Æ26 - Philippus I COL LAOD METROPOLEOS Δ Є

Reverse

Eagle standing right, head left, spreading wings, within two columned shrine with domed roof.

Script: Latin

Lettering: COL LAOD METROPOLEOS Δ Є

Unabridged legend: COL(onia) LAOD(icea ad Mare) METROPOLEOS

Translation: Roman Colony Laodicea at Sea, Host City

Comment

Philippus was known as "Philippe the Arab", as he was born in the Roman province of Arabia, and was ethnically Arab. He became known for being the first Roman emperor, if not openly Christian, at least strongly sympathetic to them.
This coin has a curiosity: it is a bilingual coin. On the obverse, the caption is written in Koine Greek (a Greek dialect very widespread in the Middle East at the time, which made it a lingua franca), and on the reverse, it is in Latin, which was the official language of the empire. Very interesting is the use of the words AUTOKRATOR and SEBASTUS, which are Greek words corresponding to the Latin EMPEROR and AUGUSTUS.

Julius Caesar declared it a free city, and Septimius Severus declared it "Metropolis" (mother city, or headquarters), elevating it to the status of "Roman Colony", having many of the prerogatives and privileges of cities in Italy itself, such as being free from paying taxes. However, the city had always remained culturally Greek, as evidenced by the Greek language and alphabet used on the obverse.

Interesting fact