Die 'Pseudo-Autonomen' Münzen Von Moesia Inferior — Ein Erster Ikonographischer Überblick

This article presents an overview of the so-called pseudo-autonomous coins of Lower Moesia and tries to work out regional peculiarities of the Balkan area. The focus lies on iconographic types in order to determine elements of local and regional identities. New publications especially for Odessos, Dionysopolis and Callatis have improved our knowledge of these types of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. There is a remarkable continuity of the images known from autonomous types from the beginning onwards but in the Severan period the types with 'ktistes', the city-goddess and Cybele become more widespread. During the Julio-Claudian and Flavian periods the pseudo-autonomous coins of the Black Sea area show clear similarities with traditional motifs of the pre-Roman coinage. Under the Antonines the most prominent deities, Apollo, Dionysos and Demeter, dominate the iconography of the pseudo-autonomous coins. At the time of the Severan emperors, however, mythical founders of the cities and Herakles and Hermes were very popular and Cybele as well, while Egyptian deities are not represented on the pseudo-autonomous coins of Moesia. Obviously the cities of the Westpontic koinon did not develop a common identity. Local authorities who were responsible for the various emissions, tried to take up and to conserve pre-Roman traditions (especially with the small pseudo-autonomous coins) which becomes clear if one considers coins with the 'Great God' or with adaptations of popular images (the Dioscures, Demeter etc.). Nevertheless the images and motifs were also widespread in other parts of the Roman Empire.