| Image search results - "Gemina" |
0104 - Denarius Septimius Severus 193-4 ACObv/ IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, laureate head of S.S. r.
Rev/ LEG XIIII GEM M V, legionary eagle between two standards: TR P COS in ex.
Ag, 19.0 mm, 3.17 g
Mint: Roma.
RIC IV.I/14 [S] - BMCRE V/19
ex-Karel de Geus, auction 31, lot 977dafnis
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064 - Septimius Severus denarius - RIC 013Obv:- IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, Laureate head right
Rev:- LEG XIII GEM / TR P COS, Legionary eagle between two standards.
Minted in Rome. A.D. 193
Reference:- Cohen 269. BMCRE 17, RIC 13 (Scarce)
Legion XIII Gemina was stationed at Apulum in Dacia. It is important for collectors to distinguish carefully issues of this scarce legion from the common Legion XIIII Gemina Marti Victrix. Legion XIII coins never have 'MV' following 'LEG XIII GEM' while Legion XIIII coins always have 'MV' following 'LEG XIIII GEM'. maridvnvm
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14-37 AD - TIBERIUS AE as - struck 22-23 ADobv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VIII (bare head left)
rev: PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN POTEST XXIII around large S.C.
ref: RIC I 44, C.24 (5 frcs), BMC91
9.44gms, 27mm
In 6 AD Tiberius was in Carnuntum military camp. He led at least eight legions (VIII Augusta from Pannonia, XV Apollinaris and XX Valeria Victrix from Illyricum, XXI Rapax from Raetia, XIII Gemina, XIV Gemina and XVI Gallica from Germania Superior and an unknown unit) against king Maroboduus of the Marcomanni in Bohemia (Czechia). At the same time, I Germanica, V Alaudae, XVII, XVIII and XIX, - led by Caius Sentius Saturninus (governor of Germania) -, moved against Maroboduus along the Elbe. Saturninus led his forces across the country of the Chatti, and, cutting his way through the Hercynian forest, joining Tiberius on the north bank of the Danube, and both wanted to make a combined attack within a few leagues from the Marcomannic capital Boviasmum. It was the most grandiose operation that ever conducted by a Roman army, but a rebellion in Illyria obstructed its final execution.berserker
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306. Trebonianus GallusGaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus (206 - August, 253), was Roman emperor from 251 to 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Gallus was born in Italy, in a family with respected ancestry and a senatorial background. He had two children in his marriage with Afinia Gemina Baebiana: the future emperor Gaius Vibius Volusianus and a daughter, Vibia Galla. His early career was typical with several appointments, both political and military. He was suffect consul and in 250 was nominated governor of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, an appointment that showed the confidence of emperor Trajan Decius in him. In Moesia, Gallus was a key figure in repelling the frequent invasion attacks by the Gothic tribes of the Danube and became popular with the army.
On July 1, 251, Decius and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus died in the battle of Abrittus, at the hands of the Goths they were supposed to punish for raids into the empire. When the army heard the news, the soldiers proclaimed Gallus emperor, despite Hostilian, Decius' surviving son, ascending the imperial throne in Rome. Gallus did not back down from his intention to became emperor, but accepted Hostilian as co-emperor, perhaps to avoid the damage of another civil war. While Gallus marched on Rome, an outbreak of plague struck the city and killed the young Hostilian. With absolute power now on his hands, Gallus nominated his son Volusianus co-emperor.
Eager to show himself competent and gain popularity with the citizens, Gallus swiftly dealt with the epidemic, providing burial for the victims. Gallus is often accused of persecuting the Christians, but the only solid evidence of this allegation is the imprisoning of Pope Cornelius in 252.
Like his predecessors, Gallus did not have an easy reign. In the East, king Shapur I of Persia invaded and conquered the province of Syria, without any response from Rome. On the Danube, the Gothic tribes were once again on the loose, despite the peace treaty signed in 251. The army was not pleased with the emperor and when Aemilianus, governor of Moesia Superior and Pannonia, took the initiative of battle and defeated the Goths, the soldiers proclaimed him emperor. With a usurper threatening the throne, Gallus prepared for a fight. He recalled several legions and ordered reinforcements to return to Rome from the Rhine frontier. Despite these dispositions, Aemilianus marched onto Italy ready to fight for his claim. Gallus did not have the chance to face him in battle: he and Volusianus were murdered by their own troops in August 253.ecoli
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707a, Galba, 3 April 68 - 15 January 69 A.D.Galba AE As, 68-69 AD; cf. SRC 727, 729ff; 27.85mm, 12g; Rome: Obverse: GALBA IMP CAESAR…, Laureate head right; Reverse: S P Q R OB CIV SER in oak wreath; gF+/F Ex. Ancient Imports.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Galba (68-69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
The evidence for the principate of Galba is unsatisfactory. The sources either concentrate on the personality of the man, thereby failing to offer a balanced account of his policies and a firm chronological base for his actions; or, they focus on the final two weeks of his life at the expense of the earlier part of his reign. As a result, a detailed account of his principate is difficult to write. Even so, Galba is noteworthy because he was neither related to nor adopted by his predecessor Nero. Thus, his accession marked the end of the nearly century-long control of the Principate by the Julio-Claudians. Additionally, Galba's declaration as emperor by his troops abroad set a precedent for the further political upheavals of 68-69. Although these events worked to Galba's favor initially, they soon came back to haunt him, ending his tumultuous rule after only seven months.
Early Life and Rise to Power
Born 24 December 3 BC in Tarracina, a town on the Appian Way, 65 miles south of Rome, Servius Galba was the son of C. Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. Galba's connection with the noble house of the Servii gave him great prestige and assured his acceptance among the highest levels of Julio-Claudian society. Adopted in his youth by Livia, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, he is said to have owed much of his early advancement to her. Upon her death, Livia made Galba her chief legatee, bequeathing him some 50 million sesterces. Tiberius, Livia's heir, reduced the amount, however, and then never paid it. Galba's marriage proved to be a further source of disappointment, as he outlived both his wife Lepida and their two sons. Nothing else is known of Galba's immediate family, other than that he remained a widower for the rest of his life.
Although the details of Galba's early political career are incomplete, the surviving record is one of an ambitious Roman making his way in the Emperor's service. Suetonius records that as praetor Galba put on a new kind of exhibition for the people - elephants walking on a rope. Later, he served as governor of the province of Aquitania, followed by a six-month term as consul at the beginning of 33. Ironically, as consul he was succeeded by Salvius Otho, whose own son would succeed Galba as emperor. Over the years three more governorships followed - Upper Germany (date unknown), North Africa (45) and Hispania Tarraconensis, the largest of Spain's three provinces (61). He was selected as a proconsul of Africa by the emperor Claudius himself instead of by the usual method of drawing lots. During his two-year tenure in the province he successfully restored internal order and quelled a revolt by the barbarians. As an imperial legate he was a governor in Spain for eight years under Nero, even though he was already in his early sixties when he assumed his duties. The appointment showed that Galba was still considered efficient and loyal. In all of these posts Galba generally displayed an enthusiasm for old-fashioned disciplina, a trait consistent with the traditional characterization of the man as a hard-bitten aristocrat of the old Republican type. Such service did not go unnoticed, as he was honored with triumphal insignia and three priesthoods during his career.
On the basis of his ancestry, family tradition and service to the state Galba was the most distinguished Roman alive (with the exception of the houses of the Julii and Claudii) at the time of Nero's demise in 68. The complex chain of events that would lead him to the Principate later that year began in March with the rebellion of Gaius Iulius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis. Vindex had begun to sound out provincial governors about support for a rebellion perhaps in late 67 or early 68. Galba did not respond but, because of his displeasure with Neronian misgovernment, neither did he inform the emperor of these treasonous solicitations. This, of course, left him dangerously exposed; moreover, he was already aware that Nero, anxious to remove anyone of distinguished birth and noble achievements, had ordered his death. Given these circumstances, Galba likely felt that he had no choice but to rebel.
