The Sacred Stone of Emesa
SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Emesa. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (30mm, 24.19 g, 12h). Dated CY 268 (AD 216/7). AVT · K M · AVP · AN-TΩNЄINOC CЄ[B], laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / ЄMЄCΩN KOΛΩNI, hexastyle temple containing baetyl of El-Gabal flanked by two parasols and surrounded by ballustrade; eagle on face of stone, HKΦ (date) in exergue. BMC 16 var. (rev. legend); SNG Copenhagen –; SNG München –; CNG E-235, lot 365 (same dies). Good VF, even brown surfaces. Rare this nice, and far superior to any specimen on CoinArchives.
Emesa was the major cult center for the deity El-Gabal, who was worshipped at the city in the form of a baetyl (an aniconic stone idol; in the case of El-Gabal, a large black conical stone, often interpreted as a meteorite). Just a few years after this coin was struck, a teenage priest of the god, Varius Avitus Bassianus, was declared emperor and took the same name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, although he is more commonly known as Elagabalus for his devotion to El-Gabal. Elagabalus moved the baetyl to Rome upon his accession and, for a brief period, it seemed that El-Gabal might become the principle deity in the Roman pantheon. Wishing to distance himself from Elagabalus’ unpopular religious practices, his successor Severus Alexander sent the baetyl back to Emesa. The cult of El-Gabal saw a resurgence in Rome under Aurelian, who wisely promoted the worship of the deity in an iconic form more acceptable to westerners.
