Ancient Rhodian coinage refers to the coinage struck by an independent

Rhodian Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

polity during Classical and

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

eras. The Rhodians also controlled territory on neighbouring

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

that was known as

Rhodian Peraia The Rhodian Peraea or Peraia () was the name for the southern coast of the region of Caria in western Asia Minor during the 5th–1st centuries BC, when the area was controlled and colonized by the nearby island of Rhodes. Already in Classical Gre ...

under the islanders' rule. However, many other eastern Mediterranean states and polities adopted the Rhodian (Chian) monetary standard following Rhodes. Coinage using the standard achieved a wide circulation in the region. Even the

Ptolemaic Kingdom The Ptolemaic Kingdom (; , ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a Diadochi, ...

, a major Hellenistic state in the eastern Mediterranean, briefly adopted the Rhodian monetary standard.

Rhodian monetary standard

Rule by Athens temporarily brought

Attic standard Attic weight, or the Attic standard, also known as Euboic standard, was one of the main monetary standards in ancient Greece. As a result of its use in the coinage of the Athenian empire and the empire of Alexander the Great, it was the dominan ...

to Rhodian mints. However, after Athenian league's influence waned, Chian standard spread through the Eastern Mediterranean. It is unknown how much Rhodes made an impact on the spread of the Chian standard. Rhodes held a growing economical importance during that period which came after its unification. This weight standard was subsequently known as a Rhodian standard, thus giving a further hint on the leading role of Rhodes. By the end of the fourth century BC the Aegean region had been dominated by coinage using Attic and Rhodian standards. Early Rhodian standard had replaced Aeginetan standard in silver coinage for most Cycladian mints by the third century BC. By Alexander the Great's time Rhodian standard was accepted by most of

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

and by numerous states of the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

and

Propontis The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

. Alexander's adoption of the Attic weight brought demise of all other weight standards except for the Attic and Rhodian standards. Rhodian standard was later notably used in the transition to Phoenician weight by the Ptolemaic Kingdom as it abandoned the Attic weight in favor of its own monetary standard. Ptolemaic use of the Rhodian standard was restricted to an approximate period of c. 310 BC – c. 298 BC. Early Chian, or Rhodian, standard included

tetradrachm The tetradrachm () was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...

s and heavier coins. However, later coinage using Rhodian weight evolved with tetradrachms being abandoned in favor of smaller

didrachm In ancient Greece, the drachma (, ; pl. drachmae or drachmas) was an ancient currency unit issued by many city-states during a period of ten centuries, from the Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the ...

s. Coins lost their weight both before and after the abandonment of the tetradrachms. Early tetradrachms and didrachms were 15.6 g and 7.8 g in weight respectively. They were both replaced in use by later didrachms with the minimum weight of 6.7 g. There is convincing evidence that Rhodian and

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

n league's plinthophoroi circulated, at least informally, at par on the market, and they have been found together in coin hoards. However, Lycian coinage's weight standard was slightly lighter than Rhodian standard.

Mints

Rhodes itself held the most important mints.

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

is notable for holding the most important mint for the Rhodian monetary standard outside of the Rhodian controlled territory.

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

minted

tetrobol In ancient Greece, the drachma (, ; pl. drachmae or drachmas) was an ancient currency unit issued by many city-states during a period of ten centuries, from the Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the ...

s (Rhodian weight drachms) while using Aeginetan standard for other coins.

Ios Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

was another island that saw limited usage of the Rhodian standard. It was primarily known for hosting the tomb of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

. A very small series of didrachms were struck between 350 BC – 320 BC, and they included a portrait and name of Homer on obverse sides of the coins.

History of Rhodian coinage

Rhodes was a major maritime and mercantile power. For instance, Syrian goods on bound to Egypt made a detour through the island of Rhodes. Rhodians also made large contributions to fight

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

in the region. Rhodes was an ally of the

. Siege of Rhodes (305 BC – 304 BC) by

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

resulted in Rhodians gaining wider freedom of action, and ties with Ptolemaic Egypt being strengthened. The siege had been an attempt to break the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance. However, tetradrachms and golden coinage originating from Rhodes disappeared for a considerable length of time. Rhodian didrachms (weighing 6,7g) gained a solid position, with its wide circulation, in the eastern Mediterranean trade. Its atypical weight did not allow the Rhodian didrachm to function as a real international means of exchange. Many Rhodian silver coins were also melted down in Egypt when spent there, and were subsequently struck as Ptolemaic coinage. Imitations of Rhodian coinage are proven to have circulated between 188 BC and 167 BC in

on the mainland Asia Minor. These forged coins imitated an older variant of Rhodian coinage. During 88 BC siege of Rhodes by

Mithridates VI Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...

a possible emergency series of large bronze coinage was struck as a result of the war.

End of the local currency

The final demise for the Rhodian currency was brought by the late Republican

Roman civil wars This list of Roman civil wars and revolts includes civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts, and rebellions in ancient Rome (Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BC – AD 476). ...

beginning from the

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was a civil war during the late Roman Republic between two factions led by Julius Caesar and Pompey. The main cause of the war was political tensions relating to Caesar's place in the Republic on his expected ret ...

. Many small Hellenistic silver currencies ceased to exist. By 30 BC the Roman monetary system and

denarii The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It continued to be mi ...

were clearly dominant in the eastern parts of the Empire. Rhodes came under direct Roman rule in 31 AD and was merged in the province of Asia in 44 AD.

Iconography

Sun god

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

was the prominent deity for the Rhodians. Several ancient towns claimed descent from the deity. Helios would appear on obverse sides of Rhodian coinage for four centuries. Designs of Rhodian coinage were unaffected by the campaigns of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. Rhodes used a head of Helios or a rose as their symbol. These symbols were also used in other forms of art, in addition to coinage, such as in stamps of

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

e. Local symbols can be used to determine the origin of an artifact, and in certain cases the symbol refers to the name of the place. The rose refers to Rhodes as a canting symbol (making a pun of the name). One type of Rhodian tetradrachms (see fig. 1) used a ship's

prow The bow () is the forward part of the hull (watercraft), hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the f ...

as a symbol of Rhodian naval might. The prow is more evident from a more complete specimen of the coin, and it is on the left side of the rose which is on reverse side of the coin. On the right side of the rose is a bud. Below the rose is name of the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, and a text above the rose refers to Rhodes. Obverse side of the coin portrays sun god Helios. Rhodian silver coinage may give hints on the appearance of the

Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes (; ) was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to ...

References

Works cited

External links

Greek Islands Ancient Coins
{{Hellenistic coinage Coins of ancient Greece Ancient Rhodes