In April, 68, while still in Spain, Galba "went public," positioning himself as a vir militaris, a military representative of the senate and people of Rome. For the moment, he refused the title of Emperor, but it is clear that the Principate was his goal. To this end, he organized a concilium of advisors in order to make it known that any decisions were not made by him alone but only after consultation with a group. The arrangement was meant to recall the Augustan Age relationship between the emperor and senate in Rome. Even more revealing of his imperial ambitions were legends like LIBERTAS RESTITUTA (Liberty Restored), ROM RENASC (Rome Reborn) and SALUS GENERIS HUMANI (Salvation of Mankind), preserved on his coinage from the period. Such evidence has brought into question the traditional assessment of Galba as nothing more than an ineffectual representative of a bygone antiquus rigor in favor of a more balanced portrait of a traditional constitutionalist eager to publicize the virtues of an Augustan-style Principate.
Events now began to move quickly. In May, 68 Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the III legio Augusta in Africa, revolted from Nero and cut off the grain supply to Rome. Choosing not to recognize Galba, he called himself propraetor, issued his own coinage, and raised a new legion, the I Macriana liberatrix. Galba later had him executed. At the same time, 68, Lucius Verginius Rufus, legionary commander in Upper Germany, led a combined force of soldiers from Upper and Lower Germany in defeating Vindex at Vesontio in Gallia Lugdunensis. Verginius refused to accept a call to the emperorship by his own troops and by those from the Danube, however, thereby creating at Rome an opportunity for Galba's agents to win over Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt praetorian prefect since 65. Sabinus was able to turn the imperial guard against Nero on the promise that they would be rewarded financially by Galba upon his arrival. That was the end for Nero. Deposed by the senate and abandoned by his supporters, he committed suicide in June. At this point, encouraged to march on Rome by the praetorians and especially by Sabinus, who had his own designs on the throne, Galba hurriedly established broad-based political and financial support and assembled his own legion (subsequently known as the legio VII Gemina). As he departed from Spain, he abandoned the title of governor in favor of "Caesar," apparently in an attempt to lay claim to the entire inheritance of the Julio-Claudian house. Even so, he continued to proceed cautiously, and did not actually adopt the name of Caesar (and with it the emperorship) until sometime after he had left Spain.
The Principate of Galba
Meanwhile, Rome was anything but serene. An unusual force of soldiers, many of whom had been mustered by Nero to crush the attempt of Vindex, remained idle and restless. In addition, there was the matter concerning Nymphidius Sabinus. Intent on being the power behind the throne, Nymphidius had orchestrated a demand from the praetorians that Galba appoint him sole praetorian prefect for life. The senate capitulated to his pretensions and he began to have designs on the throne himself. In an attempt to rattle Galba, Nymphidius then sent messages of alarm to the emperor telling of unrest in both the city and abroad. When Galba ignored these reports, Nymphidius decided to launch a coup by presenting himself to the praetorians. The plan misfired, and the praetorians killed him when he appeared at their camp. Upon learning of the incident, Galba ordered the executions of Nymphidius' followers. To make matters worse, Galba's arrival was preceded by a confrontation with a boisterous band of soldiers who had been formed into a legion by Nero and were now demanding legionary standards and regular quarters. When they persisted, Galba's forces attacked, with the result that many of them were killed.
Thus it was amid carnage and fear that Galba arrived at the capital in October, 68, accompanied by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, who had joined the cause. Once Galba was within Rome, miscalculations and missteps seemed to multiply. First, he relied upon the advice of a corrupt circle of advisors, most notably: Titus Vinius, a general from Spain; Cornelius Laco, praetorian prefect; and his own freedman, Icelus. Second, he zealously attempted to recover some of Nero's more excessive expenditures by seizing the property of many citizens, a measure that seems to have gone too far and to have caused real hardship and resentment. Third, he created further ill-will by disbanding the imperial corps of German bodyguards, effectively abolishing a tradition that originated with Marius and had been endorsed by Augustus. Finally, he seriously alienated the military by refusing cash rewards for both the praetorians and for the soldiers in Upper Germany who had fought against Vindex.
This last act proved to be the beginning of the end for Galba. On 1 January 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. In response, Galba adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus to show that he was still in charge and that his successor would not be chosen for him. Piso, although an aristocrat, was a man completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate, and it especially angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with the now-familiar promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered.
Assessment
In sum, Galba had displayed talent and ambition during his lengthy career. He enjoyed distinguished ancestry, moved easily among the Julio-Claudian emperors (with the exception of Nero towards the end of his principate), and had been awarded the highest military and religious honors of ancient Rome. His qualifications for the principate cannot be questioned. Even so, history has been unkind to him. Tacitus characterized Galba as "weak and old," a man "equal to the imperial office, if he had never held it." Modern historians of the Roman world have been no less critical. To be sure, Galba's greatest mistake lay in his general handling of the military. His treatment of the army in Upper Germany was heedless, his policy towards the praetorians short sighted. Given the climate in 68-69, Galba was unrealistic in expecting disciplina without paying the promised rewards. He was also guilty of relying on poor advisors, who shielded him from reality and ultimately allowed Otho's conspiracy to succeed. Additionally, the excessive power of his henchmen brought the regime into disfavor and made Galba himself the principal target of the hatred that his aides had incited. Finally, the appointment of Piso, a young man in no way equal to the challenges placed before him, further underscored the emperor's isolation and lack of judgment. In the end, the instability of the post-Julio-Claudian political landscape offered challenges more formidable than a tired, septuagenarian aristocrat could hope to overcome. Ironically, his regime proved no more successful than the Neronian government he was so eager to replace. Another year of bloodshed would be necessary before the Principate could once again stand firm.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
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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Augustus quinariusAVGVST
Bare head of Augustus right
P CARISI LEG
Victory standing right crowning trophy
1.44g
Emerita 25-23 BC
RIC² 1b
The colony of Emerita Augusta was founded in 25 BC by P. Carissius, governor of Lusitania for veterans of legions V Alauda and X Gemina who had recently participated in Augustus' campaigns in north-western Spain
Ex-LucernariumJay GT4
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Augustus Quinarius (Victory & trophy, RIC I 1a) v.1AUGUSTUS, 27 BC - AD 14
AR Quinarius (16.11mm, 1.76g, 4h)
Struck 25-23 BC. Emerita Augusta mint
Obverse: AVGVST, bare head of Augustus right
Reverse: P CARISI LEG, Victory standing right, crowning trophy
References: RIC I 1a, RCV 1642
Attractive dark cabinet toning with a particularly fine portrait. From the Lt. Col. William Taylor McAninch Collection. (1906-1996)
"The colony of Emerita Augusta (modern Mérida) was founded in 25 BC by P. Carisius, governor of Lusitania, for veterans of legions V Alauda and X Gemina who had recently participated in Augustus' campaigns in north-western Spain."
- David R. Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. I (p. 324.)CPK
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Bithynia, Nikaia, Severus Alexander, SGI 3287 var.Severus Alexander, AD 222-235
AE 22, 5.31g
obv. M AVR CEVH ALEZANDROC AVG (VG ligate)
bare head laureate r.
rev. NI-K-A-I separated by three standards, outer standards topped with
capricorn; in ex., EWN.
SGI 3287 var. (different rev. legend breaks), scarce variant with EWN below and
capricorn signa
VF, medium brown patina, well-centered with a solid strike.
The capricorn standards likely represent Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix, the legion which had initially supported Septimius Severus in his bid for the purple. While rather distantly related to Septimius Severus through Julia Domna, though named after him, Alexander seems to have encouraged a rumor that he was in fact the illegitimate son of Caracalla and therefore the grandson of Septimius. This coin then suggests an interesting and subtle use of propoganda.
Jochen
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C. Minucius C.f. Augurinus - AR denariusRome
²134 BC / ¹135 BC
helmeted head of Roma right
ROMA
X
Ionic column surmounted by statue; at base, two stalks of grain; on left, L. Minucius Augurinus standing right,
holding patera, foot on modius; on right, M. Minucius Faesus standing left, holding lituus.
C·A_VG
¹Crawford 242/1, SRCV I 119, Sydenham 463, RSC I Minucia 3,
²Mark Passehl - Roman moneyer & coin type chronology, 150 – 50 BC
3,7g 18mm
ex Aurea Numismatika
Reverse depicts a commemorative bronze column - Columna Minucia which was erected in front of the gate, Porta Trigemina, in memory of L. Minucius Augurinus who as Praefectus Annonae supplied Rome with grain during famine in 439 BC. On the right there is Marcus Minucius Faestus who was elected Augur as the first plebeian in 300 BC.J. B.
