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Dioscourias, Colchis, c. 105 - 90 B.C.
| The Milesian Greek colony of Dioscurias was named for the Dioscuri, the twins of myth, Castor and Pollux. Commerce between Greece and the indigenous tribes was bustling in the city, wares were imported from many parts of Greece, and local salt and Caucasian timber, linen, and hemp were exported. It was also a center of slave trade. The multitude of languages spoken in its bazaars was remarkable. Under Augustus, the city assumed the name of Sebastopolis, but its prosperity was in the past. The Black Sea had continuously encroached upon the city and in the 1st century Pliny the Elder described it as nearly deserted. The towers and walls of Sebastopolis are still underwater today. In 542, the Romans evacuated the remaining residents and demolished its citadel to prevent it from being captured by the Sassanids. In 565, Justinian I restored the fort and Sebastopolis remained a Byzantine stronghold until it was sacked by the Arab conqueror Marwan II in 736. |  |
GB85237. Bronze AE 16, SNG BM Black Sea 1021, SNG Cop 102, SNG Stancomb 638, Lindgren II 5, SGCV 3629, HGC 7 205, VF, cleaning scratches, reverse off center, Dioscourias (Sokhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia) mint, weight 5.367g, maximum diameter 16.3mm, die axis 0o, c. 105 - 90 B.C.; obverse two piloi (caps of the Dioscuri), surmounted by stars; reverse ΔIOΣ/KOY-PIA/ΔOΣ in three lines divided by thyrsos in center; ex Roma e-sale 28 (2 Jul 2016), lot 123; SOLD
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