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Melita (Mdina, Malta), Under Roman Rule, c. 150 - 146 B.C.
Melite or Melita was an ancient city located on the site of present-day Mdina, Malta. It began as a Bronze Age settlement, which grew into the city Maleth under the Phoenicians, and became the administrative center of the island. The city fell to Rome in 218 B.C., and it remained part of the Roman and later the Byzantine Empire until 870 A.D., when it was destroyed by the Aghlabids. The city was then rebuilt and renamed Medina, giving rise to the present name Mdina. It remained Malta's capital city until 1530. Only a few vestiges of the Punic-Roman city have survived. The most substantial are the ruins of the Domvs Romana, in which a number of well-preserved mosaics and statues have been found. Sparse remains of other buildings and parts of the city walls have been excavated, but no visible remains of the city's numerous temples, churches, and other public buildings survive.GI84545. Bronze AE 26, Calciati III p, 353, 7; Coleiro 3; SNG Cop 463; SNG Dreer 607; SNG Morcom -; SNG Evelpidis I -, aF, green patina, Melita (Mdina, Malta) mint, weight 10.719g, maximum diameter 25.5mm, die axis 315o, c. 150 - 146 B.C.; obverse MELITAIWN (downward on right), veiled female (Astarte?) head right, with ureus, wearing lotus crown, sign of Tanit combined with caduceus left; reverse Osiris kneeling left on one knee, with four spread wings, two coming out from the upper back, two from the lower back, wearing solar disc crown, scepter in right hand, flail in left hand, wearing pinafore and necklace; rare; SOLD
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