Coin of Carrhae under Gordian III 238 - 244

Curator: This is a coin from Carrhae under Gordian III. It's a small object, weighing just over 15 grams. Editor: It looks so worn, almost ghostly. You can barely make out the images pressed onto the surface. Curator: Indeed. These coins served as vital tools of Roman imperial administration. Minted locally, they spoke to specific civic identities within the larger empire. Editor: I see a figure on one side with what looks like a lunar crescent. What narratives were these images meant to construct, and for whom? Curator: The iconography broadcast Roman power, but also acknowledged local gods and traditions, a canny strategy of cultural integration. The figure you noted might represent the moon god Sin. Editor: The attempt at integration, however fraught, tells us so much about Roman power structures and how they were negotiated—or not—in various territories. Curator: Absolutely. The coin offers a tiny, yet potent window into the complexities of identity and governance in the Roman Empire. Editor: Yes, it certainly challenges us to think about these artifacts as evidence of cultural interaction in a vast and often tumultuous empire.