Mauretania, Iol, 200-150 BC., Æ 1/4 unit, Mazard 549 var.

Iol in Mauretania, 200-150 BC.,
Æ 1/4 unit (Shekel?) / Æ 18 (17-18 mm / 2,46 g),
Obv.: [T] - Y (Punic legend) , head of Isis left, surmounted by her crown (globe in crescent).
Rev.: L - [H] (in Punic legend) ; three corn ears.
Mazard, CN 549 var. (bigger denomination) ; SNG Cop. 682 / 679 ; cp. Alexandropoulos 472, 146e/b .

Iol - Caesarea - Cherchell (older Cherchel, Arabic: شرشال‎) is a seaport town in the Province of Tipaza, Algeria, 55 miles West of Algiers. It is the district seat of Cherchell District. As of 1998, it had a population of 24,400.
The town was originally an ancient Egyptian settlement dating back to 1500 BC. In the town archaeologists have found a lower half of a seated Egyptian divinity in black basalt, bearing a cartouche of the Pharaoh of Egypt Thutmose I.
The Phoenicians of Carthage settled there in the 4th century BC and named the town Iol or Jol. The town became a part of the kingdom of Numidia under Jugurtha, who died in 104 BC. The town became very significant to the Berber monarchy and generals of Numidia. The Berber Kings Bocchus I and Bocchus II lived there, as occasionally did other Kings of Numidia. Iol was situated in an area called Mauretania, which was apart of the Numidian kingdom.
The last Numidian king Juba II and his wife, the Greek Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra Selene II were forced to flee the other part of Numidian kingdom because the local population disapproved of their king being too Romanized, which caused civil unrest between 26 BC-20 BC. Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus had intervened in the situation and divided the Numidian Kingdom into two. One half of the kingdom became a part of the Roman province of Africa Nova. Western Numidia and Mauretania (the second half of the kingdom) became one kingdom. Iol was renamed Caesaria or Caesarea, in honor of the emperor. Caesaria would become the capital of the Roman client kingdom of Mauretania. The kingdom of Mauretania became one of the important client kingdoms in the Roman Empire, and their monarchs were one of the most loyal client monarchs that served Rome.
Juba and Cleopatra not just renamed their new capital, but in fine Roman style, rebuilt the town on a large, lavish and expensive scale. The construction and sculptural projects in Caesaria and throughout the kingdom were built on a rich mixture of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman architectural styles. The monarchs are buried in their mausoleum, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania which can still be seen. The seaport capital and its kingdom flourished until 40, when its last monarch Ptolemy of Mauretania was murdered on a visit to Rome.
In 44 after a four year bloody revolt, the Roman Emperor Claudius divided the Mauretanian kingdom into two provinces. Caesaria became the capital of Mauretania Caesariensis, one of the two provinces. Claudius gave Caesaria two names: the capital Caesariensis while the town became the a Roman colony Colonia Claudia Caesarea. The town was the birthplace to the Roman Emperor Macrinus and Greek grammarian Priscian. From 314 to 484, four titulars and one Donatist served the local Christian community. Caesaria was also the birthplace of Catholic Saint, Marciana. In the 5th century, the Vandals burnt the town, but it was recaptured under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, restored, and returned to a previously level of importance.

L’attribution à Iol (Caesarea à partir de Juba II) semble attestée comme le fait remarquer Jacques Alexandropoulos, op. cit., p. 325. A l’époque précédent la conquête romaine, nous avons un monnayage relativement important, mais qui reste mal connu avec des monnaies d’argent (shekel, demi et quart de shekel). Pour les monnaies de bronze, nous trouvons des Unités , demi et quarts d’unité. Dans le classement de Jacques Alexanropoulos, notre type, quart d’unité serait une émission secondaire à diffusion limitée.
Historique : La cité fut fondée par les Phéniciens ou par les Carthaginois. Son nom vient du héros Iolaüs, neveu et guide d'Hercule. La ville fut une des deux capitales de Bocchus. Iol avant de devenir la capitale du royaume de Maurétanie au Ier siècle avant J.-C. sous Juba II - Caesarea ou la moderne Cherchell -, la cité faisait partie de la Numidie indépendante. Iol fut le principal atelier de la région.