Cassius Longinus AR Tetradrachm of Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria

Roman Provincial Silver Tetradrachm in the name and type of Philip I Philadelphos

Minted by Cassius Longinus as governor of Syria – Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria

Obv: Diademed head of Philip I to right.

Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΦI]ΛIΠΠΟΥ – EΠIΦΑΝΟΥΣ / ΦIΛAΔEΛΦΟΥ Zeus seated left, holding Nike in his right hand and long scepter in his left; in inner left field, monogram of Γ ΚΑϹ; below throne, monogram; in exergue, thunderbolt; all within wreath.

53 – 51 BC. · Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria.  · RPC I 4126

15.9g  · 28mm

CKAL is the monogram of Gaius Cassius Longinus. After separating from Crassus in the aftermath of the defeat at Carrhae, Gaius Cassius Longinus took up the governorship of Syria, where he stabilized the province and financed its defense against renewed Parthian threats through emergency silver issues. These tetradrachms belong to the formative phase of his career, before he would become one of the principal assassins of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.