297, Lot: 218. Estimate $100. Sold for $160. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SYRIA, Coele-Syria. Heliopolis. Septimius Severus. AD 193-211. Æ (24mm, 11.53 g, 12h). Struck circa AD 196-198. Laureate and cuirassed bust right / Temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus right, viewed from aerial perspective. Sawaya 62 (D17/R26). Good Fine, grayish-green patina.

Located in the Beqaa Valley of modern-day Lebanon, the site of Heliopolis has been occupied since 2000 BC when the Phoenicians, settling the area, built a temple to Baal there. Refounded as Heliopolis in 15 BC, the city became renowned for its large complex of ornate temples. Constructed over the course of two centuries, they were dedicated during the reign of Septimius Severus to Jupiter Baal, known also as Zeus Heliopolitanus, Venus Ashtart, and Bacchus-Dionysus. The popularity of this complex was further celebrated in the numerous coins struck by the city under subsequent emperors.