Hello
A new issuer is needed for Roman provincial coins; the details are below.
Thank you in advance
- the name of the issuer in English (and if possible also in French and Spanish)
En: Catane, City of
Fr: Catane, Ville de
Es: Catania, Ciudad de
It should be under Roman Provinces > Sicilia > Catane, City of
a.k.a. Katane, Catania, Catana, Aetna, Ætna, Colonia Catina
- its Wikidata code (for example, Q854 for Sri Lanka)
Q1903
- the link of one or more Numista records that you want to classify under this issuer
- if necessary, the list of other issuers to be linked by “see also” links
- if possible, a brief introduction presenting the history of this issuer with any numismatic considerations useful to the reader
Catane, or Katane in Greek, was an ancient city in Sicily. The city was located on Monte Vergine, a defensible hill west of the city centre of modern-day Catania. Initially an ancient Sikel village, Catane was occupied around 729 BC by Chalcidian Greeks from nearby Naxos led by Euarchos, and the existing population was Hellenised. Catania was independent until the conquest of despot Hieron I of Syracuse in 476 BC, who temporarily renamed it to Aetna, repopulated it with Dorian colonists, and proclaimed himself the Oekist (founder of the new city). In 403 BC, the city was plundered by Dionysius I of Syracuse and repopulated with Campanian mercenaries. In 397 BC, after the Battle of Catana, it was conquered by Himilco and Mago, the Carthaginian generals who defeated Leptines of Syracuse, and in 396 BC the Campanian mercenaries were forced to move out of the city. During the beginning of the 4th century BC, Catane was caught in the conflicts between Syracuse and Carthage until 278 BC, when King Pyrrhus of Epirus was welcomed in the city. During the First Punic War (264–241 BC), Catane was one of the first Sicilian cities conquered by the Roman Republic after the successful campaign of Consul Valerius Maximus Messalla. The city then became a tributary city (civitas decumana) led by a Proagorus magistrate, paying a tenth of its grain harvest as a tax to Rome. Around 135 BC, during the First Servile War, Catane was temporarily conquered by rebel slaves until 132 BC. The city infrastructure was heavily damaged by a serious eruption of Mount Etna in 121 BC, and it was thereafter exempted from its usual tax to Rome for ten years. In the Sicilian Revolt from 44 BC, Catane was occupied by Sextus Pompey until his fleet was destroyed by Octavian's general, M. Agrippa in 36 BC. Afterwards, the city was granted the status of Colonia by Augustus, and renamed to Colonia Catina. The city remained a Roman colony until the conquest of the Vandals of Gaiseric in AD 440–441.
Katane issued Greek silver coinage starting in the mid-fifth century BC, first on the Attic standard and later on the Sicilian litra standard. Bronze coinage on the litra standard was minted under Roman administration starting from the late third century BC. During his occupation of the city (44–39 BC), Sextus Pompey also issued silver denarii in his own name.
