Anazarbos & Anavarza, F. Fatih Gülşen, Editör, Akademisyen Kitabevi, Ankara, ss.31-40, 2021
Anazarbos, located in Plain Cilicia, stands out in epigraphic, numismatic, and literary sources as a Roman Imperial city. Ancient texts and coins provide partial information about the Late Antique and Medieval
periods of Anazarbos. There is little information concerning the pre-Hellenistic and Roman periods. The
local King Tarcondimotos II, who held power in East Plain Cilicia, minted the first Roman Imperial coin of
Anazarbos instead bearing the name Caesarea, in 20 BC when Octavius Augustus gave him the authority
to rule Anazarbos after the Battle of Actium. During the Roman Imperial period, Anazarbos flourished
and became a large city, and competing with the metropolis of Plain Cilicia, Tarsos, Anazarbos also earned
neokoros and metropolis titles. Anazarbos provided logistical support to Roman legions during the wars against Parthians on the Eastern Front and had tremendous strategic value for the Roman Empire. Finds of
Anazarbos coins in the rural areas of East Plain Cilicia denote the widespread power and influence of the
City. A coin of Anazarbos mint found on Akyol on the mountains of the Upper Plain bearing the name of
Augusta Julia Paula, the first wife of Emperor Elagabalus, is the subject of the present study.