Rachel Barkay, Hebrew University
The Coinage of Nysa-Scythopolis (Beth-Shean), published by The Israel Numismatic Society in association with the Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center for Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University.
The book presents for the first time the coinage of Nysa-Scythopolis, the capital of the Decapolis. It contains a catalogue and illustrations of all known coin types and variants. About 300 years of minting are spanning from the early period of Roman domination (57-45 BCE) to the end of the civic coinage under Gordian III (238-244 CE). The first series of coins, from the mid-first century BCE, bear for the first time, the heads of Roman governors of Syria. The Dionysiac cycle remained prominent in the city’s coinage from that time until the end of its minting in 240/1 CE, yet beside it other deities are also depicted.
Based on the catalogue there is a comprehensive discussion about the different aspects of the coins (legends, dates, denominations etc.). The research is based also on relevant archaeological material and the historical sources. The interpretive discussion is illustrating the importance of the coinage for reconstructing the economic, political, and cultural history of Nysa-Scythopolis during the Roman period.
© April 2019
Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center for Jewish History 