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Königreich Bayern
Maximilian II. Joseph, 1848 - 1864
Kreuzer 1861, München
Vs: Gekröntes Wappen.
Rs: Wertangabe und Jahr im Eichenkranz.
Erhaltung: Fleckig, sehr schön.
Durchmesser: 14 mm
Gewicht: 0,9 g Billon _390Antonivs Protti
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Römisch Deutsches Reich - Augsburg, Reichsstadt
Zeit Joseph II. 1765 - 1790
Pfennig 1786
Stadtpyr in Kartusche/Wertzahl,darunter Jahreszahl.
Erhaltung: Sehr schön.
Durchmesser: 16 mm
Gewicht: 1,9 g (Cu) _1989Antonivs Protti
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Österreich
Kaiser Franz Joseph I., 1848-1916
1 Kreuzer 1885 (Kupfer)
Münzstätte Wien
Vs.: Gekrönter Doppeladler
Rs.: Wert und Jahreszahl
Gewicht: 3,3g
Erhaltung: unzirkuliert _496Antonivs Protti
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2 AugustusAugustus. 27 B.C.-A.D. 14 AR denarius. Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, 2 B.C.-A.D. 12. From the Joseph Donzanti Collection.
Augustus. 27 B.C.-A.D. 14 AR denarius (18.40 mm, 3.91 g, 11 h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, 2 B.C.-A.D. 12. CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE, laureate head right / AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT C L CAESARES, Caius and lucius caesars togate stand facing, each resting hand on a round shield with spear behind, above center on left a simpulum right and on right a lituus left. RIC 207; RSC 43; Lyon 82. aEF, area of minor flat strike.
From the Joseph Donzanti Collection. Ex Agora Auctions, 5/9/17Sosius
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UNITED STATES TOKENS, Hard Times. Political issues.
CU Token (27mm, 6.59 g, 11 h)
Dies by Joseph B. Gardiner. Belleville (New Jersey) or Scoville mint. Struck 1840.
HENRY CLAY AND THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
Draped bust of Henry Clay right; IBG below
UNITED/ [WE]/ STAND within wreath
Rulau HT 79; Low 192
Rulau gives a struck date of 1840 for this issue, and assigns it to the Belleville mint. However, documentary evidence shows that Gardiner was by this time working at the Scoville mint in Waterbury, CT. Either the coin was struck prior to spring 1839, or it is an issue of the Scoville mint. Ardatirion
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HAITI, Premier République. Jean Pierre Boyer. President, 1825-1843
Brass 50 Centimes (25.5mm, 4.26 g, 12h)
Contemporary counterfeit. Dated L'An 25 of the Republic (AD 1828/9)
J * BOYER * PRESIDENTE *, AN 25
Bust left
REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI */ 50 * C
Palm tree flanked by cannon and banners
KM 20a; cf. Arroyo 105 (for official issue); Lissade 96; iNumis 25, lot 1352
On 1 June 1835, local officials arrested engraver Joseph Gardner of Belleville on charges of counterfeiting. When searching his house, officials discovered dies for Spanish 8 reales in various states of completion, coining implements, a bag of gold dust, and several bags of "spurious Haytien coppers." Yet Gardner was not the only individual striking illicit Haitian coins. James Bishop of neighboring Bloomfield, New Jersey had been arrested several months before, and a third person was responsible for the issue brought to Haiti by Jeremiah Hamilton.
Today, two distinct issues of counterfeits can be identified: a group of 25 and 50 Centimes, clearly related in fabric, and two different dates of 100 Centimes. The smaller denominations are most often found lacking a silver plating, while the plating year 26 100 Centimes is fine enough to deceive the likes of NGC and Heritage. Additionally, there are a handful year 27 100 centimes overstruck on US large cents. While I have not yet found a regular strike from these dies, they are the most likely candidate for Belleville's production. Ardatirion
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001a, Olbia, Sarmatia, c. 5th Century B.C.Bronze cast dolphin, SGCV 1684 var, VF, 1.322g, 24.7mm. Obverse: dolphin with raised spine, dorsal fin and tail.
Olbia
Olbia, located in what is modern-day Ukraine, was a Milesian colony at the convergence of the Hypanis and Borysthenes rivers, about 15 miles inland from the Northwest coast of the Black Sea. Well located for trade, Olbia was a prosperous trading city and major grain supplier in the 5th Century B.C.
Small bronze dolphins were cast in Olbia, beginning 550-525 B.C., first as sacrificial objects for worship of Apollo and later as a form of currency (Joseph Sermarini).Cleisthenes
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010. Vespasian 69 AD - 79 ADVespasian
The character of this emperor showed very little, if anything, of the pagan tyrant. Though himself a man of no literary culture, he became the protector of his prisoner of war, the Jewish historian Josephus, a worshipper of the One God, and even permitted him the use of his own family name (Flavius). While this generosity may have been in some degree prompted by Josephus's shrewd prophecy of Vespasian's elevation to the purple, there are other instances of his disposition to reward merit in those with whom he was by no means personally sympathetic. Vespasian has the distinction of being the first Roman Emperor to transmit the purple to his own son; he is also noteworthy in Roman imperial history as having very nearly completed his seventieth year and died a natural death: being in feeble health, he had withdrawn to benefit by the purer air of his native Reate, in the "dewy fields" (rosei campi) of the Sabine country. By his wife, Flavia Domitilla, he left two sons, Titus and Domitian, and a daughter, Domitilla, through whom the name of Vespasian's empress was passed on to a granddaughter who is revered as a confessor of the Faith.
A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century. In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!"
