One of the interesting things with Constantine's reign is the changing
cast and territories due to various factors, one of which was Constantine's giving control of
Gaul to
Crispus in 317 AD, as we see reflected in the coinage. While Crispus's mints *roughly* followed the
types being issued elsewhere by
Constantine, there were some major differences, such as this
Sarmatia Devicta type.
At Constantine's mints starting c.320 AD we have
his new "
VOT XX"
type, initially issued alongside "
VOT V" for the caesars, then continuing with "
VOT X". At the same time
Crispus instead initially issued "BEATA TRANQVILITAS" (with Constantine's vows relegated to the VO-TIS XX
altar inscription), ignored the "
VOT V"
type, then issued "
SARMATIA DEVICTA" alongside "
VOT X" :
Crispus Constantine
BEATA TRAQVILITAS (VO-TIS XX) VOT XX, VOT V
SARMATIA DEVICTA, VOT X VOT XX, VOT X
Put against this pattern, we see
Arles basically following Constantine's pattern of
vota issues, but additionally issuing
SARMATIA DEVICTA (presumably starting at the same time as the other mints, alongside
VOT X). We see another sign of
Arles independence from
Crispus in the earlier
VIRTVS EXERCIT issue, which at
London, Trier and Lyons (but not
Arles)
had included a
trophy as well as vota-standard
type.
I'm not sure how specific the ancient sources are on exactly what territory was controlled by
Crispus, but
per the coinage it seems to be the mints of
London, Trier and Lyons, but NOT
Arles. If we map this to administrative areas, this implies
Crispus had control of the dioceses of Galliae and Britanniae, but not of Viennensis (containing
Arles).
It's not clear, to me at least, exactly where Constantine's battles against the Sarmatians, at this time,
had occurred. The Sarmatians are generally an eastern tribe, but certainly later ventured as far
west as
Pannoniae which they invaded. It's not obvious therefore whether the "
SARMATIA DEVICTA"
type had any particular local relevance to
Gaul in terms of
border security (certainly not to
Arles!), or was just commemorating Constantine's victories further east. The only other
mint to issue the "
SARMATIA DEVICTA"
type was
Sirmium over in the east.
Here's my
Arles specimens of the
type.
Arles showing it's independence by also issuing
cuirassed busts.
Ben