Severus Alexander 221-235 AD . Mesopotamia Edessa. Scarce

Description: SEVERUS ALEXANDER 221 - 235 AD, Eagle / SPQR . Please check the pictures to determine .Edessa(/ds/;Ancient Greek:,romanized:dessa) was an ancient city (polis) inUpper Mesopotamia, founded during theHellenistic periodby KingSeleucus I Nicator(r.305281BC), founder of theSeleucid Empire. It later became capital of theKingdom of Osroene, and continued as capital of the Roman province ofOsroene. InLate Antiquity, it became a prominent center ofChristianlearning and seat of theCatechetical School of Edessa. During theCrusades, it was the capital of theCounty of Edessa.The city was situated on the banks of theDaysan River(Latin:Scirtus;Turkish:Kara Koyun), a tributary of theKhabur, and was defended byanlurfa Castle, the high central citadel. Ancient Edessa is the predecessor of modernUrfa(Turkish:anlurfa;Kurdish:Riha;Arabic:,romanized:ar-Ruh;Armenian:,romanized:Urha), in theanlurfa Province,Turkey. Modern names of the city are likely derived fromUrhayorOrhay(Classical Syriac:,romanized:rhy / rhy), the site'sSyriacname before the re-foundation of the settlement bySeleucus I Nicator. After the defeat of the Seleucids in theSeleucidParthian Wars, Edessa became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, with a mixed Hellenistic and Semitic civilization. The origin of the name ofOsroeneitself is probably related to Orhay. TheRoman Republicbegan exercising political influence over the Kingdom of Osroene and its capital Edessa from 69 BC. It became aRomancoloniain 212 or 213, though there continued to be local kings of Osroene until 243 or 248. InLate Antiquity, Edessa was an important city on the RomanPersian frontier with theSasanian Empire. It resisted the attack ofShapur I(r.240270) in his third invasion of Roman territory. The 260Battle of Edessasaw Shapur defeat the Roman emperorValerian(r.253260) and capture him alive, an unprecedented disaster for the Roman state. The Late AntiqueLaterculus Veronensisnames Edessa as the capital of theRoman provinceofOsroene. The Roman soldier and Latin historianAmmianus Marcellinusdescribed the city's formidable fortifications and how in 359 it successfully resisted the attack ofShapur II(r.309379). The city was a centre of Greek and Assyrian (Syriac) theological and philosophical thought, hosting the famedSchool of Edessa. Edessa remained in Roman hands until its capture by the Persians during theByzantineSasanian War of 602628, an event recorded by the GreekChronicon Paschaleas occurring in 609. Roman control was restored by the 627 and 628 victories ofHeraclius(r.610641) in the ByzantineSasanian War, but the city was lost by the Romans again in 638, to theRashidun Caliphateduring theMuslim conquest of the Levant. It did not return to the Romans' control until theByzantine Empiretemporarily recovered the city in the mid-10th century after a number of failed attempts. TheByzantine Empireregained control in 1031, though it did not remain under their rule long and changed hands several times before the end of the century. The County of Edessa, one of theCrusader statesset up after the success of theFirst Crusade, was centred on the city, the crusaders having seized the city from theSeljuks. The county survived until the 1144Siege of Edessa, in whichImad al-Din Zengi, founder of theZengid dynasty, captured the city and, according toMatthew of Edessa, killed many of the Edessenes. The TurkicZengid dynasty's lands were eventually absorbed by theOttoman Empirein 1517 after the 1514Battle of Chaldiran. Edessa was situated on a ridge in the middle of a ring of hills surrounded by a fertile plain, and was therefore considered to be favourably situated.The ridge in turn was an extension ofMount Masius, part of theTaurus Mountainsof southernAsia Minor.The city was located at a crossroads; the eastwest highway fromZeugmaon theEuphratesto theTigris, and the northsouth route fromSamosata(modern-daySamsat) to the Euphrates via Carrhae (modern-day Harran) met at the ridge where Edessa was located.

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