v55_0008 - SICILY - MESSANA Litra, (MB, Æ 24)

SICILY - MESSANA

(4th century BC)

Messina was founded by the Chalcidians around 725 BC under the name of Zancle, sickle, a name that comes from the shape of the port of the city. The Samians, fleeing the Persian yoke, seized the city in 493 BC and kept it for four years until Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegion, chased them away and renamed the city, Messina. Anaxilas and his son were overthrown in 461 BC and Democracy established. Messina was destroyed by the Carthaginians in 396 BC. Messina, after regaining some prosperity during the second half of the 4th century BC, was once again ravaged by an invader, this time- here, Oscan mercenaries who destroyed the city and massacred its inhabitants in 288 BC. The new masters, the Mamertines, maintained their autonomy under the control of the Romans until the 1st century BC. Coinage ceased in 38 BC.