Julia Domna (wife of S. Severus) Æ26 of Emesa, Seleucis and Pieria. AD 215. [IOYΛIA ΔOMNA AYΓOY], draped bust right / [ЄMICΩ KOΛΩNI], the great altar of El-Gabal at Emesa atop base placed on two steps and ornamented with cornice and two rows of niches; each niche containing statue; all placed between two pilasters; Z[KΦ] (date) in exergue. BMC 11; SNG Copenhagen -. 12.46g, 26mm, 12h.
Good Fine. Rare.
From a private North American collection.
Julia Domna was born to a family of priestly rulers of the cult of El-Gabal at Emesa, where the deity was worshipped in the form of a large black conical stone. The reverse of this coin provides a valuable visual record of the great altar dedicated to the deity at the city. In contrast, the coinage struck in the names of Caracalla and Elagabalus depicts the stone of El-Gabal not upon an altar, but within a temple surrounded by a balustrade and shaded by parasols (see BMC 15 and 17).