Podalia in Ancient and Medieval Sources, Inscriptions and its Coinage

Abstract

The city of Podalia was situated in North Lycia in the Elmah Plain, close to the village of Karamik at Buralye Hill. This area was in early antiquity originally part of Milyas which seems to have been invaded by Lycians from the south and Pisidians from the east. the city was rarely mentioned in ancient or medieval texts and although there are no inscriptions known from the site known yet, a few inscriptions from elsewhere mention the city name. For very brief periods, the city produced Hellenistic and Roman Provincial coinage. Its Hellenistic coinage is only known from 8 examples all belonging to the same type that has a head of Artemis on the obverses and a half figure of a Zebu bull shown butting on the reverses with an abbreviated from of the city name. These coins cannot be later than 81 or 75 BC when Podalia, together with Arykanda seems to have been added to the Lycian League. the types' similarity to the Royal Seleucid and Seleucid influenced autonomous civic coinage suggest that they may have been minted around 188-160s BC. Podalia's only Roman Provincial Coinage belongs to the Lycian series minted for Gordian III and Tranquillina. 14 examples (6 for Gordian, 8 for Tranquillina) have been collected from museum collections and auction data vastly increasing examples hitherto known for this city. Although number is still too low, the existing dies suggest that more coins were produced for Gordian than Tranquillina. the reverses feature Apollon Kitharadeus and Ares. 5 misattributions to this mint have also been catalogued. For historical perspective of the North Lycia, Milyas area, one should especially be aware of the misattributed bronzes to Podalia under the Lycian League; Podalia was not a League mint.