The Ionian Koinon and the Koinon of the 13 Cities of Sardis

Abstract

In this article, I reexamine the Koinon of the 13 Cities attested on coins and inscriptions from western Asia Minor in the Roman Imperial period. On the basis of substantial new epigraphic evidence published in 2019 I will show that the traditional identification with the Ionian Koinon with its 13 members can no longer be upheld. I offer a new interpretation of this koinon’s history and nature, and locate its genesis within a precise historical context during the reign of Tiberius.