Denarius. IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII, laureate head right / VES-TA to either side of Vesta standing left, holding simpulum & scepter. RSC 574ecoli
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061 Ferenc József I. (Franz Joseph I.), King of Hungary, (1848-1916 AD A.D.), H 2170, U 1480a, 1868 K-B, AE-4 Kreuzer #01061 Ferenc József I. (Franz Joseph I.), King of Hungary, (1848-1916 AD A.D.), H 2170, U 1480a, 1868 K-B, AE-4 Kreuzer #01
avers: MAGYAR KIRÁLYI VÁLTÓ PÉNZ, Two angels holding the Holy Crown over Hungarian shield, laurel-branches crossed below, border of dots.
reverse: 4/1868/K•B•, in oak-wreath, border of dots.
diameter: 27,0mm, weight: 13,49g, axis: 0h,
mint: Hungary, mint mark: K•B•, Körmöcbánya, (Kremnitz, today Slovakia: Kremnica),
date: 1868 A.D., ref: Unger-3 1480a/1868, Huszar 2170/1868,
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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1409a, Julian II "the Philosopher," February 360 - 26 June 363 A.D.Julian II, A.D. 360-363; RIC 167; VF; 2.7g, 20mm; Constantinople mint; Obverse: DN FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG, helmeted & cuirassed bust right, holding spear & shield; Reverse: VOT X MVLT XX in four lines within wreath; CONSPB in exergue; Attractive green patina. Ex Nemesis.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Julian the Apostate (360-363 A.D.)
Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University
Introduction
The emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus reigned from 360 to 26 June 363, when he was killed fighting against the Persians. Despite his short rule, his emperorship was pivotal in the development of the history of the later Roman empire. This essay is not meant to be a comprehensive look at the various issues central to the reign of Julian and the history of the later empire. Rather, this short work is meant to be a brief history and introduction for the general reader. Julian was the last direct descendent of the Constantinian line to ascend to the purple, and it is one of history's great ironies that he was the last non-Christian emperor. As such, he has been vilified by most Christian sources, beginning with John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzus in the later fourth century. This tradition was picked up by the fifth century Eusebian continuators Sozomen, Socrates Scholasticus, and Theodoret and passed on to scholars down through the 20th century. Most contemporary sources, however, paint a much more balanced picture of Julian and his reign. The adoption of Christianity by emperors and society, while still a vital concern, was but one of several issues that concerned Julian.
It is fortunate that extensive writings from Julian himself exist, which help interpret his reign in the light of contemporary evidence. Still extant are some letters, several panegyrics, and a few satires. Other contemporary sources include the soldier Ammianus Marcellinus' history, correspondence between Julian and Libanius of Antioch, several panegyrics, laws from the Theodosian Code, inscriptions, and coinage. These sources show Julian's emphasis on restoration. He saw himself as the restorer of the traditional values of Roman society. Of course much of this was rhetoric, meant to defend Julian against charges that he was a usurper. At the same time this theme of restoration was central to all emperors of the fourth century. Julian thought that he was the one emperor who could regain what was viewed as the lost glory of the Roman empire. To achieve this goal he courted select groups of social elites to get across his message of restoration. This was the way that emperors functioned in the fourth century. By choosing whom to include in the sharing of power, they sought to shape society.
Early Life
Julian was born at Constantinople in 331. His father was Julius Constantius, half-brother of the emperor Constantine through Constantius Chlorus, and his mother was Basilina, Julius' second wife. Julian had two half-brothers via Julius' first marriage. One of these was Gallus, who played a major role in Julian's life. Julian appeared destined for a bright future via his father's connection to the Constantinian house. After many years of tense relations with his three half-brothers, Constantine seemed to have welcomed them into the fold of the imperial family. From 333 to 335, Constantine conferred a series of honors upon his three half-siblings, including appointing Julius Constantius as one of the consuls for 335. Julian's mother was equally distinguished. Ammianus related that she was from a noble family. This is supported by Libanius, who claimed that she was the daughter of Julius Julianus, a Praetorian Prefect under Licinius, who was such a model of administrative virtue that he was pardoned and honored by Constantine.
Despite the fact that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, Julian experienced an idyllic early childhood. This ended when Constantius II conducted a purge of many of his relatives shortly after Constantine's death in 337, particularly targeting the families of Constantine's half-brothers. ulian and Gallus were spared, probably due to their young age. Julian was put under the care of Mardonius, a Scythian eunuch who had tutored his mother, in 339, and was raised in the Greek philosophical tradition, and probably lived in Nicomedia. Ammianus also supplied the fact that while in Nicomedia, Julian was cared for by the local bishop Eusebius, of whom the future emperor was a distant relation. Julian was educated by some of the most famous names in grammar and rhetoric in the Greek world at that time, including Nicocles and Hecebolius. In 344 Constantius II sent Julian and Gallus to Macellum in Cappadocia, where they remained for six years. In 351, Gallus was made Caesar by Constantius II and Julian was allowed to return to Nicomedia, where he studied under Aedesius, Eusebius, and Chrysanthius, all famed philosophers, and was exposed to the Neo-Platonism that would become such a prominent part of his life. But Julian was most proud of the time he spent studying under Maximus of Ephesus, a noted Neo-Platonic philospher and theurgist. It was Maximus who completed Julian's full-scale conversion to Neo-Platonism. Later, when he was Caesar, Julian told of how he put letters from this philosopher under his pillows so that he would continue to absorb wisdom while he slept, and while campaigning on the Rhine, he sent his speeches to Maximus for approval before letting others hear them. When Gallus was executed in 354 for treason by Constantius II, Julian was summoned to Italy and essentially kept under house arrest at Comum, near Milan, for seven months before Constantius' wife Eusebia convinced the emperor that Julian posed no threat. This allowed Julian to return to Greece and continue his life as a scholar where he studied under the Neo-Platonist Priscus. Julian's life of scholarly pursuit, however, ended abruptly when he was summoned to the imperial court and made Caesar by Constantius II on 6 November 355.
