IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα
Μετάφραση :
Χρυσανθόπουλος Δημήτριος
Για παραπομπή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Seleucid issues", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9746>
Περίληψη :
The coinage issues which were launched by the Seleucid kings in order to supplement the reserves of “international” (mainly) silver coinage of the
period are known as Seleucid issues. These coinage issues covered the wages of the army and the fiscal needs of the kingdom in general.
Χρονολόγηση
Hellenistic period
Γεωγραφικός εντοπισμός
Seleucid kingdom – Asia Minor
1. Coinage system
The coinage system of the Seleucid state can be described as tri-metallic, a system based on the use of coinage minted in three
different metals, which tended to change into a monometallic system, a system based on the use of coinage minted in just one metal,
silver.
In order for the subjects of the Seleucid kingdom to fulfill their tax obligations and the kings themselves to cover the wages of the
army, the Seleucid kings supplemented the reserves of “international” coinage, gold and silver coinage in the name of Alexander the
Great and Lysimachus which was widely circulating throughout the empire, with their personal – mainly silver – coinage issues.
Since the silver reserves which were kept in the treasuries of the previous – Achaemenid – administration had almost been exhausted
and in order to increase the reserves of precious metals, the Seleucids reformed the fiscal system of the satrapies so that the payment
of tax and the state payment were conducted in silver.1 The lower silver denominations and the copper issues were intended for smallscale commercial transactions in local markets.
Generally speaking, the coinage issues which are attributed to the Seleucids include the following types: a) transitional silver
tetradrachms and drachmas with the numismatic type of Alexander the Great and the legend of Seleucus I on the verso and b) gold,
silver and copper issues with the personal types of each king; the name and the royal title of each monarch was engraved on the
verso.
2. Seleucid mints
From Seleucus I’s reign (312-281 BC) to Antiochus IV’s reign (175-164 BC), a large number of mints which covered the fiscal
needs of each region were put into operation. Seleucus I, for instance, added the mint of Seleuceia on the Tigris, near Babylon, to the
existing mints – Babylon, (maybe) Susa and the Phoenician and Cilician mints; at the same time, Ecbatana, Carrhae and one or more
cities of Cappadocia, northern Mesopotamia and northern Syria housed the mints which covered the needs of the respective regions.
From Antiochus I’s reign (281-261 BC) onwards, mints were put into operation in Bactra and Ai-Khanoum in order to cover the
needs of the Upper Satrapies.
In the western provinces of the Seleucid dominion, where transactions in coinage were widely spread, the Seleucid coinage policy
was adopted effortlessly: from 301 BC onwards, the mints of Antioch, Seleuceia Pieria and Laodicea on the Sea in northern Syria
were put into operation; in western Asia Minor, the coin production of the existing mints of Tarsus, Sardis and Pergamon covered the
needs of the new rulers from 294 BC and 281 BC onwards. During Antioch I’s reign (281-261 BC), some temporary mints of the
eastern provinces with limited coin production were added to the mints of the West, in Magnesia ad Maeandrum and Smyrna; the
mints of Dura Europos and Edessa produced copper coinage. During Antioch I’s reign, the mints of Cyme, Phocaea, Myrina, Aegai,
Temnos, (maybe) Lampsacus, Alexandria Troas, Ilium and Abydus, the Thracian cities of Lysimacheia and Cabyle, Mylasa, Ephesus
(copper) and some others which have not been identified yet were also inaugurated. In the East, the mint of Artacoana was put into
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα
Μετάφραση :
Χρυσανθόπουλος Δημήτριος
Για παραπομπή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Seleucid issues", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9746>
operation.
It seems that the mints were established in the capitals of the satrapies and the cities the Seleucids had founded. The needs of the
satrapies which did not have an advanced monetary economy were covered by the coin production of the neighbouring satrapies.
Seleuceia on the Tigris, Antioch, Sardis and Tarsus were major centres of copper coin production.
3. Coin denominations
The basic and higher silver denomination of the Seleucid coinage system was the silver tetradrachm, which was minted according to
the so-called Attic coin-weigh rule.2 Tetradrachms, which weighed 17.20 grams approximately during Alexander the Great’s reign,
weighed 16.50-16.79 grams during Antioch IV’s reign (175-164 BC); their initial weight was reduced by 2% according to the
universal decrease in the weight of the tetradrachms of the Attic coin-weighing rule in Pergamon, Macedonia and Athens during this
period. Sometime later, the Seleucid silver tetradrachms were debased and their silver content was reduced from 94% during
Alexander Balas’ reign to 65% during the 1st cent. BC.3 The relatively small production of lower silver denominations is partly
justified by the use of their equivalent lower denominations of the so-called “international” coinage of Alexander III and Lysimachus
and the use of Seleucid copper coinage in everyday transactions.4
The gold coinage issues were fewer. The gold coinage probably played an important role in large-scale commercial transactions
(especially with India) and served as commemorative coinage.5 The copper coinage the Seleucids put into circulation served as
“credit” coinage, which means that their value was defined by the issuing authority. It has been supported that the exchange rate
between silver and copper in the Seleucid state ranged between 1:20 and 1:96 during the 3rd cent. BC and reached 1:60 during the
2nd cent. BC. Apparently, the well-known from other well-documented regions exchange rate of 1 silver drachma = 6 obols = 48
chalci applied there as well.6
4. Spatial and temporal distribution
The distribution of coin hoards7 with Seleucid issues enables us to adequately define the function of coinage in the Seleucid dominion.
