A Volusian Provincial But Not What It Seemed

Originally listed as a Volusian coin with Nike reverse from Sagalassos in Pisidia, it turned out to be something quite different, with a very interesting back story worth sharing. The bust on the obverse appeared to be of a much younger Volusian than seen on the Nike reverse coin. The inscription didn't fit either. The obverse did compare favourably with a Volusian coin on ACSearch and two on the RPC database. The figure on the reverse was in fact Lacedaemon, someone that I had not heard of before. The original collector's tag had "Nike (?)".

Images of the coin were submitted to the RPC and have been added to the https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/959 page.

A search for Lacedaemon turned up the myth of him being the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Taygete. When King Eurotas of Laconia was unable to produce a male heir he bequeathed the kingdom to Lacedaemon, who then renamed the state after himself and the city after his wife, Sparta (the daughter of Eurotas), in either 1539 BC or the mid to late 1300s. Lacedaemon was credited to be the founder of the sanctuary of the Graces, Cleta and Phaenna, near the river Tiasa. Lacedaemon and his wife Princess Sparta had a son and a daughter, Lacedaemon's heir Amyclas, and Eurydice, the wife of King Acrisius of Argos.

This in turn threw up another question - what has Lacedaemon got to do with Sagalassos in Pisidia? The answer was found in this extract from the paper "Pisidian-Greek-Roman: Acting out communal identity on the Upper Agora of Sagalassos." by Peter Talloen.
As this brief overview demonstrated, the Pisidian settlement of Sagalassos reinvented itself as a 'Greek' city centred on the Upper Agora during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. The adopted Hellenic architectural models show a distinctive pattern of structures that were intended to safeguard or formulate the city's independence and self-sufficiency: together with fortifications, the council house was an obvious symbol of political autonomy (au-tonomia), while a possible market building stood for economic independence (autarkeia); other typical buildings were a gymnasion for educating the future citizens (paideia), and a temple where to perform the actions appropriate to the deities of the civic pantheon (euse-beia). Their modest architectural decoration places the emphasis on function rather than representation, serving the needs of the community. Less tangible constituents of identity such as myths lend further weight to this aspiration for Greek identity, as indicated by the selection of Lacedaemon, the mythical forefather of the Spartans, as legendary city founder of Sagalassos, an invented tradition propagated by numerous civic bronze issues with his effigy from the early Roman Imperial period onwards.

From the HistoryHit page on Sagalassos:
Sagalassos is an active archaeological site in southwest Turkey which contains mostly Hellenistic and Ancient Roman historic ruins, some of them very well-preserved. In particular, the (working!) Fountain of Antoninler at Sagalassos still has its pretty facade. There are also the remains of a 9,000 seat theatre, a council hall (bouleuterion), a library, rock carved tombs, temples, and baths.

Part of the Phrygian kingdom from the 9th century BC and then part of the Lydian kingdom, Sagalassos became more urbanized under the Persian Empire from 546 BC, becoming a focal point in the region of Pisidia over the course of two centuries.

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great arrived in the region and attacked Sagalassos, eventually succeeding in destroying it, although its citizens did put up a good fight. Over the coming centuries, the Pisidia region - including Sagalassos - changed hands several times, finally coming under Roman rule in 129 BC.

The prosperity of Sagalassos fluctuated over the end of the 1st century BC, but slowly it became more successful, particularly because of the fertility of its land and the production of a material called Sagalassos Red Slip Ware, a type of tableware. Much of this affluence translated into the construction of buildings and monuments, especially during the 2nd century AD, under Hadrian, and up to the third century.

Sagalassos began to fall into decline in around 500 AD and this was accelerated by a devastating earthquake in 590 AD. Although abandoned for a long period of time, the area was further inhabited from the 10th century AD.

Volusian (251-253 AD). Sagalassos in Pisidia.
Obverse; Diademed head of Volusian right. Obverse Inscription; Α Κ ΓΑ Γ ΟΥ ΟΥΟΛΟΥCCΙΑΝΟ. Reverse; Lacedaemon standing left, wearing short chiton, holding patera in right hand and sword in left hand; at his feet right, shield. Reverse inscription; CΑΓΑΛΑCCΕΩΝ. Bronze. Diameter; 18 mm. Weight; 3.82 gr.
Reference; RPC IX, 959