Julian as Caesar
Constantius II realized an essential truth of the empire that had been evident since the time of the Tetrarchy--the empire was too big to be ruled effectively by one man. Julian was pressed into service as Caesar, or subordinate emperor, because an imperial presence was needed in the west, in particular in the Gallic provinces. Julian, due to the emperor's earlier purges, was the only viable candidate of the imperial family left who could act as Caesar. Constantius enjoined Julian with the task of restoring order along the Rhine frontier. A few days after he was made Caesar, Julian was married to Constantius' sister Helena in order to cement the alliance between the two men. On 1 December 355, Julian journeyed north, and in Augusta Taurinorum he learned that Alamannic raiders had destroyed Colonia Agrippina. He then proceeded to Vienne where he spent the winter. At Vienne, he learned that Augustudunum was also under siege, but was being held by a veteran garrison. He made this his first priority, and arrived there on 24 June 356. When he had assured himself that the city was in no immediate danger, he journeyed to Augusta Treverorum via Autessioduram, and from there to Durocortorum where he rendezvoused with his army. Julian had the army stage a series of punitive strikes around the Dieuse region, and then he moved them towards the Argentoratum/Mongontiacum region when word of barbarian incursions reached him.
From there, Julian moved on to Colonia Agrippina, and negotiated a peace with the local barbarian leaders who had assaulted the city. He then wintered at Senonae. He spent the early part of the campaigning season of 357 fighting off besiegers at Senonae, and then conducting operations around Lugdunum and Tres Tabernae. Later that summer, he encountered his watershed moment as a military general. Ammianus went into great detail about Julian's victory over seven rogue Alamannic chieftains near Argentoratum, and Julian himself bragged about it in his later writing. After this battle, the soldiers acclaimed Julian Augustus, but he rejected this title. After mounting a series of follow-up raids into Alamannic territory, he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia, and on the way defeated some Frankish raiders in the Mosa region. Julian considered this campaign one of the major events of his time as Caesar.
Julian began his 358 military campaigns early, hoping to catch the barbarians by surprise. His first target was the Franks in the northern Rhine region. He then proceeded to restore some forts in the Mosa region, but his soldiers threatened to mutiny because they were on short rations and had not been paid their donative since Julian had become Caesar. After he soothed his soldiers, Julian spent the rest of the summer negotiating a peace with various Alamannic leaders in the mid and lower Rhine areas, and retired to winter quarters at Lutetia. In 359, he prepared once again to carry out a series of punitive expeditions against the Alamanni in the Rhine region who were still hostile to the Roman presence. In preparation, the Caesar repopulated seven previously destroyed cities and set them up as supply bases and staging areas. This was done with the help of the people with whom Julian had negotiated a peace the year before. Julian then had a detachment of lightly armed soldiers cross the Rhine near Mogontiacum and conduct a guerilla strike against several chieftains. As a result of these campaigns, Julian was able to negotiate a peace with all but a handful of the Alamannic leaders, and he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia.
Of course, Julian did more than act as a general during his time as Caesar. According to Ammianus, Julian was an able administrator who took steps to correct the injustices of Constantius' appointees. Ammianus related the story of how Julian prevented Florentius, the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, from raising taxes, and also how Julian actually took over as governor for the province of Belgica Secunda. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, supported Ammianus' basic assessment of Julian in this regard when he reported that Julian was an able representative of the emperor to the Gallic provincials. There is also epigraphic evidence to support Julian's popularity amongst the provincial elites. An inscription found near Beneventum in Apulia reads:
"To Flavius Claudius Julianus, most noble and sanctified Caesar, from the caring Tocius Maximus, vir clarissimus, for the care of the res publica from Beneventum".
Tocius Maximus, as a vir clarissimus, was at the highest point in the social spectrum and was a leader in his local community. This inscription shows that Julian was successful in establishing a positive image amongst provincial elites while he was Caesar.
Julian Augustus
In early 360, Constantius, driven by jealousy of Julian's success, stripped Julian of many troops and officers, ostensibly because the emperor needed them for his upcoming campaign against the Persians. One of the legions ordered east, the Petulantes, did not want to leave Gaul because the majority of the soldiers in the unit were from this region. As a result they mutinied and hailed Julian as Augustus at Lutetia. Julian refused this acclamation as he had done at Argentoratum earlier, but the soldiers would have none of his denial. They raised him on a shield and adorned him with a neck chain, which had formerly been the possession of the standard-bearer of the Petulantes and symbolized a royal diadem. Julian appeared reluctantly to acquiesce to their wishes, and promised a generous donative. The exact date of his acclamation is unknown, but most scholars put it in February or March. Julian himself supported Ammianus' picture of a jealous Constantius. In his Letter to the Athenians, a document constructed to answer charges that he was a usurper, Julian stated that from the start he, as Caesar, had been meant as a figurehead to the soldiers and provincials. The real power he claimed lay with the generals and officials already present in Gaul. In fact, according to Julian, the generals were charged with watching him as much as the enemy. His account of the actual acclamation closely followed what Ammianus told us, but he stressed even more his reluctance to take power. Julian claimed that he did so only after praying to Zeus for guidance.
Fearing the reaction of Constantius, Julian sent a letter to his fellow emperor justifying the events at Lutetia and trying to arrange a peaceful solution. This letter berated Constantius for forcing the troops in Gaul into an untenable situation. Ammianus stated that Julian's letter blamed Constantius' decision to transfer Gallic legions east as the reason for the soldiers' rebellion. Julian once again asserted that he was an unwilling participant who was only following the desire of the soldiers. In both of these basic accounts Ammianus and Julian are playing upon the theme of restoration. Implicit in their version of Julian's acclamation is the argument that Constantius was unfit to rule. The soldiers were the vehicle of the gods' will. The Letter to the Athenians is full of references to the fact that Julian was assuming the mantle of Augustus at the instigation of the gods. Ammianus summed up this position nicely when he related the story of how, when Julian was agonizing over whether to accept the soldiers' acclamation, he had a dream in which he was visited by the Genius (guardian spirit) of the Roman state. The Genius told Julian that it had often tried to bestow high honors upon Julian but had been rebuffed. Now, the Genius went on to say, was Julian's final chance to take the power that was rightfully his. If the Caesar refused this chance, the Genius would depart forever, and both Julian and the state would rue Julian's rejection. Julian himself wrote a letter to his friend Maximus of Ephesus in November of 361 detailing his thoughts on his proclamation. In this letter, Julian stated that the soldiers proclaimed him Augustus against his will. Julian, however, defended his accession, saying that the gods willed it and that he had treated his enemies with clemency and justice. He went on to say that he led the troops in propitiating the traditional deities, because the gods commanded him to return to the traditional rites, and would reward him if he fulfilled this duty.
