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JUSTINIAN I, AE Follis (40 Nummi), struck 545/546 at CyzicusObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Helmeted and cuirassed facing bust of Justinian I holding globus cruciger in his right hand and shield, adorned with rider galloping right spearing a fallen enemy, in his left; cross in right field.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter below (B = 2nd Officina), A/N/N/O in field to left of M and regnal year X/ЧI/II/I in field to right; in exergue, :K•YZ
Diameter: 34mm | Weight: 19.22gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 207 | DOC: 171b.3
Justinian I introduced the system of dating on the Byzantine bronze coinage in the 12th year of his reign (Regnal year 538/39).
546: On December 17th of this year the Ostrogoths under King Totila plundered Rome and destroyed its fortifications. The city fell after almost a year's siege due to the capture, near the mouth of the Tiber, of a grain fleet sent by Pope Vigilius and the failure of the troops sent by the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius to relieve the city. After sacking Rome the Ostrogoths withdrew to Apulia in southern Italy.*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory standing right, holding palm branch in her right hand and placing uninscribed shield on palm tree with her left.
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 2.83gms | Die Axis: 7h
RIC IV: 336 | RSC: 730 | SRCV: 6384 | SPINK: 651A
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
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*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory seated on shield facing left, holding another shield resting on her knee in her right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 2.35gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC IV: 335 | RSC: 731 | SRCV: 6385 | SPINK: 651C
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
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*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory advancing right, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 3.5gms | Die Axis: 6h
RIC IV: 332 | RSC: 727 | SRCV: 6382 | SPINK: 650
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
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*Alex
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County of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoise County of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoise
O : + CIVITAS fortified gateway, five rows of masonry, five crenellations, large divided door
R : + TRIPOLIS, St. Andrew's cross pommetée, circle in center, crescent and pellet in each quarter
CCS 13
Ex FORUM ; Ex MalloyVladislav D
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122 Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), Siscia, RIC VI 221, AE-Follis, -/A//SIS, FORTI FORTVNAE, Fortuna standing left by the wheel, Scarce! #1122 Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), Siscia, RIC VI 221, AE-Follis, -/A//SIS, FORTI FORTVNAE, Fortuna standing left by the wheel, Scarce! #1
avers: DIVO GAL VAL MAXIMIANO, Veiled head right.
reverse: FORTI FOR TVNAE, Fortuna standing left by the wheel, right holding rudder on the globe, left cornucopia.
exergue: -/A//SIS, diameter: 24,5mm, weight: 6,50g, axis: 11h,
mint: Siscia, date: 311 A.D.,
ref: RIC VI 221, p-482, Scarce!
Q-001quadrans
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122 Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), Siscia, RIC VI 224, AE-Follis, -/B/μ//SIS, FORTI FOR T(I)NAE, legend error (FOR TVNAE!!!), Fortuna standing left by wheel, Rare! #1122 Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), Siscia, RIC VI 224, AE-Follis, -/B/μ//SIS, FORTI FOR T(I)NAE, legend error (FOR TVNAE!!!), Fortuna standing left by wheel, Rare! #1
avers: DIVO GAL VAL MAXIMIANO, Veiled head right.
reverse: FORTI FOR T(I)NAE, legend error (FOR TVNAE!!!), Fortuna standing left by wheel, right holding rudder on globe, left cornucopiae.
exergue: -/B/μ//SIS, diameter: 24,0-26,0mm, weight: 4,68g, axis: 6h,
mint: Siscia, date: 312 A.D.,
ref: RIC VI 224, p-483, Rare!
Q-001quadrans
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1303a, Galerius, 1 March 305 - 5 May 311 A.D.Galerius, RIC VI 59, Cyzicus S, VF, Cyzicus S, 6.4 g, 25.86 mm; 309-310 AD; Obverse: GAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, laureate bust right; Reverse: GENIO A-VGVS[TI], Genius stg. left, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae. A nice example with sharp detail and nice brown hoard patina. Ex Ancient Imports.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Galerius (305-311 A.D.)
Michael DiMaio, Jr.
Salve Regina University
Caius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, more commonly known as Galerius, was from Illyricum; his father, whose name is unknown, was of peasant stock, while his mother, Romula, was from beyond the Danube. Galerius was born in Dacia Ripensis near Sardica. Although the date of his birth is unknown, he was probably born ca. 250 since he served under Aurelian. As a youth Galerius was a shepherd and acquired the nickname Armentarius. Although he seems to have started his military career under Aurelian and Probus, nothing is known about it before his accession as Caesar on 1 March 293. He served as Diocletian's Caesar in the East. Abandoning his first wife, he married Diocletian's daugher, Valeria.
As Caesar he campaigned in Egypt in 294; he seems to have taken to the field against Narses of Persia, and was defeated near Ctesiphon in 295. In 298, after he made inroads into Armenia, he obtained a treaty from the Persians favorable to the Romans. Between 299-305 he overcame the Sarmatians and the Carpi along the Danube. The Great Persecution of the Orthodox Church, which was started in 303 by the Emperor Diocletian, was probably instigated by Galerius. Because of the almost fatal illness that he contracted toward the end of 304, Diocletian, at Nicomedeia, and Maximianus Herculius, at Mediolanum, divested themselves of the purple on 1 May 305. Constantius and Galerius were appointed as Augusti, with Maximinus Daia and Severus as the new Caesars. Constantius and Severus reigned in the West, whereas Galerius' and Daia's realm was the East. Although Constantius was nominally senior Augustus, the real power was in the hands of Galerius because both Caesars were his creatures.
The balance of power shifted at the end of July 306 when Constantius, with his son Constantine at his side, passed away at York in Britain where he was preparing to face incursions by the Picts; his army proclaimed Constantine his successor immediately. As soon as he received the news of the death of Constantius I and the acclamation of Constantine to the purple, Galerius raised Severus to the rank of Augustus to replace his dead colleague in August 306. Making the best of a bad situation, Galerius accepted Constantine as the new Caesar in the West. The situation became more complicated when Maxentius, with his father Maximianus Herculius acquiesing, declared himself princes on 28 October 306. When Galerius learned about the acclamation of the usurper, he dispatched the Emperor Severus to put down the rebellion. Severus took a large field army which had formerly been that of Maximianus and proceeded toward Rome and began to besiege the city, Maxentius, however, and Maximianus, by means of a ruse, convinced Severus to surrender. Later, in 307, Severus was put to death under clouded circumstances. While Severus was fighting in the west, Galerius, during late 306 or early 307, was campaigning against the Sarmatians.
In the early summer of 307 Galerius invaded Italy to avenge Severus's death; he advanced to the south and encamped at Interamna near the Tiber. His attempt to besiege the city was abortive because his army was too small to encompass the city's fortifications. Not trusting his own troops, Galerius withdrew. During its retreat, his army ravaged the Italian countryside as it was returning to its original base. When Maximianus Herculius' attempts to regain the throne between 308 and 310 by pushing his son off his throne or by winning over Constantine to his cause failed, he tried to win Diocletian and Galerius over to his side at Carnuntum in October and November 308; the outcome of the Conference at Carnuntum was that Licinius was appointed Augustus in Severus's place, that Daia and Constantine were denoted filii Augustorum, and that Herculius was completely cut out of the picture. Later, in 310, Herculius died, having been implicated in a plot against his son-in-law. After the Conference at Carnuntum, Galerius returned to Sardica where he died in the opening days of May 311.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University; Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Galerius was Caesar and tetrarch under Maximianus. Although a talented general and administrator, Galerius is better known for his key role in the "Great Persecution" of Christians. He stopped the persecution under condition the Christians pray for his return to health from a serious illness. Galerius died horribly shortly after. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1307a, Maxentius, February 307 - 28 October 312 A.D.Bronze follis, RIC 163, aEF, Rome mint, 5.712g, 25.6mm, 0o, summer 307 A.D.; obverse MAXENTIVS P F AVG, laureate head right; reverse CONSERVATO-RES VRB SVAE, Roma holding globe and scepter, seated in hexastyle temple, RT in ex; rare. Ex FORVM; Ex Maridvnvm
De Imperatoribus Romanis : An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Maxentius (306-312 A.D.)
Michael DiMaio, Jr.
Salve Regina University
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius, more commonly known as Maxentius, was the child of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius and the Syrian, Eutropia; he was born ca. 278 A.D. After Galerius' appointment to the rank of Caesar on 1 March 293, Maxentius married Galerius' daughter Valeria Maximilla, who bore him a son named Romulus and another son whose name is unknown. Due to his haughty nature and bad disposition, Maxentius could seldom agree with his father or his father-in-law; Galerius' and Maximianus Herculius' aversion to Maxentius prevented the young man from becoming a Caesar in 305. Little else is known of Maxentius' private life prior to his accession and, although there is some evidence that it was spent in idleness, he did become a Senator.
On 28 October 306 Maxentius was acclaimed emperor, although he was politically astute enough not to use the title Augustus; like the Emperor Augustus, he called himself princeps. It was not until the summer of 307 that he started using the title Augustus and started offending other claimants to the imperial throne. He was enthroned by the plebs and the Praetorians. At the time of his acclamation Maxentius was at a public villa on the Via Labicana. He strengthened his position with promises of riches for those who helped him obtain his objective. He forced his father Maximianus Herculius to affirm his son's acclamation in order to give his regime a facade of legitimacy. His realm included Italy, Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica. As soon as Galerius learned about the acclamation of Herculius' son, he dispatched the Emperor Severus to quell the rebellion. With the help of his father and Severus' own troops, Maxentius' took his enemy prisoner.
When Severus died, Galerius was determined to avenge his death. In the early summer of 307 the Augustus invaded Italy; he advanced to the south and encamped at Interamna near the Tiber. His attempt to besiege the city was abortive because his army was not large enough to encompass the city's fortifications. Negotiations between Maxentius and Galerius broke down when the emperor discovered that the usurper was trying to win over his troops. Galerius' troops were open to Maxentius' promises because they were fighting a civil war between members of the same family; some of the soldiers went over to the enemy. Not trusting his own troops, Galerius withdrew. During its retreat, Galerius' army ravaged the Italian countryside as it was returning to its original base. If it was not enough that Maxentius had to deal with the havoc created by the ineffectual invasions of Severus and Galerius, he also had to deal with his father's attempts to regain the throne between 308 and 310. When Maximianus Herculius was unable to regain power by pushing his son off his throne, he attempted to win over Constantine to his cause. When this plan failed, he tried to win Diocletian over to his side at Carnuntum in October and November 308. Frustrated at every turn, Herculius returned to his son-in-law Constantine's side in Gaul where he died in 310, having been implicated in a plot against his son-in-law. Maxentius' control of the situation was weakened by the revolt of L. Domitius Alexander in 308. Although the revolt only lasted until the end of 309, it drastically cut the size of the grain supply availble for Rome. Maxentius' rule collapsed when he died on 27 October 312 in an engagement he had with the Emperor Constantine at the Milvian Bridge after the latter had invaded his realm.
Copyright (C) 1996, Michael DiMaio, Jr.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1604 Lion Daalder - West FrieslandNetherlands: West Friesland
1604 Lion Daalder
Obv: Knight facing, looking to his left, above shield w/provincial coat of arms; date flanking arms; MO.NO.ORD.WEST FRI.VALOR.HOL
Rev: Rampant facing left; DEVS.FORTITVDO.ET.SPES.NOSTRA; mintmark: flower
26.97 grams; 41.0 mm
Davenport: 4867
Delmonte: 835
cmcdon0923
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1aa Julius Caesar60 BC (formation of the First Triumvirate)-44 BC (assassination)
Denarius
44 BC
Caesar's head, right, eight-pointed star behind. CAESAR IMP.
Venus standing left, holding victory and scepter. P SEPVLLIVS MACER.
RSC 41
Plutarch said of the first triumvirate: There is a law among the Romans, that whoever desires the honour of a triumph must stay without the city and expect his answer. And another, that those who stand for the consulship shall appear personally upon the place. Caesar was come home at the very time of choosing consuls, and being in a difficulty between these two opposite laws, sent to the senate to desire that, since he was obliged to be absent, he might sue for the consulship by his friends. Cato, being backed by the law, at first opposed his request; afterwards perceiving that Caesar had prevailed with a great part of the senate to comply with it, he made it his business to gain time, and went on wasting the whole day in speaking. Upon which Caesar thought fit to let the triumph fall, and pursued the consulship. Entering the town and coming forward immediately, he had recourse to a piece of state policy by which everybody was deceived but Cato. This was the reconciling of Crassus and Pompey, the two men who then were most powerful in Rome. There had been a quarrel between them, which he now succeeded in making up, and by this means strengthened himself by the united power of both, and so under the cover of an action which carried all the appearance of a piece of kindness and good-nature, caused what was in effect a revolution in the government. For it was not the quarrel between Pompey and Caesar, as most men imagine, which was the origin of the civil wars, but their union, their conspiring together at first to subvert the aristocracy, and so quarrelling afterwards between themselves.
Of Caesar's military leadership, Plutarch wrote: He was so much master of the good-will and hearty service of his soldiers that those who in other expeditions were but ordinary men displayed a courage past defeating or withstanding when they went upon any danger where Caesar's glory was concerned. . . . This love of honour and passion for distinction were inspired into them and cherished in them by Caesar himself, who, by his unsparing distribution of money and honours, showed them that he did not heap up wealth from the wars for his own luxury, or the gratifying his private pleasures, but that all he received was but a public fund laid by the reward and encouragement of valour, and that he looked upon all he gave to deserving soldiers as so much increase to his own riches. Added to this also, there was no danger to which he did not willingly expose himself, no labour from which he pleaded an exemption. His contempt of danger was not so much wondered at by his soldiers because they knew how much he coveted honour. But his enduring so much hardship, which he did to all appearance beyond his natural strength, very much astonished them. For he was a spare man, had a soft and white skin, was distempered in the head and subject to an epilepsy, which, it is said, first seized him at Corduba. But he did not make the weakness of his constitution a pretext for his ease, but rather used war as the best physic against his indispositions; whilst, by indefatigable journeys, coarse diet, frequent lodging in the field, and continual laborious exercise, he struggled with his diseases and fortified his body against all attacks. He slept generally in his chariots or litters, employing even his rest in pursuit of action. In the day he was thus carried to the forts, garrisons, and camps, one servant sitting with him, who used to write down what he dictated as he went, and a soldier attending behind him with his sword drawn. Blindado
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1cu Trebonianus Gallus251-253
AE Viminacium
Laureate, draped bust, right, IMP C GALLVS P FELIX AVG
Moesia standing facing, head left, hands outstretched over a bull and a lion at her sides, PMS COL VIM
Moushmov 56
For Gallus' perfidy against Decius, see the Decius entry. Zosimus reports regarding Gallus' reign: Gallus, who declared his son Volusianus his associate in the empire, published an open declaration, that Decius and his army had perished by his contrivance. The Barbarians now became more prosperous than before. For Callus not only permitted them to return home with the plunder, but promised to pay them annually a sum of money, and allowed them to carry off all the noblest captives; most of whom had been taken at Philippopolis in Thrace.
Gallus, having made these regulations, came to Rome, priding himself on the peace he had made with the Barbarians. And though he at first spoke with approbation of Decius's mode of government, and adopted one of his sons, yet, after some time was elapsed, fearing that some of them who were fond of new projects might recur to a recapitulation of the princely virtues of Decius, and therefore might at some opportunity give the empire to his son, he concerted the young man's destruction, without regard either to his own adoption of him, or to common honour and justice.
Gallus was so supine in the administration of the empire, that the Scythians in the first place terrified all the neighbouring nations, and then laid waste all the countries as far by degrees as the sea coast; not leaving one nation subject to the Romans unpillaged, and taking almost all the unfortified towns, and many that were fortified. Besides the war on every side, which was insupportably burdensome to them, the cities and villages were infested with a pestilence, which swept away the remainder of mankind in those regions; nor was so great a mortality ever known in any former period.
At this crisis, observing that the emperors were unable to defend the state, but neglected all without the walls of Rome, the Goths, the Borani, the Urugundi, and the Carpi once more plundered the cities of Europe of all that had been left in them; while in another quarter, the Persians invaded Asia, in which they acquired possession of Mesopotamia, and proceeded even as far as Antioch in Syria, took that city, which is the metropolis of all the east, destroyed many of the inhabitants, and carried the remainder into captivity, returning home with immense plunder, after they had destroyed all the buildings in the city, both public and private, without meeting with the least resistance. And indeed the Persians had a fair opportunity to have made themselves masters of all Asia, had they not been so overjoyed at their excessive spoils, as to be contented with keeping and carrying home what they had acquired.
Meantime the Scythians of Europe were in perfect security and went over into Asia, spoiling all the country as far as Cappodocia, Pesinus, and Ephesus, until Aemilianus, commander of the Pannonian legions, endeavouring as much as possible to encourage his troops, whom the prosperity of the Barbarians had so disheartened that they durst not face them, and reminding them of the renown of Roman courage, surprised the Barbarians that were in that neighbourhood. Having destroyed great numbers of them, and led his forces into their country, removing every obstruction to his progress, and at length freeing the subjects of the Roman empire from their ferocity, he was appointed emperor by his army. On this he collected all the forces of that country, who were become more bold since his successes against the Barbarians, and directed his march towards Italy, with the design of fighting Gallus, who was as yet. unprepared to contend with him. For Gallus had never heard of what had occurred in the east, and therefore made only what accidental preparations were in his reach, while Valerianus went to bring the Celtic and German legions. But Aemilianus advanced with great speed into Italy, and the armies were very near to each other, when the soldiers of Gallus, reflecting that his force was much inferior to the enemy both in number and strength, and likewise that he was a negligent indolent man, put him and his son to death, and going over to the party of Aemilianus, appeared to establish his authority.Blindado
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1cx Valerian253-260
Antoninianus
Radiate draped and cuirassed bust, right, IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG
Victory standing left, holding wreath and palm, VICTORIA AVGG
RIC 125
Persians surrounded Valerian's army in the East in 260 and took the emperor prisoner. He died on an unknown date in captivity.
Zosimus noted: The nations subject to the Romans being unable to endure [Maximinus'] monstrous cruelty, and greatly distressed by the ravages he committed, the Africans proclaimed Gordianus and his son, of the same name, emperors, and sent ambassadors to Rome, one of whom was Valerianus, a man of consular rank, who afterwards himself became emperor. . . .
Aemilianus advanced with great speed into Italy, and the armies were very near to each other, when the soldiers of Gallus, reflecting that his force was much inferior to the enemy both in number and strength, and likewise that he was a negligent indolent man, put him and his son to death, and going over to the party of Aemilianus, appeared to establish his authority. But Valerianus brought into Italy from beyond the Alps a vast army, with which he deemed himself secure of conquering Aemilianus. The soldiers of Aemilianus, who saw that his conduct was more like that of a private sentinel than of an emperor, now put him to death as a person unfit for so weighty a charge.
By these means Valerianus became emperor with universal consent, and employed himself in the regulation of affairs. But the excursions of the Scythians, and of the Marcomanni, who made an inroad into all the countries adjacent to the empire, reduced Thessalonica to extreme danger; and though they were with muct difficulty compelled to raise the siege by the brave defence of those within, yet all Greece was in alarm. The Athenians repaired their walls, which they had never thought worth their care since Sylla threw them down. The Peloponnesians likewise fortified the Isthmus, and all Greece put itself upon its guard for the general security.
Valerianus, perceiving the empire in danger on every side, associated his son Gallienus with himself in the government! and went himself into the east to oppose the Persians. He entrusted to his son the care of the forces in Europe, thus leaving him to resist the Barbarians who poured in upon him in every direction. . . .
