ARMENIA. Artaxata (?), as Sebaste. Civic issues. Time of Augustus, 27 BC-14 AD. AE (Bronze, 18 mm, 3.13 g, 3 h). Turreted and draped bust of the city-goddess to right.
Rev. ΣEBA[...] within oak wreath. BMC -. Kovacs -. RPC -. SNG Copenhagen -. Unpublished and unique, and of great historical interest and importance. Areas of weakness
, otherwise, very fine.
From an important Swiss collection of Armenian coins, formed since the early 2000s.
The attribution of this unpublished and highly intriguing coin is of great historical importance. Stylistically, it clearly recalls civic coins from Artaxata and Artagigarta from the mid-1st century BC (Kovacs 209-215). However, the partially preserved inscription begins with ΣEBA[...], suggesting a date no earlier than the reign of Augustus. This inscription might indicate either the ethnic ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗNΩN ('[coin of] the people of Sebaste') or the honorific title, ΣEBAΣMIA / ΣEBAΣTA ('games in honor of the emperor').
In this context, Cassius Dio's note that Tiridates rebuilt his capital Artaxata - burned down by Corbulo’s forces in 58 AD - and renamed it 'Neronia' in honor of the emperor is of particular relevance (Cass. Dio. 77.7.2). Although the name was brief and soon reverted to Artaxata, this raises the intriguing question of whether Artaxata might also, for a time under Augustus, have adopted the name of the first Princeps. While no literary evidence confirms this, such a possibility should not be discounted given the scant information about the turbulent political climate in late Augustan Armenia. Amid the rivalries of Armenian nobles and Roman and Parthian influences, it is conceivable that Artaxata - whether by local initiative or under the influence of a leader seeking Roman support - took this step and celebrated it with a dedicated coinage. The connection to Augustus is reinforced by the oak wreath, which likely references the
corona civica awarded to the Princeps.
Alternatively, the inscription could be read as ΣEBAΣMIA or ΣEBAΣTA, commemorating games held in Augustus's honor. While such games are well attested numismatically in other cities, the absence of any ethnic would indeed be unusual. Thus, we prefer the reading ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗNΩN and tentatively attribute the coin to Artaxata, in the hope that future discoveries will clarify the inscription with greater certainty.