During 360 an uneasy peace simmered between the two emperors. Julian spent the 360 campaigning season continuing his efforts to restore order along the Rhine, while Constantius continued operations against the Persians. Julian wintered in Vienne, and celebrated his Quinquennalia. It was at this time that his wife Helena died, and he sent her remains to Rome for a proper burial at his family villa on the Via Nomentana where the body of her sister was entombed. The uneasy peace held through the summer of 361, but Julian concentrated his military operations around harassing the Alamannic chieftain Vadomarius and his allies, who had concluded a peace treaty with Constantius some years earlier. By the end of the summer, Julian decided to put an end to the waiting and gathered his army to march east against Constantius. The empire teetered on the brink of another civil war. Constantius had spent the summer negotiating with the Persians and making preparations for possible military action against his cousin. When he was assured that the Persians would not attack, he summoned his army and sallied forth to meet Julian. As the armies drew inexorably closer to one another, the empire was saved from another bloody civil war when Constantius died unexpectedly of natural causes on 3 November near the town of Mopsucrenae in Cilicia, naming Julian -- the sources say-- as his legitimate successor.
Julian was in Dacia when he learned of his cousin's death. He made his way through Thrace and came to Constantinople on 11 December 361 where Julian honored the emperor with the funeral rites appropriate for a man of his station. Julian immediately set about putting his supporters in positions of power and trimming the imperial bureaucracy, which had become extremely overstaffed during Constantius' reign. Cooks and barbers had increased during the late emperor's reign and Julian expelled them from his court. Ammianus gave a mixed assessment of how the new emperor handled the followers of Constantius. Traditionally, emperors were supposed to show clemency to the supporters of a defeated enemy. Julian, however, gave some men over to death to appease the army. Ammianus used the case of Ursulus, Constantius' comes sacrum largitionum, to illustrate his point. Ursulus had actually tried to acquire money for the Gallic troops when Julian had first been appointed Caesar, but he had also made a disparaging remark about the ineffectiveness of the army after the battle of Amida. The soldiers remembered this, and when Julian became sole Augustus, they demanded Ursulus' head. Julian obliged, much to the disapproval of Ammianus. This seems to be a case of Julian courting the favor of the military leadership, and is indicative of a pattern in which Julian courted the goodwill of various societal elites to legitimize his position as emperor.
Another case in point is the officials who made up the imperial bureaucracy. Many of them were subjected to trial and punishment. To achieve this goal, during the last weeks of December 361 Julian assembled a military tribunal at Chalcedon, empanelling six judges to try the cases. The president of the tribunal was Salutius, just promoted to the rank of Praetorian Prefect; the five other members were Mamertinus, the orator, and four general officers: Jovinus, Agilo, Nevitta, and Arbetio. Relative to the proceedings of the tribunal, Ammianus noted that the judges, " . . . oversaw the cases more vehemently than was right or fair, with the exception of a few . . .." Ammianus' account of Julian's attempt at reform of the imperial bureaucracy is supported by legal evidence from the Theodosian Code. A series of laws sent to Mamertinus, Julian's appointee as Praetorian Prefect in Italy, Illyricum, and Africa, illustrate this point nicely. On 6 June 362, Mamertinus received a law that prohibited provincial governors from bypassing the Vicars when giving their reports to the Prefect. Traditionally, Vicars were given civil authority over a group of provinces, and were in theory meant to serve as a middle step between governors and Prefects. This law suggests that the Vicars were being left out, at least in Illyricum. Julian issued another edict to Mamertinus on 22 February 362 to stop abuse of the public post by governors. According to this law, only Mamertinus could issue post warrants, but the Vicars were given twelve blank warrants to be used as they saw fit, and each governor was given two. Continuing the trend of bureaucratic reform, Julian also imposed penalties on governors who purposefully delayed appeals in court cases they had heard. The emperor also established a new official to weigh solidi used in official government transactions to combat coin clipping.
For Julian, reigning in the abuses of imperial bureaucrats was one step in restoring the prestige of the office of emperor. Because he could not affect all elements of society personally, Julian, like other Neo-Flavian emperors, decided to concentrate on select groups of societal elites as intercessors between himself and the general populace. One of these groups was the imperial bureaucracy. Julian made it very clear that imperial officials were intercessors in a very real sense in a letter to Alypius, Vicar of Britain. In this letter, sent from Gaul sometime before 361, the emperor praises Alypius for his use of "mildness and moderation with courage and force" in his rule of the provincials. Such virtues were characteristic of the emperors, and it was good that Alypius is representing Julian in this way. Julian courted the army because it put him in power. Another group he sought to include in his rule was the traditional Senatorial aristocracy. One of his first appointments as consul was Claudius Mamertinus, a Gallic Senator and rhetorician. Mamertinus' speech in praise of Julian delivered at Constantinople in January of 362 is preserved. In this speech, Claudius presented his consular selection as inaugurating a new golden age and Julian as the restorer of the empire founded by Augustus. The image Mamertinus gave of his own consulate inaugurating a new golden age is not merely formulaic. The comparison of Julian to Augustus has very real, if implicit, relevance to Claudius' situation. Claudius emphasized the imperial period as the true age of renewal. Augustus ushered in a new era with his formation of a partnership between the emperor and the Senate based upon a series of honors and offices bestowed upon the Senate in return for their role as intercessor between emperor and populace. It was this system that Julian was restoring, and the consulate was one concrete example of this bond. To be chosen as a consul by the emperor, who himself had been divinely mandated, was a divine honor. In addition to being named consul, Mamertinus went on to hold several offices under Julian, including the Prefecture of Italy, Illyricum, and Africa. Similarly, inscriptional evidence illustrates a link between municipal elites and Julian during his time as Caesar, something which continued after he became emperor. One concrete example comes from the municipal senate of Aceruntia in Apulia, which established a monument on which Julian is styled as "Repairer of the World."
