Abstract
The paper is an overview of the key problems of the study of the Seleucid royal weights. Such weights, unlike those ones belonging to individuals and city magistrates, were produced and intended for royal offi cials, which is a key feature of this category of sources. Analysis of metrology and iconography of royal balance weights allows us to expand our knowledge of the Hellenistic royal economy, as well as to study the features of the royal ideology integrating into research such an extraordinary iconographic material. At the moment, 19 royal Seleucid balance weights are known, most of which belong to the late Seleucids. The basis of the weight system was the royal mina. Metrological analysis shows that in the end of second century BC there was a change in the weight standard associated with an increase in the weight of the mina. In the legend of several weights, agoranomos is mentioned, who could be in charge of some operations related to the supply of commodities from the royal domain. The analysis of iconography reveals that the anchor was the most common motif of the image on the weights, which is almost not typical for coins. Nevertheless, the images of some weights fi nd complete analogies in the coinage. Thus, the images of the cornucopia are well known on the coins of Demetrius I, and the image of helmet on the coins of Tryphon. On the contrary, the depiction of an advancing Nike on the weight of Antiochus IV fi nds only analogies on rare issues of bronze coins. It is important to note that all known balance weights are believed to be produced and used in the region of the Syrian Tetrapolis, which demonstrates a local metrological and iconographic tradition.
Keywords
Weights, Seleucids, Hellenism, iconography, numismatics.
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