The relatively small distribution of Seleucid coinage in Asia Minor, especially during the reigns of the first three members of the
dynasty, Seleucus I (312-281 BC), Antiochus I (281-261 BC) and Antiochus II (261-246 BC), has been attributed to the
widespread circulation of locally-minted “international” (Alexandrian and Lysimachian) coinage and the strong coinage of Pergamon
and Rhodes on the one hand and the relative instability of the Seleucid rule in the region during the 2 nd half of the 3rd cent. BC on the
other. Similar phenomena occurred in northern Syria and Cilicia. The dramatic decrease, after the battle of Apamea (188 BC) and the
subsequent loss of Asia Minor, in the amount of the Seleucid coinage which was circulating in western and southern Asia Minor has
been partly attributed to the attempt of the Attalid kingdom and Rhodes at establishing closed coinage systems within their spheres of
influence.8
The limited number of lower silver denominations was apparently supplemented by equivalent denominations of “international”
coinage, which was widely circulating in the region. No copper coins had been used in the local markets before Antiochus I’s reign.
The aforementioned evidence leads to the conclusion that the issues in precious metals in the name of the Seleucid kings supplemented
the “international” coinage which had already been circulating in the region in order to cover the fiscal and military needs of the state.
Some “special” issues, such as the issue of the Seleucid “Alexanders”, transitional coinage with the numismatic type of Alexander the
Great and the legend and royal title of the Seleucid kings, and the issue of staters of varying weight which depicted lions, issued by
Seleucus I in the regions of Babylon, Ecbatana and Susa, are part of the early phases of the monetization process of the economy of
the Seleucid dominion.9 Finally, after the conquest of Coele Syria, some coinage according to the so-called phoenician-ptolemaic
coin-weighing rule,10 which was based on the 14.2-gram tetradrachm, was also minted.11
5. Overall assessment
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα
Μετάφραση :
Χρυσανθόπουλος Δημήτριος
Για παραπομπή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Seleucid issues", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9746>
It has been generally supported that the Seleucids aimed at the widest and fastest monetization possible of the economy of the
Seleucid kingdom in order to secure the necessary reserves of silver to cover their expenses, especially the military ones. A large
number of mints provided the markets with abundant coinage, minted according to the Attic coin-weighing rule, in order to
supplement the widely-spread “international” coinage of Alexander the Great and Lysimachus. The fact that in regions such as Coele
Syria, where transactions were conducted in coinage minted according to another coin-weighing rule,12 the Phoenician-Ptolemaic,
there was no attempt at imposing another coinage system betrays the loose coin control over the Seleucid dominion. The important
thing was the facilitation of the regional transactions and not the establishment of a state with a uniform coinage system.
1. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999).
2. The Attic coin-weighing rule is a system of weights which is based on the silver tetradrachm, weighing up to 17.2 grams. The denominations of the
tetradrachm are the 4.3-gram drachma and the 0.72-gram obol. The Attic coin-weighing rule was adopted by Athens, Euboea, Chalcidice, Sicily, Delos,
Cyrenaica, etc.
3. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), pp. 213215.
4. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), pp. 215216; Aperghis, M., “Population – Production – Taxation – Coinage. A Model for the Seleukid Economy”, in Archibald, Z. – Davies, J.K. – Gabrielsen.
V. – Oliver, G.J. (ed.), Hellenistic Economies (London 2000), pp. 69-102, ibid. 90-102.
5. Commemorative coinage: coinage issued on the occasion of a festival or some other, usually military, event. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal
Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), pp. 211-213.
6. Chalcus: copper coin. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss.,
London 1999), pp. 216-220.
7. Hoard: a sealed numismatic collection which includes coinage issues of one or more issuing authorities and usually helps in the temporal
determination of the included coinage issues (according to the degree of damage to the coinage and other criteria). The date of concealment can
usually be defined according to the chronologically older coinage.
8. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), p. 226.
9. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), pp. 235237.
10. Phoenician-Ptolemaic coin-weighing rule: a system of weights which was based on the 7-gram shekel. This system included many lower and higher
(up to 4 shekels) denominations of the basic unit.
11. Aperghis, G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire (Diss., London 1999), pp.
227-228.