Valerianus had by this time heard of the disturbances in Bithynia, but his district would not allow him to confide the defence of it to any of his generals. He therefore sent Felix to Byzantium, and went in person from Antioch into Cappadocia, and after he had done some injury to every city by which he passed, he returned homeward. But the plague then attacked his troops, and destroyed most of them, at the time when Sapor made an attempt upon the east, and reduced most of it into subjection. In the mean time, Valerianus became so effeminate and indolent, that he dispaired of ever recovering from the present ill state of affairs, and would have concluded the war by a present of money; had not Sapor sent back the ambasadors who were sent to him with that proposal, without their errand, desiring the emperor to come and speak with him in person concerning the affairs he wished to adjust; To which he most imprudently consented, and going without consideration to Sapor with a small retinue, to treat for a peace, was presently laid hold of by the enemy, and so ended his days in the capacity of a slave among the Persians, to the disgrace of the Roman name in all future times.Blindado
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1di Claudius Gothicus268-270
AE antoninianus
Radiate cuirassed bust right, IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG
Liberlitas stg, LIBERALITAS AVG
RIC 57
Zosimus recorded: When the troops were calmed by their commanders, Claudius was chosen emperor, having previously been designed for that dignity by general consent. Aureolus, who had for a long time kept himself out of the hands of Gallienus, presently sent agents to Claudius, to effect a peace. Surrendering himself, he was killed by the guards of the emperor, who still remembered the hatred they bore against him for his treachery.
The Scythians were by this time so elated by their former success, that they appointed a place of meeting with the Heruli, Peucae, and Gothi, near the river Tyra, which empties itself into the Pontus; where having built six thousand vessels, and put on board them three hundred and twenty thousand men, they sailed across the Pontus, and made an attempt on Tomes, a fortified town, but were repulsed from it. From thence they proceed to Marcianopolis, a city of Mysia, but failing there likewise in their attack on it, they took the opportunity of a favourable wind and sailed forward. . . . they passed through the Hellespont, and arrived at Mount Athos. Having there refitted and careened their vessels, they laid siege to Cassandria and Thessalonica, which they were near taking by means of machines which they raised against the walls. But hearing that the emperor was advancing with an army, they went into the interior, plundering all the neighbourhood of Doberus and Pelagonia. There they sustained a loss of three thousand men, who were met with by the Dalmatian cavalry, and with the rest of their force engaged the army of the emperor. Great numbers were slain in this battle on both sides, but the Romans, by a pretended flight, drew the Barbarians into an ambuscade and killed more than fifty thousand of them.
Egypt being thus reduecd by the Palmyrenians, the Barbarians, who survived the battle of Naissus between Claudius and the Scythians, defending themselves with their carriages which went before them, marched towards Macedon, but were so distressed by the want of necessaries, that many of them and of their beasts perished with hunger. They were met likewise by the Roman cavalry, who having killed many of them, drove the rest towards Mount Haemus; where being surrounded by the Roman army, they lost a vast number of men. But a quarrel ensuing between the Roman horse and foot soldiers, the emperor wishing the foot to engage the Barbarians, the Romans, after a smart engagement, were defeated with considerable loss, but the cavalry, coming up immediately, redeemed in some degree the miscarriage of the infantry. After this battle, the Barbarians proceeded on their march, and were pursued by the Romans. The pirates who cruized about Crete and Rhodes retired without doing any thing worthy of mention; and being attacked by the plague on their way home, some of them died in Thrace and some in Macedon. All that survived were either admitted into the Roman legions, or had lands assigned for them to cultivate and so become husbandmen. Nor was the plague confined to the Barbarians alone, but began to infest the Romans, many of whom died, and amongst the rest Claudius, a person adorned with every virtue. His death was a severe loss to his subjeets, and was consequently much regretted by them.Blindado
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1ec_2 Constantine the Great307-337
Follis
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG
Sol standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, raising right hand and holding globe in left hand, captive to left. Mintmark RQ.
RIC VII 52
According to Zonaras: Constans, in the eleventh year of his reign since he had been proclaimed Caesar, having ruled gently and mildly, came to the end of his life while residing in Britain, having, because of his goodness, bequeathed grief for himself among those he ruled, first having appointed successor the elder of his own sons, namely Constantine the Great, whom he begat by his first wife. He also had by his second wife, Herculius’ daughter Theodora, other sons, Constantinus, Hannibalianus, and Constantius. Constantine the Great was preferred over them, since they were judged by their father to be unsuited for sovereignty. . . . Constantine, when he was still a lad, was actually given by his father as a hostage to Gallerius, in order that, serving as a hostage, at the same time he be trained in the exercise of the soldierly art.
Eutropius summarizes: CONSTANTINE, being a man of great energy, bent upon effecting whatever he had settled in his mind, and aspiring to the sovereignty of the whole world, proceeded to make war on Licinius, although he had formed a connexion with him by marriage,5 for his sister Constantia was married to Licinius. And first of all be overthrew him, by a sudden attack, at Cibalae in Pannonia, where he was making vast preparations for war; and after becoming master of Dardania, Maesia, and Macedonia, took possession also of several other provinces.
There were then various contests between them, and peace made and broken. At last Licinius, defeated in a battle at Nicomedia by sea and land, surrendered himself, and, in violation of an oath taken by Constantine, was put to death, after being divested of the purple, at Thessalonica.
At this time the Roman empire fell under the sway of one emperor and three Caesars, a state of things which had never existed before; the sons of Constantine ruling over Gaul, the east, and Italy. But the pride of prosperity caused Constantine greatly to depart from his former agreeable mildness of temper. Falling first upon his own relatives, he put to death his son, an excellent man; his sister's son, a youth of amiable disposition; soon afterwards his wife, and subsequently many of his friends.
He was a man, who, in the beginning of his reign, might have been compared to the best princes; in the latter part of it, only to those of a middling character. Innumerable good qualities of mind and body were apparent in him; he was exceedingly ambitious of military glory, and had great success in his wars; a success, however, not more than proportioned to his exertions. After he had terminated the Civil war, he also overthrew the Goths on various occasions, granting them at last peace, and leaving on the minds of the barbarians a strong remembrance of his kindness. He was attached to the arts of peace and to liberal studies, and was ambitious of honourable popularity, which he, indeed, sought by every kind of liberality and obligingness. Though he was slow, from suspicion, to serve some of his friends,6 yet he was exceedingly generous towards others, neglecting no opportunity to add to their riches and honours.
He enacted many laws, some good and equitable, but most of them superfluous, and some severe. He was the first that endeavoured to raise the city named after him to such a height as to make it a rival to Rome. As he was preparing for war against the Parthians, who were then disturbing Mesopotamia, he died in the Villa Publica, at Nicomedia, in the thirty-first year of his reign, and the sixty-sixth of his age.
Zosimus described Constantine's conversion to Christianity: For he put to death his son Crispus, stiled (as I mentioned) Caesar, on suspicion of debauching his mother-in-law Fausta, without any regard to the ties of nature. And when his own mother Helena expressed much sorrow for this atrocity, lamenting the young man's death with great bitterness, Constantine under pretence of comforting her, applied a remedy worse than the disease. For causing a bath to be heated to an extraordinary degree, he shut up Fausta in it, and a short time after took her out dead. Of which his conscience accusing him, as also of violating his oath, he went to the priests to be purified from his crimes. But they told him, that there was no kind of lustration that was sufficient to clear him of such enormities. A Spaniard, named Aegyptius, very familiar with the court-ladies, being at Rome, happened to fall into converse with Constantine, and assured him, that the Christian doctrine would teach him how to cleanse himself from all his offences, and that they who received it were immediately absolved from all their sins. Constantine had no sooner heard this than he easily believed what was told him, and forsaking the rites of his country, received those which Aegyptius offered him ; and for the first instance of his impiety, suspected the truth of divination.Blindado
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1eq Valens364-378
AE 3, Siscia
Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right, D N VALENS P F AVG
Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, SECVRITAS REIPUBLICAE. Mintmark dot ASISC.
RIC 7b
Zosimus recorded: [Valentinian was an experienced military man, but] Valens was surrounded with disquietude on every side, having always lived inactively, and having been raised to the empire suddenly. He could not indeed sustain the weight of business. He was disturbed, not by the Persians only, who were elated with their prosperity, which had increased since their truce with Jovian. They made incursions on the provinces without controul, since Nisibis was in their possession, and by distressing the eastern towns, constrained the emperor to march against them. On his departure from Constantinople, the rebellion of Procopius commenced. . . .
{With Valentiniand dead,] Valens was inundated with wars on every side. . . . [Valens' advisers] persuaded him to |107 march forward with his whole army; that the Barbarians were almost destroyed, and the emperor might gain a victory without trouble. Their counsel, though the least prudent, so far prevailed, that the emperor led forth his whole army without order. The Barbarians resolutely opposed them, and gained so signal a victory, that they slew all, except a few with whom the emperor fled into an unfortified village. The Barbarians, therefore, surrounded the place with a quantity of wood, which they set on fire. All who had fled thither, together with the inhabitants, were consumed in the tlames, and in such a manner, that the body of the emperor could never be found.Blindado
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2009-Austria - CarnuntumThe only remaining monument of the military city is its amphitheatre. It was located just outside of the fortified military camp. Today, a small adjacent museum shows the history of the gladiators.berserker
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202. Caracalla; Augusta Traiana, ThraceAugusta Traiana, Thrace
Founded around 106 AD by the Emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus (98-117 AD), Augusta Traiana, "the most flamboyant city of the Traians" was the second largest city in the Roman province of Thrace during 2nd and 3rd century AD, after Philipopolis (present-day Plovdiv). It occupied an area of 38 hectares and was fortified by strong fortress walls.
Augusta Traiana had the statute of an autonomous city of the ‘polis' type (i.e. city-state). From the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) to the Emperor Galienus (253-268 AD) it had the right to mint its own bronze coins, which were in circulation all over the Balkan Peninsula.
Caracalla
Homonoia sacrificing over burning altar and holding cornucopiae.
Moushmov 3066ecoli
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408. MaxentiusMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius, more commonly known as Maxentius, was the child of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius and the Syrian Eutropia; he was born ca. 278 A.D. After Galerius' appointment to the rank of Caesar on 1 March 293, Maxentius married Galerius' daughter Valeria Maximilla, who bore him a son named Romulus and another son whose name is unknown. Due to his haughty nature and bad disposition, Maxentius could seldom agree with his father or his father-in-law; Galerius' and Maximianus Herculius' aversion to Maxentius prevented the young man from becoming a Caesar in 305. Little else is known of Maxentius' private life prior to his accession and, alth ough there is some evidence that it was spent in idleness, he did become a Senator.
On 28 October 306 Maxentius was acclaimed emperor, although he was politcally astute enough not to use the title Augustus; like the Emperor Augustus, he called himself princeps. It was not until the summer of 307 that he started usi ng the title Augustus and started offending other claimants to the imperial throne. He was enthroned by the plebs and the Praetorians. At the time of his acclamation Maxentius was at a public villa on the Via Labicana. He strengthened his position with promises of riches for those who helped him obtain his objective. He forced his father Maximianus Herculius to affirm his son's acclamation in order to give his regime a facade of legitimacy. His realm included Italy, Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica. As soon as Galerius learned about the acclamation of Herculius' son, he dispatched the Emperor Severus to quell the rebellion. With the help of his father and Severus' own troops, Maxentius' took his enemy prisoner.
When Severus died, Galerius was determined to avenge his death. In the early summer of 307 the Augustus invaded Italy; he advanced to the south and encamped at Interamna near the Tiber. His attempt to besiege the city was abortive because his army was not large enough to encompass the city's fortifications. Negotiations between Maxentius and Galerius broke down when the emperor discovered that the usurper was trying to win over his troops. Galerius' troops were open to Maxentius' promises because they were fighting a civil war between members of the same family; some of the soldiers went over to the enemy. Not trusting his own troops, Galerius withdrew. During its retreat, Galerius' army ravaged the Italian countryside as it was returning to its original base. If it was not enough that Maxentius had to deal with the havoc created by the ineffectual invasions of Severus and Galerius, he also had to deal with his father's attempts to regain the throne between 308 and 310. When Maximianus Herculius was unable to regain power by pushing his son off his throne, he attempted to win over Constantine to his cause. When this plan failed, he tried to win Diocletian over to his side at Carnuntum in October and November 308. Frustrated at every turn, Herculius returned to his son-in-law Constantine's side in Gaul where he died in 310, having been implicated in a plot against his son-in-law. Maxentius' control of the situation was weakened by the revolt of L. Domitius Alexander in 308. Although the revolt only lasted until the end of 309, it drastically cut the size of the grain supply availble for Rome. Maxentius' rule collapsed when he died on 27 October 312 in an engagement he had with the Emperor Constantine at the Milvian Bridge after the latter had invaded his realm.
Maxentius Follis. Ostia mint. IMP C MAXENTIVS P F AVG, laureate head right / AETE-RNITAS A-VGN, Castor and Pollux standing facing each other, each leaning on sceptre and holding bridled horse. ecoli
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409. Maximinus II DazaCaius Valerius Galerius Maximinus, more commonly known as Maximinus Daia or Daza, was from Illyricum and was of peasant origin. He was born 20 November perhaps in the year 270. Daia was the son of Galerius' sister and had served in the army as a scutarius, Protector, and tribunus. He had been adopted by Galerius ; his name had been Daia even before that time. He had a wife and daughter, whose names are unknown, while his son's name was Maximus. When Diocletian and Maximianus Herculius resigned their posts of emperor on 1 May 305, they were succeeded by Constantius I Chlorus and Galerius as Augusti; their new Caesars were Severus and Maximinus Daia respectively. Constantius and Severus ruled in the West, whereas Galerius and Daia served in the East. Specifically, Daia's realm included the Middle East and the southern part of Asia Minor.[[1]]
Immediately after his appointment to the rank of Caesar, he went east and spent his first several years at Caesarea in Palestine. Events of the last quarter of 306 had a profound effect on the Emperor Galerius and his Caesar Daia. When Constantius I Chlorus died in July 306, the eastern emperor was forced by the course of events to accept Constantius' son Constantine as Caesar in the West; on 28 October of the same year, Maxentius , with the apparent backing of his father Maximianus Herculius, was acclaimed princeps. Both the attempt to dislodge Maxentius by Severus, who had been appointed Augustus of the West by Galerius after the death of Constantius in late 306 or early 307, and the subsequent campaign of Galerius himself in the summer of 307 failed. Because of the escalating nature of this chain of events, a Conference was called at Carnuntum in October and November 308; Licinius was appointed Augustus in Severus's place and Daia and Constantine were denoted filii Augustorum. Daia, however, unsatisfied with this sop tossed to him by Galerius, started calling himself Augustus in the spring of 310 when he seems to have campaigned against the Persians.[[2]] Although, as Caesar, he proved to be a trusted servant of Galerius until the latter died in 311, he subsequently seized the late emperor's domains. During the early summer of that year, he met with Licinius at the Bosporus; they concluded a treaty and divided Galerius' realm between them. Several yea rs later, after the death of Daia, Licinius obtained control of his domain. Like his mentor the late emperor, Daia had engaged in persecution of the Christians in his realm.[[3]]
In the autumn of 312, while Constantine was engaged against Maxentius, Daia appears to have been campaigning against the Armenians. In any case, he was back in Syria by February 313 when he seems to have learned about the marital alliance which had been forged by Constantine and Licinius. Disturbed by this course of events and the death of Maxentius, who had been his ally, Daia left Syria and reached Bythinia, although the harsh weather had seriously weakened his army. In April 313, he crossed the Bosporus and went to Byzantium, garrisoned by Licinius' troops; when the city refused to surrender, he took it after an eleven day siege. He moved to Heraclea, which he captured after a short siege; he then moved his forces to the first posting station. With only a small contingent of men, Licinius arrived at Adrianople while Daia was besieging Heraclea. On 30 April 313 the two armies clashed on the Campus Ergenus; in the ensuing battle Daia's forces were routed. Divesting himself of the purple and dressing like a slave, Daia fled to Nicomdeia. Subsequently, Daia attempted to stop the advance of Licinius at the Cilician Gates by establishing fortifications there; Licinius' army succeeded in breaking through, and Daia fled to Tarsus where he was hard pressed on land and sea. Daia died, probably in July or August 313, and was buried near Tarsus. Subsequently, the victorious emperor put Daia's wife and children to death.
Maximinus II Daza. 309-313 AD. ? Follis. Laureate head right / Genius standing left holding cornucopiae. ecoli
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503. ConstansFlavius Julius Constans (320 - January 18, 350), was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 337 to 350. Constans was the third and youngest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, Constantine's second wife.
From 337, he was a joint ruler with his brothers Constantius II and Constantine II. Constantine II attempted to take advantage of his youth and inexperience by invading Italy in 340, but Constans defeated Constantine II at Aquileia, where the older brother died.
The writer Julius Firmicus Maternus mentioned that Constans visited Britain in the early months of 343, but did not explain why. The speed of his trip, paired with the fact he crossed the English Channel during the dangerous winter months, suggests it was in response to a military emergency of some kind.
In 350, the general Magnentius declared himself emperor with the support of the troops on the Rhine frontier, and later the entire Western portion of the Roman Empire. Constans lacked any support beyond his immediate household, and was forced to flee for his life. Magnentius' supporters cornered him in a fortification in southeastern Gaul, where he was killed.
Constans, AE3. 340-348 AD. DN CONSTANS P F AVG, diademed draped bust right / VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN, two Victories standing facing each other, each holding wreath & palm.ecoli
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516. HonoriusFlavius Honorius (September 9, 384–August 15, 423) was Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Eastern emperor Arcadius.
Honorius was declared Augustus in 393 by his father and became western emperor at the age of 10, following his father's death in January 395. For the first part of his reign he depended on the military leadership of the Vandal general Stilicho. To strengthen his bonds to the young emperor, Stilicho married his daughter Maria to him.
At first Honorius based his capital in Milan, but when the Visigoths entered Italy in 402 he moved his capital to the coastal city of Ravenna, which was protected by a ring of marshes and strong fortifications. While the new capital was easier to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces to protect central Italy from the barbarian incursions.
The most notable event of his reign was the assault and sack of Rome on August 24, 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric.
The city had been under Visigothic siege since shortly after Stilicho's deposition and execution in the summer of 408. Lacking a strong general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman Army, Honorius could do little to attack Alaric's forces directly, and apparently adopted the only strategy he could do in the situation: wait passively to Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshalling what forces he could. Unfortunately, this course of action appeared to be the product of Honorius' indecisive character and he suffered much criticism for it both from contemporaries and later historians.
Whether this plan could have worked is perhaps debatable, especially since he deprived himself of several skillful officers by only promoting Catholics to the top military positions. In any case it was overtaken by events. Stricken by starvation, somebody opened Rome's defenses to Alaric and the Goths poured in. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gallic Celts some seven centuries before. The victorious Visigoths did untold damage to the city and the shock of this event reverberated from Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired Augustine to write his magnum opus, The City of God.
The year 410 also saw Honorius reply to a British plea for assistance against local barbarian incursions. Preoccupied with the Visigoths and lacking any real capabilities to assist the distant province, Honorius told the Britons to defend themselves as best they could.
There is a story (which Gibbon disbelieved) that when he heard the news that Rome had "perished", Honorius was initially shocked; thinking the news was in reference to a favorite chicken he had named "Roma", he recalled in disbelief that the bird was just recently feeding out of his hand. It was then explained to him that the Rome in question was the city.
His reign of twenty-eight years was one of the most disastrous in the Roman annals. Honorius' supposed weakness and timidity in the face of internal dissension and the attacks of the Visigoths and Vandals is often said to have contributed to the rapid disintegration of the western half of the empire.
RIC X Antioch 153
ecoli
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7276 Nikomedes IV, Philopator, 94-74 BCSilver tetradrachm, 36.4mm, 15.51g, Nice VF
Diademed head of Nikomedes II right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ EΠIΦANOYΣ NIKOMHΔOY, Zeus standing left, crowning King's name with wreath in right, and holding sceptre in left hand. Eagle on thunderbolt inner left field, monogram and date (BIΣ =year 212 or 87/6 BC) below. Extremely rare date.
Ex: Forvm Ancient Coins; Wayne G. Sayles
Sear 7276; BMC Pontus, pg 213, 6v; SNG Cop 651v; SNG Von Aulock 266v
Note (courtesy Joe Sermarini): In 88 BC, Mithradates destroyed Nikomedes' army forcing him to flee to Italy. His throne was not restored until Rome defeated Mithradates in 84 BC Waddington, [RG], pp. 217-8, notes, "it is difficult to explain the very rare coins that bear the dates IC, AIC, BIC. These dates correspond to 89/8 to 87/6 BC...; but between mid-88 and the end of 83, the whole of Bithynia was in the hands of Mithradates Eupator. We are forced to conjecture (no text says so) that during this period several fortified places in Bithynia remained faithful to the legitimate king and continued to strike coins in his name."Lawrence W
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A121-30 - Constantino I "El Grande" (307 - 337 D.C.)AE3 Centenional 19 mm 3.0 gr.