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Crawford 544/29, Marc Antony, for Legio XIV, Denarius, 32-31 BC.Marc Antony, for Legio XIV (Gemina Martia Victrix), Patras mint (?), 32-31 BC.,
Denarius (16-17 mm / 3,63 g),
Obv.: above: [AN]T AVG , below: [III VI]R R P C , under oar right, filleted scepter or mast with fluttering banners on prow.
Rev.: LEG - XIV , Aquila (legionary eagle) between two military standards.
Crawf. 544/29 ; Bab. (Antonia) 123 ; BMC 208 ; Sear 369 ; Syd. 1234 .
Die Legio XIV wurde 41 v. Chr. von Augustus aufgestellt. Sie war seit 9 n. Chr. in Moguntiacum (Mainz) stationiert und kämpfte später unter Claudius in Britannien, wo sie 60 oder 61 n. Chr. half, Boudicca niederzuwerfen. Später war die Legion u. a. in Vindobona (Wien) und Carnuntum stationiert. Sie war an den Usurpationen des Saturninus und Regalianus beteiligt.
Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix was a legion of the Roman Empire, levied by Octavian after 41 BC. The cognomen Gemina (twin in Latin) suggests that the legion resulted from fusion of two previous ones, one of them possibly being the Fourteenth legion that fought in the Battle of Alesia. Martia Victrix (martial victory) were cognomens added by Nero following the victory over Boudica. The emblem of the legion was the Capricorn, as with many of the legions levied by Augustus.
Invasion of Britain
Stationed in Moguntiacum, Germania Superior, since AD 9, XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix was one of four legions used by Aulus Plautius and Claudius in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, and took part in the defeat of Boudicca in 60 or 61. In 68 it was stationed in Gallia Narbonensis.
Rebellion on the Rhine
In 89 the governor of Germania Superior, Lucius Antonius Saturninus, rebelled against Domitian, with the support of the XIVth and of the XXI Rapax, but the revolt was suppressed.
Pannonian defense
When the XXIst legion was lost, in 92, XIIII Gemina was sent in Pannonia to substitute it, camping in Vindobona (Vienna). After a war with the Sarmatians and Trajan's Dacian Wars (101-106), the legion was moved to Carnuntum, where it stayed for three centuries. Some subunits of Fourteenth fought in the wars against the Mauri, under Antoninus Pius, and the legion participated to the Parthian campaign of Emperor Lucius Verus. During his war against the Marcomanni, Emperor Marcus Aurelius based his headquarters in Carnuntum.
In support of Septimius Severus
In 193, after the death of Pertinax, the commander of the Fourteenth, Septimius Severus, was acclaimed emperor by the Pannonian legions, and above all by his own. XIIII Gemina fought for its emperor in his march to Rome to attack usurper Didius Julianus (193), contributed to the defeat of the usurper Pescennius Niger (194), and probably fought in the Parthian campaign that ended with the sack of the capital of the empire, Ctesiphon (198).
In support of imperial candidates
In the turmoil following the defeat of Valerian, tXIIII Gemina supported usurper Regalianus against Emperor Gallienus (260), then Gallienus against Postumus of the Gallic empire (earning the title VI Pia VI Fidelis — "six times faithful, six times loyal"), and, after Gallienus death, Gallic Emperor Victorinus (269-271).
5th century
At the beginning of the 5th century, XIIII Gemina still stayed at Carnuntum. It probably dissolved with the collapse of the Danube frontier in 430s. The Notitia Dignitatum lists a Quartodecimani comitatensis unit under the Magister Militum per Thracias; it is possible that this unit is XIV Gemina.
my ancient coin database
Arminius
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Egypt, BabylonThis elegant red and white banded brickwork is about all that remains on the surface to mark the Roman fortress of ‘Babylon in Egypt’. The Roman structure was started during the reign of Trajan on the site of an earlier Egyptian stronghold which marked the border between Lower and Middle Egypt. The fortress remained an important strategic outpost down through Byzantine times. In the fifth century the Legio XIII Gemina was stationed here. During the Arab conquest of Egypt in 640/1, Babylon endured a seven month siege before its capture.
These days most of the extensive Babylon complex lies buried under the streets of the Christian quarter of Old Cairo. The nearby medieval Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary is popularly known as the ‘Hanging Church’ because its nave was built suspended over two towers of the Roman fort.
Abu Galyon
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Hadrian Diploma fragment 120 ADMilitary Diploma
(Bronze, 48x53 mm, 19.42 g, 3 h),
Awarded to Malchio ..., with his wife Memmedabus and his son Titus. Early years of Hadrian, circa 119-120s AD. Unpublished
Frontside
CVM IIS QVAS [POSTEA DVXISSENT DVM TA]
XAT•SINGVLI SIN[GVLAS A D--- ]
C•VELIO•RVFO•L[... COS]
EX GR[EGALE]
MALCHIONI•MA[---F--- ]
ET MEMMEDABVT[--- FIL VXORI --- ]
ET TITO F EIVS•E[T --- F/FIL EIVS]
DESCRIPTVM ET R[ECOGNITVM EX TABVLA AEN]
QVAE FIXA EST•R[OMAE IN MVRO POST TEM]
PL VM•DIVI [AVG AD MINERVAM]
Backside:
[IMP CAESAR DIVI TRAIANI PART]HICI F DIVI NER
[VAE NEPOS TRAIANVS HADRI]ANVS AVG PONT
[MAX TRIBVNIC POTESTAT...]III COS III
[...] ALA GEMINA
[SEBASTENORVM ET SVNT IN M]AVRETANIA
[CAESAR SVB --- ]NDO P[RAEF]
[--- QVINIS ET VICENIS ---]
Unfortunately, the exact dating of this highly interesting military diploma is uncertain, as Hadrian's TR P is only recorded fragmentarily, and he only held three consulships in his career, the last of which was in 119. However, it is clear from the remaining text that the diploma was awarded to the soldier Malchio ..., who served in the ala Gemina Sebastenorum. This ala was stationed in Syria in the late 80s and early 90s, but inscriptions attest her presence in Mauretania Caesariensis, where she is last attested in 255-258 (CIL 8, 21000). With the emergence of our diploma, her redeployment from Syria to Africa can now be dated to no later than the reign of Hadrian.
Furthermore, the diploma also records the name of one of two Roman suffect consuls (the name of the second has broken off), namely C. Velius Rufus. This is a familiar name, for a certain C. Velius Salvi filius Rufus was a highly decorated officer whose career we know from an inscription on the base of a statue found in Heliopolis. Serving as a centurion in the Jewish War, C. Velius Rufus rose through the ranks quickly under the Flavians, becoming primus pilus of the Legio XII Fulminata in 82, commanding 9 vexillations in the Chattan War in 83, receiving several decorations for his campaigns across the Danube and in Dacia against Germans and Sarmatians and serving in two subsequent procuratorships in the early 90s. However, it seems unlikely that this C. Velius Rufus was still active in politics, or even alive, early in Hadrian's reign, and thus the suffect consul from our military diploma must be a descendant, likely his son.
As for the name of the soldier, it is worth noting that Malchio is a semitic name, but that the name of his son Titus is clearly Roman. It seems likely that Malchio named his son in honor of the emperor Titus, the conqueror of Jerusalem. Last but not least, the third name, Memmedabus, appears to be a variant of Emmedabous or `Immeh-de-`abû (-ha) (literally: 'mother of his father'), a name attested in Palmyra, Dura and Central Syria, both in Greek and in Aramaic. Although it is occasionally encountered as a male name, in the case of our diploma, Memmedabus was clearly Malchio's wife and Titus' mother. We can deduce from this that she was in all probability of Syrian origin, whereas Malchio himself may have also been Syrian, or perhaps Punic. Thus, the diploma is a beautiful testimony to the multiethnicity of the Roman army, which served as a melting pot for soldiers and their families from various cultural backgrounds, eventually merging them as citizens of Rome.okidoki
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HERENNIA ETRUSCILLA sestertius - 249-251 ADobv: HERENNIA.ETRVSCILLA.AVG (diademed & draped bust right)
rev: FECVNDITAS.AVG / S.C. (Fecunditas standing left, holding out hand to child at foot left & cornucopiae)
ref: RIC135a (Trajan Decius), C.12(10fr.)