Julian seems to have given up actual Christian belief before his acclamation as emperor and was a practitioner of more traditional Greco-Roman religious beliefs, in particular, a follower of certain late antique Platonist philosophers who were especially adept at theurgy as was noted earlier. In fact Julian himself spoke of his conversion to Neo-Platonism in a letter to the Alexandrians written in 363. He stated that he had abandoned Christianity when he was twenty years old and been an adherent of the traditional Greco-Roman deities for the twelve years prior to writing this letter.
(For the complete text of this article see: http://www.roman-emperors.org/julian.htm)
Julian’s Persian Campaign
The exact goals Julian had for his ill-fated Persian campaign were never clear. The Sassanid Persians, and before them the Parthians, had been a traditional enemy from the time of the Late Republic, and indeed Constantius had been conducting a war against them before Julian's accession forced the former to forge an uneasy peace. Julian, however, had no concrete reason to reopen hostilities in the east. Socrates Scholasticus attributed Julian's motives to imitation of Alexander the Great, but perhaps the real reason lay in his need to gather the support of the army. Despite his acclamation by the Gallic legions, relations between Julian and the top military officers was uneasy at best. A war against the Persians would have brought prestige and power both to Julian and the army.
Julian set out on his fateful campaign on 5 March 363. Using his trademark strategy of striking quickly and where least expected, he moved his army through Heirapolis and from there speedily across the Euphrates and into the province of Mesopotamia, where he stopped at the town of Batnae. His plan was to eventually return through Armenia and winter in Tarsus. Once in Mesopotamia, Julian was faced with the decision of whether to travel south through the province of Babylonia or cross the Tigris into Assyria, and he eventually decided to move south through Babylonia and turn west into Assyria at a later date. By 27 March, he had the bulk of his army across the Euphrates, and had also arranged a flotilla to guard his supply line along the mighty river. He then left his generals Procopius and Sebastianus to help Arsacius, the king of Armenia and a Roman client, to guard the northern Tigris line. It was also during this time that he received the surrender of many prominent local leaders who had nominally supported the Persians. These men supplied Julian with money and troops for further military action against their former masters. Julian decided to turn south into Babylonia and proceeded along the Euphrates, coming to the fortress of Cercusium at the junction of the Abora and Euphrates Rivers around the first of April, and from there he took his army west to a region called Zaitha near the abandoned town of Dura where they visited the tomb of the emperor Gordian which was in the area. On April 7 he set out from there into the heart of Babylonia and towards Assyria.
Ammianus then stated that Julian and his army crossed into Assyria, which on the face of things appears very confusing. Julian still seems to be operating within the province of Babylonia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The confusion is alleviated when one realizes that,for Ammianus, the region of Assyria encompassed the provinces of Babylonia and Assyria. On their march, Julian's forces took the fortress of Anatha, received the surrender and support of several more local princes, and ravaged the countryside of Assyria between the rivers. As the army continued south, they came across the fortresses Thilutha and Achaiachala, but these places were too well defended and Julian decided to leave them alone. Further south were the cities Diacira and Ozogardana, which the Roman forces sacked and burned. Soon, Julian came to Pirisabora and a brief siege ensued, but the city fell and was also looted and destroyed. It was also at this time that the Roman army met its first systematic resistance from the Persians. As the Romans penetrated further south and west, the local inhabitants began to flood their route. Nevertheless, the Roman forces pressed on and came to Maiozamalcha, a sizable city not far from Ctesiphon. After a short siege, this city too fell to Julian. Inexorably, Julian's forces zeroed in on Ctesiphon, but as they drew closer, the Persian resistance grew fiercer, with guerilla raids whittling at Julian's men and supplies. A sizable force of the army was lost and the emperor himself was almost killed taking a fort a few miles from the target city.
Finally, the army approached Ctesiphon following a canal that linked the Tigris and Euphrates. It soon became apparent after a few preliminary skirmishes that a protracted siege would be necessary to take this important city. Many of his generals, however, thought that pursuing this course of action would be foolish. Julian reluctantly agreed, but became enraged by this failure and ordered his fleet to be burned as he decided to march through the province of Assyria. Julian had planned for his army to live off the land, but the Persians employed a scorched-earth policy. When it became apparent that his army would perish (because his supplies were beginning to dwindle) from starvation and the heat if he continued his campaign, and also in the face of superior numbers of the enemy, Julian ordered a retreat on 16 June. As the Roman army retreated, they were constantly harassed by guerilla strikes. It was during one of these raids that Julian got caught up in the fighting and took a spear to his abdomen. Mortally wounded he was carried to his tent, where, after conferring with some of his officers, he died. The date was 26 June 363.
Conclusion
Thus an ignominious end for a man came about who had hoped to restore the glory of the Roman empire during his reign as emperor. Due to his intense hatred of Christianity, the opinion of posterity has not been kind to Julian. The contemporary opinion, however, was overall positive. The evidence shows that Julian was a complex ruler with a definite agenda to use traditional social institutions in order to revive what he saw as a collapsing empire. In the final assessment, he was not so different from any of the other emperors of the fourth century. He was a man grasping desperately to hang on to a Greco-Roman conception of leadership that was undergoing a subtle yet profound change.
Copyright (C) 2002, Walter E. Roberts and Michael DiMaio, Jr. Used by permission.