Anv: "CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG" - Cabeza con diadema rosetada, viendo el cielo a derecha.
Rev: "CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE" - Victoria sentada a izquierda, portando hoja de palma en ambas manos, apoya su pié derecho sobre un prisionero arrodillado frente a ella. Victoria gira su cabeza a derecha para no verlo. Frente a ella un trofeo y un escudo al lado del cautivo. "CONS'" en exergo y "A" en campo izquierdo.
La serie refiere a la creación, por parte de Constantino, del complejo fortificado de Dafne en el limes danubiano.
Acuñada 328 D.C.
Ceca: Constantinopla (Off.1ra.)
Rareza: R1
Referencias: RIC Vol.VII (Constantinople) #32 Pag.574 - Cohen Vol.VII #91 Pag.238 - DVM #73 var Pag.291 - Salgado MRBI Vol.III #8275.b. Pag.169mdelvalle
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A121-31 - Constantino I "El Grande" (307 - 337 D.C.)AE3 Centenional 19 mm 3.3 gr.
Anv: "CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG" - Busto con diadema rosetada, coraza y Paludamentum (capote militar) sobre ella, viendo a derecha.
Rev: "CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE" - Victoria sentada a izquierda, portando hoja de palma en ambas manos, apoya su pié derecho sobre un prisionero arrodillado frente a ella. Victoria gira su cabeza a derecha para no verlo. Frente a ella un trofeo y un escudo al lado del cautivo. "CONS' " en exergo y "Δ" en campo izquierdo.
La serie refiere a la creación, por parte de Constantino, del complejo fortificado de Dafne en el limes danubiano.
Acuñada 328 D.C.
Ceca: Constantinopla (Off.3ra.)
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.VII (Constantinople) #35 Pag.574 - Cohen Vol.VII #92 Pag.238 - DVM #73 Pag.291 - Salgado MRBI Vol.III #8275.a. Pag.169mdelvalle
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Anonymous Didrachm / Quadrigatus **SOLD**Anonymous. Silver Didrachm (6.80g, 22.5mm), ca. 225-214 BC. Uncertain mint.
O: Laureate head of Janus (Dioscuri?), two annulets atop head.
R: ROMA incuse on solid tablet in exergue, Jupiter, hurling thunderbolt and holding scepter, in galloping quadriga right driven by Victory.
- ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachf., Crawford ?
"Silver Quadrigatus Roman coinage was fortified during the Second Punic War. In addition to gold coins, the Romans issued copper and silver coins, sometimes in enormous quantities. The principal silver coin of the war was a reduced-weight didrachm called a "quadrigatus" after its reverse design, a four-horse chariot (quadriga) bearing Victory and Jupiter. There are many varieties of quadrigati, as revealed by differences in die engraving, metal purity and production standards, not to mention subtle variations of the main design. This suggests that several mints issued quadrigati at different times, and under quite different circumstances. The double-head on the obverse usually is described as the god Janus because of its distinctive form, but the faces are of young men, and it more likely represents the Dioscuri, the gods Castor and Pollux, who were credited with saving Rome at the Battle of Lake Regillus nearly three centuries before." - David VagiNemonater
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Apameia, Phrygia3rd Century AD
Pseudo-autonomous
AE15 (15mm, 2.27g)
O: Draped and turreted bust of Tyche right; AΠA-MEIA.
R: Hekate Triformis standing facing, wearing polos and double chiton, and holding 4 torches and 2 patera; CΩTEI-PA.
SNG von Aulock 3475; SNG Cop 195-96; BMC 110-13
ex Gert Boersema
"O Nox, Mother of Mysteries, and all ye golden Astra who with Luna succeed the fires of day, and thou, divine three-formed Hecate, who knowest all my enterprises and dost fortify the arts of magic."
~ Ovid, The Metamorphoses
Enodia
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Arkadia, Heraia, ca. mid-4th Century BC, Æ DichalkonHead of Athena wearing crested Attic helmet right.
Straight sided letter H.
HGC 5, 840 (this coin); BCD Peloponnesos 1367 (this coin); BMC 27; Traité 1020.
(15 mm, 2.70 g, 1h).
ex- BCD Collection: LHS 96 Lot 1367 (8 May 2006). Found near Phigaleia (in SW Arkadia) per BCD collection tag and acquired by BCD through exchange with AR in March 1994.
Heraia was a fortified city located in western Arkadia on the border with Elis. It was situated on one of the banks of the river Alpheios upstream from Olympia. Little is known of its history. The site of the ancient city was excavated in 1931, but it remains closed to the public. Phigaleia, where this coin was found, was a fortified city, located about 50 km due south of Heraia in one of the most elevated parts of the Peloponnesos. Phigaleia fell into decay under Roman rule in the third century AD.
n.igma
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BYZANTINE, Bulgaria, Ivan Alexander and Mikhail 1331-1355Obv: Fortified Walls
Rev: Czar and Son Holding Long Cross Between Them
Moushmov Pl. LXIII, 4-12
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BYZANTINE, Manuel I, 1143 - 1180, AV Hyperpyron, Sear 1556A brave general but even more skillful diplomat and statesman. Impregnated with the idea of a universal Empire with passion for theological debate he was also perhaps the only chivalrous Emperor-Knight of Byzantine. He is a representitive of a new kind of Byzantine rulers that were influenced by the contact with the western crusaders. The customs kept in his court were not inspired by the traditional Byzantine opulence. He loved western customs and arranged jousting matches, even participating in them, an unusual and discomforting sight for the Byzantines.
Having distinguished himself in his father's war against the Seljuk Turks, he was nominated emperor in preference to his elder surviving brother. Endowed with a fine physique and great personal courage, he devoted himself whole-heartedly to a military career. He endeavoured to restore by force of arms the predominance of the Byzantine Empire in the Mediterranean countries, and so was involved in conflict with his neighbours on all sides.
Second Crusade
In 1144 he brought back Raymond of Antioch to his allegiance, and in the following year drove the Seljuk Turks out of Isauria. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France; but the numerous outbreaks of overt or secret hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which both sides were to blame, nearly precipitated a conflict between Manuel and his guests.
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Calabria, TarentumPunic occupation half shekel
Nude youth on horseback to left, crowning horse with wreath; IΩ to right, ΣΩΓENHΣ below
Taras astride dolphin to left, holding cornucopiae and Nike who crowns him with wreath; TAPAΣ below.
Calabria, Tarentum ; Punic occupation, circa 212-209 BC
AR Reduced didrachm or Half-Shekel.
2.69g chipped otherwise VF+
Vlasto 975-7; HN Italy 1079; SNG France 2065; McGill II, 120 and Cote 591-93.
Ex-ANE
Rare!
The climax of the Carthaginian invasion of Italy was reached when Tarentum changed sides in 212 BC. The takeover of the city was a carefully planned coup by Hannibal and members of the city's democratic faction who opened the gates to Hannibal's army. The Carthaginians failed to take the citadel, but subsequent fortifications around this enemy stronghold enabled the city to remain under Punic control. Hannibal installed his own magistrates and struck coinage based on the Punic half shekel standard.Jay GT4
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CALABRIA. Taras. Circa 340-335 BC. Nomos22 mm, 7.75 g, 1 h
Nude youth riding horse walking to right; before, nude youth restraining or comforting it; above, Nike flying right to crown the rider; below horse, Z.
Rev. TAPAΣ Youthful oikist, nude, riding dolphin to left, holding jug in his right hand and resting his left on the dolphin; to upper right, K.
HN Italy 892. Vlasto 527. A lovely and interesting issue. Very fine.
Leo
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Castel Sant’Angelo (Hadrian’s Tomb)ITALY, Papal (Papal State). Pius IV. 1559-1565. Cast Æ Medal (31mm, 13.04 g, 12h). After an original obverse by Gianfederico Bonzagni, and reverse by Alessandro Cesati “il Grechetto”. Cast circa 18th-19th century. · PIVS · IIII · PONTIFEX · MAX, bust right, wearing mantum / INSTAVRA TA, aerial view of the Castel Sant’Angelo (Hadrian’s Tomb) and the surrounding fortifications. CNORP III 525. Ancient Aussie
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CILICIA. Tarsus (?). Ca. late 5th century BC. AR stater (21mm, 10.74 gm, 6h). NGC AUCILICIA. Tarsus (?). Ca. late 5th century BC. AR stater (21mm, 10.74 gm, 6h). NGC AU 3/5 - 5/5, die shift. Side-view of fortified city walls with three crenelated towers, soldiers (?) on patrol between towers / Forepart of bull kneeling right, ankh to lower right. BMC -. SNG France 2 -. SNG Levante -. Casabonne -.
The attribution to Tarsus is based on the style and fabric of the flan, as well as the ankh symbol on the reverse. This symbol was clearly important to the people of Tarsus as the Great King is sometimes depicted carrying it upward by the shaft (cf. SNG France 2, 209); or displayed by itself as on the obol issue cf. SNG France 2, 207; or sometime as a device decorating the fields as on the previous lot in this sale. Another connecting theme is seen on satrapal Tarsus staters of the 4th century BC with lion and bull above crenelated city walls. Mark R1
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County of Tripoli, Raymond III (1152-87), Æ Pougeoise, (c.1173-1187)County of Tripoli, Raymond III (1152-87), Æ Pougeoise, (c.1173-1187)
O : + CIVITAS fortified gateway, five rows of masonry, five crenellations, large divided door
R : + TRIPOLIS, St. Andrew's cross pommetée, circle in center, crescent and pellet in each quarter
CCS 13Vladislav D
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County of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoiseCounty of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoise 16-17 mm
O : + CIVITAS fortified gateway, five rows of masonry, five crenellations, large divided door
R : + TRIPOLIS, St. Andrew's cross pommetée, circle in center, crescent and pellet in each quarter
County of Tripoli 'Castle' copper type 1 (var), Metcalf 525-528.Vladislav D
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County of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoiseCounty of Tripoli, Raymond III, 1152 - 1187 Bronze pougeoise 17 mm
O : + CIVITAS fortified gateway, five rows of masonry, five crenellations, large divided door
R : + TRIPOLIS, St. Andrew's cross pommetée, circle in center, crescent and pellet in each quarter
County of Tripoli 'Castle' copper type 1 (var), Metcalf 525-528.Vladislav D
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Crusaders, Frankish Greece, Principality of Achaea, William of Villehardouin, 1245 - 1278 AE denier .Crusaders, Frankish Greece, Principality of Achaea, William of Villehardouin, 1245 - 1278 AE denier .
0.683g 18.2mm Corinth mint
G. P. - AC-CA-IE, long cross, extending beyond inner circular border and dividing legend
COR-INT-VOm (clockwise from 2:00, N appearing as H, Om ligate), fortified castle, cross flanked by pellets above
CCS 3 ; Schlumberger pl. XII, 7
ex Varesi auction 42 (17 Nov 2003), lot 1563; Ex Forum . Vladislav D
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Divo 007. 1643, Prise de de Thionville.Obv. Bust right. LUDOVICUS XIIII REX CHRISTIANISSIMUS
Rev. Allegorical figure standing left, holding Victory and Nike, map of fortifications to left PRIMA FINIUM PROPAGATIO THEODONIS VILLA EXPUGNATA MDCXLIIILordBest
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Divo 222. 1688, Prise de Phillipsbourg.Obv. Bust right LUDOVICUS MAGNUS REX CHRISTIANISSIMUS
Rev. Victory standing on urn from which water flows, holding arrow, fortified city behind PROVIDENTER PHILLIPIBURGUM EXFUG MDCLXXXVIII
Commemorates the capture of the German city of Phillipsbourg by French forces.LordBest
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FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / AVGVSTI PII FIL / Ӕ As or Dupontius (156-161 A.D.)FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, hair arranged in a chignon (bun) behind the head / AVGVSTI PII FIL, Venus standing left holding Victory and leaning on shield set on a helmet, S-C across fields in the lower half
Ó”, 22.5-24+mm, 9.56g, die axis 11h
There may be a countermark across the front part of the face on obverse, but due to its location it is difficult to be sure and identify it.
AVGVSTI PII FIL(ia) = daughter of August Antoninus Pius, points out to the ruling of Fausta's father Antoninus Pius rather than her husband Marcus Aurelius. Reverse: Unlike Greek Aphrodite, in addition to her other aspects Roman Venus was also a goddess of victory, this embodied in her representation as Venus Victrix (Victorious) or Victris (of Victory), like in this case: she offers a little winged representation of victory, resting on defensive military attributes (as a female goddess, she represented passive, defensive aspects of war, active ones being the domain of male Mars). SC = [Ex] Senatus Consulto (Senatus is genitive, Consulto is ablative of Consultum) = by decree of the Senate, i. e. the authority of the Senate approved minting of this coin (necessary to justify issue of copper alloy coins for which the intrinsic value was not obvious).
Of two Ó” coins with the same legends and Venus with shield, RIC 1367 and 1389a, the first is a sestertius and its typical dimensions are characteristic of the type: 30+ mm and 20+g. This one is definitely smaller. Material seems reddish, so this one is more likely an as. Minted in Rome. Some sources give issue dates as 156-161 (the end of Faustina's father's reign), others as 145-146 (her marriage).
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor is Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September c. 130 CE, died in winter of 175 or spring of 176 CE) was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. She was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death. Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and their second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in Rome. Her great uncle, the emperor Hadrian, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry Lucius Verus. On 25 February 138, she and Verus were betrothed. Verus’ father was Hadrian’s first adopted son and his intended heir; however, when Verus’ father died, Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted son, and eventually, successor. Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal to her maternal cousin, Marcus Aurelius; Aurelius was also adopted by her father.
In April or May 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius were married, as had been planned since 138. Since Aurelius was, by adoption, Antoninus Pius' son, under Roman law he was marrying his sister; Antoninus would have had to formally release one or the other from his paternal authority (his patria potestas) for the ceremony to take place. Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but it is said to have been "noteworthy". Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as Pontifex Maximus, would have officiated. Marcus makes no apparent reference to the marriage in his surviving letters, and only sparing references to Faustina. Faustina was given the title of Augusta on 1 December 147 after the birth of her first child, Galeria Faustina (or Domitia? sources differ which of them was born in 147 and was the first child).
When Antoninus died on 7 March 161, Marcus and Lucius Verus ascended to the throne and became co-rulers. Faustina then became empress. Unfortunately, not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report. Cassius Dio and the Augustan History accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband. The Augustan History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank; however, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted.
Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of Mater Castrorum or ‘Mother of the Camp’. She attempted to make her home out of an army camp. Between 170–175, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east.
That same year, 175, Aurelius's general Avidius Cassius was proclaimed Roman emperor after the erroneous news of Marcus's death; the sources indicate Cassius was encouraged by Marcus's wife Faustina, who was concerned about her husband's failing health, believing him to be on the verge of death, and felt the need for Cassius to act as a protector in this event, since her son Commodus, aged 13, was still young. She also wanted someone who would act as a counterweight to the claims of Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, who was in a strong position to take the office of Princeps in the event of Marcus’s death. The evidence, including Marcus's own Meditations, supports the idea that Marcus was indeed quite ill, but by the time Marcus recovered, Cassius was already fully acclaimed by the Egyptian legions of II Traiana Fortis and XXII Deiotariana. "After a dream of empire lasting three months and six days", Cassius was murdered by a centurion; his head was sent to Marcus Aurelius, who refused to see it and ordered it buried. Egypt recognized Marcus as emperor again by 28 July 175.
Faustina died in the winter of 175, after a somewhat suspicious accident, at the military camp in Halala (a city in the Taurus Mountains in Cappadocia). Aurelius grieved much for his wife and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her honor. Halala’s name was changed to Faustinopolis and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls called Puellae Faustinianae or 'Girls of Faustina'. The Baths of Faustina in Miletus are named after her.
In their thirty years of marriage, Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children, of whom 6 reached adulthood and were significant in history. The best known are emperor Commodus and the closest to him sister Lucilla (both depicted in a very historically inaccurate movie "Gladiator" and, together with their parents, in a much more accurate 1st season "Reign of Blood" of the TV series "Roman Empire").Yurii P
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GREEK, Italy, Calabria, Taras. Time of Hannibal, c. 212-209 BC. Nomos3.34 gm. Magistrate Sogenes. Nude youth on horseback left, crowning horse with wreath; IΩ to right, ΣΩΓENHΣ below / Taras astride dolphin left, holding cornucopia and Nike, who crowns him with wreath. Vlasto 975-7. HN Italy 1079. Struck on a broad flan and attractively toned. Extremely Rare.
The climax of the Carthaginian invasion of Italy was reached when Tarentum changed sides in 212 BC. The takeover of the city was a carefully planned coup by Hannibal and members of the city's democratic faction who opened the gates to Hannibal's army. The Carthaginians failed to take the citadel, but subsequent fortifications around this enemy stronghold enabled the city to remain under Punic control. Hannibal installed his own magistrates and struck coinage based on the Punic half shekel standard.Leo
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GREEK, PalmyraMint-Palmyra
Obv-No legend,Draped bust of Atargatis with *Mauerkrone(mural Crown) in profile right between crescent and star
Rev- No Legend,Radiate draped bust of Sol facing,head left
Size-13mm | Weight-1.17 grams | Date-2nd/3rd Century
Munich SNG 519. Krzyzanowska, Le monnayage de Palmyre, Actes you 9e Congrès Internationally de Numismatique in 1979 à Berne (1982), 448, fig.1/IV.
*Atargatis is described as wearing a Mauerkrone-Literally mural crown, but you could also use the term turreted.The significance of this headgear is that it represents a convenant bond between Goddess and city.
In The book "Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Von den Anfängen Roms bis zum Ausgang der Republik" by Hildegard Temporini, Joseph Vogt and Wolfgang Haase the authors describe the covenant bond between The goddess Artemis and the city of Epheus as such- A technique of sculptural iconography employed to emphasize this concept of covenant between the goddess and the city was that of a mural crown and sanctuary headdress placed upon the head of Artemis. The use of these motifs in ancient artistic symbolism was frequent .In the case of Epheus,the mural crown depicted the goddess' protection of the cities fortifications and thereby it's general welfare.This is the same kind of relationship as Atargatis shared with Palmyra.
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Iran, Pasargadae (Fars province), a UNESCO World Heritage SiteA massive wall of the fortified terrace at Pasargadae called Throne of Solomon’s Mother
On a plain surrounded by gently rolling hills, about 25 mi north of Persepolis, king Kyros II (the Great) founded the first capital of the multinational Achaemenid empire in the middle of the 6th cent. BC. What is left of it are the remains of 2 royal palaces, a large fortified terrace, and the mausoleum of Kyros II (at the time of my visit heavily scaffolded and therefore unphotographed). After Kyros’ death the capital was used for a while by his successor Kambyses.
Schatz
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Israel, Gezer - six chambered gate built by SolomonThe Canaanite town was supposedly conquered by an Egyptian pharaoh and given to Solomon as a dowry for his daughter. Solomon then rebuilt and fortified the city, including this six chambered gate, dating from the 10th century. The chambers were to be packed with soldiers, so if enemies forced their way through the gate, they would be surrounded by soldiers on all sides.
posted by ZamEcgþeow
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Italy- Pompeii- Entrance PORTA MARINA AND THE CITY WALLSPORTA MARINA AND THE CITY WALLS
Similar to a bastion, facing west, together with Porta Ercolano it is the most imposing of the seven gates of Pompeii. It takes its name from the fact that its road led to the sea. It has two barrel arches (round arch opening), later combined into a single, large barrel vault in opus caementicium. The ring of the walls visible today, already present in the 6th cent. BC, is over 3200 m long: it is generally a solid ring of wall, protected on the outside by a moat and inside by an embankment, atop which runs the patrol walkway. Twelve towers to the north, where the flat ground made Pompeii most vulnerable, also ensured its defense. Pompeii's definitive entry into the Roman orbit (with the Sullan colonization: 80 BC) reduced the importance of the walls, which were occasionally reused or destroyed to make room for houses and baths.