18.14gms, 28mm
Rare
Ex Richard Beale
The ’FECVNDITAS.AVG’ honours Etruscilla as mother of the two young princess (Etruscus & Hostilian). She had also a daughter, who later married Volusian (perhaps in the summer of 251, after the death of Decius and Etruscus – both of them deified, thus the girl was a daughter of an God!). Etruscilla took her Augusta title, and the wife of Trebonianus Gallus, Afinia Gemina Baebiana never got that (and there’s no coins, either).berserker
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I. MINUCIUS C.F. AUGURINUS AR DENARIUSOBVERSE: Head of Roma right, star behind
REVERSE: TI MINVCI C F on left, RO-MA above, AVGVRINI on right; 2 togate figures, one holding a simpulum, the other a lituus, standing by statue on column, grain ears on either side of the column
Rome, 134 BC
3.86g, 17mm
Cr243/1, Syd 494, Minucia 9
The reverse refers to a bronze monument erected outside of Portia Trigemina (at Rome) to L. Minucius Augurinus for his distribution of corn to the common people at a low price. The column and statue (a modius with corn ears) was erected at public expense some time after. Undoubtedly there are subtle issues to this reference that did not survive the passage of time.Legatus
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Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG XANT AVG III VIR R P C
Galley r. mast with banners at prow
LEG X
Legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint 32-31BC
LEG X (later called Gemina) was levied in 59 BC or earlier by Julius Caesar. It was the first legion levied by him personally and was raised in Spain. It played a major role in the Gallic war featuring prominently in Caesar's "Gallic Wars." Legio X was his most trusted and loyal Legion. In 45 BC the Legion was disbanded and given land grants in Southern Gaul.
During the civil war that followed Caesar's assassination, Legio X was reconstituted by Lepidus in the winter of 44/43 BC making use of many retired legionaries who re-enlisted. It was eventually turned over to Antony and fought for him until the final Battle of Philippi. The veterans obtained lands near Cremona, and an inscription reports that the name of the legion at the time was Veneria, "devoted to Venus." This alluded to Julius Caesar's claimed descent from Venus.
The newly levied Tenth was then taken by Antony to Armenia for his Parthian campaign. During Antony's civil war, the legion fought for him until his defeat at the Battle of Actium, after which the legion changed sides and moved into Octavian's army. They were then taken to Egypt to finish off Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian never fully trusted the 10th Legion as it had been fiercely loyal to both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After Antony's death Octavian left the legion in the East in Syria. In 29 BC the legion was due to be discharged. When the legionaries pressed for their release and land grants Octavian was slow in complying. Suetonius says that the entire legion rioted and Octavian dishonorably discharged the entire legion.
Octavian now recruited new legionaries to fill the 10th Legion in its traditional recruiting grounds of Spain. Some of the senior Centurions may have re-enlisted for a third term to serve with the 10th. These men would have been in their late 40's or early 50's. The new legionaries marched over land to Syria to take up their posting. The new 10th Legion's home base was on the Euphrates to keep an eye on the Parthians.
The next discharge date would be 14-13 BC. This time the 10th Legion was settled in Beirut and the city was given Colony status. Ten years later the 10th Legion under Publius Quintilius Varus was marched down to Jerusalem to garrison the city after Herod the Great died. The 10th Legion would remain in Jerusalem until 6 AD. Jay GT4
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Mark Antony Legionary denarius LEG X IMPVESPANT AVG III VIR R P C
Galley r. mast with banners at prow
IMPVESP counter mark above galley
LEG X?
Legionary eagle between two standards IMPVESP countermark
Patrae mint 32-31BC
3.01g
Ex-Incitatus
Obverse countermarked IMPVESP during Vespasian's reign showing this denarius was in circulation for well over 100 years! In hand I can make out X for the legion number but can't be sure if any other numerals appear after it. This countermark appears mostly on late Republican and Imperatorial denarii, although denarii of Augustus and denarii of the Flavians struck at Ephesus are also recorded. The MP VES countermarks circulated specifically within the province of Asia Minor. Martini noted that the output of silver coinage in relation to the civic bronze for this region was much smaller during the Julio-Claudian period. This suggests the denarii were countermarked to validate locally circulating silver coinage at an acceptable weight while the regional mints opened by Vespasian were gearing up production, a theory which the countermarking of cistophori with the contemporary MP VES AVG countermarks seems to support. The similarly countermarked Flavian denarii struck at Ephesus can be accounted for then as examples accidentally countermarked by unobservant mint workers during the transition.
LEG X (later called Gemina) was levied in 59 BC or earlier by Julius Caesar. It was the first legion levied by him personally and was raised in Spain. It played a major role in the Gallic war featuring prominently in Caesar's "Gallic Wars." Legio X was his most trusted and loyal Legion. In 45 BC the Legion was disbanded and given land grants in Southern Gaul.
During the civil war that followed Caesar's assassination, Legio X was reconstituted by Lepidus in the winter of 44/43 BC making use of many retired legionaries who re-enlisted. It was eventually turned over to Antony and fought for him until the final Battle of Philippi. The veterans obtained lands near Cremona, and an inscription reports that the name of the legion at the time was Veneria, "devoted to Venus." This alluded to Julius Caesar's claimed descent from Venus.
The newly levied Tenth was then taken by Antony to Armenia for his Parthian campaign. During Antony's civil war, the legion fought for him until his defeat at the Battle of Actium, after which the legion changed sides and moved into Octavian's army. They were then taken to Egypt to finish off Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian never fully trusted the 10th Legion as it had been fiercely loyal to both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After Antony's death Octavian left the legion in the East in Syria. In 29 BC the legion was due to be discharged. When the legionaries pressed for their release and land grants Octavian was slow in complying. Suetonius says that the entire legion rioted and Octavian dishonorably discharged the entire legion.
Octavian now recruited new legionaries to fill the 10th Legion in its traditional recruiting grounds of Spain. Some of the senior Centurions may have re-enlisted for a third term to serve with the 10th. These men would have been in their late 40's or early 50's. The new legionaries marched over land to Syria to take up their posting. The new 10th Legion's home base was on the Euphrates to keep an eye on the Parthians.
The next discharge date would be 14-13 BC. This time the 10th Legion was settled in Beirut and the city was given Colony status. Ten years later the 10th Legion under Publius Quintilius Varus was marched down to Jerusalem to garrison the city after Herod the Great died. The 10th Legion would remain in Jerusalem until 6 AD.Jay GT4
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Miles Legio X, 58 - 57 B.C. (Gallic Wars)Miles or Miles Gregarius was the Roman army rank for the basic private level foot soldier.
Legio X Equestris was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 B.C. for his invasion of Gaul. In the Gallic wars, X Equestris played an important role on Caesar's military success, fighting under Caesar in virtually every battle. For this reason the Xth is sometimes said to be his favorite. Legio X saved the day in the battle against the Nervians in 57 BC. Together with the IXth, the Xth defeated the Atrebates, moved against the Belgians on the other side of the river and captured the enemy camp. From that position, the Xth could see how desperate the situation was for the XII Victrix as well as the VIIth. So, it quickly charged downhill, crossed the river, and attacked the Nervii from the rear, trapping them so that there was little hope of survival.
In Caesar's campaigns Legio X was present in the battle against the Nervians, the invasions of Britain, and the siege of Gergovia. They remained faithful to Caesar in the civil war against Pompey, being present in the battles of Pharsalus (49 BC) and Munda (45 BC). In 45 BC Caesar disbanded the legion, giving the veterans farmlands near Narbonne. During the civil war that followed Caesar's assassination, Legio X was reconstituted by Lepidus (winter 44/43), and fought for the triumvirs until the final Battle of Philippi.
