne n

89/8

Soter

II

ruled un-

disturbed ntil his

death

in

year

37,81/0,

presumably

bout

the

begin-

ningof March80. Fromthisperiodonlya singlecoin is known,dated

year

36,

82/1

Plate

V,

1).

After he break of six full

years

a new

por-

trait

style

was introducedwhich

was carriedover into the next

series

of coins with

dates

from

year

1

(Plate

V,

2)

to

years

23

(Plate

V,

3)

or

24

(Plate

V,

4).

This

series

belongs

o

Ptolemy

XII

Neos

Dionysos,

nicknamed

Auletes,

except

that the coins of

year

1,

which are

not

un-

common,

may

as well

have

been

struck

by

Cleopatra

Berenice who

reigned

or little

more

han

six

months

fter he death of

Ptolemy

X.

According

o the

generally

ccepted interpretation

f the

documentary

evidence heEgyptianyear81/0was almostcompletely ccupiedbythe

reigns

f

Soter

II

and

Cleopatra

Berenice.29

f

the first

ear

of Auletes

was

of

very

short

duration,

ossiblyonly

a few

days,

most

of the coins

from

year

1

will

actually

have been struck

by Cleopatra

Berenice.

The whole

series

underdiscussionhere was

attributed

y

Svoronos

o

Cleopatra

VII,

but this is

definitelywrong.

The series

s

continuous

except

for

year

11

and

goes

on until

at least

year

23.

Two

coins,

one

27

A. E.

Samuel,

hronique

'Égypte

965,

p.

384-5.

28Jacoby,ie FragmenteerGriechischenistorikerI B (Berlin, 929), o.260,

F 2

(9).

29

On

the

year

1/0

ee Skeat

pp.

36-7;

amuel

p.

153-5;

estman

p.

74-7.



12/29

16 OTTO M0RKHOLM

in Athens

Svoronos

1869

a,

pl.

A,

21)

and one

in

the

American

Numis-

matic

Society

Plate

V,

4)

show

a

date

which

has

been read as

L

K A

but,

following

voronos,

he

last

letter

of

the Athens coin

may

also be

read as a

rather

badly

formed

B whilethe

coiņ

in

New

York

most

pro-

bably

reads

L

KA.

However this

may

be,

the

reign

of

Cleopatra

VII

came

to

an

end withher

22nd

year

and

cannot

possibly

ccommodate

series

of

coins

continuing

ntil

year

23. As

pointed

out

by Regling,

he

series n questionmustbe attributed oPtolemyXII and represents is

coinage

n

Alexandria

down to

59/8

or

perhaps

58/7.30

5TH

PERIOD.

55/4-31/0

During

year

24

(58/7)

Auleteshad to leave

Egypt

and for bout three

years

the

kingdom

was ruled

by

his

daughter,

erenice

IV,

first

n

as-

sociation with her

sister,

Cleopatra

Tryphaena,

later with a certain

Archelaus.

This

reign

has

left

no

coinage

as far s we know.31With the

assistance of Aulus Gabinius,Roman proconsul f Syria, PtolemyXII

was able

to return o

Alexandria

early

in

55,

during

his

26th

year.

Coinage,

however,

was first esumed

n the

following ear,

27

(Plate

V,

5).

After he

incredibly

ow

artistic tandard

of the

preceding

eries a

new

portrait

with

a certain

flashy

elegance

and characterized

by

an

elaborate

hairstyle

makes

a

refreshinghange.

The

hairstyling

bove the

diadem

consists

f

several

sharply eparated

rows

of ocks

arranged

l-

ternately

nd

placed

in

tiers one above

the other

(see

fig. 1).

The

coinage

seems

to continueuntil

year

30,

52/1,

he last

year

of

Ptolemy

XII Auletes (Plate V, 7). However,thistype of coin was also used

by

his

successor,

he

great

Cleopatra

VII,

with no

changes

t

all

except

30

Svoronos

os.

1847-52,

854-70. ee

Regling,

n

a review

f

Svoronos,

Num

1906,

.

394

=

Svoronos

V

col.

508).

It

follows

hat

voronos

os. 815-35must

be attributed

o

Cleopatra

II and his s

confirmed

y

hoards

uch

s

IGCH

1722

and 1732.

31

There

s a

slight ossibility

hat

ome

fthe oins ere scribed

o

Ptolemy

XII,

years

-3

may ctually

ave

been

truck

y

BereniceV.

