The Bronze Coinage of Tyre: The First Years of Autonomy more

© 2008 The American Numismatic Society AJN Second Series 20 (2008) pp. 295–304 The Bronze Coinage of Tyre: The First Years of Autonomy Plates 69–70 Danny Syon*** The excavations at Gamla yielded several hundred small bronze coins of Tyre, minted in the first decades following the city’s autonomy in 125 BCE. The study of these mostly unpublished coins casts light on the mint in this transitional period. Coins of four different types are dated “year 1,” and another, showing Melqart and a palm tree, is dated from year 3 to 28. This latter type is probably often confused by numismatists with the similar Seleucid issues of the city. A checklist is provided for identifying and differentiating the coins with this civic type from the Seleucid coins. Introduction To date, Hill’s monumental volume of BMC Phoenicia remains practically the only reference work for the coinage of Tyre. Tyre is possibly one of the most prolific mints of antiquity, and it is certainly the most important in the southern Levant from the middle of the fourth century BCE to the end of city coinages under Gallienus. Though new coin types of the city are identified with some regularity (mainly colonial types from the third century CE), the preparation of a new corpus has remained a daunting task that no numismatist seems to want to undertake. The present article examines a short period of some thirty years in the mint’s history in the Hellenistic period through some unpublished coins found in the excavations at Gamla. * This article is a reworking of a section from my doctoral dissertation (Syon 2004, 69–75). Israel Antiquities Authority, P. O. Box 1094, Akko 24110, Israel. ** I am grateful to Oliver D. Hoover for commenting on an earlier draft of this paper. All mistakes and omissions remain, of course, mine alone. 295 296 Danny Syon The town of Gamla, situated on the Golan, was excavated by the late Shmarya Gutmann over fourteen seasons, and later by myself and my associate Zvi Yavor.1 The excavations uncovered a Jewish city of the Second Temple period, which fell to the Romans in 67 CE, during the Jewish War, as recounted by the historian Flavius Josephus (The Jewish War 4.1–83). Since the site was not inhabited after that date, the town provides an unprecedented glimpse into Jewish life of the first centuries BCE and CE, as well as to a Roman battlefield that was left undisturbed. About 6,300 coins were recovered in the excavations (Syon 2004, forthcoming), of which no fewer than 1,287 were minted at Tyre. Except one silver coin of the fourth century BCE and three Ptolemaic bronze coins, these include 527 Seleucid coins and 756 autonomous issues minted in or after 125 BCE, the year when Demetrius II was murdered in Tyre and the city declared its autonomy. The autonomous issues found at Gamla include forty-six silver sheqels and halfsheqels (equivalent to tetradrachms and didrachms respectively), and the rest are bronze coins. The bronze coins can be further separated: 625 coins are dated to the twentyeight years between 125 and 99/8 BCE, and only twenty-six coins to the nearly 170-year-long period between 99/8 BCE and 67 CE, when Gamla was captured by the Romans and then abandoned. An additional fifty-nine coins cannot be dated precisely. This large number of coins provides a glimpse into the workings of the Tyrian mint during its transition from a royal Seleucid mint to an autonomous mint. The autonomous mint of Tyre set the tone in autonomous silver coinage for the southern Levant for almost two hundred years (125 BCE–66 CE). Tyre’s autonomous bronze coinage continued for over three hundred years, until it was replaced by Roman-style provincial coinage at the end of the second century CE, and eventually by colonial coinage. Tyre thus minted autonomous coins far longer than any other city. The Coins The first twenty-five or so years of autonomy at Tyre are characterized by much experimentation with the bronze coinage, in which various ephemeral types were introduced and discontinued.2 Ultimately, the mint settled on some fairly rigid obverse/reverse combinations. Initially, the obverses carried the heads of either Tyche or Melqart, even on what appear to be similar denominations, which may have been confusing to the user. Some Seleucid reverse types were continued, later 1. The final publication of Gamla is in progress: volume 1 appeared in 2006 (Berlin 2006). An overview of the site is in NEAEHL 2: 459–463, Syon 1992 and 2002. 2. In what follows, square brackets [] denote the catalog number as it will appear in Syon (forthcoming), which is the final publication of all the coins found at Gamla. The Bronze Coinage of Tyre—The First Years of Autonomy 297 to be dropped in favor of the ubiquitous head of Tyche/galley and head of Tyche/ palm types. The head of Melqart reappeared on the bronzes in the second half of the first century BCE on the Melqart/club types (BMC Phoenicia, 257–258), not one of which were found at Gamla. The placement of the Tyrian monogram and the date also underwent some changes, and in these formative years they can be found on either the right or the left side, or sometimes both on the same side. The Tyche Coins No bronze coins have yet been published for the very first years of autonomy. At Gamla, there are four small bronze denominations struck in this period. 