The Xth later followed Mark Antony in Armenia, during his Parthian campaign. During Antony's civil war, the legion fought for Mark Antony until the defeat in the Battle of Actium, after which the legion moved into Octavian's army. The veterans settled in Patras. When the legion rebelled under Augustus, it was disbanded, stripped of its Equestris title, and, being populated with soldiers from other legions, renamed X Gemina. (Source: wikipedia)
Scale of this model: 75mm (1/24)
RomaVictor
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ROMAN EMPIRE, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS Legio XIII GeminaSEPTIMIUS SEVERUS. 193-211 AD. Legionary Denarius (18mm, 3.41 g, 12h). Struck 193 AD. Laureate head right / LEG X-III GEM M V, TR P COS in exergue, legionary eagle on low perch left between two standards. RIC IV 13 note; RSC 269a; BMCRE 17 note. VF
http://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/xiii_gemina.html
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ROMAN EMPIRE, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS Legio XIII Gemina SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS. 193-211 AD. Legionary Denarius (18mm, 3.41 g, 12h). Struck 193 AD. Laureate head right / LEG X-III GEM M V, TR P COS in exergue, legionary eagle on low perch left between two standards. RIC IV 13 note; RSC 269a; BMCRE 17 note. VF
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Septimius Severus (193-211) legionary denarius (Legio XIV Gemina Victrix) (AR)Obv.: IMP CAES L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II (Laureate head of emperor) Rev.: LEG XIIII GEM M V (legionary eagly between two standards) Exergue: TR P COS Diameter: 16 mm Weight: 3,1 g RIC 397
Interestingly, the obverse legend says 'COS II' while the reverse exergue says 'COS', implying the coins honoring the 14th continued to be struck after the main legionary series in 193 CE.Nick.vdw
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Septimius Severus Denarius RIC IVa 14Septimius Severus AR denarius
2.66g, 16.9mm, 345 degrees, Rome mint, 194 CE.
Attribution: RIC IVa 14. Cohen 272. BMCRE V 20.
O: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, laureate head right.
R: LEG XIIII GEM M V TR P COS, Legionary eagle between two standards.
LEG XIIII is Gemina, the twinned Fourteenth Legion.
18 examples in Reka Devnia, Mouchmov P.97.
Ex-Herakles Numismatics.Ron C2
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Septimius Severus Denarius RIC IVa 14Septimius Severus AR denarius
3.34g, 17.0mm, 180 degrees, Rome mint, 194 CE.
Attribution: RIC IVa 14. Cohen 272. BMCRE V 20.
O: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG, laureate head right.
R: LEG XIIII GEM M V TR P COS, Legionary eagle between two standards.
LEG XIIII is Gemina, the twinned Fourteenth Legion.
18 examples in Reka Devnia, Mouchmov P.97.
Ex-N&N Collection.Ron C2
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Septimius Severus Denarius RIC IVa 397Septimius Severus AR denarius
3.32g, 17.1mm, 180 degrees, Emesa mint, 193 CE.
Attribution: RIC IVa 397. Cohen 274. BMCRE V 371.
O: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right.
R: LEG XIIII GEM M V TR P COS, Legionary eagle between two standards.
LEG XIIII is Gemina, the twinned Fourteenth Legion.
4 examples in Reka Devnia, Mouchmov P.97.
Ex-Gert Boersema Ancient Coins, July 2023.Ron C2
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Septimius Severus LEG XIIII GEM M VSilver Denarius
Roman Imperial
Septimius Severus LEGIO XIIII GEMINA MARTIA VICTRIX
Rome Mint. 193 AD.
17 mm / 3.21 g / 180°
Obverse: LH Right, "Sept Sev[...]".
Reverse: "LEG XIIII GEM M V / TR P COS", Eagle with opened wings between two standards with capricorns.
Ex MD (2017)
Ex RvL Collection
BMCRE V p. 22, 19 and pl. 5.13; C 272; Hill 43. RIC 14.
MyID: 049ATenthGen
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Septimius Severus LEG XIIII GEM M V SestertiusBronze Sestertius
Roman Imperial
Septimius Severus LEGIO XIIII GEMINA MARTIA VICTRIX Sestertius
Rome Mint. 193 AD.
21.64 g / 28 mm / 180°
Obverse: "[IMP CAES L SEPT SEV PERT AVG]", LH Right.
Reverse: "[LEG XIIII GEM M V]" off flan, "S-C". Legionary eagle between two standards. "TR P COS" in ex, partially obscured.
Ex Nilus Coins
Cohen 275. RIC 652.
Reverse die match to Wildwinds example!
MyID: 065A
TenthGen
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Valerian I, AE28, Varbanov I 88Valerian I
Senior Augustus, 253 – 260 A.D.
Coin: AE28
Obverse: IMP P LIC VALERIANVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust facing right.
Reverse: PROVINCIA DACIA, personification of Dacia, standing between an Eagle and a Lion, holding a Laurel Branch with her right hand and a Sceptre with her left. ANVIII in exergue.
Weight: 10.12 g, Diameter: 28.2 x 25.3 x 2.2 mm, Die axis: 0°, Mint: Dacia, Year: VIII (253-254 A.D.), Reference: Varbanov I 88
Rated Rare (R7, 20 - 50 examples known)
Legion V Macedonia (emblem: Eagle, based in Potaissa)* & Legion XIII Gemina (emblem: Lion, based in Apulum)
* Valerian gave Legion V Macedonia the name "III* Pia III Fidelis"Constantine IV
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Viminacium (Kostolac) - As of Philip the ArabIMP. M. IVL. PHILIPPVS AVG. , laureate, draped and cuirassed bust.
PROVINCIA DACIA / AN II , Dacia wearing phrygian cap seated left, holding scimitar, between an eagle with a vexillum inscribed V and a lion with a vexillum inscribed XIII.
These coins were minted for the Province of Dacia. The vexilla and emblems are those of Legio V Macedonica (base in Potaissa) and Legio XIII Gemina (base in Apulum (Alba Iulia)).Ginolerhino
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[18H907] Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Sepphoris, GalileeBronze AE 23, Hendin 907, BMC 5, Fair, 7.41g, 23.1mm, 0o, Sepphoris mint, 98 - 117 A.D.; obverse TPAIANOS AYTO]-KPA[TWP EDWKEN, laureate head right; reverse SEPFW/RHNWN, eight-branched palm bearing two bunches of dates.
At the crossroads of the Via Maris and the Acre-Tiberias roads, Sepphoris was the capital of Galilee and Herod Antipas' first capital. Damaged by a riot, Antipas ordered Sepphoris be rebuilt. Flavius Josephus described the rebuilt Sepphoris as the "ornament of all Galilee." Since Sepphoris was only five miles north of Nazareth, Jesus and Joseph may have found work in Antipas' rebuilding projects. Sepphoris was built on a hill and visible for miles. This may be the city that Jesus spoke of when He said, "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."
Marcus Ulpius Traianus, a brilliant general and administrator was adopted and proclaimed emperor by the aging Nerva in 98 A.D. Regarded as one of Rome's greatest emperors, Trajan was responsible for the annexation of Dacia, the invasion of Arabia and an extensive and lavish building program across the empire. Under Trajan, Rome reached its greatest extent. Shortly after the annexation of Mesopotamia and Armenia, Trajan was forced to withdraw from most of the new Arabian provinces. While returning to Rome to direct operations against the new threats, Trajan died at Selinus in Cilicia.
See: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/indexfrm.asp?vpar=55&pos=0.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Trajan (A.D. 98-117)
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
Introduction and Sources
"During a happy period of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this and of the two succeeding chapters to describe the prosperous condition of their empire, and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall, a revolution which will ever be remembered and is still felt by the nations of the earth."
This is perhaps the most important and best known of all Edward Gibbon's famous dicta about his vast subject, and particularly that period which he admired the most. It was a concatenation of chance and events which brought to the first position of the principate five men, each very different from the others, who each, in his own way, brought integrity and a sense of public duty to his tasks. Nerva's tenure was brief, as many no doubt had expected and hoped it would be, and perhaps his greatest achievement was to choose Trajan as his adoptive son and intended successor. It was a splendid choice. Trajan was one of Rome's most admirable figures, a man who merited the renown which he enjoyed in his lifetime and in subsequent generations.
The sources for the man and his principate are disappointingly skimpy. There is no contemporaneous historian who can illuminate the period. Tacitus speaks only occasionally of Trajan, there is no biography by Suetonius, nor even one by the author of the late and largely fraudulent Historia Augusta. (However, a modern version of what such a life might have been like has been composed by A. Birley, entirely based upon ancient evidence. It is very useful.) Pliny the Younger tells us the most, in his Panegyricus, his long address of thanks to the emperor upon assuming the consulship in late 100, and in his letters. Pliny was a wordy and congenial man, who reveals a great deal about his senatorial peers and their relations with the emperor, above all, of course, his own. The most important part is the tenth book of his Epistulae, which contains the correspondence between him, while serving in Bithynia, and the emperor, to whom he referred all manner of problems, important as well as trivial. Best known are the pair (96,97) dealing with the Christians and what was to be done with them. These would be extraordinarily valuable if we could be sure that the imperial replies stemmed directly from Trajan, but that is more than one can claim. The imperial chancellery had developed greatly in previous decades and might pen these communications after only the most general directions from the emperor. The letters are nonetheless unique in the insight they offer into the emperor's mind.