Only

complete

ie

study

ill

e able osolve his

uestion.

or

he

hronology

f hese

ears

ee

Skeat

pp.37-9;Samuel p.155-6;Pestman p. 80-1. The historicalircumstancesf

Auletes'

light

ndreturn

re

dealt

with

y

E.

Olshausen,

om

nd

Ägypten

on

16

bis

51

v

Chr.

Diss.

Erlangen/Nuremberg,

963),

p.

45-63.



13/29


for

he

dates.

It now

happens

that at this

time

the

distinction

etween

A

and

A

in the coin

inscriptions

as

practically

non-existent.

Both in

the

royal

title,

BASI

AEÍ2Z,

and

in

the

nitials TTA

we find

many

cases

where

A is

used instead

of

A.

The rather

regrettable

esult

of

this

carelessness

s

that when

we

meet

with coins

dated

LA

we cannot

be

sure

whether

t stands

for

year

30

or

year

1.

In this

case,

of

course,

t

is

the

same

Egyptian

year

and

that

is

certainly rovided

with a

coinage,

but herethe numismaticmaterialoffers o informationoncerninghe

change

of

ruler.32

Fig.

1

Fig.

2

During

years

5-7

there was a cessation

of the normal

production

f

tetradrachms,

ost

probably

sign

of

the financial

ifficulties

ssociated

with

he

AlexandrineWar.

In

year

6

an

issueofdrachms

with

he

portrait

of

Cleopatra

on

the obverse

announced

her secure

position

after

the

intervention

f Julius Caesar

on her behalf.

The

tetradrachm

oinage

was resumed n year 8. In year 12 (41/0)a new hairstyle ppears on

the obverse

heads

(Plate

VI,

3).

The hair above

the

diadem

is now

treated as

a

single

cap

formed

by

long

undulating

ocks

radiating

from

central

point

at

the

top

of

the skull

see fig.2).

This new

style

continues

o

the end of

the

reign.

We

thus have

a neat

distinction

between

the

tier-hairstyle

sed

on

the coins

up

to and

including

year

11

(Plate

VI,

2)

and the

central-hairstyle

sed

from

year

12

and

throughout

he

remaining

ears

of

the

reign.

32Thedeath fPtolemyII isgenerallylacedbout ebruary1, nwhichase

Cleopatra

II would

ave

had

at least ix months

o

produce

coinage

f

year

.

See Skeat

p.

40-1;

Samuel

p.

156-8;

Pestman

.

80.



14/29

18 OTTO M0RKHOLM

To

the clear distinction

ere

established here are

a few

exceptions.

Coins

of the second

(central-hairstyle)tyle,

dated to

year

1 and

year

7 are

known

Plate

VI,

5

and

7).

It

seems

quite

unreasonable

that the clear

patterndeveloped

above should

be broken n

only

two

years.

With

several

die cutters

working

imultaneously

t a

mint,

dif-

ferent

tylesmight

ccur n

the

same

period.

But we

should

expect

such

a

stylistic iversity

o

make

itself elt

hroughout

he

period

nd not

to

be concentratedntwoyears. Fortunatelyn explanation an be found.

In

year

16 of

Cleopatra

VII

(37/6)

Caesarion,

her son

by

Caesar,

was

apparently

ppointed oint king.

We know

from

he

Egyptian

docu-

ments

a

seriesof

double

dates which

begins

with

year

17

and

2 and

continues

o

the

end

of

Cleopatra's

reign

with

year

22

and

7.

It

is

hardly ikely

hat the

Egyptian

documents

efer

n

any

way

to

Cleopa-

tra's

acquisition

of various territories

n

Syria,

etc.,

which

she received

from

Mark

Antony

n

36,

although Porphyry learly

states

that

this

was

the occasion for the introduction

f a new

separate dating.33

A

newdating alludingto the reignofCleopatra n a quite differenteo-

graphical

area

which

was received

as a

gift

from

her

Roman

consort

would

hardly

be

thought ppropriate

n the old

homeland

of the

Ptole-

mies.

The

theory

f

a

coregency

with

Caesarion s

clearly

preferable

s

an

explanation

of the

double

dates

in

Egypt.

This

allows us to

ascribe

the

stylistically xceptional

oins

of

year

1

and

year

7 to the

young

co-

regent.

The

coins,

being

contemporary

with

year

16 and

year

22

of

Cleopatra,

now fall into the series

with

the

most

complete

ccordance

(Plate

VI,

4-7).

We

may

even

understand

why

precisely

oins of

year

1 and year7 are known. The first ssue was intended o celebrate he

establishment

f the

co-regency,

while the coins of

year

7 fall

in

the

decisive

year

31/0.

