1 The Greek term metropolis means “mother-city”. This title usually referred to the relationship between cities and their colonies, but it was also used as a significant civic title by some cities in Roman times (it was bestowed by the emperor). According to Strabo, Geography, 16.2.5, “Antioch is the metropolis of Syria”. Perhaps the Antiochians regarded their city as the original “mother-city” of Syria. See Butcher, CRS, pp. 220-221, for detailed discussion. See also Cohen, The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa, p. 92, n. 26.

2 The Seleukid Era is based on a lunar calendar, beginning with the autumn of 312 BC. It means that if x is a Seleukid year (and x<312) then the corresponding BC time interval is from 313–x to 312–x.

The beginning of the Seleukid Era was set as follows: In 311 BC, shortly after capturing Babylon, Seleukos I Nikator began the enumeration of his satrapal years there. However, after his decisive victory over Antigonos Monophthalmos in 307/6 BC, he backdated his “fictitious” first regnal year to coincide with Nisanu 1, 311 BC (New Year’s Day in the Babylonian calendar). This marked the antedated epoch of the Seleukid calendar according to the Babylonian reckoning. Later in 305/4 BC, when Seleukos I took the diadem and assumed the royal title “King”, he retained the numbering of his regnal years in Babylon but employed the Makedonian calendar and thus pushed his accession year back to Dios, 312 BC (Dios was the first month of the Makedonian calendar; it corresponds to October-November). This became the antedated epoch of the Seleukid era on the Macedonian calendar. (Assar, Recent Studies in Parthian History, Part I, p. 6)

The Seleukid Era was used at least until the first century AD in some Eastern countries.

3 The term Pompeian era is used for the civic era specific for Antioch and its territory which was adopted by Antioch in 64/3 BC. Syria became a Roman province in 64 BC, Caesar visited Antioch in 48/7 BC (after Pompey’s defeat) and the earliest and the latest years of the Pompeian era to appear on coins are 3 and 19, respectively. This means that this era was counted from 66/5 BC. See Butcher, CRS, p. 302 and pp. 312-314.

4 The Caesarean era is counted from 1 October 49 BC. The occasion which is tought to have prompted this era was the battle of Pharsalos, which took place in the summer of 48 BC (thus, the first year of this era would not have been a full calendar year, for it began in the summer of 48 BC and ended on 1 October of the same year). The first year of this era to appear on coins is year 2 (48/7 BC). See Butcher, CRS, pp. 302-303 and p. 315 ff.

The early Caesarean era coins, years 2 to 5, bear the legend ‘ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ’. Afterward, the legend was shortened to ‘ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ’ (with the exception of Labienus’s issue in 41/0 BC which bears the inscription ‘ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ’). Since year 10 (40/39 BC) the weight standard was reduced and the abbreviated form ‘ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ’ was employed. See Butcher, CRS, pp. 314-319.

5 Butcher, CRS, p. 311, lists a specimen (Il Gabinetto Numismatico dei Civici Musei di Milano) with the same monogram in the left field and with ‘Μ’ in the right field.

6 A combination of letters Π and Α is labeled with a question mark in Hunterian Coll. III, p. 144, No. 25.