Phrygia. Aizanis
Claudius 41-54 CE
Æ 20mm, 4,19g
Obv: KΛAYΔION KAICAΡA AIZANITAI Laureate head right
Rev: EΠI KΛAYΔIOY IEΡAKOC Zeus standing left holding eagle and sceptre.
BMC 85
Today, the ruins of Aezanis are visitable and impressive. The temple of Zeus, with Zeus depicted on this coin’s reverse, is still in great shape. Its ruins are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Like many Anatolian cities, it was settled long before Hellenistic times, when it moved between the Kingdom of Pergamon and the Kingdom of Bithynia. In 133 BCE, it came under the control of Rome.
Its famed Temple of Zeus dates from the time of Domitian, and therefore this coin was minted before it.
133 BCE
Adramytteion, Smyrna, Sestos, Synnada, Philadelphia, Laodikeia ad Lykon, Attalaia, Erythrai, Ephesos, Perge, Aizanis, Hierapolis, and Assos come under Roman control after Attalos III, the last Attalid king, leaves it to Rome in his will.