They

were

produced

fter he battle of

Actium

Sep-

tember

1)

at the

time

when

Cleopatra

was back

in

Egypt

and

awaiting

the arrivalof

Octavian.

We

know that

during

hese

months

f trouble

and

anguish Cleopatra

retained

the

hope

of

leaving

her

kingdom

o

38

Porphyry

n F.

Jacoby,

ie

Fragmente

erGriechischenistoriker

I B

(Berlin,

1929), o.260, 2 17). See lsoA.E. SamuelTheJoint egencyfCleopatrand

Caesarion,

tudes e

Papyrologie

Cairo,

971), p.

73-9.The

arguments

f amuel

have

not een

cceptedy

Pestman

p.

82-4,

ut re

now

trengthenedy

he bove

interpretation

f

he oindates.



15/29

19 DATED SILVER COINAGE OF ALEXANDRIA

her

son,

a

hope

that was not to be fulfilled.34 he

rather

poor

ssues of

Cleopatra,

year

22,

and

Caesarion,

year

7,

thus

become

pathetic

mon-

uments

o the

political

ndeavors nd

aspirations

f he ast ruler f the

last

independent

Hellenistic

kingdom.

The

Dated Silver Coinage

of Alexandria

Tabular Survey

Ruler

Regnal

Year Dates

1ST PERIOD

Ptolemy

VI

27

Oct.

1,

155

-

Sept.

30,

154

28

Oct.

1,

154

-

Sept.

29,

153

29

Sept.

30,

153

-

Sept.

29,

152

(no coinage)

30

Sept.

30,

152

-

Sept.

29,

151

31 Sept. 30, 151 - Sept. 29, 150

32

Sept.

30,

150

-

Sept.

28,

149

33

Sept.

29,

149

-

Sept.

28,

148

34

Sept.

29,

148

-

Sept.

28,

147

(no coinage)

35

Sept.

29,

147

-

Sept.

28,

146

36]

Ptolemy

VII 1

Sept.

29,

146

-

Sept.

27,

145

Ptolemy

VIII

25j

26

Sept.

28,

145

-

Sept.

27,

144

27 Sept. 28, 144 - Sept.27, 143

28

Sept.

28,

143

-

Sept.

27,

142

29

Sept.

28,

142

-

Sept.

26,

141

30

Sept.

27,

141

-

Sept.

26,

140

31

Sept.

27,

140

-

Sept.

26,

139

32

Sept.

27,

139

-

Sept.

26,

1381

also portrait

33

Sept.

27,

138

-

Sept.

25,

137

coins)

34

Sept.

26,

137

-

Sept.

25,

136

35

Sept.

26,

136

-

Sept.

25,

135

(no

coinage)

36 Sept.26, 135 - Sept. 25, 134J

34

Cambridge

ncient

istory

0

New

York/Cambridge,

934),

p.

106-11.



16/29

20 OTTO M0RKHOLM

Ruler

Regnal

Year Dates

2ND

PERIOD

Ptolemy

VIII

37

Sept.

26,

134

-

Sept.

24,

133

38

Sept.

25,

133

-

Sept.

24,

132

39

Sept.

25,

132

-

Sept.

24,

131

40

Sept.

25,

131

-

Sept.

24,

130

41 Sept.25, 130 - Sept. 23, 129Ì (no coinage)

42

Sept.

24,

129

-

Sept.

23,

128J

43

Sept.

24,

128

-

Sept.

23,

127

44

Sept.

24,

127

-

Sept.

23,

126

45-48

Sept.

24,

126

-

Sept.

22,

122

(no coinage)

3RD

PERIOD

Ptolemy

VIII 49

Sept.

23,

122

-

Sept.

21,

121

50

Sept.

22,

121

-

Sept.

21,

120

51 Sept.22, 120- Sept. 21, 119

52

Sept.

22,

119

-

Sept.

21,

118

53

Sept.

22,

118

-

Sept.

20,

117

54Ì

Sept.

21,

117

-

Sept.

20,

116

Cleopatra

II

&

lj

Ptolemy

X 2

Sept.

21,

116

-

Sept.

20,

115

3

Sept.

21,

115

-

Sept.

20,

114

4

Sept.

21,

114

-Sept.

19,

113

5

Sept.

20,

113

-

Sept.

19,

112

6 Sept.20, 112 - Sept. 19, 111

7

Sept.

20,

111

-Sept.

19,

110

8

Sept.

20,

110

-

Sept.

18,

109

9

Sept.

