224 Caesarea, Cappadocia, Severan Dynasty AE 28 13.76 gm Severus Alexander Ref: SYD 556; purchased on eBay from Chimera 2012 RI Mount Argaeus with ETD= Year 4 below Severus laureate Right MHTPOP KAICAP ETD AVKCEOY ALEXANPOCFREE SHIPPINGSeverus Alexander was born in 208 to Marcus Marcianus and Julia Mamaea and succeeded his cousin Elagabalus at age 13 after his cousin was assassinated, and was the last of the Severan rulers. After becoming emperor, he dropped the purity of the denarius but in 229 he revalued and raised it, dropped taxes and lent money at moderate rates which made him quite popular with the people. He had an open mind and actually wanted to erect a temple to Jesus, but was talked out of it by the pagan priests. He and his mother met with Origen, a well-known father of the church. He wasn’t as popular with the military and was overthrown and murdered by his own men. He was the 1st of many Roman Emperors to be overthrown by military discontent. Caesarea was built on the ruins of Stratonospyrgos (Strato’s Tower) which was founded by Straton I of Sidon. Alexander Jannaeus captured Strato’s Tower to enlarge the Hasmonean Kingdom. A small town emerges with was dominated by the Romans in 63 BC. In 22 BC, Herod the Great constructed a harbor, a marketplace, wide roads and imposing buildings. The city became a center of trade in Anatolia that flourished into the Byzantine Empire. It was then taken by the Rashidan Caliphate until the Crusaders conquered it in the 11th century. Louis IX of France fortified it in 1251, but not well enough to keep the Mamluks out. The Ottomans settled there in 1664, but the city fell into ruin. In 1884 the Bushnaks built the village of Qisarya close to the ruins.Cappadocia lies in Central Anatolia and was 1st mentioned by Darius the Great as one of the countries of the Persian Empire. It is also mentioned in the Bible in Acts. Alexander, upon bringing the Persian Empire to an end, put Ariarathes in charge and he became known as King of the Cappadocians. In 97 BC, Tigranes the Armenian dethroned Ariobarzanes, a descendant of Ariarathes and crowned a puppet king, Goodros. Cappadocia became Roman in 17 AD under Tiberius. It remained untouched through the Byzantine Era but became a vital frontier zone during the Muslim Conquests. It was then divided between the Anatolic and Armenian peoples. In 1071, after the Battle of Manzihert, Seljuk Turks began settling there and in the 14th century, the Ottomans took over. It remains a modern state of Turkey.Mount Argaeus (now Mount Erciyes) is a massive stratovolcano and the highest mountain in Central Anatolia. It last erupted in 253 BC.Important events in the year 224 AD: Consulship of Julianus and Crispinus; Ardashir I defeats Artabanus V at the Battle of Hormozdgan which ends the Parthian Empire and founds the Sassanian Dynasty; Births: Roman Emperor Carus; Deaths: Artabanus VFOOTNOTES FROM THE HEADLANDS: THE DURA-EUROPOS SYNAGOGUE (NOW IN SYRIA) WAS ONE OF THE OLDEST SYNAGOGUES IN THE WORLD OTHER COINS DATED 224 AD: ALEXANDRIA SEVERUS ALEXANDER RY4 LD BOSPORUS BE521AKPhi RHESCUPORIS II/EMP AEGEAE 270 ETOC MAMAEA GIC3473 WESTERN SATRAPS SE146 MA MPA DAMASENA or BASE SINOPE 294 CCXCIIII SEVERUS ALEXANDER GIC3280 or ORBIANA GIC3416 ROME SEVERUS ALEXANDER TRP III