The Coins of Gaza in Roman Times
No coin type offers better insights into the local culture of ancient centres than the municipal coins struck during the Roman Imperial period. They reveal what the elite took pride in and speak to religious life, political organization, and the cityscape. However, “Roman Provincials,” as these coins are often called, are a challenging subject. One must possess extensive knowledge and have studied numerous sources to understand their message. Yoav Farhi has done this work for Gaza and has provided us with a new corpus of Roman coin types. It is an enrichment for numismatics and a must-have for any specialized library.
Gaza under the Romans
No one today needs to be told where the city of Gaza is located. In antiquity, an important trade route passed through here, connecting the Syrian and Egyptian centres. From the city’s harbor, luxury goods from southern Arabia were shipped into the Mediterranean. This made the inhabitants of Gaza wealthy and the city powerful. Herodotus notes that, in his time, Gaza was as large as the Lydian metropolis of Sardis. In other words: Gaza was an important trading center, coveted by every great power.
Alexander of Macedon came, followed by the Diadochi, not to mention the Hasmonean dynasty; they all conquered Gaza and reaped the benefits. In 61 BCE, Pompey reorganized the political landscape of the East and declared Gaza a “free” city within the Roman province of Syria. The inhabitants of Gaza may have viewed this as a kind of new beginning; in any case, they introduced their own calendar, which begins in the year 61 BCE.
Even though jurisdiction changed from time to time thereafter and the city was not spared from armed conflicts, the Romans determined its fate from then on. At least the inhabitants of Gaza retained the ability to manage their internal affairs themselves.
The Catalog of Gaza Coins
This is evidenced by the coins that the author presents following his historical introduction, which is, of course, much more detailed than what I have reported here. Yoav Farhi presents a catalog of the city’s coinage, including the silver tetradrachms minted in Gaza during the reigns of the Severan emperors and Macrinus. To this end, he examined 4,494 coins, which he classifies into 318 coin types with countless variants. 834 coins are illustrated.
The arrangement is organized by Roman rulers. The author devotes a separate chapter to each ruler under whom coins were minted—not all coins were produced under every ruler!—listing the various coin types and dating them within each chapter. Those who simply want to identify their coins as quickly as possible will not be pleased with the disjointed layout of the plates. You have to flip through the pages to find the right one. However, those interested in the historical context will appreciate this format.
In any case, the quality of the illustrations is impressive. Anyone who deals with Roman provincials knows how difficult it can sometimes be to find a specimen where the entire image is clearly visible.
Yoav Farhi has succeeded not only in finding relatively good-grade pieces but also in taking good photographs of them. The printer has done its part as well, so that for once, the user will have no difficulty identifying their coins based on the images.
The Analysis
The analysis spans almost 120 pages. It forms the core of the work, and the author has compiled various sources to interpret the designs on the coins. He systematically reviews the city’s entire pantheon as depicted on the coins, drawing on literary, epigraphic, and archaeological sources. In this way, he reconstructs the origin, significance, and appearance of each god.
A good example is the god with the club, whom we are immediately and instinctively inclined to identify as Heracles; however, based on a note by Stephanos of Byzantium, some modern scholars believe that in the case of Gaza, this must be Azon, a son of Heracles and the eponym of (G)aza. Yoav Farhi dispels this theory by noting that there is no cult dedicated to Azon (nor, for that matter, to Heracles). He believes that this is a later invention by a creative writer. Azon would not be the only eponymous hero invented after the Greek Renaissance under Hadrian.
Of course, Yoav Farhi also examines the circulation of Gaza’s coins. To this end, he draws on hoards and stray finds, as well as the reuse of Gaza’s coins as planchets for the Bar Kokhba coins that were struck.
A detailed bibliography and several indexes conclude the work and make it easier to use.
How can I purchase this book?
Currently, an American distributor of scholarly books is offering the book. Those who wish to avoid high shipping costs can order an eBook starting in the summer of 2026.
Text and images: Ursula Kampmann
