Those striking Severans: A comparative study of the minting practices of Antipatris and Nicopolis

This thesis focused on the two cities Antipatris and Nicopolis in the third century CE, during the Severan Age. During the short reign of Elagabalus (c. 218-222 CE) these two cities began minting coinage but ceased production immediately after the emperor's death. Such a short minting span is a unique phenomenon known only at Antipatris and Nicopolis within the broader Syria-Palestine area. Although these two sites are of significance in the Roman Period, as yet there have been no comprehensive studies of their coins, and very little of their third century archaeological findings has been published. Therefore this thesis bridges gaps in scholarship in the following ways: by 1) creating a numismatic catalogue of the two sites from a variety of different sources; 2) discussing the coins within wider socio-cultural, political and economic spheres; 3) discussing the trends of minting by reference to denominations, iconography and epigraphy; 4) placing the study of Antipatris and Nicopolis within the context of the wider area of Syria-Palestine; and 5) discussing the reasons why the mints of Antipatris and Nicopolis began and ended minting.