12. Coin-weighing rule: a weight unit which can vary from region to region and the system of weight based on it.
Βιβλιογραφία :
Houghton A., "The Seleucid Mint at Lampsacus", ANSMN, 23, 1978, 59-68
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα
Μετάφραση :
Χρυσανθόπουλος Δημήτριος
Για παραπομπή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Seleucid issues", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9746>
Grainger J.D., The Cities of Seleucid Syria, Oxford 1990
Houghton A., Lorber C., Seleucid Coins. A Comprehensive Catalogue Part 1: Seleukus I through
Antiochus III, Lancaster – New York 2002
Fleischer R., Studien zur seleukidischen Kunst Band 1. Herrscherbildnisse, Mainz 1991
Price M.J., The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus, Zurich – London
1991
Briant P., Rois, tributs et paysans. Etudes sur les formations tributaires du Moyen-Orient ancien, Paris
1982, Annales littéraires de l’Université de Besançon 269
Μørkholm O., Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamea (336188 B.C.), Cambridge 1991
Gardner P., Catalogue of Greek Coins. The Seleucid Kings of Syria, Trustees, London 1878, Catalogue of
the Greek coins in the British Museum
Habicht C., Gottmenschentum und griechische Städte, 2, München 1970, Zetemata. Monographien zur
klassischen Alterumswissenschaft, Heft 14
Αperghis G.E.G., The Seleukid Royal Economy. The Finances and Financial Administration of the
Seleukid Empire, Unpublished dissertation 1999
Αperghis G.E.G., "Population – Production – Taxation – Coinage. A Model for the Seleukid Economy",
Archibald, Z. – Davies, J. – Gabrielsen, V. – Oliver, G.J., Hellenistic Economies, London 2000, 69-102
Bellinger A.R., "The end of the Seleucids", The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 38, 1949, 51102
Cohen G.M., The Seleucid Colonies, Wiesbaden 1978, Historia Einzelschriften 30
Newell E.T., The Seleucid Mint of Antioch, Chicago 1978
Newell E.T., The Coinage of the Eastern Seleucid Mints. From Seleucus I to Antiochus III, New York
1938, Numismatic Studies 1
Houghton A., Coins of the Seleucid Empire from the Collection of Arthur Houghton, New York 1983,
Ancient Coins in North American Collections 4
Houghton A., Moore W., "Some Early Northeastern Seleucid Mints", ANSMN, 29, 1984, 1-9
Jenkins G.K., "Notes on Seleucid Coins", NC, 11, 1951, 1-21
Houghton A., Le Rider G., "Tetradrachms of Seleucus IV of the Antioch Mint", Price, M. – Burnett, A. –
Bland, R. (eds), Essays in Honour of Robert Carson and Kenneth Jenkins, London 1993, 64-67
Lacroix L., "Copies de statues sur les monnaies des Séleucides", BCH, 73, 1949, 158-175
Le Rider G., "La politique monetaire des Seleucides en Coele Syrie et en Phenicie après 200", BCH, 119.1,
1995, 391-404
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IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
Συγγραφή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα
Μετάφραση :
Χρυσανθόπουλος Δημήτριος
Για παραπομπή :
Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Seleucid issues", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9746>
Mørkholm O., "The Monetary System in the Seleucid Empire after 187 B.C.", Heckel, W. – Sullivan, R. (eds),
Ancient Coins of the Graeco-Roman World: The Nickle Numismatic Papers, Waterloo 1984, 93-114
Newell E.T., The Coinage of the Western Seleucid Mints. From Seleucus I to Antiochus III, New York
1941, Numismatic Studies 4
Draganov D., The Coinage of Cabyle, Sofia 1993
Hoover O.D., "Notes on Some Imitation Drachms of Demetrius I Soter from Commagene", AJN, 10, 1998,
71-94
Houghton A., "Notes on the Early Seleucid Victory Coinage of Persepolis", SNR, 59, 1980, 5-14
Kraay, C.M. – Jenkins, G.K. (eds), Essays in Greek Coinage Presented to Stanley Robinson, 1968
Oxford
Kritt B., Seleucid Coins of Bactria, Lancaster: CNG 1996, Classical Numismatic Studies 1
Kritt B., The Seleucid Coinage οf Susa, Lancaster: PA 1998, Classical Numismatic Studies 2
Lindgren H.C., Ancient Greek Bronze Coins from the Lindgren Collection, Berkeley 1993
Waage D.B., Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader’s Coins, Princeton 1952, Antioch-on-the-Orontes 4/2
Zahle J., "Religious Motifs on Seleucid Coins", Bilde, P. (ed.), Religion and Religious Practice in the
Seleucid Kingdom, Aarhus 1990, Studies in Helenistic Civilization 1, 125-139
Δικτυογραφία :
Seleucid Coins
http://www.seleukidempire.org/SeleukosNikator.htm
Seleucid Kingdom
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=85
Γλωσσάριo :
satrapy, the
1. Administrative division of the ancient Persian state. 2. The office of a satrap and the period of his government.
stater, the
The term "stater" was used in various areas of the ancient Greek world to define either a standard weight unit or the most important coin in precious
metal (gold, silver, electrum) of a numismatic system. The dead weight and accordingly the value of a stater differed from one area to another and it
was based on the weight standard effective in the various cities. Therefore, it was necessary each standard to be defined by the authority that issued
it (e.g. Aeginetan, Attic, Boeotian, Corinthian).
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