Information, Legitimation, or Self-Legitimation? Popular and Elite Designs on the Coin Types of Syria

Abstract

Abstract In a Famous Essay ‘Numismatics and History’, A. H. M. Jones suggested that Roman imperial coin types could be compared to the designs on modern postage stamps. The purpose of this analogy was to demonstrate the relative insignificance of types and legends for the study of imperial policy. In doing so, however, he addressed a fundamental problem which is of particular relevance here: What are the meaning(s) of coin types, and who chose the designs? Jones’s comparison was perhaps offered with a slight hint of facetiousness, as a way of debunking the notion that imperial history could be reconstructed from the coin designs alone, yet the analogy does have some merit when considering the meanings of types on Roman provincial coins. These do indeed depict ‘famous men of the country concerned, its artistic monuments … fairs … or … great events in national history’, among other things. The analogy is not intended to mean that the designs were empty or frivolous, or that people could not construct a sense of identity from them. This chapter examines some of the coin types of cities in Syria, to show that not only the more unusual types, but also some of the designs that we might consider generic could have been seen as specific and generated a sense of identity among members of the issuing community. Whether individuals within a community found the same meanings in the designs is a question addressed here. What people understood is crucial to any search for identities. It is suggested that whilst people from outside the community might have understood the types, these designs were not generally intended to convey ‘information’ to outsiders. Some of the types may remain unexplained today because they were perhaps equally obscure to many non-citizens in antiquity. However, unless the issuing authorities and the audience can be clearly identified it will be very difficult to say very much about how the coin types generated a sense of identity, and what sort of identities were generated.