v49_0419 - PAMFILIA - SIDE Tétradrachme

PAMPHYLIA - SIDE

(2nd - 1st century BC)

Side, located on the Pamphylian coast southeast of Aspendos, was settled by inhabitants of Cyme in the 7th century BC. Its inhabitants, who used a Pamphylian dialect and not Greek, were considered dishonest. Moreover, the city offered a den for the maritime piracy of the ships that cruised in its waters. Pompey received an "imperium maius" to fight against these Pamphylian and Cilician pirates and establish the "pax romana" in the Eastern Mediterranean..