1. Obv. Head of Tyche r., veiled, wearing turreted crown; dotted border. Rev. Stylized ram to l.; behind: palm branch; in upper l. field: i; on r., date: LA (126/5 BCE); below: ÷t◊ ’ (?); dotted border.3 One specimen, 10 mm, 1.35 g [1275]. This coin is a direct continuation of a similar Seleucid type of Tyre first appearing under Antiochus VII (SC 2, no. 2114) and later in the last years of Demetrius II. The last one is dated 127/6 BCE (SC 2, no. 2198). Another small coin, designated as “Unattributed Issue of Southern Coele Syria” (SC 2, no. 2207) and dated tentatively to the second reign of Demetrius II, has an obverse that carries an extraordinarily similar ram. Tentatively, this coin is attributed to Tyre because of the abundance of Tyrian coins found in Israel.4 The type on the reverse of this coin is almost invariably described as “prow,” “spur,” or “forepart” of galley on both Seleucid and Autonomous coinage. While most prows do incorporate a bronze ram (cf., e.g., BMC Phoenicia, 55, nos. 23–25 [Berytus]; SC 2, no. 2257 [Alexander Balas], no. 2328 [Antiochus IX]), the type of this coin is actually a ram on its own.5 The nature of the depicted object has now been clarified by the find of an actual bronze ram off ‘Atlit (see Pl. 69, 4; Casson and Steffy 1991). Similarly, the object on which the eagle stands on the reverse of Tyrian silver coinage of Phoenician weight—whether struck for the Seleucid or autonomous issues—is also clearly a stylized ram rather than a ship’s prow (e.g., BMC Phoenicia, pl. 29, no. 19).6 It is possible that earlier authors who used the 3. The only other specimen known to me, from another die, is in the Haifa Municipal Museum, inv. no. 1330 (Information courtesy of the museum). It is possible that a similar coin is referred to by Seyrig from the excavations at Oumm el-‘Amed, but unfortunately there is no photograph to compare to (Seyrig 1962, no. 35). 4. I am grateful to Oliver Hoover for discussing this possibility with me. 5. For a number of rams mistaken for prows, cf., e.g., SC 2, nos. 2069, 2207. 6. On Sidonian silver, a ram appears on autonomous issues but not on the Seleucid issues (e.g., BMC Phoenicia, pl. 21, no. 15 ). 298 Danny Syon word “spur” had a ram in mind. In the new volume of Seleucid coins (SC 2), this is now corrected. 2. Obv. Head of Tyche r., veiled, wearing turreted crown; dotted border. Rev. Stylized palm tree; on l.: i; on r., date, mostly obliterated; dotted border. The dates noted are A and Δ? (126/5 and 123/3 BCE). Eleven specimens, 9–12 mm, 0.53–2.00 g [1359–1360; 1366–1368; 1370; 1372–1374; 1379–1380]. The stylized palm tree complements the stylized ram and forms a smaller denomination of the same series. Incidentally, coins nos. 1 and 2 also prove that Tyche appears veiled on coins earlier than 111 BCE (e.g., Hill in BMC Phoenicia, liii).7 3. Obv. Head of Tyche r., wearing turreted crown; dotted border. Rev. Stylized galley’s prow l.; above: i; date LA (?); below, Pt◊; circle border. One specimen, 12 mm, 1.86 g [1276]. Although the reading of the date is uncertain, coin no. 3 surely belongs to this series because of its similarity of stylized design, the monogram, and inscription. All three denominations carry a Tyche obverse, a rather unusual phenomenon for civic bronze coins circulating simultaneously during a very short period. Apparently, in the very first years Melqart was reserved for the silver coinage only, and all bronzes carried a Tyche obverse. Beginning in year 3 (124/3 BCE), the head of Melqart was introduced for the bronze. For a few years (years 3–11), both Tyche and Melqart appeared on small denominations with a palm tree reverse, and from then on, until year 28, the portrait of Melqart was reserved for this denomination, and the Tyche/Palm type was a larger denomination. The ram and prow apparently disappeared entirely. The Melqart/palm tree coins [1391–1983] The majority of Seleucid issues found at Gamla are the ubiquitous small bronzes showing on the obverse the head of the king and on the reverse a palm tree (see SC 2, for every king from Antiochus IV onward). This type was carried over by the autonomous mint of Tyre. The main change was the replacement of the head of the Seleucid king on the obverse with that of Melqart, removing the reverse inscription naming the king, and adding the monogram of Tyre. It is remarkable how few specimens of the Melqart/palm tree have been published, given that at Gamla there are close to two hundred clearly dated coins of 7. The history of the veil as a chronological indicator is discussed at length by Sawaya (forthcoming). The Bronze Coinage of Tyre—The