Cassius Dio, who wrote in the decade of the 230s, wrote a long imperial history which has survived only in abbreviated form in book LXVIII for the Trajanic period. The rhetorician Dio of Prusa, a contemporary of the emperor, offers little of value. Fourth-century epitomators, Aurelius Victor and Eutropius, offer some useful material. Inscriptions, coins, papyri, and legal texts are of major importance. Since Trajan was a builder of many significant projects, archaeology contributes mightily to our understanding of the man.
Early Life and Career
The patria of the Ulpii was Italica, in Spanish Baetica , where their ancestors had settled late in the third century B.C. This indicates that the Italian origin was paramount, yet it has recently been cogently argued that the family's ancestry was local, with Trajan senior actually a Traius who was adopted into the family of the Ulpii. Trajan's father was the first member of the family to pursue a senatorial career; it proved to be a very successful one. Born probably about the year 30, he perhaps commanded a legion under Corbulo in the early sixties and then was legate of legio X Fretensis under Vespasian, governor of Judaea. Success in the Jewish War was rewarded by the governorship of an unknown province and then a consulate in 70. He was thereafter adlected by the emperor in patricios and sent to govern Baetica. Then followed the governorship of one of the major military provinces, Syria, where he prevented a Parthian threat of invasion, and in 79/80 he was proconsul of Asia, one of the two provinces (the other was Africa) which capped a senatorial career. His public service now effectively over, he lived on in honor and distinction, in all likelihood seeing his son emperor. He probably died before 100. He was deified in 113 and his titulature read divus Traianus pater. Since his son was also the adoptive son of Nerva, the emperor had officially two fathers, a unique circumstance.
The son was born in Italica on September 18, 53; his mother was Marcia, who had given birth to a daughter, Ulpia Marciana, five years before the birth of the son. In the mid seventies, he was a legionary legate under his father in Syria. He then married a lady from Nemausus (Nimes) in Gallia Narbonensis, Pompeia Plotina, was quaestor about 78 and praetor about 84. In 86, he became one of the child Hadrian's guardians. He was then appointed legate of legio VII Gemina in Hispania Tarraconensis, from which he marched at Domitian's orders in 89 to crush the uprising of Antonius Saturninus along the Rhine. He next fought in Domitian's war against the Germans along Rhine and Danube and was rewarded with an ordinary consulship in 91. Soon followed the governorship of Moesia inferior and then that of Germania superior, with his headquarters at Moguntiacum (Mainz), whither Hadrian brought him the news in autumn 97 that he had been adopted by the emperor Nerva, as co-ruler and intended successor. Already recipient of the title imperator and possessor of the tribunician power, when Nerva died on January 27, 98, Trajan became emperor in a smooth transition of power which marked the next three quarters of a century.
Early Years through the Dacian Wars
Trajan did not return immediately to Rome. He chose to stay in his German province and settle affairs on that frontier. He showed that he approved Domitian's arrangements, with the establishment of two provinces, their large military garrisons, and the beginnings of the limes. Those who might have wished for a renewed war of conquest against the Germans were disappointed. The historian Tacitus may well have been one of these.
Trajan then visited the crucial Danube provinces of Pannonia and Moesia, where the Dacian king Decebalus had caused much difficulty for the Romans and had inflicted a heavy defeat upon a Roman army about a decade before. Domitian had established a modus vivendi with Decebalus, essentially buying his good behavior, but the latter had then continued his activities hostile to Rome. Trajan clearly thought that this corner of empire would require his personal attention and a lasting and satisfactory solution.
Trajan spent the year 100 in Rome, seeing to the honors and deification of his predecessor, establishing good and sensitive relations with the senate, in sharp contrast with Domitian's "war against the senate." Yet his policies essentially continued Domitian's; he was no less master of the state and the ultimate authority over individuals, but his good nature and respect for those who had until recently been his peers if not his superiors won him great favor. He was called optimus by the people and that word began to appear among his titulature, although it had not been decreed by the senate. Yet his thoughts were ever on the Danube. Preparations for a great campaign were under way, particularly with transfers of legions and their attendant auxiliaries from Germany and Britain and other provinces and the establishment of two new ones, II Traiana and XXX Ulpia, which brought the total muster to 30, the highest number yet reached in the empire's history.
In 101 the emperor took the field. The war was one which required all his military abilities and all the engineering and discipline for which the Roman army was renowned. Trajan was fortunate to have Apollodorus of Damascus in his service, who built a roadway through the Iron Gates by cantilevering it from the sheer face of the rock so that the army seemingly marched on water. He was also to build a great bridge across the Danube, with 60 stone piers (traces of this bridge still survive). When Trajan was ready to move he moved with great speed, probably driving into the heart of Dacian territory with two columns, until, in 102, Decebalus chose to capitulate. He prostrated himself before Trajan and swore obedience; he was to become a client king. Trajan returned to Rome and added the title Dacicus to his titulature.
Decebalus, however, once left to his own devices, undertook to challenge Rome again, by raids across the Danube into Roman territory and by attempting to stir up some of the tribes north of the river against her. Trajan took the field again in 106, intending this time to finish the job of Decebalus' subjugation. It was a brutal struggle, with some of the characteristics of a war of extirpation, until the Dacian king, driven from his capital of Sarmizegethusa and hunted like an animal, chose to commit suicide rather than to be paraded in a Roman triumph and then be put to death.
The war was over. It had taxed Roman resources, with 11 legions involved, but the rewards were great. Trajan celebrated a great triumph, which lasted 123 days and entertained the populace with a vast display of gladiators and animals. The land was established as a province, the first on the north side of the Danube. Much of the native population which had survived warfare was killed or enslaved, their place taken by immigrants from other parts of the empire. The vast wealth of Dacian mines came to Rome as war booty, enabling Trajan to support an extensive building program almost everywhere, but above all in Italy and in Rome. In the capital, Apollodorus designed and built in the huge forum already under construction a sculpted column, precisely 100 Roman feet high, with 23 spiral bands filled with 2500 figures, which depicted, like a scroll being unwound, the history of both Dacian wars. It was, and still is, one of the great achievements of imperial "propaganda." In southern Dacia, at Adamklissi, a large tropaeum was built on a hill, visible from a great distance, as a tangible statement of Rome's domination. Its effect was similar to that of Augustus' monument at La Turbie above Monaco; both were constant reminders for the inhabitants who gazed at it that they had once been free and were now subjects of a greater power.
Administration and Social Policy
The chief feature of Trajan's administration was his good relations with the senate, which allowed him to accomplish whatever he wished without general opposition. His auctoritas was more important than his imperium. At the very beginning of Trajan's reign, the historian Tacitus, in the biography of his father-in-law Agricola, spoke of the newly won compatibility of one-man rule and individual liberty established by Nerva and expanded by Trajan (Agr. 3.1, primo statim beatissimi saeculi ortu Nerva Caesar res olim dissociabiles miscuerit, principatum ac libertatem, augeatque cotidie felicitatem temporum Nerva Traianus,….) [13] At the end of the work, Tacitus comments, when speaking of Agricola's death, that he had forecast the principate of Trajan but had died too soon to see it (Agr. 44.5, ei non licuit durare in hanc beatissimi saeculi lucem ac principem Traianum videre, quod augurio votisque apud nostras aures ominabatur,….) Whether one believes that principate and liberty had truly been made compatible or not, this evidently was the belief of the aristocracy of Rome. Trajan, by character and actions, contributed to this belief, and he undertook to reward his associates with high office and significant promotions. During his principate, he himself held only 6 consulates, while arranging for third consulates for several of his friends. Vespasian had been consul 9 times, Titus 8, Domitian 17! In the history of the empire there were only 12 or 13 private who reached the eminence of third consulates. Agrippa had been the first, L. Vitellius the second. Under Trajan there were 3: Sex. Iulius Frontinus (100), T. Vestricius Spurinna (100), and L. Licinius Sura (107). There were also 10 who held second consulships: L. Iulius Ursus Servianus (102), M.' Laberius Maximus (103), Q. Glitius Atilius Agricola (103), P. Metilius Sabinus Nepos (103?), Sex. Attius Suburanus Aemilianus (104), Ti. Iulius Candidus Marius Celsus (105), C. Antius A. Iulius Quadratus (105), Q. Sosius Senecio (107), A. Cornelius Palma Frontonianus (109), and L. Publilius Celsus (113). These men were essentially his close associates from pre-imperial days and his prime military commanders in the Dacian wars.
