History and monetary business of the antique states of the North-Eastern /  Black Sea Coast / All of these coins are Circassians with explanation in English language!

Odessa Numismatic Museum

The Bosporos State – is the largest Greek state formation on the territory of the North Black Sea Coast. It was situated on the both beaches of Bosporos Kimmeric (nowadays Kerchensky channel) and also occupied the vast territory of the Eastern Crimea, Kerchensky and Tamansky peninsulas with the adjoining territory down to the foothills of the Northern Caucasus.

Six periods can be marked out in the history of the Bosporos state, connected with the events of the political life of Bosporos:
1. Formation of the state – VI BC – 480 BC;
2. The government of Archianaktids – 480 BC – 438/437 years BC;
3. The government of Spartokhids – 438/437 years BC -109 BC;
4. Bosporos under the power of Mithradates VI Eupator and Rome – II BC -I AD;
5. Bosporos in the first centuries AD;
6. The decay of the Bosporos state – the middle of III – the end of IV AD.

The issue of coins in Bosporos started in the end of VI BC in Pantikapeum. This coinage can be considered to be rather early for the antique world as the first issues appeared in Greece only about the middle of VI BC. Coins were minted also in such cities as Theodosia, Nimfey, The Sindi, Phanagoreia, which later became the members of the Bosporos state.

In the end of V BC the autonomous coinage of money of the Bosporos cities and the coins of Pantikapeum dominated on the market of Bosporos. From the time of the government of Levcon II (III BC) the coins on behalf of the Bosporos kings began to be minted simultaneously with the urban issues of Pantikapeum. From I AD the urban issues were ceased and only the imperial coins began to circulate on the market of Bosporos.

The coins give the information about the names and titles of the Bosporos governors and about the sequence of their board. The pictures of the deities on Bosporos coins give the idea about the ruling cults here and the caulking of the portraits of the Roman emperors – about the dependence of Bosporos from the Roman empire.

Coins of Pantikapeum.

Pantikapeum – is a capital of the Bosporos state, it was situated within the precincts of the modern city Kerch. The title “Pantikapei” is not Greek, it is decrypted from the Iranian roots as “a fish route”. It was based by the Miletos in VI BC. Soon it became a large city and having consolidated the other cities on the both coasts of Bospor Kimmeric, became the capital of the organized Bosporos State in the first half of V century. On the border II-I centuries BC it went through the impetuous political events: the rebellion of Savmak, capturing the city by Diophantus, the wars of Mithradates VI Eupator. It was severely destroyed and restored in I AD. In the end of IV AD Pantikapeum was ruined by the Huns. In the end there was a small town on its place.

In the second half of VI BC. Pantikapeum began to mint its own silver coins and from IV BC gold and copper ones. The urban issues on behalf of the Pantikapeum community continued up to the end of I BC. In I BC the city was temporarily renamed into Kesarea and minted coins under this name. The caulking of Bosporos of Roman time consisted mainly from the imperial coins and lasted to the middle of IV AD.

The coins of the Apollo’s temple.

About 480 year BC, with the beginning of the government of a dynasty Archianaktids, a caulking of the Apollo’s temple separated from the urban caulking of Panticapeum. The members of the Archianaktids possibly were the priests of Apollo the Doctor temple, the cult of which was quite spread on the North Black Sea Coast, because it was Apollo the Doctor, who was the protector of the ancient colonies of the North Pontos. The caulking of the temple coins continued also under the power of the Spartokhids dynasty which replaced the dynasty of Archianaktids, up to the beginning of IV BC.

The coins of the Sindi.

Sindi, Sindika – is an ancient settlement of Sinds on the eastern coast of the Black Sea ( the modern city Anapa), the center of the kingdom of Sindi. In VI – V BC Sindika was inhabited by the Greek colonizers. Approximately in 430 – 420 years BC the caulking of coins of the Sindskaya Harbour was started, presumptively at the king of Sindi Gekatei. Only three issues of coins of Sindi are known.

Approximately in 410 BC the wife of Gekatei, meot woman Tirgatao, aroused the mutiny, which caused the war with Bosporos. At the king Levkon I Sindika was included in the structure of the Bosporos state, and city was renamed into Gorgippia.

The coins of Nimfey.

Nimfey – is an antique city in the eastern Crimea, on the coast of the Kerchensky channel (17 kms from the modern city Kerch). It was founded in VI BC on the place of the Scyth’s settlement. The prosperity of the city dated from V – IV BC, when it conducted brisk grain trade with Athens. In the first half IV BC the city was included into a structure of the state of Bosporos. In the middle of III AD it was destroyed by the Goths and ceased its existence.