First Years of Autonomy 299 this type and nearly four hundred worn specimens with illegible dates that are unquestionably of the same type and probably of the same date range. One specimen in the British Museum (BMC Phoenicia, 254, no. 251) is dated “year 28,” and the only other site where coins of this date have been published is, as far as I am aware, Dura Europos, where twenty-six specimens of “year 28” were recovered (Bellinger 1949, 201, nos. 1881–1881a). A further twenty-five coins of “year 28” were found in a hoard on the Golan (IGCH 1613; Seyrig 1958, 175–176). I have identified a further fifteen specimens in local collections from sites in Galilee during the assembling of the data for my doctoral dissertation: Hagoshrim (5 coins), Sasa (1 coin, year 15), Gush Ḥalav (1 coin, year 15), Shiḥin (Asochis; 7 coins), Sha‘ar Ha-‘Amaqim (1 coin). These autonomous coins can easily be confused with the Seleucid coins of the same type, because both types have a beveled edge, are usually found in a poor state of preservation, and the autonomous issues lack published examples for comparison. After I gained some experience identifying these coins and reexamined the group of coins from Shiḥin (from the Degani collection), I was able to identify twenty-nine such coins. The obverse portraits are often off flan, suggesting mass production, unlike other Tyrian coins, which are carefully centered. The portrait is not always the “typical” chubby Melqart head but rather often uncannily resembles some Seleucid monarchs. Among the coins from Gamla, I was able to “identify” portraits of the young Demetrius II and Antiochus VII (Pl. 70, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) and a coin from Shiḥin bearing a portrait that may be a caricature of Alexander Balas (Pl. 70, 5a). The coin listed under no. 1551 in SNG Israel 1 as an issue of Alexander Balas, with his characteristic profile, is most likely an autonomous issue as well. One explanation for this resemblance might be the use of obsolete Seleucid obverse dies, perhaps with some tooling. Another explanation might be the fact that some or all the engravers continued working from the Seleucid into the autonomous era, continuing in the same style. In this case, however, a resemblance to Demetrius II would mostly be expected. Yet a third possible explanation is that the dies for these tiny coins were cut by apprentices who had before them as a model some older coins produced by the mint. These autonomous bronzes were apparently minted in large quantities, but for a limited time only between c. 124–98 BCE. The earliest date observed for these with some certainty is “year 3” (124/3 BCE) and the latest “Year 28” (99/8 BCE). Many specimens are crude and undated, and their attribution as autonomous rests on the observation that they carry no legends. All the “no monogram / no legend” specimens are of the crude variety (Table 1). 300 Danny Syon The copious issue of years 14 and 15 (113/2 and 112/1 BCE) may possibly be associated with the activities of Antiochus VIII and IX, the rival contenders to the Seleucid throne. Their fortunes during these years changed constantly and involved much military movement close to Tyre. Tyre might have wanted to assert its autonomy by minting a large issue precisely at this time, or perhaps it endeavored to profit from the warring factions. Admittedly, sources for such a connection are lacking. It is noteworthy that relatively few other bronze issues are known in the same period anywhere in the southern Levant, so these Tyrian issues circulated widely as small change. Table 1. Dates on Melqart/palm tree coins from Gamla Year 3 4 Date Variants 124/3 Γ, L-Γ 123/2 Δ, L-Δ 1 7 8 120/19 L-Z 119/8 H, L-H , LH 6 9 10 11 118/7 Θ 117/6 I, L-I 116/5 A-I, AI 3 12 14 115/4 LIB? 113/2 i- LΔI [L] - ΔI I, LIΔ 112/1 i- EI i- IE LEI 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 Quantity Certain Uncertain 1 3 107 6 15 43 1 The Bronze Coinage of Tyre—The First Years of Autonomy Year Date 16 Variants 301 Quantity Certain Uncertain 111/0 i-L≤I 1 18 109/8 i -HI, L-HI 5 28 99/8 HK – Pt◊ 6 i- no date 5 No date or monogram 10 The significance of the different styles cannot be determined at this time. If style is chronologically significant, then it is likely that the well-executed coins were the first issues, and the crude issues with no monogram or date were last. These latter were apparently produced to supply a demand in a period when hardly any other authority in the region minted small change. Although it cannot be ruled out that these are unofficial imitations,8 the fact that in size and weight range, fabric, and flan they are identical to the coins that bear both date and monogram suggests that they are genuine products of the mint of Tyre. A checklist (Table 2) will help classify and separate the Seleucid and autonomous coins, based on fragmentary details. The large quantity of them at Gamla—1,096 altogether (502 Seleucid and 594 autonomous)—allowed in most cases for a firm attribution when at least some detail was visible, yet many coins were only tentatively assigned to either group. 