ARCADIA. Mantinea. Caracalla, 198-217. Assarion (Bronze, 23 mm, 6.28 g, 1 h). MAP AVPH ANTΩNI Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right, seen from behind. Rev. MANTINEΩN Artemis standing front, head to right, holding a bow in her right and and drawing an arrow from a quiver on her back with her left; at her feet, hound running right. BCD Peloponnesos 1505. Very rare. Minor roughness, otherwise, very fine.


In the first years of the 3rd century, a whole series of Peloponnesian towns issued their own bronze in the name of Septimius Severus, Domna, Caracalla, Plautilla, and Geta, forming, for some of the lesser-known settlements, the only coinage ever issued by these communities. As noted by Seyrig, such coins often ended up in the Near East. The most likely explanation for this remarkable cross-regional movement of local bronze coins is that they were carried there as pocket money by Peloponnesian soldiers who were recruited by in 214/5 Caracalla into his 'Greek Phalanx' to fight against the Parthians on his eastern campaign. Clearly there was no need for such an outdated military formation in the professional Roman army of the 3rd century - the sole role of the unit was to please the emperor, who portrayed himself as a new Alexander, one of most famous cases of a Roman imitatio Alexandri.