THE CITY WALLS
Pompeii rests on a plateau of Vesuvian lava, whose walls represented a solid natural protection, just the wall to the north were more vulnerable.
The ring of walls was 3220 m. long. Seven identified gates opened in the walls, while the existence of an eighth (Porta Capua) one was uncertain.
The materials used for the walls were mostly: Sarno stone and grey Nucerian tufo. At the beginning the walls were made of Vesuvian lava or ‘pappamonte’ blocks, later made of a double parallel row, than filled with stones and ground.
During the Samnite wars were built the fortifications with the ‘ad aggere’ system, with an embankment inner the city.
During the 3rd century B.C. was probably built an inner calcareous and tufo row, with buttresses and round the top of the walls ran a patrol walkway.
The last phase of construction of the fortifications was dated about the age before Sulla’s conquest: on the more vulnerable side of the walls guard towers in opus incertum were built, with regular distance.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo SeveroThe Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumphPeter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo Severo 1The Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumph
The reign of Septimius provides an interesting example of the persecution meted out to Christians under the Roman Empire. Septimius made no new laws against Christians, but allowed the enforcement of laws already long-established. There is no evidence of systematic persecution, and there is much evidence that not only was the Emperor not personally hostile to the Christians, but he even protected them against the populace. There were doubtless Christians in his own household, and in his reign the Church at Rome had almost absolute peace. On the other hand, individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in Egypt and the Thebaid, as well as in proconsular Africa and the East. Christian martyrs were numerous in Alexandria (cf. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, ii. 20; Eusebius, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf. Tertullian's Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the Roman martyrology as the martyrs of Madaura. Probably in 202 or 203 Felicitas and Perpetua suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time under the proconsul Scapula in 211, especially in Numidia and Mauritania. Later accounts of a Gallic persecution, especially at Lyons, are legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians under Septimius Severus was the same as under the Antonines; but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the rescript of Trajan had failed to execute its purpose.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo Severo backsideThe Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumphPeter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The Mausoleum of Hadrian- Castel St.Angelo
(Hadrian's Mausoleum) -
This building has had a checkered history. Originally a dynastic tomb, it was converted into a fortress, then became a noble dwelling and finally a papal residence; between times it served as a barracks, a prison and a museum.
Hadrian (117-38 AD) built a tomb in Domizia's gardens that was to become the dynastic sepulcher of the Antonines. Work started in 123 but was only completed in 139, after's death. The Pons Aelius (the predecessor of the Ponte Sant'Angelo 239), inaugurated in 134, linked the monument to the Campo Marzio.
The Sepulchral Chamber. The present entrance (which is about 10 feet above the level of the ancient one) leads via a short corridor to a square hall. The semicircular niche hollowed out in the back wall was probably intended to contain a statue of Hadrian. On the right is a spiral ramp leading to the cella (mortuary chamber), the heart of the monument. In this square room, which was originally faced with marble, the funerary urns of Emperor Hadrian and his wife, sabina.
Sant'Angelo was Rome's most important fortified area, anyone who held it had virtually the whole town at his mercy. Consequently, its history reflected the city's turbulent internal conflicts. Between the 10th and 11th centuries it passed into the hands of the most powerful noble families before suffering a massive attack by the Roman people, who made up their minds to demolish it in 1379.
Fortifications and Modifications. Under Nicholas III the castle became papal property. Most of the alterations to the building carried out between the pontificates of Nicholas V (1447-55) and Urban VII (1623-44) had a military purpose. Access to the subterranean galleries was blocked, two towers were built at the entrance and four bastions at the corners, a moat was dug, pentagonal ramparts were erected with five small forts (today no longer standing) and, finally the Corridoio or Passetto, the fortified passageway linking St Peter's to the castle, was strengthenedPeter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The Pantheon of Marco V Agripa and HadrianPantheon
The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of the Roman state religion, but has been a Christian church since the 7th century AD. It is the only building from the Greco-Roman world which is completely intact and which has been in continuous use throughout its history.
History
The original Pantheon was built in 27 BC under the Roman Republic, during the third consulship of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and his name is inscribed on the portico of the building. The inscription reads M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this."
In fact, Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed by fire in AD 80, and the Pantheon was completely rebuilt in about AD 125, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed, with the text of the original inscription (referring to Agrippa) added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome.
Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who travelled widely in the east and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He seems to have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a sort of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names.
In AD 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who reconsecrated it as a Christian church, the Church of Mary and all the Martyr Saints (Santa Maria ad Martyres), which title it retains.
The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment and spoliation which befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early mediaeval period. The only loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although the latter have been restored several times.
During the reign of Pope Urban VIII, the Pope ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Chamber for various other works. (It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating the baldachin above the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice.[1]) This led to the Latin proverb, "Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini" ("What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis [family name of Urban VIII] did").
Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, the architect Baldassare Peruzzi and two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Vittorio Emanuele's Queen, Margharita.
Although Italy has been a republic since 1946, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organisations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage [2] is in charge of the security and maintenance. The Pantheon is still a church and Masses are still celebrated in the church, particularly for weddings.
Structure
The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (8 in the first rank and 16 in total) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), open to the sky. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same (43 metres), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43 metres in diameter). The dome is the largest surviving from antiquity, and was the largest dome in western Europe until Brunelleschi's dome of the Duomo of Florence was completed in 1436.
It may well be noted that the proportions of the building are in discord with respect to the classical ideal. Most evident is the rather large pediment, which appears far too "heavy" for the columns supporting it. The reason for this was the expectation that the building would be much taller than it actually is, which would effect larger columns. However, by the time the pediment was built, it was realised that the proposed height was unrealistic, and so the builders had to settle with a building somewhat out of proportion.
The composition of the Roman concrete used in the dome remains a mystery. An unreinforced dome in these proportions made of modern concrete would hardly stand the load of its own weight, since concrete has very low tensile strength, yet the Pantheon has stood for centuries. It is known from Roman sources that their concrete is made up of a pasty hydrate lime; pozzolanic ash from a nearby volcano; and fist-sized pieces of rock. In this, it is very similar to modern concrete. The high tensile strength appears to come from the way the concrete was applied in very small amounts and then was tamped down to remove excess water at all stages. This appears to have prevented the air bubbles that normally form in concrete as the material dries, thus increasing its strength enormously.
As the best preserved example of monumental Roman architecture, the Pantheon was enormously influential on European and American architects from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Numerous city halls, universities and public libraries echo its portico-and-dome structure. Examples of notable buildings influenced by the Pantheon include Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia, Low Library at Columbia University, New York, and the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
Peter Wissing
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Judaea; Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), HardianAelia Capitolina (Jerusalem) in Judaea.
In 130, Hadrian visited the ruins of Jerusalem, in Judaea, left after the First Roman-Jewish War of 66–73. He rebuilt the city, renaming it Aelia Capitolina after himself and Jupiter Capitolinus, the chief Roman deity. A new temple dedicated to the worship of Jupiter was built on the ruins of the old Jewish Second Temple, which had been destroyed in 70. In addition, Hadrian abolished circumcision, which was considered by Romans and Greeks as a form of bodily mutilation and hence "barbaric". These anti-Jewish policies of Hadrian triggered in Judaea a massive Jewish uprising, led by Simon bar Kokhba and Akiba ben Joseph. Following the outbreak of the revolt, Hadrian called his general Sextus Julius Severus from Britain, and troops were brought from as far as the Danube. Roman losses were very heavy, and it is believed that an entire legion, the XXII Deiotariana was destroyed. Indeed, Roman losses were so heavy that Hadrian's report to the Roman Senate omitted the customary salutation "I and the legions are well". However, Hadrian's army eventually put down the rebellion in 135, after three years of fighting. According to Cassius Dio, during the war 580,000 Jews were killed, 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed. The final battle took place in Beitar, a fortified city 10 km. southwest of Jerusalem. The city only fell after a lengthy siege, and Hadrian did not allow the Jews to bury their dead. According to the Babylonian Talmud, after the war Hadrian continued the persecution of Jews. He attempted to root out Judaism, which he saw as the cause of continuous rebellions, prohibited the Torah law, the Hebrew calendar and executed Judaic scholars (see Ten Martyrs). The sacred scroll was ceremonially burned on the Temple Mount. In an attempt to erase the memory of Judaea, he renamed the province Syria Palaestina (after the Philistines), and Jews were forbidden from entering its rededicated capital. When Jewish sources mention Hadrian it is always with the epitaph "may his bones be crushed" (שחיק עצמות), an expression never used even with respect to Vespasian or Titus who destroyed the Second Temple.
JUDAEA, Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem). Hadrian. 117-138 CE. Æ 22mm (11.03 gm, 11h). Struck 136 CE. IMP CAES TRAIANO HADRIANO AVG P P, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust / COL AEL KAPIT, COND in exergue, Hadrian, as priest-founder, plowing with team of oxen right; vexillum behind. Meshorer, Aelia 2; Hendin 810; SNG ANS -. ecoli
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L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP [VIIII?] / P M TR P V COS II P P / Septimius Severus Fortuna denarius (197 AD) L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP [VIIII?], laureate head right / P M TR P V COS II P P, Fortuna standing left, holding rudder on globe in right hand, cornucopiae in left.
AR (post 196 mint, so probably 54% purity), 17 mm, 3.48g, die axis 12h.
Both small flan and image style (bust, wreath, shape of the rudder etc.) point towards the mint of Rome rather than the Eastern one. A bit heavier than expected (the standard supposed to be 3.41g), but WildWinds reports a 3.63g denarius of this type. Unfortunately it is impossible to read the number after IMP (it can be either VIIII or X for TR P V), but based on the spacing and, perhaps, a hint of V I think it is VIIII. So this must be RIC IV 104, BMCRE 229, RSC 442 type. Two other, less probable ID possibilities: RIC 115A (Rome, IMP X) and RIC 493 (Eastern mint, Laodicea ad Mare(?) IMP VIIII).
Lucius SEPTimius SEVeverus PERTinax AVGustus IMPerator (in this case not just an imperial title, but a military one, "invested with the Nth imperial acclaim", a victorious general, the number refers to important victories when the title was renewed); Pontifex Maximus (the high priest, starting with Augustus the emperor was always the head of state religion) TRibunitia Potestas (Tribunal power, the function of the tribune of the people, originally an important republican official, was "hijacked" by Augustus when he was building the imperial structure of power and subsequently became another emperor's title, renewed every year and thus very useful for dating coins) V (5th year means 193+4=197, give or take the actual date of renewing the title), COnSul (under the Empire, the office of Consul remained of some importance and was held by the Emperor with some frequency) II (during or after the consulship of 194 and before next one in 202), Pater Patriae (Father of his Country, the title was held by most Augusti but was usually not assumed at the very beginning of the reign). Denarius was the staple of Roman monetary system from 211 BC to mid 3d century AD.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, *11 Apr 145 in Leptis Magna (Khoms, Libya) † 4 Feb 211 (aged 65) Eboracum (York, England) ‡ 14 April 193 – 4 February 211
Septimius Severus was born in the Roman province of Africa. He came from a wealthy and distinguished family of equestrian rank, had Roman ancestry on his mother's side (gens Fulvia was one of the most famous plebeian clans in Rome) and descended from Punic, and perhaps also Libyan, forebears on his father's side. Several members of his family held important imperial offices (although, strangely, not his father who seemed to have no career to speak about). He was trilingual, speaking Punic, Latin and Greek, and got some classical education, but probably less than he wanted to. At 17 he was helped by his influential relatives to relocate to Rome, to be presented to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and start his political career. With some difficulty he started to advance through the cursus honorum, holding a variety of offices. His career was helped by the Antonine Plague of 166, Septimius avoided it by returning to Leptis Magna for a while, and when he was back in Rome he found his competition conveniently thinned out. Despite him going through an impressive number of offices in a very short time there is very little record of his actual accomplishments in 170s and 180s.
In 191 Severus was appointed governor of Pannonia Superior (one of the provinces on Danube frontier) by Emperor Commodus (on advice from one of Septimius' friends). When the hell was unleashed by the assassination of Commodus on 31 December 192 and 193, , the infamous Year of the Five Emperors started, as a general in charge of significant army Severus was able to fight for the highest office. While he moved on Rome, Pertinax, the first Emperor of 193, was killed by the Praetorian Guard, and the next one, Didius Julianus, who famously bought the emperorship at an auction, was condemned by the Senate and executed, so Septimius entered Rome virtually unopposed. He then wisely appeased the powerful governor of Britannia, Clodius Albinus, who was also proclaimed the Emperor, by offering him the title of Caesar, which implied some degree of co-ruling and a chance to succession (Albinus did not give up that easy, reasserting his claim in three years, but then he was easily dealt with at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul). Afterwards he had to fight off the final pretender, Pescennius Niger, the former governor of Syria, who was proclaimed the Emperor by the eastern legions. Losing no time, Severus sent a considerable vanguard force to the East and, later, joined in with additional armies. In a series of battles in 193-195 Niger and his supporters were defeated. The last to surrender was Byzantium, which held even after the head of Niger was sent there. It is interesting to note that during this campaign Septimius visited the tomb of his famous fellow countryman, Hannibal Barca in Libyssa (Gebze, Turkey) and ordered to cover it with fine marble. Severus also took an opportunity to wage a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province.
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. He then enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202 he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes; capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 208 he travelled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In the same year he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland), but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210, dying in early 211 at Eboracum (York, England), and was succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta, thus founding the Severan dynasty. It was the last dynasty of the Roman empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.
In the context of this coin it is interesting to note, that, due to huge military expenses, upon his accession Severus decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 81.5% to 78.5%, although the silver weight actually increased, rising from 2.40 grams to 2.46 grams. Nevertheless, the following year he debased the denarius again because of rising military expenditures. The silver purity decreased from 78.5% to 64.5% – the silver weight dropping from 2.46 grams to 1.98 grams. In 196 he reduced the purity and silver weight of the denarius again, to 54% and 1.82 grams respectively [corresponds to this issue]. Severus' currency debasement was the largest since the reign of Nero.Yurii P
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Macedonia, AmphipolisAmphipolis was an ancient city of Macedonia, on the east bank of the river Strymon, where it emerges from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the sea.
Originally a Thracian town, known as Ennea Odoi ("Nine Roads"), it was colonized by Athenians with other Greeks under Hagnon in 437 BC, previous attempts--in 497, 476 (Schol. Aesch. De fals. leg. 31) and 465--having been unsuccessful.
In 424 BC it surrendered to the Spartan Brasidas without resistance, owing to the gross negligence of the historian Thucydides, who was with the fleet at Thasos. In 422 BC Cleon led an unsuccessful expedition to recover it, in which both he and Brasidas were slain (see Battle of Amphipolis).
The importance of Amphipolis in ancient times was due to the fact that it commanded the bridge over the Strymon, and consequently the route from northern Greece to the Hellespont; it was important also as a depot for the gold and silver mines of the district, and for timber, which was largely used in shipbuilding. This importance is shown by the fact that, in the peace of Nicias (421 BC), its restoration to Athens is made the subject of a special provision, and that about 417, this provision not having been observed, at least one expedition was made by Nicias with a view to its recovery.
Philip of Macedon made a special point of occupying it (357), and under the early empire it became the headquarters of the Roman propraetor, though it was recognized as independent. Many inscriptions, coins, etc., have been found here, and traces of the ancient fortifications and of a Roman aqueduct are visible.
Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Silver Tetradrachm, Price-113, struck 323-320BC at Amphipolis, 17.12 grams, 25.3 mm. Choice VF
Obv: Head of Herakles wearing lion skin headdress
Rev: Zeus enthroned with sceptre and eagle, parallel legs, Macedonian helmet in left field
Well centered and struck with a full EF reverse. Attractive lifetime issue of Alexander III 'The Great'. G5
ecoli
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Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II, 359 - 336 B.C., Lifetime IssueSilver tetradrachm, Le Rider 233 (D130/R188); SNG ANS 385 ff., VF, Pella, 14.163g, 25.4mm, 225o, 342 - 336 B.C.; obverse laureate head of Zeus right; reverse "FILIPPOU", naked youth on horse pacing right on horseback holding palm, thunderbolt below; ex CNG 214, 82; very high relief sculptural portrait, nice style, lifetime issue. Ex FORVM.
Philip II expanded the size and influence of the Macedonian Kingdom, but is perhaps best known as the father of Alexander the Great. He personally selected the design of his coins.
Philip II of Macedon (382 BC–336 BC; in Greek Φίλιππος = φίλος (friend) + ίππος (horse), transliterated Philippos) was the King of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination. He was the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip III Arrhidaeus, and possibly Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Born in Pella, Philip was the youngest son of King Amyntas III and Eurydice. In his youth, (ca. 368 BC–365 BC) Philip was a hostage in Thebes, which was the leading city of Greece during the Theban hegemony. While a captive there, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, was involved in a pederastic relationship with Pelopidas and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedonia. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the kingdom for himself that same year.
Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. The hill tribes were broken by a single battle in 358 BC, and Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid. He used the Social War as an opportunity for expansion. In 357 BC, he took the Athenian colony of Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion. That same year Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. In 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian sea-board. Also in 356 Alexander was born and his race horse won in the Olympics in He took Methone in 354 BC, a town which had belonged to Athens. During the siege of Methone, Philip lost an eye.
Not until his armies were opposed by Athens at Thermopylae in 352 BC did Philip face any serious resistance. Philip did not attempt to advance into central Greece because the Athenians had occupied Thermopylae. Also in 352 BC, the Macedonian army won a complete victory over the Phocians at the Battle of Crocus Field. This battle made Philip tagus of Thessaly, and he claimed as his own Magnesia, with the important harbour of Pagasae.
Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip's gold created in Euboea. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the subjugation of the Balkan hill-country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the coast as far as the Hebrus (Maritza). For the chief of these coastal cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.
In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus. Olynthus at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to Athens. The Athenians did nothing to help Olynthus. Philip finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the ground. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the war between Thebes and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently.
Macedonia and the regions adjoining it having now been securely consolidated, Philip celebrated his Olympic games at Dium. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts about the Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the Thracian prince Cersobleptes. Meanwhile, Athens had made overtures for peace, and when Philip, in 346 BC, again moved south, peace was sworn in Thessaly. With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip turned to Sparta; he sent them a message, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." Their reply was "If." Philip and Alexander would both leave them alone. Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the Adriatic Sea. In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the Scythians, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement Eumolpia to give it his name, Philippoupolis (modern Plovdiv).
In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of Perinthus. Philip began another siege in 339 BC of the city of Byzantium. After unsuccessful sieges of both cities, Philip's influence all over Greece was compromised. However, Philip successfully reasserted his authority in the Aegean by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. He erected a memorial of a marble lion to the Sacred Band of Thebes for their bravery that still stands today. Philip created and led the League of Corinth in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war against each other, unless it was to suppress revolution. Philip was elected as leader (hegemon) of the army of invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336 BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by his son Alexander the Great.
Philip’s Assassination
The murder happened in October of 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The court had gathered there for the celebration of the marriage between Alexander of Epirus and Philip's daughter. While the king was entering unprotected into the town's theatre (highlighting his approachability to the Greek diplomats present), he was killed by Pausanias of Orestis, one of Philip's seven bodyguards. The assassin immediately tried to escape and reach his associates who were waiting for him with horses at the entrance of Aegae. He was pursued by three of Philip's bodyguards and died by their hands.
The reasons for Pausanias' assassination of Phillip are difficult to fully expound, since there was controversy already among ancient historians. The only contemporary account in our possession is that of Aristotle, who states rather tersely that Philip was killed because Pausanias had been offended by the followers of Attalus, the king's father-in-law.
Whatever else that may be written about Philip II it must be recognized that he was responsible for making Macedon the ascendant Greek power. He reorganized the Macedonian army. It was this army that Alexander the Great inherited. Phillip II trained some of Alexander’s best generals: Antigonus Cyclops, Antipater, Nearchus, Parmenion, and Perdiccas.