19,

109

-

Sept.

18,

108

10

Sept.

19,

108

-

Sept.

18,

107

Cleopatra

II & 11

=

8

Sept.

19,

107

-

Sept.

18,

106

Ptolemy

X

12

=

9

Sept.

19,

106

-

Sept.

17,

105

13

=

10

Sept.

18,

105

-

Sept.

17,

104

14

=

11

Sept.

18,

104

-

Sept.

17,

103

(no coinage)

15

=

12 Sept. 18,

103

-

Sept. 17, 102

16

=

13Ì

Sept.

18,

102

-

Sept.

16,

101

Ptolemy

X

13

J



17/29


Ruler

Regnal

Year Dates

14

Sept.

17,

101

-

Sept.

16,

100

15

Sept.

17,

100

-

Sept.

16,

99

16

Sept.

17,

99

-

Sept.

16,

98

17

Sept.

17,

98

-

Sept.

15,

97

18

Sept.

16,

97

-

Sept.

15,

96

19 Sept. 16, 96 - Sept. 15, 95

20

Sept.

16,

95

-

Sept.

15,

94

21

Sept.

16,

94

-

Sept.

14,

93

22

Sept.

15,

93

-

Sept.

14,

92

23

Sept.

15,

92

-

Sept.

14,

91

24

Sept.

15,

91

-

Sept.

14,

90

25

Sept.

15,

90

-

Sept.

13,

89

26Ì

Sept.

14,

89

-

Sept.

13,

88

Ptolemy

X

29J

30-35 Sept. 14, 88 - Sept. 12, 82 (no coinage)

4TH

PERIOD

Ptolemy

X

36

Sept.

13,

82

-

Sept.

11,

81

37

(no coinage)

Cleop.

Berenice 1

Sept.

12,

81

-

Sept.

11,

80

Ptolemy

XII

1

2

Sept.

12,

80

-

Sept.

11,

79

3

Sept.

12,

79

-

Sept.

11,

78

4 Sept. 12, 78 - Sept. 10, 77

5

Sept.

11,

77

-

Sept.

10,

76

6

Sept.

11,

76

-

Sept.

10,

75

7

Sept.

11,

75

-Sept.

10,

74

8

Sept.

11,

74

-

Sept.

9,

73

9

Sept.

10,

73

-

Sept.

9,

72

10

Sept.

10,

72

-

Sept.

9,

71

11

Sept.

10,

71

-

Sept.

9,

70

(no

coinage)

12

Sept.

10,

70

-

Sept.

8,

69

13 Sept. 9, 69 - Sept. 8, 68

14

Sept.

9,

68

-

Sept.

8,

67

15

Sept.

9,

67

-

Sept.

8,

66



18/29

22 OTTO M0RKHOLM

Ruler

Regnal

Year Dates

16

Sept.

9,

66

-

Sept.

7,

65

17

Sept.

8,

65

-

Sept.

7,

64

18

Sept.

8,

64

-

Sept.

7,

63

19

Sept.

8,

63

-

Sept.

7,

62

20

Sept.

8,

62

-

Sept.

6,

61

21 Sept. 7, 61 - Sept. 6, 60

22

Sept.

7,

60

-

Sept.

6,

59

23

Sept.

7,

59

-

Sept.

6,

58

24

Sept.

7,

58

-Sept.

5,

57

(?)

25-26

Sept.

6,

57

-

Sept.

5,

55

(no

coinage)

5TH

PERIOD

Ptolemy

XII

27

Sept.

6,

55

-

Sept.

5,

54

28

Sept.

6,

54

-

Sept.

4,

53Ì

(also

portrait

29 Sept. 5, 53 - Sept. 4, 52Jdrachms)

30Ì

Sept.

5,

52

-Sept.

4,

51 .

Cleopatra

VII

lj

(

'

2

Sept.

5,

51

-

Sept.

4,

50

3

Sept.

5,

50

-

Sept.

3,

49

4

Sept.

4,

49

-

Sept.

3,

48

5

Sept.

4,

48

-

Sept.

3,

47

(no coinage)

6

Sept.

4,

47

-

Sept.

3,

46

(portrait

drachms)

CleopatraVII 7 Sept. 4, 46 - Sept. 2, 45 (no coinage)

8

Sept.

3,

45

-

Sept.

2,

44

9

Sept.

3,

44

-

Sept.

2,

43

10

Sept.

3,

43

-Sept.

2,

42

11

Sept.

3,

42

-

Sept.

1,

41

(also portrait

drachms)

12

Sept.