The autonomous issue of little series of silver coins (3 ratings) was carried out during the shortest term (the end of V BC), when the city appeared to be independent from Athens, but had not got into the arms of Seleukos and Satiros yet. In this period the Athenian Hilon governed Nimfey, who afterwards was accused in the surrender of the city.

The coins of Theodosia.

Theodosia – is an antique city, founded in VI BC by the Miletos. It was situated on the coast of the Feodosijsky channel, within the precincts of the modern city Feodosiya. In VI – V BC it was a state-city with the developed business relations. It became a member of Bosporos in IV BC and was a center of its grain export. In 107 BC Teodosia was one of the centers of the Scyth’s revolt under the leadership of Savmak. In IV AD Theodosia was destroyed by the Huns, and in the end of VI it was captured by the Hazars.

In the end of V – in the beginning of IV BC Theodosia issued some series of autonomous coins. The first four series were the independent urban caulking, and the latest were issued only in the end of III BC simultaneously with the coins of Levkon II,when Theodosia was already the member of the Bosporos state.

The Coins of Phanagorria.

Phanagorria – is an antique city, founded in the second half of VI BC by the settlers from the Ionite city Theos. It was situated on Tamansky peninsula, near the modern settlement Sennoe. The heyday of city was in V – II BC due to agriculture, cattle-breeding and trade. From V BC Phanagorria was in the structure of the Bosporos state, and in I BC it was temporarily renamed into Agrippiya and minted coins under this name. The city existed up to ХII AD. The caulking of its own coins began right in the end of V BC and continued up to I BC with some breaks.

The Coins of Gorgippia.

Gorgippia – is an antique city on the eastern coast of the Black sea within the precincts of the modern city Anapa. The city received its title in honour of Gorgipp, the governor of the city from the imperial Dynasty of Spartokhids. It is considered, it was renamed into Gorgippiya with the inclusion of Sindi Harbor in the structure of the Bosporos state in IV BC . It was a large trade-craft center and the significant base station of Bosporos. In П – III AD there was a large religious union of the shipowners and the city experienced the period of its prosperity. In IV AD Gorgippia fell into decay as a result of a general crisis and the break-up of the Bosporos state. In the period of Mithradates VI Eupator, Gorgippia minted its own coins. Three urban issues are known.

The Coins of Dioscuriada.

Dioscuriada, Dioscurias – is an antique city on the Caucasian coast of the Black sea ( within the precincts of the modern city Sukhumi). It was founded in VI BC by the Greeks from Miletos. It was a large trade center. In the beginning of I AD it appeared to be under the power of Rome. The city was renamed into Sevastopol, and the Roman garrison was quartered there. The heyday of Dioscuriada fell on II – III AD. From IV AD the downfall of the city began. The urban caulking of copper coins dated from the time of Mithradates VI Eupator. Rather miscellaneous weight indexes and their different size indicated about the presence of different face-values, minted according to the general type.

The Coins of the state of Bosporos.

The State of Bosporos, Bospor – is a largest antique slave state on the northern Black Sea coast with the capital in the city Panticapeum. It was founded in 480 BC as a result of the affiliation of the Greek colonies on Kerchensky and Tamansky peninsulas. In 480 – 438 BC Bosporos was governed by the Greek dynasty of Archianakhtids, which was replaced by the dynasty of Spartokhids, which governed for more than 300 years. The king of Bosporos, Perisad V passed the power to the king of Pontos, Mithradates I Eupator in the conditions of the acute economical and social-political crisis. During the negotiations on the passing of the power on Bosporos in 107 BC a revolt of slaves led by a Scyth Savmak broke out. The commander of Pontos, Diophantus stifled the rebellion severely, and Bosporos became a part of the Kingdom of Pontos. In I BC as a result of ” Mithradates’ wars ” Bosporos became the dependent on the Roman empire; about 10 AD Aspurg came to power, who became the founder of a new dynasty. He accepted the title of tzar by approbation of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The royal dynasty of Tiberius Julius governed Bosporos for nearly four centuries. I-II centuries AD was a period of a new golden age of the Bosporos state. In the end of II AD the king Sauromates II inflicted a critical defeat to the Scyths and included all the territories of the Crimea in the structure of his state. In the middle of the III AD Bosporos was attacked by the barbarians with Goths at the head, and the invasion of Huns in the 70-s IV lead to the final downfall of the Bosporos state.

The monetary business in the Bosporos state was actualized for 850 years. The money caulking began in the end of VI BC in Pantikapeum. Coins were minted also in the other cities on the both sides of Bospor Kimeriysky. From the second half of III BC, together with the caulking on behalf of the city community of Pantikapeum, the coins were minted with the names of the Bosporos kings, as a result of the appropriation of the monetary regalia by the king Levkon II.

Source:

http://www.museum.com.ua/en/istor/sev-vost/sev-vost.htm