According to the Greek historian Theopompus of Chios, Europe had never seen a man like king Philip of Macedonia, and he called his history of the mid-fourth century BCE the Philippic History. Theopompus had a point. Not even his better known son Alexander has done so much to change the course of Greek history. Philip reorganized his kingdom, gave it access to the sea, expanded its power so that it could defeat the Achaemenid Empire, and subdued the Greek city-states, which never regained their independence again. To achieve this, he modernized the Macedonian economy, improved the army, and concluded several marital alliances. The result was a superpower with one weakness: it was as strong as its king. When Philip's son Alexander died, the institutions were too weak, and Macedonia never recovered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon
http://www.livius.org/phi-php/philip/philip_ii.htm
Ed. by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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MAFJa1 SeparationFaustina II
As
Draped bust, left, FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL
Juno seated left holding the three graces and scepter, peacock at feet, IVNO SC
The reverse is RIC 1400, for which only right-facing busts are listed.
Faustina was to spend years apart from her husband and probably traumatized as a mother shortly before his departure. The Historia Augusta records, "When about the set off for the German war. . . [Marcus] gave his daughter [Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina] to [Gnaeus] Claudius [Severus, a Roman Senator from Pompeiopolis], a [man] of advanced age, son of a Roman knight and not of sufficiently noble family (subsequently [Marcus] made him Consul twice)--since his daughter was an Augusta and the daughter of an Augusta. But both Faustina and the girl who was being given in marriage regarded this wedding with reluctance. . . . Just before the day of his actual departure, [Marcus] lost his seven-year-old son, Verus Caesar by name, after an operation on a tumor under the ear. He mourned him for no more than five days, and after comforting the doctors returned to the affairs of state." How long, one wonders, did Faustina mourn?
According to the Historia Augusta, which at many points tends toward salacious gossip, "it is reasonably well known that Faustina chose both sailors and gladiators as paramours for herself at Caieta [where the couple spent several years after their marriage]. When Marcus was told about her, so that he might divorce her--if not execute her--he is reported to have said, "If we send our wife away, we must give back her dowry, too--and what dowry did he have but the empire. . . ?" During the German war, the text alleges, Faustina took pantomimists as lovers.
Whether or not the rumors had any basis in fact, Marcus thought highly of his wife and family situation. In his first meditation, he thanks the gods that "I have such a wife, so obedient, and so affectionate, and so simple; that I had abundance of good masters for my children." Perhaps the word from the horse's mouth is a better source than a history written more than a century later.
At some point, Marcus apparently saw the light, and Faustina joined him at the frontier. The Historia Augusta relates, "He had her with him even in the campaigning season, and [after her death] for this reason he gave her the title 'Mother of the Camp.'"Blindado
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Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG XIANT AVG III VIR R P C
galley r. mast with banners at prow
Rev LEG XI legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint 32-31BC
ex-Arcade Coins
An Antonian legion which was disbanded or lost its separate identity after the battle of Actium.
The two centurions Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus were from Legio XI (not XIII as the series Rome would have us believe). Pullo and Vorenus were fierce rivals for promotion to primus pilus, the most senior centurion in a legion. Both distinguished themselves in 54 BC when the Nervii attacked the legion under Quintus Cicero in their winter quarters in Nervian territory. In an effort to outdo Vorenus, Pullo charged out of the fortified camp and attacked the enemy, but was soon wounded and surrounded. Vorenus followed and engaged his attackers in hand-to-hand combat, killing one and driving the rest back, but lost his footing and was himself soon surrounded. Pullo in turn rescued Vorenus, and after killing several of the enemy, the pair returned to camp amid applause from their comrades.
In the Civil War of 49 BC, Pullo was assigned to the XXIV Victrix Rapax, a new Italian legion commanded by the legate Gaius Antonius. In 48 BC, Antonius was blockaded on an island and forced to surrender. Pullo was apparently responsible for most of his soldiers switching sides to fight for Pompey. Later that year, he is recorded bravely defending Pompey's camp in Greece from Caesar's attack shortly before the Battle of Pharsalus.
Jay GT4
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MEDIEVAL, Austria, Friesach, AR PfennigFriesach is a town in the north of Carinthia, Austria. It is the oldest town in Carinthia and is well-known for its still well-preserved medieval buildings, such as the city fortification and the water-bearing city moat.
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PergamonThe oldest section of Pergamon, the acropolis or upper city, sits on an impressive steep ridge between two tributaries of the Caicus river. The ridge is naturally fortified on all but the S side which slopes down to the Caicus valley floor. The Caicus valley provides access from Pergamon to the Aegean coast and the port town of Elaea in the W and the Persian Royal Road to the E.
The upper city, which was fortified in the 4th or 3rd century B.C. contains the 3rd century Sanctuary of Athena, the oldest cult center of the city as well as palace quarters, barracks, and arsenals. In the 2nd century B.C. the 10,000 seat theater, the library adjacent to the Sanctuary of Athena, and the Great Altar of Zeus and Athena were added. In the 2nd century A.D. the monumental Trajaneum was erected on what must have been an earlier unknown cult center. From the upper agora a paved main street leads S and downslope to the middle city.
The city of Pergamon began to extend down the S slope in the 3rd century B.C. and during the 2nd century a massive building program completely transformed the entire lower slope. The major construction in the area was the gigantic gymnasium complex which extended down three large terraces linked by vaulted stairways and passages. The complex encorporated three open training courts, a covered track or xystus, a small theater or odeum, several shrines, and two large baths. Other major sections of the middle city included the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore and, below the gymnasium along the main street leading to the Eumenes' Gate, the lower agora. North and E of the gymnasium massive terraces support the streets and houses of the residential quarter. In the first half of the 2nd century B.C. Eumenes II strengthened the entire fortification system of Pergamon and enclosed all of the middle city, which extended almost to the base of the south slope, within the new walls.
During the Roman Imperial period the city continued to expand southward and spread over the plain and the area occuppied by modern Bergama. The large Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods (the "Kizil Avlu"), numerous bridges, and remains of the Roman stadium, theater, and amphitheater remain visible today.
Pergamon emerged as a power during the struggle for territorial control following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. By the middle of the 3rd century Pergamon had been established as an independent state under the leadership of the Attalid dynasty. The power of the Attalids and the city grew as a result of successful battles against the Gauls of central Anatolia and careful political alliances with Rome.
The peak period of Pergamene power and achievement was reached during the reign of Eumenes II (197-159 B.C.). The kingdom had grown to include most of western Anatolia and was rich in agriculture and industry. Noted industrial exports included textiles, fine pottery, and "Pergamene paper" or parchment. The last industry developed when Ptolemy, reportedly jealous of the growing fame of the library in Pergamon, prohibited the export of papyrus from Egypt. Eumenes II enlarged the city of Pergamon to include all of the southern slope and enclosed the city with a new and stronger fortification wall. In addition to the major new constructions in the lower city Eumenes also commissioned the Great Altar of Zeus and Athena, the theater, and the new library in the upper city.
In the 2nd century B.C. Pergamon rivalled Athens and Alexandria as centers of Hellenic culture. The city possessed one of the greatest libraries of antiquity, monumental gymnasia, and numerous religious sanctuaries, including the Asklepion outside the city walls. Pergamon was a haven for noted philosophers and artists and was the center of a major movement in Hellenistic sculpture. The Attalids supported the arts and learning in Pergamon and elsewhere and made major donations, such as the Stoa of Attalos II in Athens.
The last Attalid ruler, Attalos III, bequeathed the kingdom of Pergamon to Rome in 133 B.C. During Roman rule the prosperity of Pergamon continued and the city had a period of commercial expansion. The city itself expanded to the plain S and W of the acropolis across the flat land now occuppied by modern Bergama.
See: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/siteindex?lookup=Pergamon
Cleisthenes
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Phoenicia, Arados. Uncertain king. Circa 420-350 BC.AR Shekel
18.5 mm, 10.45 g
Obverse: Laureate head of Ba'al-Arwad? right, with frontal eye
Reverse: Galley right above waves with row of shields along the bulwark; M A (in Aramaic) above;
E&E-A Group III.1.1; HGC 10, 28.
Settled in the 2nd millennium BC by the Phoenicians, Arados (Greek name) was located three kilometers off the Syrian shore between Lattaquie and Tripolis. Under Phoenician control, it became an independent kingdom called Arvad or Jazirat (the latter term meaning "island"). The island was a barren rock covered with fortifications and houses several stories in height. Just 800m long by 500m wide, it was surrounded by a massive wall with an artificial harbor constructed on the east toward the mainland.
Like most of the Phoenician cities on this coast, it developed into a trading city. Arados had a powerful navy, and its ships are mentioned in the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. In ancient times, it was in turn subject to the Egyptians, Assyrians, and then Persians (539 BC). But local dynasts were maintained until Straton, son of Gerostratos, king of Arados, submitted to Alexander the Great in 333 B.C.
The earliest coins of Arados (430-410 BC) depict a marine deity, human to the waist, bearded with plaited hair, with the lower body of a fish. Scholars aren't sure exactly who this deity is. Some believe the merman is Dagôn, associated with being the god of grain in the middle Euphrates and old Babylonia. Another option is Yamm (Yam), an ancient god from the semitic word meaning sea. He was worshipped by the semitic religions including Phoenicia and the Canaanites. Today, Elavi and Elayi's (2005) identification of the deity as Ba’al Arwad - a local manifestation of the ubiquitous Semitic god of weather and fertility - seems to be the most commonly accepted interpretation. In later Aradian coinage (like the example above) a Hellenized depiction of the deity’s head replaces the half-man, half-fish figure.
Most Aradian coins bear the same two Phoenician letters mem (M) and aleph (A or ´). In addition, during the first half of the fourth century (until 333 BC), the inscription M A was followed by a letter, some eight or nine in total. The most logical option is that this third letter represents different Aradian kings. This, plus parallels with contemporary Salaminian coinage, suggests that M A stands for “King” of Arwad rather than “Kingdom” (the more common interpretation). Because the coin above lacks a third letter designating a specific king, it’s most likely an earlier example. On the other hand, the more Hellenized portrait argues for a later date.Nathan P
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Phokis, Federal Coinage, 354-352 BC, AR Triobol - struck under OnymarchosFrontal bull's head.
Laureate head of Apollo right, lyre behind, Φ – Ω below.
BCD Lokris/Phokis 295.2 (this coin); Williams - (O-/R216).
(14 mm, 2.75 g, 11h).
ex- BCD Collection: NAC 55 (8 October 2010) Lot 295.2.
The district of Phokis was centered on the ancient city of Delphi and its sacred precinct. This coin was struck from the silver appropriated from the Delphic Apollo Temple treasury by the Phokians during the Third Sacred War (356-346 BC). The sacred precinct at Delphi was seized by the Phokians and fortified at the start of the war. It is probable Onymarchos, the Phokian strategos of the time, struck this coinage within the sacred precinct and used it to pay for the ongoing war effort. Coins of this type are relatively rare despite the massive minting to fund the war effort. This results from to the fact that at war’s end the Lokrians collected all the Phokian coinage then in circulation and melted it down to make a massive silver hydria which was dedicated to Apollo at Delphi.n.igma
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Roman Empire, Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), AE-Follis, RIC VI 224, Siscia, FORTI FORT(I)NAE, legend error FORTVNAE!!!,Fortuna standing left by wheel,122 Galerius Maximianus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-311 A.D. Augustus), AE-Follis, RIC VI 224, Siscia, FORTI FORT(I)NAE, legend error FORTVNAE!!!,Fortuna standing left by wheel,
avers:- DIVO-GAL-VAL-MAXIMIANO, Veiled head right.
revers:- FORTI-FOR-T(I)NAE, legend error FOR-TVNAE!!!, Fortuna standing left by wheel, right holding rudder on globe, left cornucopiae.
exergo: -/B/μ//SIS, diameter: 24-26mm, weight: 4,68g, axis: 6h,
mint: Siscia, date: 312 A.D., ref: RIC-VI-224, p-483,
Q-001quadrans
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Roman Empire, GALERIUS. Commemorative AE Follis of Siscia. Struck A.D.312 under LiciniusObverse: DIVO GAL VAL MAXIMIANO. Veiled head of Galerius facing right.
Reverse: FORTI FORTVNAE. Fortuna standing facing left holding rudder on globe and cornucopiae, wheel with cubit rule leaning against it (the attributes of Nemesis), behind at her feet; in right field, star on crescent over B; in exergue, SIS.
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 4.75gms | Die Axis: 12
RIC VI : 226
RARE*Alex
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ROMAN REPUBLIC, Man. Aquillius ,AR serrate Denarius
c.71/65 BC
Crawford 401/1. RSC Aquillia 2.
Obv.: Draped bust of Virtus right, wearing crested Montefortino helmet, ornamented at the side with feather.
Rev.: Mn. Aquillius standing left, head right, supporting kneeling female figure of Sicilia; SICIL in exergue. Richard M10
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Scotland, Falkirk, Section of the Antonine WallThe Antonine Wall was built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 63 kilometres (39 miles) and was about 3 metres (10 feet) high and 5 metres (16 feet) wide.
Construction began in AD 142 at the order of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and took about 12 years to complete.
Most of the wall and its associated fortifications have been destroyed over time, but some remains are still visible. Many of these have come under the care of Historic Scotland and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. *Alex
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Sergia 1Sergia 1 (116/5BC) moneyer M. Sergi Silus
Denarius
Ob: helmeted head of Roma right behind ROMA * in front [EX S ∙ C ∙ ]
Rev: Horseman left holding sword and severed head, before Q (under horse), below
M ∙ SERGI in exergue SILVS
BMCRR II 512
Sydenham 544 (109BC)
Crawford 286/1
Northumberland: Tablet XIV 24
“M. Sergius Silus was urban praetor about B.C. 107; and being the great grandson of the brave Sergius who fought against Hannibal, he here represents his illustrious relative with the glaive in his sinister hand, because he had lost the right one in battle. Eckhel thinks it probable that this device is taken from an equestrian statue erected to the intrepid soldier, who was acknowledged as the representative of valour and fortitude.”
The Sergii boasted their descent from Segestus the Trojan, and they furnished the state with a consul as early as B.C. 437; while Virgil countenances their antiquity in the Aeneid, V 121.”
Sergestusque, domus tenet a quo Sergia nomen,
Centaro invehitur magna,…
And Sergestus, from whom the house held the Sergia name,
He rode in on a great centaur (navis) JPW
Crawford: Not the father of Catilina but a member of a collateral branch of the family.
Reverse depicts the exploits of the moneyer’s grandfather, who was praetor in 197 BC and in his youth fought left-handed after losing his right hand in battle.
(Pliny NH vii 104-6)
Nice old dark toning
rennrad12020
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SIDON, PHOENICIASIDON, PHOENICIA AR silver 1/16th shekel. Late 5th to early 4th century BC. Galley with oars, rudder and row of shields to left in front of city’s fortifications with three towers. Reverse - Archer standing right drawing bow. SNG COP. 193. 8mm, 0.7gAncient Aussie
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Struck A.D.312 under Licinius I. DIVUS GALERIUS. Commemorative AE Follis of SisciaObverse: DIVO GAL VAL MAXIMIANO. Veiled head of Galerius facing right.
Reverse: FORTI FORTVNAE. Fortuna standing facing left holding rudder on globe and cornucopiae, wheel with cubit rule leaning against it (the attributes of Nemesis) behind at her feet; in right field, star on crescent over B; in exergue, SIS.
Diameter: 23mm | Weight: 4.75gms | Die Axis: 12
RIC VI : 226
Ex. FORVM (USA)
RARE*Alex
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Syria, The Great Colonnade at ApameaApamea, on the right bank of the Orontes River, was a treasure city and stud-depot of the Seleucid kings, and was the capital of Apamene. Its site is found about 55 km (34 mi) to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley.
Previously known as Pharmake, it was fortified and enlarged by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 B.C., who so named it after his Bactrian wife, Apama. The fortress was placed upon a hill; the windings of the Orontes, with the lake and marshes, gave it a peninsular form. Seleucus had his commissariat there, 500 elephants, with 30,000 mares, and 300 stallions. The pretender, Diodotus Tryphon, made Apamea the basis of his operations.
Josephus relates, that Pompey marching south from his winter quarters, probably at or near Antioch, razed the fortress of Apamea in 64 B.C. and the city was annexed to the Roman Republic. In the revolt of Syria under Q. Caecilius Bassus, it held out against Julius Caesar for three years till the arrival of Cassius, 46 B.C.
Located at a strategic crossroads for Eastern commerce, the city flourished to the extent that its population eventually numbered half a million. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis. The city boasted one of the largest theaters in the Roman world, and a monumental colonnade.
On the outbreak of the Jewish War, the inhabitants of Apamea spared the Jews who lived in their midst, and would not suffer them to be murdered or led into captivity.
Destroyed by Chosroes I in the 6th century, it was partially rebuilt and known in Arabic as Famia, and destroyed by an earthquake in 1152. In the Crusades it was still a flourishing and important place and was occupied by Tancred.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apamea,_Syria
The ancient city has been damaged as a result of the ongoing civil war in Syria.
Joe Sermarini
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Taras Time of Hannibal half-shekel CALABRIA. Taras. Time of Hannibal (ca. 212-209 BC). AR half-shekel (3.34 gm).
Magistrate Sogenes. Nude youth on horseback left, crowning horse with wreath; IΩ to right, ΣΩΓENHΣ below / Taras astride dolphin left, holding cornucopia and Nike, who crowns him with wreath. Vlasto 975-7. HN Italy 1079. Struck on a broad flan and attractively toned. Extremely Rare.
The climax of the Carthaginian invasion of Italy was reached when Tarentum changed sides in 212 BC. The takeover of the city was a carefully planned coup by Hannibal and members of the city's democratic faction who opened the gates to Hannibal's army. The Carthaginians failed to take the citadel, but subsequent fortifications around this enemy stronghold enabled the city to remain under Punic control. Hannibal installed his own magistrates and struck coinage based on the Punic half shekel standard.Leo
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Thrace, Anchialus; CommodusThrace: Anchialus, Æ 33mm,
Laureate and draped bust of Commodus, facing right. / Commodus on horseback.
Moushmov 2799.
Anchialos (Pomorie, Bulgaria today) was possibly founded in the 5th or 4th century B.C. as a colony of Apollonia. It is mentioned in Strabo's Geographica as a small town. It was briefly captured by Messembria in the 2nd century B.C., but retaken by Apollonia and its fortified walls destroyed. The western Black Sea coast was conquered by the Romans under Marcus Licinius Crassus in 29 - 28 B.C. after continuous campaigns in the area since 72 - 71. The city became part of the Roman province of Thrace and was formally proclaimed a city under Trajan. Anchialos prospered as the most important import and export location in Thrace during the 2nd and 3rd centuries and acquired the appearance of a Roman city during the Severan Dynasty.ecoli
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Thrace, MesembriaThrace, Mesembria.
Originally a Thracian settlement, known as Menebria, the town became a Greek colony when settled by Dorians from Megara at the beginning of the 6th century BC, and was an important trading centre from then on and a rival of Apollonia (Sozopol). It remained the only Dorian colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionian colonies. At 425-424 BC the town joined the Delian League, under the leadership of Athens. Remains from the Hellenistic period include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, and an agora. A wall which formed part of the fortifications can still be seen on the north side of the peninsula. Bronze and silver coins were minted in the city since the 5th century BC and gold coins since the 3rd century BC. The town fell under Roman rule in 71 BC, yet continued to enjoy privileges such as the right to mint its own coinage.
GR4 Circa Fourth Century BC. AR Diobol (1.18 gm) 11.25 mm. Crested helmet / Radiate wheel of four spokes; M-E-T-A within. SNG BM Black Sea 268. Very fine. ecoli
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Trajan, RIC 569, Sestertius of AD 107-110 (bridge)Æ Sestertius (22,96g, Ø33mm, 6h). Rome, AD 107-110.
Obv.: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate bust 3/4 frontal right, Paludament left shoulder.
Rev.: SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI around, S C below, Single-span bridge with fortified towers with stairs and statues on top at each end; below a boat.
RIC 569 (C); BMC 489 (var.: bust type); Cohen 542 (8 fr.); Strack 385 (var.: bust type)); MIR 314 (unlisted bust type x); Banti 261 (25 spec. (var.: bust type)); RCV 3207; RHC 100/21; Hill (The monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types) 201.
