SNG Turkey 11
COLLECTOR’S NOTE
During my childhood days I used to play among the ruins of Philadelphia (modern Alaşehir). I breathed in the historical atmosphere of Philadelphia, feeling its past and living together with this cultural heritage. I believe that historical settlements are not only ruins but are also the memory of our cultural genes. Furthermore, I strongly feel that the memory and cultural genes of a city manifests itself in a style of life we call “tradition”. We may find traces of the past in the language we speak, in our methods of production or in our traditions. However, the place where true memory is hidden is in historical buildings, artifacts and coins.
I started collecting the coins of Philadelphia in 1995. I felt that I owed my duty of loyalty to this city. I started collecting with these feelings. I thought I would reach the city’s memory in this way. Then, I came to the conclusion that it would be proper to consider the city’s history together with its surroundings, and I expanded my collection to include the Lydia and Phrygia regions. Today, an important part of the coinage from Philadelphia are in my collection. Besides the coins of Philadelphia, the majority of the coins which belonged to other cities in Lydia are also in my collection. With this publication, I have presented the coins in my collection to the academia. Now, it is the scientists who will reveal Philadelphia’s memory and cultural genes. I believe I have fulfilled my duty loyally. Last but not least, I would like to thank Oğuz Tekin and Arif Yacı who prepared the catalog. Çetin Erdem
PREFACE
This catalog is the eleventh volume of the SNG Turkey Project and is part of the Çetin Erdem Collection. Çetin Erdem, the collector, is a lawyer living in the town of Sarıgöl in the Manisa Province. All the coins were bought between the years of 1995-2016 by himself, in Sarıgöl, where he lives. There are three historical sites which are nearby, these are Sardis, Philadelphia and Thyateira.
We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Erdem, collector, who facilitated our work during the preparation of our catalog. We would like to thank Michel Amandry and Aliye Erol Özdizbay who revised the catalog. We would also like to thank Ahmet Boratav of Ege Publications for his support for the publication; our special thanks go to Ms. Hülya Tokmak for her layout work.
This SNG volume is, a joint publication of the Turkish Institute of Archaeology (TEBE) and Koç University Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Center for Mediterranean Civilizations (AKMED), has been published with the financial contribution of the Union Académique Internationale thus we appreciate the UAI for their kind support. Oğuz Tekin – Arif Yaci
CONTENTS
