Mesopotamia, Edessa
Caracalla 198-217 CE
Æ 16mm, 3,00g
Laureate head of Caracalla r.
R/ Turreted bust of Tyche l.
RPC V.3 online (unassigned; ID 85588); BMC 16-30
Edessa was founded in Hellenistic times by Seleukos I Nikator and was named after Edessa in Macedon. The name means “Tower in Water”. The city, of course, is far more ancient than that, and it was attested during the Assyrian Empire. It was later renamed to Callirhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe. During Byzantine times, it was renamed to Justinopolis. Today, it is Urfa, Turkey.
Caracalla was assassinated on the way from Edessa to Carrhae by one of his guards.
303 BCE
Edessa founded by Seleukos I Nikator
217 CE
April 8
April 8
259 CE
Valerian I attempts to reach Edessa but is slowed by a plague.