(1) The coin:
Gaius Iulius
Caesar, 13.6.100-15.3.44 BC,
gens Iulia
AR -
Denarius, 3.83g, 19.7mm, 90°
Rome, Febr.-March 44 BC, moneyer P. Sepullius
Macerobv. CAESAR - DICT PERPETVO (from upper r. clockwise)
Head of
Caesar, veiled and wreathed, r.
rev. Venus Victrix with bare l. breast stg. l., holding in extended r. hand
Victory with
raised
wreath and in raised l. hand long
sceptre at which a
shield is leaning
ref.
Crawford 480/13;
Sydenham 1074;
RSC I Julius Caesar 39;
BMCRR I
Rome 4173;
SRCV I 1414;
Vagi 56;
Sear CRI 107d
VF,
portrait!, scratches, light
toned, somewhat excentric
From
Forum Ancient Coins, thanks!
Note: This coin was struck for Caesar's planned war against the
Parthians. This
type is often struck very carelessly indicating the
mint was working under great pressure. This coin is not
rare but because of its historical importance sought-after.
(2) Iconography, historical meaning:
The
rev. can be understand easily: The Iulians ascribed their
gens back to
Aeneas who was the son of
Venus (Aphrodite) and
Anchises.Venus was the tutelary goddess of the
gens Iulia and hence of
Caesar. 46 BC
Caesar has consecrated together with
his new built
forum also the temple of
Venus Genetrix, the ancestress of
his gens. On this
denarius with
Victory, spear and
shield it is rather
Venus Victrix.
The
portrait on
obv. is imposing by its realistic depiction. It was for the first time that a living ruler was pictured on a
Roman coin. This too raised suspicion that
Caesar - even if he wasn't acclaimed
king - would behave as such.
Caesar's
portrait attracts attention by the
wreath he is wearing. It protrudes notable wide beyond
his forehead. Furthermore it is padded and very ragged. This characteristic received too little attention until now. There is every indication that it is not a usual
wreath but a
corona graminea, a Grass or Blockade crown. This crown was dedicated by the army to that commander who has freed them from an encirclement and saved them from certain death. The crown was composed from
flowers and tuft of grass which was plucked at the location of their liberation. This crown was regarded as the highest of all crowns! Pliny (
nat. 22, 6) has known only of 8 persons with this honour:
1.
Lucius Siccius Dentatus,
tribunus plebis 454 BC
2. Publius
Decius Mus, 343 BC, 1st Samnite War, dedicated even by 2 armies!
3.
Marcus Calpurnius Flamma, 258 BC, at Carmina on
Sicily4. Quintus Fabius
Maximus, after the departure of the Carthaginians from
Italy, 203 BC
(dedicated by the Senate and the people of
Rome, possibly
posthumous)
5.
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
6. Gnaeus Petreius Atinas, centurio during the war against the Cimbri
7.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, during the Allied War at Nola 89 BC
8. Quintus Sertorius, 97 BC as
military tribune in
Spain under
Titus Didius.
To
Caesar and
Augustus the crown was dedicated by the Senate!
The veil
Caesar is wearing as
Pontifex Maximus for lifetime.
(3)
DICTATOR PERPETVVS
During
Republican times a
dictator was designated when the state was in an emergency situation.
His position was always temporally limited, yes, sometimes designated only for a single task. In the beginning
Caesar too was
dictator limited to 1 year and
had to be designated again for the next year. Already 46 BC
Caesar has been nominated
dictator for 10 years but the title
had to be renewed each year. So we know of coins with DICT,
DICT ITER (= again, for the second time),
DIC TER (for the third time) and DICT QVART.
Since the proclamation as
king has failed the title
dictator disappeared from the
denarii and were replaced by
IMP. But soon behind Caesar's
head appeares a
star, a crescent, or Victory's spear stands on a
star. These celestial signs - and that was understod by all - stand for divinity and should raise
Caesar high above all
Romans. Incompatible with the idea of a
republican constituted
Rome.
The point of culmination in this series is the
legend DICT PERPETVO of this coin. Now the title of
dictator was no more temporally limited but was valid like
his office as
Pontifex Maximus for all
his life and it no more was necessary to confirm the title each year. That actually was a spectacular violation of the
Roman constitution! The fact that he appeared at the Lupercalia on February 15. 44 BC in the ancient robe of kings strengthened the suspicion that he was looking for the kingship. In fact he has publicly
refused the royal crown that was offered to him by
Marcus Antonius, but
his authority to exert power was equal a
king even without bearing the title of
king. That was the most hateful title of the
Roman Republic.
Now he has passed a line that
his republican enimies couldn't tolerate any more if they
still wanted to be taken seriously. So this coin actually led to
his murder by the conspirators. So "The coin that killed
Caesar" is by no means an exaggeration.
Only few weeks later at the Ides of March (15th of March) 44 BC
Caesar was stabbed to death by 60 conspirators led by
Brutus and Cassius. According to Plutarch he has been warned by a seer of the Ides of March. On
his way to the theatre of Pompey, where he was killed, he
met this seer and joked: "The Ides of March have come" to say, that
his forecast has been wrong. But the seer answered: "Yes,
Caesar, but they are not yet over." This scene is dramatically depicted in Shakespeare's "
Julius Caesar".
(4) The planned
Parthian War:
Caesar has planned a war against the
Parthians. In March 44 BC he wanted to start for a campaign to the east.
His assassination inhibited this intention. In science disputed are the goals which
Caesar has
had in mind with
his war. They are reaching from a boundary adjustment, as
Mommsen suggested, to world domination like
Alexander the Great, as Plutarch is
writing: According to him
Caesar after the submission of the
Parthians would go across Hyrcania at the Caspian Sea, then round the Black Sea via the Caucasus, invade the land of the Scyths, attack
Germania and would finally return to
Italy through the land of the
Celts. In this way he would have conquered the world known to the Ancients and
his limits were only the shores of the surrounding Okeanos.
Probably Sueton who was sitting directly at the sources was more realistic. And we know of the campaigns of
Marcus Antonius and
Augustus who surely have known Caesar's plans and have used them for their own purposes. It's clear that
Caesar doesn't want to repeat the errors of Crassus who perished at
Carrhae, and has tried to avoid he
Parthian cavalry units. Therefore a route through Lesser
Armenia is most probable. And there was
hope that the Mesopotamian cities would raise against the
Parthians.
Caesar had gathered an army of 16(!) legions, a huge power that alone by its mere bigness would ensure the
victory.
Caesar was no gambler, rather a cautious and prudential commander.The famous "
veni, vidi, vici" doesn't exist longer. What he actually
had in mind we don't know. It's speculative. But there is every indication that it was a reorganisation of the east. And that rather by establishing client-kingdoms than creating new
Roman provinces.
Probably the conspirators were afraid of Caesar's
Parthian War, because a
victory, which was possible or even probable, would have strengthen Caesar's position and has made him practically invulnerable.
(5) Literature:
- Appian
- Cassius Dio
- Livius
- Plutarch
- Sueton
- Shakespeare
-
Mommsen- Jürgen Malitz, Caesars Partherkrieg,
Historia 33, 1984, S. 21-59
- Andreas Alföldi, Der Denar
des P. Sepvllivs
Macer mit
CAESAR IMP - *,
Schweizer Münzblätter, Band (Jahr): 13-17 (1963-1967), Heft 61, S. 4-17
-
WikipediaBest regards
