v38_0561 - MESIA - NICOPOLIS Hemiassarion, (PB, Æ 12)

MOESIA - NICOPOLIS

(2nd - 3rd century AD)

Nicopolis, located on the Istrus, a tributary of the Danube, first belonged to the province of Thrace and was then attached to that of Lower Moesia. The coinage of Nicopolis began under Antoninus and lasted until Gordian III. Nicopolis had been built by Trajan to commemorate his victory over the Dacians. Under the Antonines, the coins include the name of the legates (Hegemon) of the province of Thrace when Nicopolis was attached to this province. On the coins, the name of Nicopolis is inscribed "Nikopoleitwn pros Istron". On September 28, 1396, Bajazet crushed the Frankish and Hungarian coalition there, opening the gates of the Balkans to the Turks for five centuries..