In reality, Julian worked to promote culture and philosophy in any manifestation. He tried to reduce taxes and the public debts of municipalities; he augmented administrative decentralisation; he promoted a campaign of austerity to reduce public expenditure (setting himself as the example). He reformed the postal service and eliminated the powerful secret police.
by Federico Morando; JULIAN II, The Apostate, See the Julian II Page on NumisWiki
Flavius Claudius Iulianus was born in 331 or maybe 332 A.D. in Constantinople. He ruled the Western Empire as Caesar from 355 to 360 and was hailed Augustus by his legions in Lutetia (Paris) in 360. Julian was a gifted administrator and military strategist. Famed as the last pagan emperor, his reinstatement of the pagan religion earned him the moniker "the Apostate." As evidenced by his brilliant writing, some of which has survived to the present day, the title "the Philosopher" may have been more appropriate. He died from wounds suffered during the Persian campaign of 363 A.D. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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170 - Constantius II - AE3 - RIC VIII Lugdunum 097 AE3
Obv:– D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right
Rev:– FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Emperor standing left on galley, holding phoenix on globe and labarum; Victory behind, steering galley
Minted in Lugdunum (//*SLG). A.D. 348-350.
Reference:- RIC VIII Lugdunum 97 (R)
17 mm
Ex Col. Hermann-Joseph Lückger, Germany (1864-1951). Lückger was a German entrepreneur in the textile industry and amateur historian and collector of art.maridvnvm
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1701a, Saladin, 1169-1193AYYUBID: Saladin, 1169-1193, AR dirham (2.92g), Halab, AH580, A-788, lovely struck, well-centered & bold, Extremely Fine, Scarce.
His name in Arabic, in full, is SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF IBN AYYUB ("Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job"), also called AL-MALIK AN-NASIR SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF I (b. 1137/38, Tikrit, Mesopotamia--d. March 4, 1193, Damascus), Muslim sultan of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and the most famous of Muslim heroes.
In wars against the Christian crusaders, he achieved final success with the disciplined capture of Jerusalem (Oct. 2, 1187), ending its 88-year occupation by the Franks. The great Christian counterattack of the Third Crusade was then stalemated by Saladin's military genius.
Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family. On the night of his birth, his father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, gathered his family and moved to Aleppo, there entering the service of 'Imad ad-Din Zangi ibn Aq Sonqur, the powerful Turkish governor in northern Syria. Growing up in Ba'lbek and Damascus, Saladin was apparently an undistinguished youth, with a greater taste for religious studies than military training.
His formal career began when he joined the staff of his uncle Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, an important military commander under the amir Nureddin, son and successor of Zangi. During three military expeditions led by Shirkuh into Egypt to prevent its falling to the Latin-Christian (Frankish) rulers of the states established by the First Crusade, a complex, three-way struggle developed between Amalric I, the Latin king of Jerusalem, Shawar, the powerful vizier of the Egyptian Fatimid caliph, and Shirkuh. After Shirkuh's death and after ordering Shawar's assassination, Saladin, in 1169 at the age of 31, was appointed both commander of the Syrian troops and vizier of Egypt.
His relatively quick rise to power must be attributed not only to the clannish nepotism of his Kurdish family but also to his own emerging talents. As vizier of Egypt, he received the title king (malik), although he was generally known as the sultan. Saladin's position was further enhanced when, in 1171, he abolished the Shi'i Fatimid caliphate, proclaimed a return to Sunnah in Egypt, and consequently became its sole ruler.
Although he remained for a time theoretically a vassal of Nureddin, that relationship ended with the Syrian emir's death in 1174. Using his rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base, Saladin soon moved into Syria with a small but strictly disciplined army to claim the regency on behalf of the young son of his former suzerain.
Soon, however, he abandoned this claim, and from 1174 until 1186 he zealously pursued a goal of uniting, under his own standard, all the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt.
This he accomplished by skillful diplomacy backed when necessary by the swift and resolute use of military force. Gradually, his reputation grew as a generous and virtuous but firm ruler, devoid of pretense, licentiousness, and cruelty. In contrast to the bitter dissension and intense rivalry that had up to then hampered the Muslims in their resistance to the crusaders, Saladin's singleness of purpose induced them to rearm both physically and spiritually.
Saladin's every act was inspired by an intense and unwavering devotion to the idea of jihad ("holy war")-the Muslim equivalent of the Christian crusade. It was an essential part of his policy to encourage the growth and spread of Muslim religious institutions.
He courted its scholars and preachers, founded colleges and mosques for their use, and commissioned them to write edifying works especially on the jihad itself. Through moral regeneration, which was a genuine part of his own way of life, he tried to re-create in his own realm some of the same zeal and enthusiasm that had proved so valuable to the first generations of Muslims when, five centuries before, they had conquered half the known world.
Saladin also succeeded in turning the military balance of power in his favour-more by uniting and disciplining a great number of unruly forces than by employing new or improved military techniques. When at last, in 1187, he was able to throw his full strength into the struggle with the Latin crusader kingdoms, his armies were their equals. On July 4, 1187, aided by his own military good sense and by a phenomenal lack of it on the part of his enemy, Saladin trapped and destroyed in one blow an exhausted and thirst-crazed army of crusaders at Hattin, near Tiberias in northern Palestine.
So great were the losses in the ranks of the crusaders in this one battle that the Muslims were quickly able to overrun nearly the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem. Acre, Toron, Beirut, Sidon, Nazareth, Caesarea, Nabulus, Jaffa (Yafo), and Ascalon (Ashqelon) fell within three months.
But Saladin's crowning achievement and the most disastrous blow to the whole crusading movement came on Oct. 2, 1187, when Jerusalem, holy to both Muslim and Christian alike, surrendered to the Sultan's army after 88 years in the hands of the Franks. In stark contrast to the city's conquest by the Christians, when blood flowed freely during the barbaric slaughter of its inhabitants, the Muslim reconquest was marked by the civilized and courteous behaviour of Saladin and his troops. His sudden success, which in 1189 saw the crusaders reduced to the occupation of only three cities, was, however, marred by his failure to capture Tyre, an almost impregnable coastal fortress to which the scattered Christian survivors of the recent battles flocked. It was to be the rallying point of the Latin counterattack.
