Hello
A new issuer is needed for Roman provincial coins; the details are below.
Thank you in advance
- the name of the issuer in English (and if possible also in French and Spanish)
En: Apamea ad Orontes, City of
Fr: Apamée, Ville d'
Es: Apamea, Ciudad de
It should be under Roman Provinces > Syria > Apamea ad Orontes, City of
a.k.a. Apameia, Claudia Apamea
- its Wikidata code (for example, Q854 for Sri Lanka)
Q617550
- the link of one or more Numista records that you want to classify under this issuer
- if necessary, the list of other issuers to be linked by “see also” links
Apamea in Syria from Ancient Greece
- if possible, a brief introduction presenting the history of this issuer with any numismatic considerations useful to the reader
Apamea, or Claudia Apamea was an ancient Greek and Roman city located on the right bank of the Orontes River. The site is about 55 km to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab Valley. The city was possibly founded by Macedonian General Antipater (circa 400–319 BC) in 320 BC, after the Treaty of Triparadeisos, and initially named Pella. Basileus Seleucus I Nicator (circa 358–281 BC) renamed it in 300 BC after his Bactrian wife, Apama, daughter of the Sogdian warlord Spitamenes (370–328 BC). Later under the Macedonians, Apamea became the capital of Apamene, the north-western part of Syria. In 64 BC, it was conquered by Pompey the Great (106–48 BC) and annexed to the Roman Republic. During the late empire, Apamea became the capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric of the Roman Province Syria Secunda and was finally captured by the Sasanians in 613.
The early republican coinage of Apamea reflects the autonomy rights granted by Mark Antony and the limitation of its privileges imposed by Octavian. Coins are often dated according to undefined eras and marked with unidentified symbols. Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius are the only emperors to ever mint Roman provincial coins in Apamea. Claudius minted bronzes and a remarkable silver tetradrachm, dated year 1 and 2, and with a new ethnic, Claudia Apamea. The years refer either to the regnal year or refer to the renaming of the city. Bronze coinage of Apamea was minted in four denominations: Æ21 (9.73 g); Æ20 (7.63 g); Æ18 (6.13 g); and Æ16 (4.70 g).