One major administrative innovation can be credited to Trajan. This was the introduction of curators who, as representatives of the central government, assumed financial control of local communities, both in Italy and the provinces. Pliny in Bithynia is the best known of these imperial officials. The inexorable shift from freedmen to equestrians in the imperial ministries continued, to culminate under Hadrian, and he devoted much attention and considerable state resources to the expansion of the alimentary system, which purposed to support orphans throughout Italy. The splendid arch at Beneventum represents Trajan as a civilian emperor, with scenes of ordinary life and numerous children depicted, which underscored the prosperity of Italy.
The satirist Juvenal, a contemporary of the emperor, in one of his best known judgments, laments that the citizen of Rome, once master of the world, is now content only with "bread and circuses."
Nam qui dabat olim / imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se / continet, atque duas tantum res anxius optat, / panem et circenses. (X 78-81)
Trajan certainly took advantage of that mood, indeed exacerbated it, by improving the reliabilty of the grain supply (the harbor at Ostia and the distribution system as exemplified in the Mercati in Rome). Fronto did not entirely approve, if indeed he approved at all. The plebs esteemed the emperor for the glory he had brought Rome, for the great wealth he had won which he turned to public uses, and for his personality and manner. Though emperor, he prided himself upon being civilis, a term which indicated comportment suitable for a Roman citizen.
There was only one major addition to the Rome's empire other than Dacia in the first decade and a half of Trajan's reign. This was the province of Arabia, which followed upon the absorption of the Nabataean kingdom (105-106).
Building Projects
Trajan had significant effect upon the infrastructure of both Rome and Italy. His greatest monument in the city, if the single word "monument" can effectively describe the complex, was the forum which bore his name, much the largest, and the last, of the series known as the "imperial fora." Excavation for a new forum had already begun under Domitian, but it was Apollodorus who designed and built the whole. Enormous in its extent, the Basilica Ulpia was the centerpiece, the largest wood roofed building in the Roman world. In the open courtyard before it was an equestrian statue of Trajan, behind it was the column; there were libraries, one for Latin scrolls, the other for Greek, on each side. A significant omission was a temple; this circumstance was later rectified by Hadrian, who built a large temple to the deified Trajan and Plotina.
The column was both a history in stone and the intended mausoleum for the emperor, whose ashes were indeed placed in the column base. An inscription over the doorway, somewhat cryptic because part of the text has disappeared, reads as follows:
Senatus populusque Romanus imp. Caesari divi Nervae f. Nervae Traiano Aug. Germ. Dacico pontif. Maximo trib. pot. XVII imp. VI p.p. ad declarandum quantae altitudinis mons et locus tant[is oper]ibus sit egestus (Smallwood 378)
On the north side of the forum, built into the slopes of the Quirinal hill, were the Markets of Trajan, which served as a shopping mall and the headquarters of the annona, the agency responsible for the receipt and distribution of grain.
On the Esquiline hill was constructed the first of the huge imperial baths, using a large part of Nero's Domus Aurea as its foundations. On the other side of the river a new aqueduct was constructed, which drew its water from Lake Bracciano and ran some 60 kilometers to the heights of the Janiculum Hill. It was dedicated in 109. A section of its channel survives in the basement of the American Academy in Rome.
The arch in Beneventum is the most significant monument elsewhere in Italy. It was dedicated in 114, to mark the beginning of the new Via Traiana, which offered an easier route to Brundisium than that of the ancient Via Appia.
Trajan devoted much attention to the construction and improvement of harbors. His new hexagonal harbor at Ostia at last made that port the most significant in Italy, supplanting Puteoli, so that henceforth the grain ships docked there and their cargo was shipped by barge up the Tiber to Rome. Terracina benefited as well from harbor improvements, and the Via Appia now ran directly through the city along a new route, with some 130 Roman feet of sheer cliff being cut away so that the highway could bend along the coast. Ancona on the Adriatic Sea became the major harbor on that coast for central Italy in 114-115, and Trajan's activity was commemorated by an arch. The inscription reports that the senate and people dedicated it to the []iprovidentissimo principi quod accessum Italiae hoc etiam addito ex pecunia sua portu tutiorem navigantibus reddiderit (Smallwood 387). Centumcellae, the modern Civitavecchia, also profited from a new harbor. The emperor enjoyed staying there, and on at least one occasion summoned his consilium there.
Elsewhere in the empire the great bridge at Alcantara in Spain, spanning the Tagus River, still in use, testifies to the significant attention the emperor gave to the improvement of communication throughout his entire domain.
Family Relations; the Women
After the death of his father, Trajan had no close male relatives. His life was as closely linked with his wife and female relations as that of any of his predecessors; these women played enormously important roles in the empire's public life, and received honors perhaps unparalleled. His wife, Pompeia Plotina, is reported to have said, when she entered the imperial palace in Rome for the first time, that she hoped she would leave it the same person she was when she entered. She received the title Augusta no later than 105. She survived Trajan, dying probably in 121, and was honored by Hadrian with a temple, which she shared with her husband, in the great forum which the latter had built.
His sister Marciana, five years his elder, and he shared a close affection. She received the title Augusta, along with Plotina, in 105 and was deified in 112 upon her death. Her daughter Matidia became Augusta upon her mother's death, and in her turn was deified in 119. Both women received substantial monuments in the Campus Martius, there being basilicas of each and a temple of divae Matidiae. Hadrian was responsible for these buildings, which were located near the later temple of the deified Hadrian, not far from the column of Marcus Aurelius.
Matidia's daughter, Sabina, was married to Hadrian in the year 100. The union survived almost to the end of Hadrian's subsequent principate, in spite of the mutual loathing that they had for each other. Sabina was Trajan's great niece, and thereby furnished Hadrian a crucial link to Trajan.
The women played public roles as significant as any of their predecessors. They traveled with the emperor on public business and were involved in major decisions. They were honored throughout the empire, on monuments as well as in inscriptions. Plotina, Marciana, and Matidia, for example, were all honored on the arch at Ancona along with Trajan.
The Parthian War
In 113, Trajan began preparations for a decisive war against Parthia. He had been a "civilian" emperor for seven years, since his victory over the Dacians, and may well have yearned for a last, great military achievement, which would rival that of Alexander the Great. Yet there was a significant cause for war in the Realpolitik of Roman-Parthian relations, since the Parthians had placed a candidate of their choice upon the throne of Armenia without consultation and approval of Rome. When Trajan departed Rome for Antioch, in a leisurely tour of the eastern empire while his army was being mustered, he probably intended to destroy at last Parthia's capabilities to rival Rome's power and to reduce her to the status of a province (or provinces). It was a great enterprise, marked by initial success but ultimate disappointment and failure.
In 114 he attacked the enemy through Armenia and then, over three more years, turned east and south, passing through Mesopotamia and taking Babylon and the capital of Ctesiphon. He then is said to have reached the Persian Gulf and to have lamented that he was too old to go further in Alexander's footsteps. In early 116 he received the title Parthicus.
The territories, however, which had been handily won, were much more difficult to hold. Uprisings among the conquered peoples, and particularly among the Jews in Palestine and the Diaspora, caused him to gradually resign Roman rule over these newly-established provinces as he returned westward. The revolts were brutally suppressed. In mid 117, Trajan, now a sick man, was slowly returning to Italy, having left Hadrian in command in the east, when he died in Selinus of Cilicia on August 9, having designated Hadrian as his successor while on his death bed. Rumor had it that Plotina and Matidia were responsible for the choice, made when the emperor was already dead. Be that as it may, there was no realistic rival to Hadrian, linked by blood and marriage to Trajan and now in command of the empire's largest military forces. Hadrian received notification of his designation on August 11, and that day marked his dies imperii. Among Hadrian's first acts was to give up all of Trajan's eastern conquests.
