The City coins of Patara and the coins were found during the exavations (1989-2001) at Patara

XVI Summary There has been no specific research on the city coins of Patara up to date. The coins minted by the city were only studied under the general category of Lycian coins in general catalogues and in the relevant bibliographies. However, the coins recovered through the ongoing scientific excavations that began in 1989 has been investigated and evaluated under the coverage of this study for the first time. Besides the scientific presentation and introduction of the coins of Patara, the main objective of this study is to clarify the known facts about the minting of Patara with their contraversial aspects and thus to provide firm grounds for further studies on the subject. Additionally, through this study, establishing an information base on the character and the density of trade relations of the city and establishing a chronological base for the stratigraphy of the excavated areas were also aimed. For instance the coins found in situ in the excavated tombs have provided an upper and lower temporal limits for the use of these graves. As the city coins of Patara cannot be studied separately from the coins of the region and as the history of the city was parallel to the history of the region, generalized information on the geography, history, economy and minting of coins of the territory of Lycia was necessarily included. The city coins of Patara, like all mints of Lycia, were studied under three main categories of Dynastic (Classical), Lycian Confederacy and Gordianus III periods. The Dynastic coins of Patara, which are unique witii tiieir Hermes types, are dated to the end of the 5th C. BC and early 4th C. BC in the relevant literature. The idea of some scholars that Wekhessere I and Hetruma of the Lycian Dynasts were resided in Patara is discussed particularly on the numismatic data. For the minting of the coins of Lycia, there are two main zones (Kragos and Masykitos) which are considered to be established by 81 BC and started functioning by the mid 1st C. BC. However, as the city of Patara seems to mint coins that belong to all groups (II and III), it never seems to strike coins that belong to the groups IV and V of Kragos and Masykitos. The probable answers to this question were sought and locating the mint centers of the coins of Kragos and Masykitos was found to be the most plausible solution. As a result, depending on the numismatic data, if a central mint was used for the coins of these two zones, the city of Patara, or if two different mints were used, Patara as the mint center of Kragos and Limyra as the mint center of Masykitos are proposed, while the latter seems to be more probable. As a response to the question about the reasons that Lycia was given the privilege to stuck coins during the reign of Gordianus III, the discussion of H.v. Aulock was referred and the types that were struck in Patara during this period are studied.XV11 During the excavation seasons of 1989-2001, about 1200 coins were recovered in Patera. Almost all of these are bronze coins and are heavily corroded. Of these, better preserved and more identifiable 274 coins are catalogued and studied. Of these 274 coins, 4 are golden, 50 are silver, 1 is brass, while the rest are bronze or copper. Neither geographical nor chronological limitation was applied for this study. Thus, it covered the coins of all periods from the beginning of the 4th C. BC to 1 3th C. AD. During the excavations at Patera, coins, chronologically from all periods (Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantian, Islamic, Latin Feudal of 12th and 13th C), and from a diversify of regions (Lycia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Caria, Phrygia, Cyprus, Macedonia, France, Spain) and cities (Aperlai, Limyra, Patera, Myra, Xanthos, Telmessos, Kyaneae, Tlos, Perge, Side, Ataleia, Selge, Cibyra, Rhodos, Chartres, Murcia...) were recovered. Also, two different hoards were found during the excavations. The group of finds, referred to as Hoard I, consists of 47 bronze coins. Among these, 32 during the of Constantius II (337-361), 11 during the reign of caesar Constantius Gallus (351-354), and 2 during the reign of Caesar Julianus II were struck. One of them was defected and another was unidentifiable. All coins of the hoard are dated to 348-360. Hoard II consists of 3 golden Byzantine and 31 silver Feudal coins. Of the golden coins, 1 histamenon was struck during the reign of emperor Basieleos II (Bulgaroktonon) and is dated to 1005- 1025. The other two concave (scyphate) histemenon were struck during the reign of Michael IV (Ducas) and are dated to 1071-1078. Among the 31 feudal coins of the hoard, 26 are the mints of the city of Chartres in the Orleanais Region in France. Two of them bear the name of Charles and were minted in the old city of Melle (in Poitou) in France. Three other were struck in Lucca (an important city in Toscana), which was under the rule of Germany. The earliest coin of the hoard was dated to 1005-1025, while the latest ones date from the late 1 1th C. The Harbor Batfi, where this hoard was found, was out of use and lying out of the later fortifications at that time. Two skulls found nearby the hoard were covered with natural fill and were not intentionally buried. They must have been brought by the Crusaders sailing along the Lycian shore. While both hoards were identified and dated, due to the time limitation of the study it could not be possible to find out the number of different molds applied to front and back sides of the coins and explain their historical background. Also, two Islamic coins were found during the excavations. First of these is a gold coin (dinar) and it was struck during the reign of Muhammad ibn Sa'd (Rey Lope) who was 3th Amir of Murcia in Spain, and is dated to 548 H. / 1153-1154 AD. Second coin is a copper coin and it was struck duringxvm the reign of Muhammad ibn Âbû Câ 'fer who was 6th Amir of Hûds in Murcia, and is dated to 661-662 H. /1 263-1 264 AD. It should be quite natural to find such diversity of coins in an important and large harbor city like Patara. With its huge and sheltered harbor, the city was definitely a strategic location for the maritime trade and control in Mediterranean. With these geographical advantages, the trade life of the city should have been denser that we could imagine.