ARABIA. Charachmoba. Elagabalus, 218-222. Hemiassarion (Bronze, 15 mm, 3.16 g, 7 h). AY KЄCAP ANTΩNINOC Laureate head of Elagabalus to right. Rev. XAPAXMωBA Turreted and draped bust of the city-goddess to right. SNG ANS -. Spijkerman 4. Very rare and with attractive earthen highlights. Good fine.
The city of Charachmoba or Karak Moba is first attested in Isaiah 15.1 as 'Kir Moab' and literally means 'castle of the Moabites'. It is probably identical to the settlement surrounding the later medieval crusader castle Kerak, from where the infamous Raynald of Châtillon, Lord of Oultrejordain, plundered Muslim caravans in the late 12th century. In antiquity, the city of Charachmoba only issued coins once under Elagabalus, which makes them uniformly very rare