Dionysos leading the Horae (Seasons), marble, Roman 1st century AD ( image public domain ) Today's coins of interest are two...

In Melville's Moby Dick, Captain Ahab stands in his boat, harpoon in hand, and in the final moments of his chase of the great white whale...

Clodius Albinus (c. 150–197 CE) was a Roman general and politician who was briefly emperor during the tumultuous Year of Five Emperors...

Kilikarch wearing a crown of busts, from the Adana Museum. Photo by E. Borgia c. 2018. The Kilikarchia  was a provincial magistracy in the Roman province of Cilicia during the mid-2nd to mid-3rd century AD, as evidenced by epigraphic and numismatic sources. Today's coin from Cilicia is one of those numismatic sources from Tarsus, Cilicia issued in the name of Elagabalus. This is a very rare Roman Provincial coin, with about 10 known, that refers to the administration of the

While this is not the prettiest coin - it is an interesting coin with a water-god and a fish on the reverse of a coin, from an place,...

Today's note is all about the pomegranate and more than 300 years of coins from Side (Σίδη), Pamphylia (Παμφυλία). For those who would...

It could be argued that the Roman Republic reached its peak in the second half of the 2nd century BCE. The final war with Carthage...

Saturnalia in Red: an AI generated abstract image evoking the spirit of Saturnalia. Saturnalia is December 17th. I was excited to open...

Gur-e-Amir - a mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan ( Copyright: under license from...

By the mid-14th century, the Chaghatai Khanate, originally established by Chaghatai, the second son of Genghis Khan, had begun to fracture.

This week, a mystery coin has been re-identified. Somewhere along the way, it lost its attribution.

The arabic word مملوك or mamlūk means "owned" or "possessed". In the context of 13th century Islamic society, Mamlūks were usually ...

After Caesar's assassination (42 BC) as the triumvirate prepared to avenge his death, this denarius of C. Vibius Varus was issued.

Cilicia was a Persian military base in the 4th century BC and after Alexander defeated Achaemennid King Darius III at Issos it was...

2024 has had ups and downs - it seems that every year I start with same thought. This has been an unusual year with and earth quake,...

Augustus' refusal to celebrate personal triumphs after his triple triumph in 29 BCE cultivated imperial image and shifted power dynamics.

This is the Kwarazmian Empire in 1215.....it was one of the most powerful and affluent states of its time. The Khwarezmian Empire, at the...

The Seljuks of Rum, who ruled over much of Anatolia from the late 11th century, faced increasing pressure from the Mongol invasions...

A nice glass of red wine would go well with today's post. There is evidence of wine making in Thrace from 4300 BC. The coins of interest...

The life of Valeria Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius, has inspired numerous books, plays, operas, and films due to ...