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APULIA, ARPI - AE 19, 3rd century BC
weight 7,80gr. ; bronze Ø 19mm.
obv. Laureate head of Zeus left, thunderbolt behind
rev. Kalydonian boar running right, spear-head above, APΠA in exergue
Arpi was an ancient city of Apulia, near modern Foggia. Its territory extended to the sea, and Strabo says that from the extent of the city walls one could gather that it had once been one of the greatest cities of Italy. As a protection against the Samnites, Arpi became an ally of Rome. In the war with Pyrrhus, the Arpani aided Rome with a contingent of 4000 foot and 400 horse. Arpi remained faithful to Rome until Rome′s defeat at the battle of Cannae, but the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the famous Roman dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, captured it in 213 B.C., and it never recovered its former importance. It lay on a by-road from Luceria to Sipontum. No Roman inscriptions have, indeed, been found here, and remains of antiquity are scanty. Foggia is its medieval representative.
BMC 5; SNG.Cop.605 ; SNG.ANS.639 ; SNG.München 436 ;
McClean 407 ; SNG.Paris 1228 S
very attractive coin with dark patina
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APULIA, ARPI - AE 20, circa 275-250 BC
weight 6,99gr. ; bronze Ø 20mm.
obv. Bull charging right, ΠOYΛΛI below (not visible)
rev. Horse galloping right, APΠA above, NOY below
This issue was minted in name of Poullos. He probably was the father
of the Dazos who defected to Hannibal during the First Punic War.
BMC 6 ; SNG.Copenhagen 607 ; McClean 400 ; SNG.Paris 1244-1247 ;
Historia Numorum, Italy 645 ; SNG.Oxford 182 ; SNG.ANS.640-643 ;
SNG.München 440-444 ; SNG.Milano 14031 ; SNG. Hungary 522-528 ;
Weber collection 427 ; Lindgren collection 211 ; HGC 1, no.535 S
traces of oxidation
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APULIA, ARPI - TIME OF HANNIBAL BARKAS, Carthagian general - AR Triobol or 1/4 Shekel, circa 215-212 BC
weight 1,37gr. ; silver Ø 15mm.
obv. Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet within circle
rev. Three barley-ears conjoined, between them AP - Π - A
The coins of this issue belongs to the time of the city′s defection to Hannibal, during the 2nd Punic War. The denominations of the silver are indicated by multiples of the barley-ear derived from Metapontion. Rare.
Arpi and Argos Hippium was an ancient city of Apulia, about 26 km. west of the sea coast, and 3.5 km. north of modern Foggia (next to the modern Arpi Nova). Originally the name of the city was Argos Hippium, then Argyrippa and later Arpi. Legend attributes Arpi′s foundation to Diomedes, and the figure of a horse, which appears on its coins, shows the importance of horse-breeding in early times in the district. Its territory extended to the sea, and Strabo says that from the extent of the city walls one could gather that it had once been one of the greatest cities of Italy.
As a protection against the Samnites, Arpi became an ally of Rome. In the war with Pyrrhus, the Arpani aided Rome with a contingent of 4000 foot and 400 horse. Arpi remained faithful to Rome until Rome′s defeat at the Battle of Cannae, a key engagement of the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by Hannibal, surrounded and practically annihilated a larger Roman and Italian army under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Caius Terentius Varro. It is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and one of the worst defeats in Roman history, and it cemented Hannibal′s reputation as one of antiquity′s greatest tacticians. The consul Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the famous Roman dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, recaptured it from the Carthaginians it in 213 BC, but it never recovered its former importance. No Roman inscriptions have, indeed, been found here. Foggia is its medieval representative.
Arpi today consists of a huge D-shaped enclosure, which abuts the Torrente Celone, and is visible both on the ground, as a still upstanding rampart, and in aerial photographs. Its extent was rediscovered by the British archaeologist John Bradford. Between 2005 and 2008, it was the subject of extensive surface finds survey by the UCL Institute of Archaeology Tavoliere-Gargano Prehistory Project, which showed its surface to be littered with Iron Age pottery.
HANNIBAL
Hannibal was one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian leader. He was born in 247 BC in what is present day northern Tunisia, one of many Mediterranean regions colonised by the Canaanites from their homelands in Phoenicia. When his father in 228 BC drowned in battle, Hannibal′s brother-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair succeeded to his command of the army with Hannibal (then 18 years old) serving as an officer under him. Upon the assassination of Hasdrubal in 221 BC, Hannibal (now 26 years old) was proclaimed commander-in-chief by the army and confirmed in his appointment by the Carthaginian government. Hannibal planned an overland journey to Italy, to attack Rome. Hannibal departed Carthago Nova in late spring of 218 BC. Hannibal reportedly entered Gaul with an amry army numbered 38.000 infantry, 8.000 cavalry, and 38 elephants and crossed the Alps. He arrived in Italy accompanied by 20.000-foot soldiers, 4.000 horsemen, and only a few elephants. The losses of this journey over the Alps were huge. The Gauls and Ligurians joined the Carthaginian cause, whose troops bolstered his army back to around 40.000 men. Hannibal fought several battles, and defeated the Romans. But after the Battle of Cannae (2 August 216 BC), one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of Ancient Rome, Hannibal fought no more major battles in Italy. It is believed that his refusal to bring the war to Rome itself was due to a lack of commitment from Carthage of men, money, and material, principally siege equipment. Whatever the reason, the choice prompted Maharbal to say, "Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one."
BMC- ; SNG.Copenhagen 601 ; McClean- ; SNG.Paris 1220 ;
Historia Numorum, Italy 646 ; de Luynes 218 ; Siciliano B.1 R
minor traces of oxidation
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