Ex cgb, August 2015.Charles S
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Turkey, Istanbul (Constantinople) The Land WallThe Land Wall of Theodosius stretches for 6.5 km from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Marmara. The first phase (a single wall with towers) was complete by 413; after a major earthquake in 447 the Wall was rebuilt and strengthened (a second outer screen and a moat were added), just in time to discourage Attila the Hun from attacking the city. The fortifications included 96 guard towers, each 18-20 m in height and spaced roughly 55 m apart. The Land Wall remained a formidable defensive barrier until the advent of artillery in the 15th century. Even in ruins, and with vegetables growing in the moat, it's still an impressive sight today. Abu Galyon
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Turkey, Metropolis, Ionia from the EastMetropolis was on the road between Smyrna and Ephesus. Neolithic, Hittite, Mycenaean, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods are represented at the site. Metropolis was a part of the Kingdom of Pergamum during the Hellenistic period, the time when the city reached a zenith of cultural and economic life. Metropolis had a temple dedicated to Ares, one of only two known dedicated to the war god. Strabo wrote that the district produced excellent wine. The ruins are of a Hellenistic city heavily Romanized, with Byzantine remains laid across it – a church to the east of the city, and fortification walls laid across city that connect to the Hellenistic defenses on the Acropolis. Excavations began in 1989. A Hellenistic marble seat of honor with griffins was found in the Ancient Theater. The original seat is in the Ä°zmir Archeological Museum and a replica has been placed at the site.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(Anatolia)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metropolis_from_the_east.jpg
By David Hill (DiaboloDave), 2003.
Released to the public domain.
Joe Sermarini
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Turkey, Metropolis, Ionia, the Roman TheaterMetropolis was on the road between Smyrna and Ephesus. Neolithic, Hittite, Mycenaean, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods are represented at the site. Metropolis was a part of the Kingdom of Pergamum during the Hellenistic period, the time when the city reached a zenith of cultural and economic life. Metropolis had a temple dedicated to Ares, one of only two known dedicated to the war god. Strabo wrote that the district produced excellent wine. The ruins are of a Hellenistic city heavily Romanized, with Byzantine remains laid across it – a church to the east of the city, and fortification walls laid across city that connect to the Hellenistic defenses on the Acropolis. Excavations began in 1989. A Hellenistic marble seat of honor with griffins was found in the Ancient Theater. The original seat is in the Ä°zmir Archeological Museum and a replica has been placed at the site.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(Anatolia)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amph_theatre_Metropolis.JPG
By David Hill (DiaboloDave), 2007.
Released to the public domain.Joe Sermarini
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WILLIAM OF VILLEHARDOUIN (1245 - 1278) ReverseReverse: COR-INT-VOm (N appearing as H, Om ligate), fortified castle, surmounted by a cross flanked by pellets abovejimbomar
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[103b] Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II, 359 - 336 B.C.Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II, 359 - 336 B.C. Bronze AE 21, Heavy or Double Unit, SNG ANS 833, aVF, 8.40g, 21.2mm, 0o, lifetime issue. Obverse: head Apollo right, wearing tania; Reverse: FILIPPOU, young male rider right, right hand raised, E right.
Ex FORVM.
Philip II expanded the size and influence of the Macedonian Kingdom, but is perhaps best known as the father of Alexander the Great. He personally selected the design of his coins.
Struck in commemoration of Philip's Olympic victory. This is one of his earliest issues in bronze.
Philip II of Macedon (382 BC–336 BC; in Greek Φίλιππος = φίλος (friend) + ίππος (horse), transliterated Philippos) was the King of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination. He was the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip III Arrhidaeus, and possibly Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Born in Pella, Philip was the youngest son of King Amyntas III and Eurydice. In his youth, (ca. 368 BC–365 BC) Philip was a hostage in Thebes, which was the leading city of Greece during the Theban hegemony. While a captive there, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, was involved in a pederastic relationship with Pelopidas and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedonia. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the kingdom for himself that same year.
Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. The hill tribes were broken by a single battle in 358 BC, and Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid. He used the Social War as an opportunity for expansion. In 357 BC, he took the Athenian colony of Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion. That same year Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. In 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian sea-board. Also in 356 Alexander was born and his race horse won in the Olympics in He took Methone in 354 BC, a town which had belonged to Athens. During the siege of Methone, Philip lost an eye.
Not until his armies were opposed by Athens at Thermopylae in 352 BC did Philip face any serious resistance. Philip did not attempt to advance into central Greece because the Athenians had occupied Thermopylae. Also in 352 BC, the Macedonian army won a complete victory over the Phocians at the Battle of Crocus Field. This battle made Philip tagus of Thessaly, and he claimed as his own Magnesia, with the important harbour of Pagasae.
Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip's gold created in Euboea. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the subjugation of the Balkan hill-country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the coast as far as the Hebrus (Maritza). For the chief of these coastal cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.
In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus. Olynthus at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to Athens. The Athenians did nothing to help Olynthus. Philip finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the ground. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the war between Thebes and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently.
Macedonia and the regions adjoining it having now been securely consolidated, Philip celebrated his Olympic games at Dium. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts about the Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the Thracian prince Cersobleptes. Meanwhile, Athens had made overtures for peace, and when Philip, in 346 BC, again moved south, peace was sworn in Thessaly. With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip turned to Sparta; he sent them a message, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." Their reply was "If." Philip and Alexander would both leave them alone. Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the Adriatic Sea. In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the Scythians, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement Eumolpia to give it his name, Philippoupolis (modern Plovdiv).
In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of Perinthus. Philip began another siege in 339 BC of the city of Byzantium. After unsuccessful sieges of both cities, Philip's influence all over Greece was compromised. However, Philip successfully reasserted his authority in the Aegean by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. He erected a memorial of a marble lion to the Sacred Band of Thebes for their bravery that still stands today. Philip created and led the League of Corinth in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war against each other, unless it was to suppress revolution. Philip was elected as leader (hegemon) of the army of invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336 BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by his son Alexander the Great.
Philip’s Assassination
The murder happened in October of 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The court had gathered there for the celebration of the marriage between Alexander of Epirus and Philip's daughter. While the king was entering unprotected into the town's theatre (highlighting his approachability to the Greek diplomats present), he was killed by Pausanias of Orestis, one of Philip's seven bodyguards. The assassin immediately tried to escape and reach his associates who were waiting for him with horses at the entrance of Aegae. He was pursued by three of Philip's bodyguards and died by their hands.
The reasons for Pausanias' assassination of Phillip are difficult to fully expound, since there was controversy already among ancient historians. The only contemporary account in our possession is that of Aristotle, who states rather tersely that Philip was killed because Pausanias had been offended by the followers of Attalus, the king's father-in-law.
Whatever else that may be written about Philip II it must be recognized that he was responsible for making Macedon the ascendant Greek power. He reorganized the Macedonian army. It was this army that Alexander the Great inherited. Phillip II trained some of his Alexander’s best generals: Antigonus Cyclops, Antipater, Nearchus, Parmenion, and Perdiccas.
While Alexander was a bold and charismatic leader, he owes much of his success to his father.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon
J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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[103c] Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II, 359 - 336 B.C.Bronze AE Unit, SNG ANS 896, SNG Cop 589, F, 5.554g, 16.8mm, 0o, Macedonian mint, c. 359 - 336 B.C.; lifetime issue. Obverse: head Apollo right wearing tania; Reverse: FILIPPOU, young male riding horse prancing to right, AI below. Ex FORVM.
Philip II expanded the size and influence of the Macedonian Kingdom, but is perhaps best known as the father of Alexander the Great. He personally selected the design of his coins.
Philip II of Macedon (382 BC–336 BC; in Greek Φίλιππος = φίλος (friend) + ίππος (horse), transliterated Philippos) was the King of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination. He was the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip III Arrhidaeus, and possibly Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Born in Pella, Philip was the youngest son of King Amyntas III and Eurydice. In his youth, (ca. 368 BC–365 BC) Philip was a hostage in Thebes, which was the leading city of Greece during the Theban hegemony. While a captive there, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, was involved in a pederastic relationship with Pelopidas and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedonia. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the kingdom for himself that same year.
Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. The hill tribes were broken by a single battle in 358 BC, and Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid. He used the Social War as an opportunity for expansion. In 357 BC, he took the Athenian colony of Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion. That same year Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. In 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian sea-board. Also in 356 Alexander was born and his race horse won in the Olympics in He took Methone in 354 BC, a town which had belonged to Athens. During the siege of Methone, Philip lost an eye.
Not until his armies were opposed by Athens at Thermopylae in 352 BC did Philip face any serious resistance. Philip did not attempt to advance into central Greece because the Athenians had occupied Thermopylae. Also in 352 BC, the Macedonian army won a complete victory over the Phocians at the Battle of Crocus Field. This battle made Philip tagus of Thessaly, and he claimed as his own Magnesia, with the important harbour of Pagasae.
Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip's gold created in Euboea. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the subjugation of the Balkan hill-country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the coast as far as the Hebrus (Maritza). For the chief of these coastal cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.
In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus. Olynthus at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to Athens. The Athenians did nothing to help Olynthus. Philip finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the ground. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the war between Thebes and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently.
Macedonia and the regions adjoining it having now been securely consolidated, Philip celebrated his Olympic games at Dium. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts about the Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the Thracian prince Cersobleptes. Meanwhile, Athens had made overtures for peace, and when Philip, in 346 BC, again moved south, peace was sworn in Thessaly. With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip turned to Sparta; he sent them a message, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." Their reply was "If." Philip and Alexander would both leave them alone. Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the Adriatic Sea. In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the Scythians, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement Eumolpia to give it his name, Philippoupolis (modern Plovdiv).
In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of Perinthus. Philip began another siege in 339 BC of the city of Byzantium. After unsuccessful sieges of both cities, Philip's influence all over Greece was compromised. However, Philip successfully reasserted his authority in the Aegean by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. He erected a memorial of a marble lion to the Sacred Band of Thebes for their bravery that still stands today. Philip created and led the League of Corinth in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war against each other, unless it was to suppress revolution. Philip was elected as leader (hegemon) of the army of invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336 BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by his son Alexander the Great.
Philip’s Assassination
The murder happened in October of 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The court had gathered there for the celebration of the marriage between Alexander of Epirus and Philip's daughter. While the king was entering unprotected into the town's theatre (highlighting his approachability to the Greek diplomats present), he was killed by Pausanias of Orestis, one of Philip's seven bodyguards. The assassin immediately tried to escape and reach his associates who were waiting for him with horses at the entrance of Aegae. He was pursued by three of Philip's bodyguards and died by their hands.
The reasons for Pausanias' assassination of Phillip are difficult to fully expound, since there was controversy already among ancient historians. The only contemporary account in our possession is that of Aristotle, who states rather tersely that Philip was killed because Pausanias had been offended by the followers of Attalus, the king's father-in-law.
Whatever else that may be written about Philip II it must be recognized that he was responsible for making Macedon the ascendant Greek power. He reorganized the Macedonian army. It was this army that Alexander the Great inherited. Phillip II trained some of his Alexander’s best generals: Antigonus Cyclops, Antipater, Nearchus, Parmenion, and Perdiccas.
While Alexander was a bold and charismatic leader, he owes much of his success to his father.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon
J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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[1112a] Valerian I, October 253 - c. June 260 A.D.Silver antoninianus, RIC 232, RSC 10, VF, worn die reverse, Mediolanum mint, 3.909g, 22.2mm, 180o, 257 A.D.; Obverse: IMP VALERIANVS P AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: AETERNITATI AVGG, Sol standing left, raising right, globe in left; nice portrait, good silver for the reign. Ex FORVM.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families
Valerian (A.D. 253-260) and Gallienus (A.D. 253-268)
Richard D. Weigel
Western Kentucky University
P. Licinius Valerianus, or Valerian, was unusual for his time period in that he was an emperor who came from an old Roman senatorial family. He was likely born shortly before 200 A.D., but little is known of his early life. Valerian married Egnatia Mariniana and had two sons, Gallienus and Valerian Junior. Gallienus was born around 218. Valerian makes his first appearance in the sources in 238 A.D. as an ex-consul and princeps senatus negotiating with (more likely than serving on) the embassy sent to Rome by Gordian I's African legions to secure senatorial approval of Gordian's rebellion against and replacement of Maximinus Thrax as emperor. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae probably report accurately that Trajan Decius, on the recommendation of the Senate, offered Valerian the censorship in 251. Although the senatus consultum cited and the specific office are of doubtful authenticity, the high reputation Valerian possessed in the Senate and his association with the government under Decius probably are truthful aspects of the story. In 253 Valerian was apparently commanding in Raetia and Noricum when Trebonianus Gallus sent him to bring legions from Gaul and Germany to Italy for the struggle with the forces of Aemilianus. After Gallus' troops killed him and his son and joined Aemilianus, Valerian's men proclaimed their general emperor and their arrival in Italy caused Aemilianus' soldiers to desert and kill their commander and join Valerian's forces in acclaiming Valerian as emperor.
The Senate presumably was pleased to ratify the position of Valerian, one of their own, as emperor and they also accepted his son and colleague, P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus, as Augustus, rather than just as Caesar. Valerian apparently realized the necessity of sharing power equally with his son and of dividing their efforts geographically, with Gallienus responsible for the West and Valerian himself concentrating on the East. The biographies of Valerian and Gallienus in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae, attributed to Trebellius Pollio, are not especially helpful in putting together an account of their joint reign. The life of Valerian is fragmentary and that of Gallienus projects an extremely biased negative interpretation of his career.
Gallienus in the early years of the joint reign concentrated, with some success, on protecting Gaul and the Rhine frontier by driving back Germanic tribes and fortifying cities such as Cologne and Trier. In a move which would characterize later diplomacy with Germans, Gallienus concluded an alliance with one of their chieftains, presumably to assist the Romans in protecting the empire from other Germanic tribes. The invasions increased in number around 257-258 as the Franks entered Gaul and Spain, destroying Tarraco (Tarragona), and the Alamanni invaded Italy. Gallienus defeated the Alamanni at Milan, but soon was faced with the revolts in Pannonia and Moesia led first by his general there, Ingenuus, and then by Regalianus, commander in Illyricum. Gallienus put down these rebellions by 260 and secured stability in the region by concluding an alliance with the Marcomannic king, whose daughter Pipa the emperor apparently accepted as his concubine although he was still married to Cornelia Salonina.
In the East, Valerian had succeeded by A.D. 257 in rescuing Antioch in Syria from Persian control, at least temporarily, but was soon faced with a major invasion of the Goths in Asia Minor. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae biography of Aurelian has Valerian appear to speak in the Baths at Byzantium to publicly commend Aurelian for his success in driving back the Goths and reward him with the consulship and even with adoption as imperial successor. However, it is not clear that Valerian even reached Byzantium because he sent Felix to that city while he remained to protect the eastern section of Asia Minor and then returned to Antioch to guard it against renewed Persian attacks. It was at this point, around 259, that Valerian moved to defend Edessa and his troops lost significant numbers to the plague. Valerian tried to negotiate a peace with the Persian king, Sapor, but was captured by treachery and taken into captivity. The ultimate humiliation of a Roman emperor by a foreign leader was enacted through Sapor's use of Valerian as a human stepping-stool to assist the Persian king in mounting his horse and Valerian's body was later skinned to produce a lasting trophy of Roman submission.
Eusebius discusses the policy of Valerian toward the Christians and says that, after initially treating them most positively, Valerian was persuaded by Macrianus to lead another persecution against them. Valerian in fact after his brutal imprisonment and death in Persia would serve as a negative moral exemplum for some Latin Christian writers who gleefully pointed out that those who oppose the true God receive their just desserts.
Eusebius also credits Gallienus with reversing his father's policy and establishing peace with the Church, citing imperial edicts which established freedom of worship and even restored some lost property. Paul Keresztes claims that Gallienus in fact established a peace with Christians that lasted for forty-three years, from A.D. 260 until 303, and gave the community a kind of legal status which they had previously lacked.
Andreas Alföldi details a growing separation between Gallienus and his father which goes well beyond the geographical one which had developed out of military necessity. In addition to the strikingly different policies, just described, which they pursued toward the Christians, Gallienus began to make his military independence clear through changes in coin inscriptions and by 258 he had created his central cavalry unit and stationed it at Milan. This independent force, which was under the command of a man of equestrian rank and soon stood on a level at least equal to that of the Praetorian Guard, would play a significant role in Gallienus' upcoming battles and, of course, was a foretoken of a new trend for military organization in the future. Alföldi cites as evidence of the increasing separation between the joint emperors the statement that Gallienus did not even seek his father's return from captivity, which Lactantius of course interpreted as part of Valerian's divine punishment, but one wonders what indeed Gallienus might have done and his "indifference" may have been instead his attempt to reassert confidence in his armies and not dwell on the depressing and humiliating servitude and ultimate death of Valerian. Another reform which Alföldi discusses as part of Gallienus' independent stand is his exclusion of the senatorial class from major military commands. H.M.D. Parker credits Gallienus with beginning to separate the civil and military functions of Rome's provincial governors, thus making senatorial governors purely civil administrators and starting to replace them even in this reduced role by equestrians. The disappearance in this period of the S.C. stamp of senatorial authority on bronze coins was probably also seen as an attack on the prestige of the order, although the debasement of the silver coinage had by this time practically reached the point where the "silver" coins were themselves essentially bronze and the change may have been more for economic than for political reasons. Gallienus' exclusion of senators from military command further broke down class distinctions because sons of centurions were by this time regularly given equestrian rank and the move further accelerated the alienation of Rome as center of the Empire. In addition, the bitterness of the senatorial class over Gallienus' policy most likely explains the hatred of Latin writers toward this particular emperor.
Although Gallienus' military innovations may have made his forces more effective, he still had to face numerous challenges to his authority.In addition to systemic invasions and revolts, the plague wreaked havoc in Rome and Italy and probably in several provinces as well. It must have seemed that every commander he entrusted to solve a problem later used that authority to create another threat. When Gallienus was involved in putting down the revolt of Ingenuus in Pannonia, he put Postumus in charge of the armies guarding the Rhine and Gaul. There is some doubt about which of Gallienus' sons, Cornelius Valerianus or P. Cornelius Licinius Saloninus, was left in Cologne under the care of the Praetorian Prefect Silvanus and perhaps also Postumus. In any case, when Postumus revolted and proclaimed his independent Gallic Empire, Silvanus and one of the emperor's sons were killed. Gallienus probably restricted Postumus' expansion, but he never gained the personal revenge that, according to one source, drove him to challenge Postumus to single combat. While Gallienus was thus engaged, and after Valerian's capture by the Persians, Macrianus had his soldiers proclaim his sons, Macrianus and Quietus, emperors in Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Gallienus sent Aureolus to defeat Macrianus and one son in the area of Illyria and Thrace; Odenathus of Palmyra defeated the other son and restored stability in Syria and, with Gallienus' approval, followed that up with a victory over the Persians. After Odenathus' assassination ca. 267, his wife Zenobia continued to rule the independent Palmyrene section of the Empire.
In A.D. 262 Gallienus concluded his tenth year in office by celebrating in Rome his Decennalia with a spectacular procession involving senators, equestrians, gladiators, soldiers, representatives of foreign peoples, and many other groups. This festival included feasts, games, entertainment, and spectacle which probably reminded Romans of the millennial Secular Games celebrations of Philip I and likely were intended to secure popular support at home for Gallienus. Over the next five years little is known about specific activities of the emperor and he presumably spent more time in Rome and less along the frontiers.
Gallienus and Salonina as rulers patronized a cultural movement which collectively is known as the Gallienic Renaissance. The imperial patrons are most directly connected with the philosophical aspects of this movement because Porphyry testifies to their friendship for the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus. Porphyry goes on to say that Plotinus asked Gallienus to rebuild an abandoned former city of philosophers in Campania, rename it Platonopolis, and govern it as a kind of Platonic Republic, but that the jealousy and spite of others at court scuttled the plan. In addition to Neoplatonic philosophy, according to Gervase Matthew, the Gallienic Renaissance included the "upward glance" and other stylistic changes in imperial sculpture and religious beliefs that were characterized by "an overwhelming sense of the transcendent and immutable." Matthew points out both the return to artistic models of Augustus, Hadrian, and even Severus Alexander and also "a new Romantic tension" which breaks with the past and points toward a new and very different world. The Hellenic character of much of the Gallienic Renaissance is also stressed in the emperor's trip to Athens where he, likely in imitation of Hadrian, became eponymous archon and received initiation into the Eleusinian cult of Demeter.