Most probably, Saladin did not anticipate the European reaction to his capture of Jerusalem, an event that deeply shocked the West and to which it responded with a new call for a crusade. In addition to many great nobles and famous knights, this crusade, the third, brought the kings of three countries into the struggle.
The magnitude of the Christian effort and the lasting impression it made on contemporaries gave the name of Saladin, as their gallant and chivalrous enemy, an added lustre that his military victories alone could never confer on him.
The Crusade itself was long and exhausting, and, despite the obvious, though at times impulsive, military genius of Richard I the Lion-Heart, it achieved almost nothing. Therein lies the greatest-but often unrecognized--achievement of Saladin. With tired and unwilling feudal levies, committed to fight only a limited season each year, his indomitable will enabled him to fight the greatest champions of Christendom to a draw. The crusaders retained little more than a precarious foothold on the Levantine coast, and when King Richard set sail from the Orient in October 1192, the battle was over.
Saladin withdrew to his capital at Damascus. Soon, the long campaigning seasons and the endless hours in the saddle caught up with him, and he died. While his relatives were already scrambling for pieces of the empire, his friends found that the most powerful and most generous ruler in the Muslim world had not left enough money to pay for his own grave.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
H.A.R. Gibb, "The Arabic Sources for the Life of Saladin," Speculum, 25:58-72 (1950). C.W. Wilson's English translation of one of the most important Arabic works, The Life of Saladin (1897), was reprinted in 1971. The best biography to date is Stanley Lane-Poole, Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, new ed. (1926, reprinted 1964), although it does not take account of all the sources.Cleisthenes
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1701b, Saladin, 1169-1193AYYUBID: Saladin, 1169-1193, AR dirham (2.93), al-Qahira, AH586, A-787.2, clear mint & date, double struck, some horn-silvering;VF-EF.
His name in Arabic is SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF IBN AYYUB ("Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job"). He was born in 1137/8 A.D. in Tikrit, Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). In wars against the Christian crusaders, he achieved a significant success with the disciplined capture of Jerusalem (Oct. 2, 1187), ending its 88-year occupation by the Franks. Unlike the notorious conquest by the Christians, who slaughtered the inhabitants of the “Holy City,” Saladin’s reconquest of Jerusalem was marked by civilized and courteous behaviour. Saladin was generous to his vanquished foes—by any measure. When he died in 1193, this man who is arguably Islam’s greatest hero was virtually penniless. After a lifetime of giving alms to the poor, his friends found that the most powerful and most generous ruler in the Muslim world had not left enough money to pay for his own grave.Cleisthenes
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1727. Leopold I: Reconstruction Of The Bridge In The Forest Of Haye. Obv: Leopold to right, in peruke, wearing armor and the Order of the Golden Fleece LEOPOLDVS. I. D.G. DVX. LOT. BAR. REX. IER
Rev: A traveling horseman going over bridge toward Abundance in countryside. In background landscape a herm of Mercury PROVIDENTIA. PRINCIPIS
Exergue: VIAE. MVNITAE MDCCXXVII Signed: SV.
AE64mm. Ref: Forrer V, p. 309, #6; Slg. Florange 171; Molinari 40/120; Europese Penningen # 1739
Leopold Joseph Charles (Leopold I) (1679-1729), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1697), was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar. This medal commemorates further the many reconstruction projects that Leopold I, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, fostered during his reign, in this case, the reconstruction of the bridge in the forest of Haye. The reverse alludes to the fact that the bridge increased commerce (Mercury) in Lorraine and led to more abundance for its inhabitants.
A herm, referred to in this medal, is a statue consisting of the head of the Greek god Hermes mounded on a square stone post. Hermes is the god of commerce, invention, cunning and theft, who also serves as messenger and herald for the other gods.
LordBest
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1781. Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette, Birth of the Dauphin.Obv. Conjoined busts of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette LUDOVICO XVI ET M ANT AUSTR FR ET NAV REGI ET REGINAE LUTETIA signed DUVIVIER.
Rev. King and Queen between a kneeling Paris, holding a shield, and Trade (Abundance), holding a cornucopia and Hermes’ staff. SOLEMNIA DELPHINI NATALITIA REGE ET REGINA URBEM INVISENTIBUS XXI. JANU. MDCCLXXXII signed DV.
Commemorates the birth of Louis-Joseph Xavier Francois, Dauphin of France from 1781 to his death in 1789.LordBest
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1781. Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette, Congratulations of the Merchants of Paris on the Birth of the Dauphin.Obv: Busts of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette vis a vis. LVD XVI FR ET NAV REX MAR ANT AVSTR REG
Rev: Six Corps of Merchants led by the Governor of Paris the Duke de Cosse ASSERENDI NOVA SPES COMERCII / REGI DE ORTU SS DELHINI SEX MERCATOR PARIS ORDINES GRATULANTOR AUSP DUCIS DE COSSE URBIS CUB DIE IV NOV MDCCLXXXI
AE60. Engraved by Duvivier.
This medal commemorates the birth of Louis-Joseph Xavier Francois, Dauphin of France from 1781 to his death in 1789. The reverse expresses the hopes of the merchants of Paris of continuing prosperity under a stable monarchy.LordBest
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1797 AE Halfpenny Token. Perth, Scotland.Obverse: PRO REGE LEGE ET GREGE (For King, Law and Flock). Coat of Arms of the City of Perth consisting of double-headed eagle with shield, displaying lamb holding saltire flag.
Reverse: PERTH • HALFPENNY • • • •. A hank of yarn above a package of dressed flax; 17 - 97 across field.
Edge: Incuse legend “PAYABLE AT THE HOUSE OF PAT. K MAXWELL X X".
Diameter: 29mm.
Dalton & Hamer: 9
SCARCE
This token was issued by Patrick Maxwell, a grocer and spirit dealer on the High Street in Perth. In later years this business became known as Maxwell & Son. The hank of yarn and bale of flax refers to the linen trade in the town which was its main industry at the time of this token’s issue.
