Coin of Nisibis under Severus Alexander 222 - 235

Editor: We're looking at a Coin of Nisibis under Severus Alexander. It's a small, worn artifact, but I'm struck by how it connects us to a specific person and place in the ancient world. What symbolic weight do you see carried within this coin? Curator: Indeed. The wear itself is a symbol—of countless transactions, journeys, and lives touched. Consider the imagery: Likely a portrait of Severus Alexander himself, and perhaps a local deity of Nisibis. What does this pairing suggest to you about the relationship between imperial power and local identity? Editor: It seems like a deliberate attempt to merge or perhaps mediate between different cultural spheres. Curator: Precisely. The coin becomes a site of negotiation, where the visual language of power meets the symbols of local belief. It's a powerful, if subtle, form of cultural memory. Editor: I never thought a coin could tell such a complex story. Thank you. Curator: It reveals how even mundane objects can become vessels of profound meaning over time.