2,

41

-

Sept.

1,

40

13

Sept.

2,

40

-Sept.

1,

39

14

Sept.

2,

39

-

Sept.

1,

38

15 Sept. 2, 38 - Aug. 31, 37

16Ì

Sept.

1,

37

-

Aug.

31,

36

Caesarion

1J



19/29


Ruler

Regnal

Y

aer

Dates

Cleopatra

VII

17

Sept.

1,

36

-

Aug.

31,

35

18

Sept.

1,

35

-

Aug.

31,

34

19

Sept.

1,

34

-

Aug.

30,

33

20

Aug.

31

33

-

Aug.

30,

32

21

Aug.

31,

32

-

Aug.

30,

31

(no

coinage)

22Ì Aug. 31, 31 - Aug. 30, 30

Caesarion

7J

Key

to the

Plates

(all

the coins

are silver etradrachms

f

Alexandria)

Plate II

1.

Ptolemy

VI,

year

27

(155/4);

Paris,

14.23

gm.

2.

Ptolemy

VI,

year

35

(147/6);

Paris,

14.07

gm.

3.

Ptolemy

VI,

year

36

(146/5);

ANS,

14.09

gm.

4.

Ptolemy

VI

and

Ptolemy

VII,

year

36

and

1

146/5);

ANS,

14.27

gm.

5.

Ptolemy

VI,

year

36

(146/5);

ANS,

13.61

gm.

6.

Ptolemy

VIII,

year

25

(146/5);

ANS,

14.27

gm.

7.

Ptolemy

VIII,

year

39

(132/1);

British

Museum,

14.36

gm.

Plate III

1.

Ptolemy

VIII,

year

40

(131/0);

Brussels,

13.45

gm.

2.

Ptolemy

VIII,

year

43

(128/7);

Berlin,

14.26

gm.

3.

Ptolemy

VIII,

year

54

(117/6);

ANS,

13.95

gm.

4.

Cleopatra

II and

Ptolemy

X,

year

1

(117/6);

Copenhagen,

3.37

gm.

5.

Cleopatra

II and

Ptolemy

X,

year

10

(108/7);

Berlin,

14.50

gm.

6.

Cleopatra

II and

Ptolemy

X,

year

11

and

8

(107/6);

Berlin,

3.50

gm.

7Š Cleopatra III and PtolemyX, year 16 and 13 (102/1);Copenhagen,

13.77

gm.

8.

Ptolemy

X,

year

13

(102/1);

ANS,

12.16

gm.



20/29

24 OTTO M0RKHOLM

Plate

IV

See above

pp.

13-4.

Plate V

1.

Ptolemy

X,

year

36

(82/1);

Athens,

14.02

gm.

2.

Cleopatra

Berenice

or

Ptolemy

XII,

year

1

(81/0);

ANS,

14.16

gm.

3. PtolemyXII, year23 (59/8);ANS, 12.87gm.

4.

Ptolemy

XII,

year

24?

(58/7);

ANS,

13.42

gm.

5.

Ptolemy

XII,

year

27

(55/4)

Berlin,

12.35

gm.

6.

Ptolemy

XII,

year

28

(54/3);

Copenhagen,

2.85

gm.

7.

Ptolemy

XII,

year

30

(52/1); Copenhagen,

.23

gm.

Plate

VI

1.

Cleopatra

VII,

year

2

(51/0);

ANS,

13.30

gm.

2.

Cleopatra

VII,

year

11

(42/1);

Berlin,

13.56

gm.

3. CleopatraVII, year12 (41/0);ANS, 13.86gm.

4.

Cleopatra

VII,

year

16

(37/6);

Berlin,

13.17

gm.

5.

Caesarion,

year

1

(37/6);

ANS,

13.88

gm.

6.

Cleopatra

VII,

year

22

(31/0);

Copenhagen,

2.51

gm.

7.

Caesarion,

year

7

(31/0);

Berlin,

13.65

gm.



21/29

II

•

4

5

6

W

w

w

DATED

SILVER

OF

ALEXANDRIA



22/29


23/29

III

DATED SILVER OF ALEXANDRIA



24/29


25/29

IV

DATED SILVER

OF ALEXANDRIA



26/29


27/29

v

4

DATED SILVER OF ALEXANDRIA



28/29


29/29

VI

5

6

7

^ÊkSwB^Ep^^^Kh

'^H^ESÍ^^BMK^^B Mllfcv^^^KH^^v

UUEHKQPH

■HH^Hì

DATED

SILVER

OF

ALEXANDRIA