8. I thank one of the reviewers of the manuscript for this suggestion. 302 Danny Syon Table 2. Checklist of Seleucid and autonomous “palm tree” coins of Tyre Feature On Seleucid Coins Head of the Seleucid king On Autonomous Coins Head of Melqart Usually it is the characteristic chubby face seen on the larger denominations and the silver sheqels, but sometimes it can be confused with a Seleucid king. No inscription around the ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ + Name in gen. circumference. When other details are obliterReverse inscription ated but it can be determined Always present. Traces of a circular that there is no circular inscripinscription are a sufficient crite- tion, this is a sufficient criterion for attribution as autonomous. rion for attribution as Seleucid. Present on all issues after Antiochus IV. Not introduced by L, Mostly on the right side of the except under Demetrius I. Usu- palm tree, but sometimes split. Date ally split by palm tree. Date range: Mostly introduced by L. Date ΕΛΡ–ZΠP (SE 135–187). P always range recorded: Γ–HK (3–28; present—its presence is sufficient 124/3–99/8 BCE) for attribution as Seleucid. Never. On most issues. In the Seleucid period, the mono- Traces of it are a sufficient Monogram of Tyre i gram only appears on some larger criterion for attribution as aubronzes in the second reign of tonomous. Demetrius II (129–125 BCE). On some issues, Never. down to the first reign of Demetrius Hole centering II (145–138 BCE). Presence of hole centering is sufficient for attribution as Seleucid. Usually larger (13–15 mm) before Size Small (10–13 mm). Demetrius II. The style of the palm tree is usually not a good criterion, except for some very distinct types, as in the photographs: For some kings, the features are recognizable even if the coin is partly worn, e.g., Antiochus IV, Balas, and Demetrius II. Obverse portrait The Bronze Coinage of Tyre—The First Years of Autonomy 303 Photo credits Pls. 69–70, nos. 2, 3, 5b, 5d, photographed by Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority Sources of Coins 1. Gamla excavations, IAA 17520 2. Gamla excavations, IAA 21040 3. Gamla excavations, IAA 18910 5a. Site of Shiḥin, A. Degani collection 5b. Gamla excavations, IAA 21109 5c. Gamla excavations, IAA 17539 5d. Gamla excavations, IAA 20748 Key to Plates 69–70 Figure 1. Coin 1: “Year 1”: ram. Figure 2. Coin 2: Stylized palm tree. Figure 3. Coin 3: Galley’s prow. Figure 4. The ‘Atlit ram. Figure 5. Melqart resembling a Seleucid monarch. (a) Caricature of Alexander Balas. (b) Demetrius II? (c) and (d) Antiochus VII? References Bellinger, A. R. 1949. The excavations at Dura-Europos final report VI: The coins. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Berlin, A. M. 2006. Gamla I. The pottery of the second temple period. IAA Reports 29. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority. BMC Phoenicia = Hill, G. F. 1910. British Museum catalogue of Greek coins: Phoenicia. London. Casson, L., and J. R. Steffy. 1991. The Athlit ram. College Station: Texas A & M University Press. NEAEHL = Stern, E., ed. 1993. The new encyclopedia of archaeological excavations in the Holy Land. 4 vols. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. Sawaya, Z. Forthcoming [2008]. Les monnaies civiques non datées de Bérytos— Reflet d’un passage discret de l’hégémonie séleucide à l’autonomie (102/1–82/1 av. J.C.). Numismatic Chronicle. SC 2 = Houghton, A., C. Lorber, and O. Hoover. 2008. Seleucid coins: A comprehensive catalogue. Part II: Seleucus IV through Antiochus XIII. New York/Lancaster, Penn. 304 Danny Syon Seyrig, H. 1958. Monnaies grecques des fouilles de Doura et d’Antioche. Revue Numismatique (6e serie) 1:171–181. ———. 1962. Les monnaies. In Oumm el ‘Amed, une ville de l’époque Hellénistique aux échelles de Tyr, eds. M. Dunand et R. Duru, 227–231. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve. SNG Israel 1 = Houghton, A., and A. Spaer. 1998. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum Israel 1: The Arnold Spaer collection of Seleucid coins. London: Italo Vecchi. Syon, D. 1992. Gamla—Portrait of a rebellion. Biblical Archaeology Review 18(1): 23–37. ———. 2002. Gamla—City of refuge. In The first Jewish revolt: archaeology, history, and ideology, eds. A. M. Berlin and J. A. Overman, 134–153. London: Routledge. ———. 2004. Tyre and Gamla. A study in the monetary influence of southern Phoenicia on Galilee and the Golan in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Ph.D. diss. Hebrew University, Jerusalem. ———. Forthcoming. The coins. In Gamla III. The Shmarya Gutmann excavations 1976–1989. Finds and studies, ed. D. Syon. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority. Plate 69 1 1 (3x) 2 2 (3x) 3 3 (3x) 4 The Bronze Coinage of Trye: The First Years of Autonomy Plate 70 5a 5b 5c 5d The Bronze Coinage of Trye: The First Years of Autonomy