Late in his reign, Gallienus issued a series of coins in Rome which honored nine deities as Conservator Augusti or protector of the emperor by pairing his portrait with reverses picturing an animal or animals symbolic of each deity. Included in this group of celestial guardians are Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Jupiter, Juno, Liber Pater, Mercury, Neptune, and Sol. For example, Apollo's coin-types portray a centaur, a gryphon, or Pegasus; Hercules is represented by either the lion or the boar. It appears that Gallienus was issuing the "animal series" coins both to secure, through some religious festival, the aid of Rome's protective gods against continuing invasions, revolts, and plague and to entertain the Roman populace with pageantry and circus games, thus to divert their attention away from the same problems and maintain the security of the regime in power.
In A.D. 268, Gallienus saw his third son, Marinianus, become consul, but in the spring another Gothic invasion brought the emperor back to Greece. He defeated the invaders at Naissus in Moesia , but was deterred from pursuing them further by a revolt of the commander of his elite cavalry, Aureolus. He besieged this last rebel emperor in Milan, but a plot involving his Praetorian Prefect and two future emperors, Claudius and Aurelian, all three men Illyrians popular with many of the soldiers, lured Gallienus away from the city on a false pretext and assassinated him.The emperor's brother Valerian and young son Marinianus were also murdered. In spite of the bitter resentment which many of the senators must have felt toward the dead emperor and his reform policies, Claudius II, perhaps only to legitimize his own reign, persuaded the Senate to deify Gallienus.
Copyright Richard D. Weigel, 2007. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families
Valerian I was proclaimed emperor after the death of Trajan Decius. He successfully repulsed many barbarian incursions but the standard of living declined and would never recover. In 260 A.D., after four years of war during which Roman forces suffered great losses in battle and to plague, he arranged for peace talks. He set off with a small group to discuss terms with the Sassinian emperor Sapor and was never seen again. The date of his death is unknown, but in Rome it was rumored that he had been murdered and that Sapor was using his stuffed body as a footstool. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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[1113a] Gallienus, August 253 - 24 March 268 A.D.Bronze antoninianus, RIC 163, RSC 72, choice EF, Rome mint, 3.716g, 21.6mm, 180o, 268 A.D.; Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right; Reverse: APOLLINI CONS AVG, centaur walking right drawing bow, Z in exergue; struck on a full and round flan, rare this nice. Commemorates vows to Apollo invoking his protection against the revolt of Aureolus. Ex FORVM.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families
Valerian (A.D. 253-260) and Gallienus (A.D. 253-268)
Richard D. Weigel
Western Kentucky University
P. Licinius Valerianus, or Valerian, was unusual for his time period in that he was an emperor who came from an old Roman senatorial family. He was likely born shortly before 200 A.D., but little is known of his early life. Valerian married Egnatia Mariniana and had two sons, Gallienus and Valerian Junior. Gallienus was born around 218. Valerian makes his first appearance in the sources in 238 A.D. as an ex-consul and princeps senatus negotiating with (more likely than serving on) the embassy sent to Rome by Gordian I's African legions to secure senatorial approval of Gordian's rebellion against and replacement of Maximinus Thrax as emperor. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae probably report accurately that Trajan Decius, on the recommendation of the Senate, offered Valerian the censorship in 251. Although the senatus consultum cited and the specific office are of doubtful authenticity, the high reputation Valerian possessed in the Senate and his association with the government under Decius probably are truthful aspects of the story. In 253 Valerian was apparently commanding in Raetia and Noricum when Trebonianus Gallus sent him to bring legions from Gaul and Germany to Italy for the struggle with the forces of Aemilianus. After Gallus' troops killed him and his son and joined Aemilianus, Valerian's men proclaimed their general emperor and their arrival in Italy caused Aemilianus' soldiers to desert and kill their commander and join Valerian's forces in acclaiming Valerian as emperor.
The Senate presumably was pleased to ratify the position of Valerian, one of their own, as emperor and they also accepted his son and colleague, P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus, as Augustus, rather than just as Caesar. Valerian apparently realized the necessity of sharing power equally with his son and of dividing their efforts geographically, with Gallienus responsible for the West and Valerian himself concentrating on the East. The biographies of Valerian and Gallienus in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae, attributed to Trebellius Pollio, are not especially helpful in putting together an account of their joint reign. The life of Valerian is fragmentary and that of Gallienus projects an extremely biased negative interpretation of his career.
Gallienus in the early years of the joint reign concentrated, with some success, on protecting Gaul and the Rhine frontier by driving back Germanic tribes and fortifying cities such as Cologne and Trier. In a move which would characterize later diplomacy with Germans, Gallienus concluded an alliance with one of their chieftains, presumably to assist the Romans in protecting the empire from other Germanic tribes. The invasions increased in number around 257-258 as the Franks entered Gaul and Spain, destroying Tarraco (Tarragona), and the Alamanni invaded Italy. Gallienus defeated the Alamanni at Milan, but soon was faced with the revolts in Pannonia and Moesia led first by his general there, Ingenuus, and then by Regalianus, commander in Illyricum. Gallienus put down these rebellions by 260 and secured stability in the region by concluding an alliance with the Marcomannic king, whose daughter Pipa the emperor apparently accepted as his concubine although he was still married to Cornelia Salonina.
In the East, Valerian had succeeded by A.D. 257 in rescuing Antioch in Syria from Persian control, at least temporarily, but was soon faced with a major invasion of the Goths in Asia Minor. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae biography of Aurelian has Valerian appear to speak in the Baths at Byzantium to publicly commend Aurelian for his success in driving back the Goths and reward him with the consulship and even with adoption as imperial successor. However, it is not clear that Valerian even reached Byzantium because he sent Felix to that city while he remained to protect the eastern section of Asia Minor and then returned to Antioch to guard it against renewed Persian attacks. It was at this point, around 259, that Valerian moved to defend Edessa and his troops lost significant numbers to the plague. Valerian tried to negotiate a peace with the Persian king, Sapor, but was captured by treachery and taken into captivity. The ultimate humiliation of a Roman emperor by a foreign leader was enacted through Sapor's use of Valerian as a human stepping-stool to assist the Persian king in mounting his horse and Valerian's body was later skinned to produce a lasting trophy of Roman submission.
Eusebius discusses the policy of Valerian toward the Christians and says that, after initially treating them most positively, Valerian was persuaded by Macrianus to lead another persecution against them. Valerian in fact after his brutal imprisonment and death in Persia would serve as a negative moral exemplum for some Latin Christian writers who gleefully pointed out that those who oppose the true God receive their just desserts.
Eusebius also credits Gallienus with reversing his father's policy and establishing peace with the Church, citing imperial edicts which established freedom of worship and even restored some lost property. Paul Keresztes claims that Gallienus in fact established a peace with Christians that lasted for forty-three years, from A.D. 260 until 303, and gave the community a kind of legal status which they had previously lacked.
Andreas Alföldi details a growing separation between Gallienus and his father which goes well beyond the geographical one which had developed out of military necessity. In addition to the strikingly different policies, just described, which they pursued toward the Christians, Gallienus began to make his military independence clear through changes in coin inscriptions and by 258 he had created his central cavalry unit and stationed it at Milan. This independent force, which was under the command of a man of equestrian rank and soon stood on a level at least equal to that of the Praetorian Guard, would play a significant role in Gallienus' upcoming battles and, of course, was a foretoken of a new trend for military organization in the future. Alföldi cites as evidence of the increasing separation between the joint emperors the statement that Gallienus did not even seek his father's return from captivity, which Lactantius of course interpreted as part of Valerian's divine punishment, but one wonders what indeed Gallienus might have done and his "indifference" may have been instead his attempt to reassert confidence in his armies and not dwell on the depressing and humiliating servitude and ultimate death of Valerian. Another reform which Alföldi discusses as part of Gallienus' independent stand is his exclusion of the senatorial class from major military commands. H.M.D. Parker credits Gallienus with beginning to separate the civil and military functions of Rome's provincial governors, thus making senatorial governors purely civil administrators and starting to replace them even in this reduced role by equestrians. The disappearance in this period of the S.C. stamp of senatorial authority on bronze coins was probably also seen as an attack on the prestige of the order, although the debasement of the silver coinage had by this time practically reached the point where the "silver" coins were themselves essentially bronze and the change may have been more for economic than for political reasons. Gallienus' exclusion of senators from military command further broke down class distinctions because sons of centurions were by this time regularly given equestrian rank and the move further accelerated the alienation of Rome as center of the Empire. In addition, the bitterness of the senatorial class over Gallienus' policy most likely explains the hatred of Latin writers toward this particular emperor.
Although Gallienus' military innovations may have made his forces more effective, he still had to face numerous challenges to his authority.In addition to systemic invasions and revolts, the plague wreaked havoc in Rome and Italy and probably in several provinces as well. It must have seemed that every commander he entrusted to solve a problem later used that authority to create another threat. When Gallienus was involved in putting down the revolt of Ingenuus in Pannonia, he put Postumus in charge of the armies guarding the Rhine and Gaul. There is some doubt about which of Gallienus' sons, Cornelius Valerianus or P. Cornelius Licinius Saloninus, was left in Cologne under the care of the Praetorian Prefect Silvanus and perhaps also Postumus. In any case, when Postumus revolted and proclaimed his independent Gallic Empire, Silvanus and one of the emperor's sons were killed. Gallienus probably restricted Postumus' expansion, but he never gained the personal revenge that, according to one source, drove him to challenge Postumus to single combat. While Gallienus was thus engaged, and after Valerian's capture by the Persians, Macrianus had his soldiers proclaim his sons, Macrianus and Quietus, emperors in Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Gallienus sent Aureolus to defeat Macrianus and one son in the area of Illyria and Thrace; Odenathus of Palmyra defeated the other son and restored stability in Syria and, with Gallienus' approval, followed that up with a victory over the Persians. After Odenathus' assassination ca. 267, his wife Zenobia continued to rule the independent Palmyrene section of the Empire.
In A.D. 262 Gallienus concluded his tenth year in office by celebrating in Rome his Decennalia with a spectacular procession involving senators, equestrians, gladiators, soldiers, representatives of foreign peoples, and many other groups. This festival included feasts, games, entertainment, and spectacle which probably reminded Romans of the millennial Secular Games celebrations of Philip I and likely were intended to secure popular support at home for Gallienus. Over the next five years little is known about specific activities of the emperor and he presumably spent more time in Rome and less along the frontiers.
Gallienus and Salonina as rulers patronized a cultural movement which collectively is known as the Gallienic Renaissance. The imperial patrons are most directly connected with the philosophical aspects of this movement because Porphyry testifies to their friendship for the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus. Porphyry goes on to say that Plotinus asked Gallienus to rebuild an abandoned former city of philosophers in Campania, rename it Platonopolis, and govern it as a kind of Platonic Republic, but that the jealousy and spite of others at court scuttled the plan. In addition to Neoplatonic philosophy, according to Gervase Matthew, the Gallienic Renaissance included the "upward glance" and other stylistic changes in imperial sculpture and religious beliefs that were characterized by "an overwhelming sense of the transcendent and immutable." Matthew points out both the return to artistic models of Augustus, Hadrian, and even Severus Alexander and also "a new Romantic tension" which breaks with the past and points toward a new and very different world. The Hellenic character of much of the Gallienic Renaissance is also stressed in the emperor's trip to Athens where he, likely in imitation of Hadrian, became eponymous archon and received initiation into the Eleusinian cult of Demeter.
Late in his reign, Gallienus issued a series of coins in Rome which honored nine deities as Conservator Augusti or protector of the emperor by pairing his portrait with reverses picturing an animal or animals symbolic of each deity. Included in this group of celestial guardians are Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Jupiter, Juno, Liber Pater, Mercury, Neptune, and Sol. For example, Apollo's coin-types portray a centaur, a gryphon, or Pegasus; Hercules is represented by either the lion or the boar. It appears that Gallienus was issuing the "animal series" coins both to secure, through some religious festival, the aid of Rome's protective gods against continuing invasions, revolts, and plague and to entertain the Roman populace with pageantry and circus games, thus to divert their attention away from the same problems and maintain the security of the regime in power.
In A.D. 268, Gallienus saw his third son, Marinianus, become consul, but in the spring another Gothic invasion brought the emperor back to Greece. He defeated the invaders at Naissus in Moesia , but was deterred from pursuing them further by a revolt of the commander of his elite cavalry, Aureolus. He besieged this last rebel emperor in Milan, but a plot involving his Praetorian Prefect and two future emperors, Claudius and Aurelian, all three men Illyrians popular with many of the soldiers, lured Gallienus away from the city on a false pretext and assassinated him.The emperor's brother Valerian and young son Marinianus were also murdered. In spite of the bitter resentment which many of the senators must have felt toward the dead emperor and his reform policies, Claudius II, perhaps only to legitimize his own reign, persuaded the Senate to deify Gallienus.
Copyright (C) 1998, Richard D. Weigel. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallval.htm. Used by permission.
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus was born in about AD 213. This means that he was about 40 years old when his father Valerian, in AD 253, was hailed emperor by his troops in Raetia. Gallienus was made Caesar immediately by his father. But within a month, when Valerian got to Rome, Gallienus received the rank of Augustus.
Compared to other Roman emperors of the age, Gallienus was an exception, as far as he was not a soldier-emperor. He was rather a thoughtful, intellectual ruler, possessing sophisticated Greek tastes. However, this made him deeply unpopular with the gritty Danubian generals, who very much understood it as their right to choose a leader among their own ranks to rule the empire.
If the Danubian military elite didn't like Gallienus, then he certainly soon proved that he was a capable military leader. Between AD 254 to AD 256 he campaigned along the Danube, securing this troubled frontier against the barbarians. In AD 256 he then moved west to fight the Germans along the Rhine.
Then by autumn AD 260 the message of Valerian's capture by the Persians reached Gallienus. If Gallienus had always been unpopular among the military leaders, then now with his father gone and Roman authority crumbling, rebellion was in the air.
On a night in September, AD 268, at the siege of Mediolanum (Milan), an alarm was suddenly raised in the camp of the emperor. In the brief moment of confusion, Gallienus was struck down in the dark as he emerged from his tent.
During his reign, Gallienus began numerous reforms and military campaigns to defend the empire, as much from usurpers as from barbarians. In doing so, he perhaps saved the empire from oblivion. At the same time he presided over perhaps the last flowering of classical Roman culture, patronizing poets, artists and philosophers.
As a last gesture of disrespect to this, most unfortunate of emperors, the Romans should lay Gallienus to rest not in one of the great mausoleums in Rome, but in a tomb nine miles south of the capital, along the Via Appia.
Ironically, he was deified by the senate at the request of Claudius II Gothicus, one of the men who must be held accountable for the assassination of Gallienus.
See: http://www.roman-empire.net/decline/gallienus.html
Gallienus was the son of Valerian I and was named Caesar at his father's accession to the throne in 253 A.D. Upon his father's capture by the Parthians he assumed the rank of Augustus and began numerous reforms and military campaigns to defend the empire, as much from usurpers as from barbarians. At the same time he presided over perhaps the last flowering of classical Roman culture, patronizing poets, artists and philosophers. Gallienus was assassinated while besieging Milan. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr. Cleisthenes
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[18H451] Judaean Kingdom, John Hyrcanus I (Yehohanan), 134 - 104 B.C., for the Seleukid King Antiochos VIIJohn Hyrcanus [for Antiochos VII]; Lily, AE, Hendin 451, 15mm, 2.92 grams; VF, Jerusalem; 182-180 B.C. This interesting coin was the precursor to the "prutah" which would subsequently be minted in Israel. Struck by John Hyrcanus, King of Judaea, in the name of the Seleukid King Antiochos VII, Euergetes (Sidetes). Ex Zuzim Judaea.
Johanan [John] Hyrcanus
(d. 104 BCE)
Grandson of Mattathias of Modein and chief architect of Judean dominance of Palestine. The youngest and only surviving son of Simon Thassi succeeded his father as high priest in 134 BCE. He was the fourth Hasmonean to rule Jerusalem. But his tenure began with a year-long Syrian siege that forced him to agree to tear down the city's fortifications and renew a tribute to the Greek emperor [133 BCE].
Within a few years, however, he took advantage of political turmoil in Syria following the death of Antiochus VII [129 BCE] to rebuild his forces, reclaim independence and extend Judean control over Palestine and Jordan. On the southern front he forced Judah's neighbors in Idumea [descendents of the Edomites] to accept Judaism and on the northern front he destroyed the rival temple at Shechem in Samaria.
Such triumphs made him the probable subject of messianic tributes by his fellow Judeans. But his own preference for Greek culture made him controversial in Jerusalem. When Pharisees challenged his right to be high priest, he switched his allegiance to the aristocratic Sadducee [Zadokite] party. Still, the Dead Sea Scrolls suggest that other Zadokites probably rejected his leadership and left Jerusalem, labeling him the "wicked priest," who persecuted the priest whom they regarded as the "Teacher of Righteousness."
Copyright 2007, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Published on The Jewish Virtual Library; http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/index.html
John Hyrcanus
John Hyrcanus (Yohanan Girhan) (reigned 134 BCE - 104 BCE, died 104 BCE) was a Hasmonean (Maccabeean) leader of the 2nd century BC. Apparently the name "Hyrcanus" was taken by him as a regnal name upon his accession to power. His taking a Greek regnal name was a significant political and cultural step away from the intransigent opposition to and rejection of Hellenistic culture which had characterised the Maccabaen revolt against Seleucid rule, and a more pragmatic recognition that Judea had to maintain its position among a millieu of small and large states which all shared the Hellenistic culture and communicated in Greek.
Life and work
He was the son of Simon Maccabaeus and hence the nephew of Judas Maccabaeus, Jonathan Maccabaeus and their siblings, whose story is told in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, and in the Talmud. John was not present at a banquet at which his father and his two brothers were murdered, purportedly by his brother-in-law Ptolemy. He attained to his father's former offices, that of high priest and king (although some Jews never accepted any of the Hasmoneans as being legitimate kings, as they were not lineal descendants of David).
His taking a Greek regnal name - "Hyrcanus" - was a significant political and cultural step away from the intransigent opposition to and rejection of Hellenistic culture which had characterised the Maccabaen revolt against Seleucid rule. It reflected a more pragmatic recognition that Judea, once having attained independence, had to maintain its position among a milieu of small and large states which all shared the Hellenistic culture. All subseqent Hashmonean rulers followed suit and adopted Greek names in their turn.
Achievements
John Hyrcanus apparently combined an energetic and able style of leadership with the zeal of his forebears. He was known as a brave and brilliant military leader. He is credited with the forced conversion of the Idumeans to Judaism, which was unusual for a Jewish leader; Judaism was not typically spread by the sword. He also set out to resolve forcibly the religious dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans; during his reign he destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim (although their descendants still worship among its ruins), which served further to deepen the already-historic hatred and rivalry between the two groups. Many historians believe that the apocryphal book of Jubilees was written during his reign; some would suggest even at his behest. Some writers, particularly Christian ones, have dated the division of Judaism into the parties of Pharisees and Sadducees to his era; most Jewish writers and some Christian ones suggest that this split actually well predates him. Some historians would go so far as to identify him, as a priest, predominantly with the Sadducee party, which was closely associated with the Temple worship and the priestly class.
Peak and decline of the kingdom
John Hyrcanus represented in some ways the highest point of the Hasmonean Dynasty. The restored Jewish "kingdom" approached its maximum limits of both territory and prestige. Upon his death, his offices were divided among his heirs; his son Aristobulus succeeded him as high priest; his wife as "Queen regnant". The son, however, soon came to desire the essentially unchecked power of his father; he shortly ordered his mother and his brothers imprisoned. This event seems to mark the beginning of the decline of the Hasmonean Dynasty; in just over four decades they were removed from power by the Roman Republic and none of them ever began to approach the level of power or prestige that had pertained to John Hyrcanus or his predecessors.
