Catalogue information

LastDodo number
7260059
Area
Coins
Title
Syracuse, Sicily AE20 212-150 BCE
Face value
Year
-210
Variety / overstrike
Head of State
Type
Designer
Series
Material
Weight
6
Diameter
20
Thickness
Shape
Obverse
Reverse
SYRACOSION
Edge
Privy mark
Mint mark
Number produced
Krause and Mishler number
Catalogue number
Calciati-240; SNG Fitz 1454; SNGCop 904
Details
Obv; ΣYΡAKOΣIΩN Female Isis standing right, wearing headdress, holding istrum & sceptre Rev. Male head of Serapis right The city of Syracuse is located on the east coast of Sicily and was originally a Greek colony founded by Corinth in 734 BCE. The city enjoyed a period of expansion and prosperity under the tyrant Gelon in the 5th century BCE, survived a two year siege by Athenian forces from 415 to 413 BCE, and again prospered under the tyrant Dionysius in the 4th century BCE when the city controlled much of Sicily and large portions of southern Italy. A long period of tyranny was established in Syracuse with the arrival of Dionysius I (c. 430 - c. 367 BCE). Four wars against Carthage rocked the early years of his tyranny, but from the early 4th century BCE the city enjoyed another period of prosperity. Fortifications were constructed which stretched a full 27 km around the city, and Syracuse could now claim control over most of Sicily and even parts of southern Italy. Syracuse’s position as a fully independent state was coming to an end, and when Hieronymus sided with Carthage against Rome, the fate of the city was sealed. After a long siege from 213 to 211 BCE, Syracuse was sacked by the Roman commander Marcus Claudius Marcellus. This was despite the Syracusans benefitting from the inventions of one of their famous sons, Archimedes, who created weapons such as the 'iron hand' which could pluck enemy soldiers from their positions and then drop them from a great height. Still important in Roman times, the city became the provincial capital, albeit also a civitas decumana and obliged to pay tax to Rome. In 21 BCE Augustus created a colonia and the city was also beautified with a new square and triumphal arch and benefitted from a new aqueduct and amphitheatre. The city continued as a significant settlement well into the 3rd century CE and impressive catacombs attest to its role as an important Christian centre up to the 7th century CE. In 878 CE the city was captured by Arabs, bringing to a close the city’s long history as a bastion of Greek and Roman culture.