Commagene, Zeugma
Philip I 244-249 CE
AE Tetrassarion 15.30g, 30mm
Obv:: AYTOK K M IOYΛI ΦΙΛΙΠΠOC CЄB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from front.
Rev: ZЄYΓMATЄΩN, tetrastyle temple atop hill, with structures at base of hill and up either side; in exergue, capricorn righ
RPC VIII – (unassigned; ID 48298)
In 252 or 253 CE, on what was an otherwise fine day, the residents of Zeugma awoke to a forecast of partly cloudy with a 99% chance of Sasanians.
Throughout the city there was an immediate panic. Everyone knew that previously conquered cities had been enslaved, and slavery just wasn’t their cup of tea. So, before the Sasanians arrived, the entire city got up and left. They never returned.
True to their word, the Sasanians waltzed into Zeugma. They entered every house and left the water on. They walked on the hardwoods with their muddy boots. They kicked the dog. Then, they partied like it was 299.
Shapur was there, serving as MC and driving the beat from Belkis Tepe all across the Euphrates. The entire army danced and shook and by the time they wound down everyone was so wasted they couldn’t remember what happened, except the city was now in ruins. A bit embarrassed, they moved on after installing a “sorry for the inconvenience” sign.
Many years later, archeologists discovered an incredible city that hadn’t been touched for almost 1800 years. Perfect mosaics still covered the villa floors. It was perhaps the most exciting Roman discovery since Pompeii. Naturally, they chose to flood it.
The Birecik Dam had been proposed, and much of ancient Zeugma and all of Apameia were under threat. Feverishly, a small army of archeologists attempted to make sense of the mess. They meticulously documented their findings at this site, rescued many mosaics, and learned a tremendous amount about a functioning Roman city.
his coin was minted a few years before the travesty. It depicts a temple to an unknown deity. Below is a Capricorn, which was probably the symbol of the legio iiii scythica, a Roman legion that was based in Zeugma. The temple, however, has received more attention.
Most have assumed that it depicts a standard hilltop temple. That would make the fuzzy things in the center stairs. Recently, others have wondered whether this is instead a three-dimensional view of a temple that was arranged flat. In that version, the coin depicts the walls, and the fuzzy things in the center are trees. I have a different opinion.
My thinking is along Orcam’s Razor. The image on the coin depicts roughly what the temple looked like when viewed from Zeugma. In that sense, it’s neither a “3d perspective” nor a generalization. If you were sitting in a cafe in Zeugma with a nice view, the coin depicts what you would have seen.
Aylward wrote:
Belkis Tepe appears to be a proven point of religious continuity between Hellenistic and Roman times at Zeugma. A sanctuary as early as the Seleucid era is likely but not proven. The sanctuary was probably always extra-urban. The solid ashlar construction in the temenos wall and temple podium on Belkis Tepe is not out of character with the foundations for the large building in Trench 15 dated to the first century B.C., which was probably part of a Commagenian sanctuary.
Based on the coin, it makes sense that the temple was on Belkis Tepe, on the outskirts of the town and the highest hill nearby, though not too steep. Archeology appears to confirm that, though the hill wasn’t a major target for excavations because it wasn’t threatened by the dam.
So, it certainly appears likely that the temple was on a hill. My gut suspects it was actually situated on the incline of the hill. There was an entryway towards the bottom and the actual shrine at the top. In the middle were trees, which served not just for shade but to combat the inevitable erosion.
The deity in the temple has been identified either as Zeus Katabaites or Tyche. Excavations have also suggested that three deities were worshipped – Zeus, Athena, and Ares.
Zeus Katabaites was literally “Zeus who descends”, and was a reminder that at any time you could be peacefully taking a shower, when suddenly Zeus appears and hurls lightning at you. In order to stop that from happening, people would find spots where lightning had struck and build temples to Zeus on the spot. Given lightning’s frequency in high areas, it would have made sense to build a shrine at the top of the highest hill.
Aylward supposes that the existence of the capricorn on the coin doesn’t just signify the legio iiii scythica, but also that the temple was associated with the army. Thus, it would make sense that Ares, Athena, and Zeus were all worshipped there, since the triad was renowned for war.