Modern Commemoration
Tel Aviv has a Yochanan Hyrcanus Street (רחוב יוחנן הורקנוס), as do several other cities in contemporary Israel. In the ealy decades of the 20th century, the Zionist historical perception of the Jewish past tended to approve of and revere strong warrior kings of both Biblical and later periods, and Hyrcanus' exploits earned him a place in that pantheon.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hyrcanus
John Hyrcanus was the son of Simon the Maccabee and nephew of the folk hero Judah Maccabee. Not long after Hyrcanus assumed power, the Seleukid kingdom marched on Jerusalem. The Seleukid king, Antiocus VII, and Hyrcanus I negotiated a treaty that left Hyrcanus a vassal to the Syrian king. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=922&pos=0
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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[1921b] Sasanian Empire, Khusro I, 531 - 579 A.D.Silver drachm, Gobl II/2 MY, aVF, Meshan mint, 4.12g, 29.8mm, 90o, 569 A.D.; Obverse: XUSRO AFZUN, crowned bust right, three crescents outside border; Reverse: MY NWCSYH, fire altar with two attendants. Khusro is also sometimes spelled Xusro, Khusru, or Chosroes. Ex FORVM.
Khosrau I, CHOSROES ANUSHIRVAN ('OF THE IMMORTAL SOUL') ruled from 531–579. He is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. Khosrau I is most famous for his reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. In his reforms he introduced a rational system of taxation, based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun and tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. Previous great feudal lords fielded their own military equipment, followers and retainers. Khosrau I developed a new force of dehkans or "knights" paid and equipped by the central government and the bureaucracy, tying the army and bureaucracy more closely to the central government than to local lords. (Chosroes I's reforms, visit: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/fryehst.html)
Although the Emperor Justinian I (527–565) had paid him a bribe of 440,000 pieces of gold to keep the peace, in 540 Khosrau I broke the "eternal peace" of 532 and invaded Syria, where he sacked the city of Antioch and extorted large sums of money from a number of other cities. Further successes followed: in 541 Lazica defected to the Persian side, and in 542 a major Byzantine offensive in Armenia was defeated at Anglon. A five-year truce agreed in 545 was interrupted in 547 when Lazica again switched sides and eventually expelled its Persian garrison with Byzantine help; the war resumed, but remained confined to Lazica, which was retained by the Byzantines when peace was concluded in 562.
Khosrau I's reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system.[22] Khosrau I was a great builder, embellishing his capital, founding new towns, and constructing new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on the frontiers to act as guardians against invaders. He was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion, and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassanid_Empire
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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[905a] Marcus Aurelius, 7 March 161 - 17 March 180 A.D.MARCUS AURELIUS AE [b[Sestertius. RIC 1222. 30mm, 24.5g. Struck at Rome, 177 AD. Obverse: M ANTONINUS AVG GERM SARM TR P XXXI, laureate head right; Reverse: LIBERALITAS AVG VII IMP VIIII COS III P P, Liberalitas standing left holding coin counter & cornucopia, SC in fields. Nice portrait. Ex Incitatus. Photo courtesy of Incitatus.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180)
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
Introduction and Sources
The Vita of the emperor in the collection known as the Historia Augusta identifies him in its heading as Marcus Antoninus Philosophus, "Marcus Antoninus the Philosopher." Toward the end of the work, the following is reported about him, sententia Platonis semper in ore illius fuit, florere civitates si aut philosophi imperarent aut imperantes philosopharentur (27.7), "Plato's judgment was always on his lips, that states flourished if philosophers ruled or rulers were philosophers." It is this quality of Marcus' character which has made him a unique figure in Roman history, since he was the first emperor whose life was molded by, and devoted to, philosophy (Julian was the second and last). His reign was long and troubled, and in some ways showed the weaknesses of empire which ultimately led to the "Decline and Fall," yet his personal reputation, indeed his sanctity, have never failed of admirers. Contributing to his fame and reputation is a slender volume of Stoic philosophy which served as a kind of diary while he was involved in military campaigns, the Meditations, a book which can be described as an aureus libellus, a little golden book.
The sources for understanding Marcus and his reign are varied but generally disappointing. There is no major historian. The chief literary sources are the biography in the Historia Augusta, as well as those of Hadrian, Antoninus, Verus, and Avidius Cassius. Debate about this collection of imperial biographies has been heated and contentious for more than a century. In all likelihood, it is the work of a single author writing in the last years of the fourth-century. The information offered ranges from the precisely accurate to the wildly imaginative.
Cassius Dio, who wrote in the decade of the 230s, produced a long history of the empire which has survived, for our period, only in an abbreviated version. Fourth century historians, such as Aurelius Victor and Eutropius, occasionally furnish bits of information. Marcus' teacher, Fronto, a distinguished orator and rhetorician, is extremely useful. Papyri, inscriptions, coins, legal writings, and some of the church writers, such as Tertullian, Eusebius, and Orosius, are very important. Archaeology and art history, with their interpretation of monuments, make the history of Marcus' principate literally visible and offer important clues for understanding the context of his actions.
Early Life
He was born M. Annius Verus on April 26, 121, the scion of a distinguished family of Spanish origin (PIR2 A697). His father was Annius Verus (PIR2 A696), his mother Domitia Lucilla (PIR2 D183). His grandfather held his second consulate in that year and went on to reach a third in 126, a rare distinction in the entire history of the principate, and also served Hadrian as city prefect. The youth's education embraced both rhetoric and philosophy; his manner was serious, his intellectual pursuits deep and devoted, so that the emperor Hadrian took an interest in him and called him "Verissimus," "Most truthful," by punning on his name. He received public honors from an early age and seems to have long been in Hadrian's mind as a potential successor. When Hadrian's first choice as successor, L. Ceionius Commodus, died before his adoptive father, the second choice proved more fruitful. The distinguished senator T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus, from Cisalpine Gaul, did succeed Hadrian, whose arrangements for the succession planned for the next generation as well. He required Antoninus to adopt the young Verus, now to be known as M. Aelius Aurelius Verus, as well as Commodus' son, henceforth known as L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus (PIR2 C606). The former was a bit more than seventeen years old, the latter was eight.
Career under Antoninus Pius
The long tenure of Antoninus Pius proved one of the most peaceful and prosperous in Roman history. The emperor himself was disinclined to military undertakings and never left Italy during his reign. Disturbances to the pax Romana occurred on the fringes of empire. Responses were decisive and successful, with legates in charge in the provinces. As a consequence, neither Caesar gained military experience nor was shown to the armies, a failing which later could have proved decisive and disastrous. Marcus rose steadily through the cursus honorum, holding consulates in 140 and 145, combining magistracies with priesthoods. He received the tribunicia potestas in 147, and perhaps also imperium proconsulare. Yet he never neglected the artes liberals. His closest contacts were with Fronto (c.95-c.160), the distinguished rhetorician and orator. His acquaintance included many other distinguished thinkers, such as Herodes Atticus (c.95-177), the Athenian millionaire and sophist, and Aelius Aristides (117-c.181), two of whose great speeches have survived and which reveal much of the mood and beliefs of the age. Yet it was Epictetus (c.50-c.120) who had the greatest philosophical impact and made him a firm Stoic. In the year 161 Marcus celebrated his fortieth birthday, a figure of noble appearance and unblemished character. He was leading a life which gave him as much honor and glory as he could have desired, probably much more than his private nature enjoyed, yet his life, and that of the empire, was soon to change. The emperor died on March 7, but not before clearly indicating to magistrates and senate alike his desire that Marcus succeed him by having the statue of Fortuna, which had been in his bedroom, transferred to Marcus. There was no opposition, no contrary voice, to his succession. He immediately chose his brother as co-emperor, as Hadrian had planned. From the beginning of the year they were joint consuls and held office for the entire year. Their official titulature was now Imperator Caesar M. Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and Imperator Caesar L. Aurelius Verus Augustus. The military qualities adumbrated by the word Imperator were soon much in demand, for the empire was under pressure in the year 161 in Britain, in Raetia, and in the east, where Parthia once again posed a significant danger.
The Parthian War (161-166)
The incursion in northern Britain and the difficulties along the Danube were soon satisfactorily managed by legates. The danger in the East was of a different magnitude. Tensions between Rome and Parthia had intensified in the last years of Antoninus' reign over control of Armenia, the vast buffer state which had often aroused enmity between the two powers, since each wished to be able to impose a king favorable to its interests. With Antoninus' death and the uncertainty attendant upon a new emperor (in this case two, a dyarchy, for the first time in Rome's history), the Parthian monarch, Vologaeses III, struck rapidly, placed his own candidate upon the Armenian throne, and inflicted severe setbacks upon the Roman forces sent to oppose him. Marcus decided to send his colleague Lucius Verus, whose imperial prestige would underscore the seriousness of the empire's response. Verus lacked military experience and was sorely lacking in the attributes of leadership and command; further, he was notorious for being chiefly interested in amusements and luxury. But Marcus surrounded him with several of the best generals at the empire's disposal, chief among them Avidius Cassius (c.130-175) (PIR2 A1402). From 162 on, Rome's successes and conquests were extensive and decisive. Most of Parthia's significant cities and strongholds, such as Seleucia and Ctesiphon, were stormed and destroyed, and the army's movements eastward recalled the movements of Alexander the Great some five centuries earlier. By 166, Parthia had capitulated and a Roman nominee sat on the Armenian throne. The victory appeared to be the most decisive since Trajan's conquest of Dacia, but, when Verus returned to Italy with his triumphant army, there came also a devastating plague, which had enormous effect on all provinces.
As is the case with all ancient diseases, it is almost impossible to identify this one. In all likelihood, however, it was smallpox; how severe the toll was is debated. Clearly, it cast a pall over the triumph celebrated by the two emperors, who were honored with the titles Armeniacus and Parthicus. The last years of this decade were dominated by efforts to overcome the plague and provide succour to its victims. But already in 166, the German tribes smashed the Danubian limes, threatening the empire's stability and even existence, more than Parthia had ever done. The first campaigns were punctuated by the death of Verus in 169, leaving Marcus as sole emperor. And so began the most difficult period of his life.
The German Wars
Early in 169, the Marcomanni and Quadi crossed the Danube, penetrated the intervening provinces, and entered Italy. The culmination of their onslaught was a siege of Aquileia. The effect upon the inhabitants of the peninsula was frightful. This was the first invasion of Italy since the late second century B.C., when the Cimbri and Teutones had been separately crushed by Marius. Perhaps more vivid in the collective imagination was the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 387, when the city was saved only by the payment of ransom.
The two emperors hastened north, after a rapid mobilization of forces, which included the drafting of slaves, since the manpower potential of the empire had been so impaired by the consequences of the plague and the losses and troop commitments in the East. Verus died while in the north; Marcus returned to Rome with the body and gave his brother full honors. He then turned north again and began his counterattacks against the barbarians. He did not know it at the time, but he was destined to spend most of his remaining years on the northern frontier. The only interlude was caused by revolt in the east.
We have no record of Marcus' ultimate intentions in these campaigns, yet the various stages were clear. First and foremost, the enemy had to be driven out of Italy and then into their own territory beyond the Danube. He strove to isolate the tribes and then defeat them individually, so that the ultimate manpower superiority of the empire and its greater skill in warfare and logistics could more easily be brought to bear. It was a successful strategy, as one tribe after another suffered defeat and reestablished ties with Rome. But it was a time-consuming and expensive operation, requiring the recruitment of two new legions, II Italica and III Italica, the construction of many new camps, such as the legionary fortress at Regensburg, with success accruing year by year. He intended to create two new provinces, Marcomannia and Sarmatia, thereby eliminating the Hungarian Plain and the headwaters of the Elbe as staging areas for invasion.
This steady, slow progress was interrupted in 175 by the action of the distinguished general Avidius Cassius, governor of Syria, who claimed the empire for himself. Whether he responded to a rumor of Marcus' death or, as gossip had it, conspired with Marcus' wife, the emperor's response was quick and decisive. Leaving the northern wars, he traveled to the East, but Avidius was killed before Marcus arrived in the region. After spending time settling affairs and showing himself to some of the provinces, with particular attention shown to Athens, where he was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, as Hadrian and Verus had been. He returned to Italy and soon answered the call to duty once more on the northern frontier. He took with him as colleague his son Commodus, now merely sixteen years old but already long since marked out as his father's intended successor. The military campaigns proved successful, but in the spring of 180, when Marcus died, at least one more year of warfare was necessary for the attainment of the grand enterprise. Marcus recommended to Commodus continuation of the war, but the new emperor was eager to return to Rome and the ease and luxury of the imperial court and entered into a peace agreement. Never again was Rome to hold the upper hand in its dealings with the Germanic tribes beyond the now reestablished borders of the empire.
Administrative and Religious Policy
Marcus was a conscientious and careful administrator who devoted much attention to judicial matters. His appointments to major administrative positions were for the most part admirable. Difficult tasks were put in the charge of the most capable men; he was not afraid of comparison with his subordinates. Social mobility continued as it had been under his predecessors, with men from the provinces advancing into the upper echelons of the Roman aristocracy. Those of humble birth could make a good career; such a one was Pertinax (126-193), a gifted general, who in early 193 became emperor for a space of less than three months.
The judicial administration of Italy was put in the hands of iuridici, who represented the emperor and thus spoke with his authority. This was a practice which had been established by Hadrian but had been allowed to lapse by Antoninus. The centralization of government continued apace. The imperial finances were sorely stretched by the almost continuous wars. Trajan had brought great wealth, Decebalus' treasure, into the empire after his conquest of Dacia. No such profit awaited Marcus. When preparing for the northern wars, he auctioned off much of the imperial palace's valuables. In spite of the enormous expenses of war, Commodus found ample funds upon his accession as sole emperor for his expenditures and amusements.
Although Marcus was a devoted thinker and philosopher, he was deeply religious, at least outwardly. The state cult received full honor, and he recognized the validity of other people's beliefs, so that the variety of religions in the vast extent of the empire caused no difficulties for inhabitants or government, with one significant exception. The Christians were not hampered by any official policy; indeed the impact of the church spread enormously in the second century. Yet their availability as scapegoats for local crises made them subject to abuse or worse. There was violence against them in 167, and perhaps the worst stain on Marcus' principate stemmed from the pogrom of Christians in Lugdunum in southern France in 177. He did not cause it, nor, on the other hand, did he or his officials move to stop it. Indeed, Tertullian called him a friend of Christianity. Yet the events were a precursor of what would come in the century and a quarter which followed.
Building Programs and Monuments
Many of Marcus' predecessors transformed the face of the capital with their building programs, either by the vast range of their undertaking or by the extraordinary significance of individual monuments. Others did very little to leave a tangible mark. Marcus fell into the latter group. There is record of very few monuments for which he and his brother were responsible. Very early in their reign they honored the deceased Antoninus with a column in the Campus Martius, no longer in situ but largely surviving. The shaft, which seems not to have been sculpted, was used for the restoration of Augustus' obelisk, now in Piazza Montecitorio, in the eighteenth century. The base, which was sculpted on all four sides, is now on display in the Vatican Museum. The chief feature is the apotheosis of the emperor and his long deceased wife, the elder Faustina, as they are borne to heaven. Also presented on this relief are two eagles and personifications of the goddess Roma and of the Campus Martius, represented as a young male figure.
There were three arches which commemorated the military achievements of the two emperors. No trace has been found of an early monument to Verus. Two arches later honored Marcus, both of which have disappeared but have left significant sculptural remains. The eight rectangular reliefs preserved on the Arch of Constantine came from one arch. Similarly, the three reliefs displayed in the stairwell of the Conservatori Museum on the Capitoline Hill came from another. One relief has disappeared from the latter monument.
Certainly the best known monument of Marcus' principate is the column, which rises from Piazza Colonna. It is twin to Trajan's column in height and design, although the artistic craftsmanship of the reliefs which envelop the shaft is much inferior. The subject is Marcus' campaigns against the Marcomanni and Sarmati in the years 172-75. The most interesting panel represents the famous rainstorm, when the army, overwhelmed by drought, was suddenly saved by the divine intervention of rain. Although begun in the latter part of the decade, the column was not completed until 193, when Septimius Severus had become emperor.
The famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which survived the centuries near San Giovanni in Laterano because the rider was identified as Constantine, no longer greets the visitor to the Capitoline, where Michelangelo had placed it in the sixteenth century. It was removed in the 1980s because pollution was destroying it. After careful treatment and restoration, it is now displayed within the museum, with a replica placed in the center of the piazza.
Although outside Rome, mention should be made of the monumental frieze commemorating Lucius Verus' victory over the Parthians in 165. It was an ornament of the city of Ephesus; the extensive sculptural remains are now in the Ephesus Museum in Vienna.
Family
As part of Hadrian's plans for his succession, when Ceionius Commodus was his choice, Marcus was betrothed to the latter's daughter. But when Ceionius died and Antoninus became Hadrian's successor, that arrangement was nullified and Marcus was chosen for the Emperor's daughter, the younger Faustina (PIR2 A716). She had been born in 129, was hence eight years younger than he. They were married in 145; the marriage endured for thirty years. She bore him thirteen children, of whom several died young; the most important were a daughter, Lucilla, and a son Commodus. Lucilla was deployed for political purposes, married first to Lucius Verus in 164, when she was seventeen, and then, after his death, to Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus of Antioch, a much older man who was an important associate of her father /ii]PIR2 C973). Commodus became joint-emperor with his father in 177 and three years later ruled alone.
Faustina's reputation suffered much abuse. She was accused of employing poison and of murdering people, as well as being free with her favors with gladiators, sailors, and also men of rank, particularly Avidius Cassius. Yet Marcus trusted her implicitly and defended her vigorously. She accompanied him on several campaigns and was honored with the title mater castrorum. She was with him in camp at Halala in southern Cappadocia in the winter of 175 when she died in an accident. Marcus dedicated a temple to her honor and had the name of the city changed to Faustinopolis.
Death and Succession
In early 180, while Marcus and Commodus were fighting in the north, Marcus became ill. Which disease carried him off we do not know, but for some days Marcus took no food or drink, being now eager to die. He died on March 17, in the city of Vindobona, although one source reports that it was in Sirmium. His ashes were brought to Rome and placed in Hadrian's mausoleum. Commodus succeeded to all power without opposition, and soon withdrew from the war, thereby stymieing his father's designs and ambitions. It was a change of rulers that proved disastrous for people and empire. Dio called the succession a change from a golden kingdom to one of iron and rust.
Reputation
Gibbon called Marcus "that philosophic monarch," a combination of adjective and noun which sets Marcus apart from all other Roman emperors. His renown has, in subsequent centuries, suffered little, although he was by no means a "perfect" person. He was perhaps too tolerant of other people's failings, he himself used opium. The abundance of children whom his wife bore him included, alas, a male who was to prove one of Rome's worst rulers. How much better it would have been if Marcus had had no son and had chosen a successor by adoption, so that the line of the five good emperors, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus, could have been extended. It was not to be, and for that Marcus must accept some responsibility.
Yet he was a man of ability and a sense of duty who sacrificed his own delights and interests to the well-being of the state. He was capax imperii, he did his best, and history has been kind to him. As Hamlet said to Horatio, when awaiting the appearance of the ghost of his father,
"He was a man! Take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again." (I 2, 187-88)
His memory remains vivid and tactile because of the famous column, the equestrian statue, and his slender volume of thoughts, written in Greek, the Meditations, from which I choose two quotations with which to conclude:
"If mind is common to us, then also the reason, whereby we are reasoning beings, is common. If this be so, then also the reason which enjoins what is to be done or left undone is common. If this be so, law also is common; if this be so, we are citizens; if this be so, we are partakers in one constitution; if this be so, the Universe is a kind of Commonwealth." (4.4)
"At dawn of day, when you dislike being called, have this thought ready: 'I am called to man's labour; why then do I make a difficulty if I am going out to do what I was born to do and what I was brought into the world for?'" (5.1; both in Farquharson's translation)
Copyright (C) 2001, Herbert W. Benario.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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