Trajan's honors and reputation
Hadrian saw to it that Trajan received all customary honors: the late emperor was declared a divus, his victories were commemorated in a great triumph, and his ashes were placed in the base of his column. Trajan's reputation remained unimpaired, in spite of the ultimate failure of his last campaigns. Early in his principate, he had unofficially been honored with the title optimus, "the best," which long described him even before it became, in 114, part of his official titulature. His correspondence with Pliny enables posterity to gain an intimate sense of the emperor in action. His concern for justice and the well-being of his subjects is underscored by his comment to Pliny, when faced with the question of the Christians, that they were not to be sought out, "nor is it appropriate to our age." At the onset of his principate, Tacitus called Trajan's accession the beginning of a beatissimum saeculum, and so it remained in the public mind. Admired by the people, respected by the senatorial aristocracy, he faced no internal difficulties, with no rival nor opposition. His powers were as extensive as Domitian's had been, but his use and display of these powers were very different from those of his predecessor, who had claimed to be deus et dominus. Not claiming to be a god, he was recognized in the official iconography of sculpture as Jupiter's viceregent on earth, so depicted on the attic reliefs of the Beneventan arch. The passage of time increased Trajan's aura rather than diminished it. In the late fourth century, when the Roman Empire had dramatically changed in character from what it had been in Trajan's time, each new emperor was hailed with the prayer, felicior Augusto, melior Traiano, "may he be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan." That reputation has essentially survived into the present day.
Copyright (C) 2000, 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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[902a] Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D.TRAJAN AE dupondius. Cohen 563, RCV 3323. 29mm, 14.1g. Struck circa 115 AD. Obverse: IMP CAESAR NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, radiate, draped bust right; Reverse: SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS, S-C, Trajan's column, eagles at base. This type is noticeably scarcer than the SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI type. Ex. Incitatus Coins. Photo courtesy of Incitatus Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Trajan (A.D. 98-117)
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
Introduction and Sources
"During a happy period of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this and of the two succeeding chapters to describe the prosperous condition of their empire, and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall, a revolution which will ever be remembered and is still felt by the nations of the earth."
This is perhaps the most important and best known of all Edward Gibbon's famous dicta about his vast subject, and particularly that period which he admired the most. It was a concatenation of chance and events which brought to the first position of the principate five men, each very different from the others, who each, in his own way, brought integrity and a sense of public duty to his tasks. Nerva's tenure was brief, as many no doubt had expected and hoped it would be, and perhaps his greatest achievement was to choose Trajan as his adoptive son and intended successor. It was a splendid choice. Trajan was one of Rome's most admirable figures, a man who merited the renown which he enjoyed in his lifetime and in subsequent generations.
The sources for the man and his principate are disappointingly skimpy. There is no contemporaneous historian who can illuminate the period. Tacitus speaks only occasionally of Trajan, there is no biography by Suetonius, nor even one by the author of the late and largely fraudulent Historia Augusta. (However, a modern version of what such a life might have been like has been composed by A. Birley, entirely based upon ancient evidence. It is very useful.) Pliny the Younger tells us the most, in his Panegyricus, his long address of thanks to the emperor upon assuming the consulship in late 100, and in his letters. Pliny was a wordy and congenial man, who reveals a great deal about his senatorial peers and their relations with the emperor, above all, of course, his own. The most important part is the tenth book of his Epistulae, which contains the correspondence between him, while serving in Bithynia, and the emperor, to whom he referred all manner of problems, important as well as trivial. Best known are the pair (96,97) dealing with the Christians and what was to be done with them. These would be extraordinarily valuable if we could be sure that the imperial replies stemmed directly from Trajan, but that is more than one can claim. The imperial chancellery had developed greatly in previous decades and might pen these communications after only the most general directions from the emperor. The letters are nonetheless unique in the insight they offer into the emperor's mind.
Cassius Dio, who wrote in the decade of the 230s, wrote a long imperial history which has survived only in abbreviated form in book LXVIII for the Trajanic period. The rhetorician Dio of Prusa, a contemporary of the emperor, offers little of value. Fourth-century epitomators, Aurelius Victor and Eutropius, offer some useful material. Inscriptions, coins, papyri, and legal texts are of major importance. Since Trajan was a builder of many significant projects, archaeology contributes mightily to our understanding of the man.
Early Life and Career
The patria of the Ulpii was Italica, in Spanish Baetica , where their ancestors had settled late in the third century B.C. This indicates that the Italian origin was paramount, yet it has recently been cogently argued that the family's ancestry was local, with Trajan senior actually a Traius who was adopted into the family of the Ulpii. Trajan's father was the first member of the family to pursue a senatorial career; it proved to be a very successful one. Born probably about the year 30, he perhaps commanded a legion under Corbulo in the early sixties and then was legate of legio X Fretensis under Vespasian, governor of Judaea. Success in the Jewish War was rewarded by the governorship of an unknown province and then a consulate in 70. He was thereafter adlected by the emperor in patricios and sent to govern Baetica. Then followed the governorship of one of the major military provinces, Syria, where he prevented a Parthian threat of invasion, and in 79/80 he was proconsul of Asia, one of the two provinces (the other was Africa) which capped a senatorial career. His public service now effectively over, he lived on in honor and distinction, in all likelihood seeing his son emperor. He probably died before 100. He was deified in 113 and his titulature read divus Traianus pater. Since his son was also the adoptive son of Nerva, the emperor had officially two fathers, a unique circumstance.
The son was born in Italica on September 18, 53; his mother was Marcia, who had given birth to a daughter, Ulpia Marciana, five years before the birth of the son. In the mid seventies, he was a legionary legate under his father in Syria. He then married a lady from Nemausus (Nimes) in Gallia Narbonensis, Pompeia Plotina, was quaestor about 78 and praetor about 84. In 86, he became one of the child Hadrian's guardians. He was then appointed legate of legio VII Gemina in Hispania Tarraconensis, from which he marched at Domitian's orders in 89 to crush the uprising of Antonius Saturninus along the Rhine. He next fought in Domitian's war against the Germans along Rhine and Danube and was rewarded with an ordinary consulship in 91. Soon followed the governorship of Moesia inferior and then that of Germania superior, with his headquarters at Moguntiacum (Mainz), whither Hadrian brought him the news in autumn 97 that he had been adopted by the emperor Nerva, as co-ruler and intended successor. Already recipient of the title imperator and possessor of the tribunician power, when Nerva died on January 27, 98, Trajan became emperor in a smooth transition of power which marked the next three quarters of a century.
(For a detailed and interesting discussion of the Emperor Trajan please see: http://www.roman-emperors.org/trajan.htm)
Trajan's honors and reputation
Hadrian saw to it that Trajan received all customary honors: the late emperor was declared a divus, his victories were commemorated in a great triumph, and his ashes were placed in the base of his column. Trajan's reputation remained unimpaired, in spite of the ultimate failure of his last campaigns. Early in his principate, he had unofficially been honored with the title optimus, "the best," which long described him even before it became, in 114, part of his official titulature. His correspondence with Pliny enables posterity to gain an intimate sense of the emperor in action. His concern for justice and the well-being of his subjects is underscored by his comment to Pliny, when faced with the question of the Christians, that they were not to be sought out, "nor is it appropriate to our age." At the onset of his principate, Tacitus called Trajan's accession the beginning of a beatissimum saeculum, and so it remained in the public mind. Admired by the people, respected by the senatorial aristocracy, he faced no internal difficulties, with no rival nor opposition. His powers were as extensive as Domitian's had been, but his use and display of these powers were very different from those of his predecessor, who had claimed to be deus et dominus. Not claiming to be a god, he was recognized in the official iconography of sculpture as Jupiter's viceregent on earth, so depicted on the attic reliefs of the Beneventan arch. The passage of time increased Trajan's aura rather than diminished it. In the late fourth century, when the Roman Empire had dramatically changed in character from what it had been in Trajan's time, each new emperor was hailed with the prayer, felicior Augusto, melior Traiano, "may he be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan." That reputation has essentially survived into the present day.
Copyright (C) 2000, 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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