This token was engraved and manufactured by Joseph Kendrick at his works in Birmingham, England. *Alex
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1810-A French Napoleon Silver Demi FrancFrance, Napoleon I (First Empire, 1804-14/15), Silver 1/2 (Demi) Franc, 1810-A, SCWC KM 691.1, Gadoury 399, F. 178/10, aUNC, this example has a dark right, plain edge, weight 2.5g (ASW 0.0723oz), composition 0.9 Ag, 0.1 Cu, diameter 18.0mm, thickness 0.8mm, die axis 180°, Paris mint, 1810; obverse NAPOLEON-EMPEREUR ⬪ (Emperor Napoleon), laureate head of Napoleon I right, a ribbon descending behind neck, Tiolier raised below truncation for engraver Pierre-Joseph Tiolier, toothed border surrounding; reverse EMPIRE FRANÇAIS ⬪ (French Empire), DEMI/FRANC ⬪ (Half Franc) in two lines, within closed olive wreath tied with bow at base, 1810 ⬪ in exergue, flanked by rooster privy and A mint marks, engraved by Pierre-Joseph Tiolier, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex CGB Numismatics Paris (18 Dec 2023); £94.60.Serendipity
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1832/1-A French Louis Philippe Silver 1/4 FrancFrance, Louis Philippe I (1830-48), Silver 1/4 Franc, 1832/1-A, SCWC KM 740.1, Gadoury 355, F. 166/12 R2, 2/1 overdate variety, gEF, attractive coloured tone, edge milled, weight 1.25g (ASW 0.0362oz), composition 0.9 Ag, 0.1 Cu, diameter 15.0mm, thickness 0.9mm, die axis 180°, Paris mint, 1832; obverse LOUIS PHILIPPE I-ROI DES FRANÇAIS (Louis Philippe I, King of the French), laureate head of Louis Philippe I right, wearing oak wreath, tied with ribbon descending behind neck, one end returning to neck, DOMARD.F. raised below truncation for engraver Joseph-François Domard, toothed border surrounding; reverse ¼/FRANC/1832/1 in three lines, within closed laurel and olive wreath tied with bow at base, privy mark ★ in exergue, flanked by anchor with C privy and A mint marks, engraved by Joseph-François Domard, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Timothy Medhurst Coins & Antiquities (2 Jan 2024); very rare; £50.00.Serendipity
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1843 "BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE" AE Halfpenny Token. London, MiddlesexObverse: VILIUS EST ARGENTUM AURO, VIRTUTIBUS AURUM. Female, leaning on books behind her, holding a cornucopia from which coins are spilling, seated facing right in front of an open coin cabinet; in exergue, tudor rose on shield between two branches.
Reverse: BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE LONDON * PRIVATE TOKEN * 1843 surrounding “BN” monogram in script.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 30mm | Weight: 14.2gms | Die Axis: 12
Bell (Middlesex) A3
VERY RARE (Only 72 of these bronzed copper halfpenny tokens were struck)
Privately issued in London by Benjamin Nightingale, the die sinker for this token was William Joseph Taylor (whose initials WJT can be seen to the left below the books on the obverse), following a similar design for halfpennies that he had produced for Matthew Young, a British merchant. Taylor was born in Birmingham in 1802 and was apprenticed to Thomas Halliday in 1818 as the first die-sinker to be trained by him. He set up his own business as a die-sinker, medallist and engraver at 5 Porter Street, Soho, London in 1829, later moving to 3 Lichfield Street, Birmingham. In 1843 the business moved to 33 Little Queen Street and finally, in 1869, to 70 Red Lion Street where, in 1885, Taylor died.
The Soho Mint at Birmingham (founded by Matthew Boulton) closed in 1848, and it's plant and equipment was sold via auction in April 1850. Taylor purchased many of the Soho Mint's hubs and dies from this auction and used them to restrike many of the coins & patterns that the Soho Mint had struck between the 1790's and the 1840's, though he nearly always re-polished or re-engraved elements of the original dies before re-using them.
Benjamin Nightingale was a wine and spirit merchant who lived at 17 Upper Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road in London. He was born in 1806 and died on March 9th, 1862. He was a well known Antiquarian and was a member of the Numismatic Society of London.
In 1863, after his death, Benjamin Nightingale's collection, consisting of 359 lots, was sold over a two day period by Sotheby's. This is from the February 13, 1863 edition of the London Daily News (page 8, column 6).
THE VALUABLE CABINET of COINS and MEDALS of the late BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE, Esq.
MESSRS S. LEIGH SOTHEBY and WILKINSON, auctioneers of literary property and works illustrative of the fine arts, will SELL BY AUCTION, at their house, No. 13 (late 3), Wellington-street, Strand, W.C., on WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, and following day, at 1 precisely, the valuable CABINET OF COINS and MEDALS of the late Benjamin Nightingale, Esq.; comprising a few Roman coins in gold, silver, and copper, in the highest state of preservation; a most valuable collection of English medals in all metals; rare and curious jetons, including a very perfect set of those struck to illustrate the history of the low countries; a few remarkable foreign medals, a choice library of numismatic books, several well-made cabinets, & c. – May be viewed two days previous, and catalogues had on receipt of two stamps.
According to Manville and Robertson, prior to his death, Benjamin Nightingale had sold off part of his collection at an auction by Sotheby's on 29th Nov. 1855.
"Benjamin NIGHTINGALE" in ANS copy; Greek, Roman, Tavern Tokens, Town Pieces, 17-18c Tokens, English and Foreign Medals, Books; 165 lots. -Curtis Clay.
The inspiration for these tokens might have been Pye's 1797 halfpenny (Warwickshire 223) which is of a similar design.
 *Alex
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Gold Half-SovereignGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Gold Half-Sovereign, 1887, DISH L508, SCWC KM 766, Friedberg 393, Marsh 478F, MCE 605, SCBC 3869, aEF, once polished, now toned, edge milled, weight 3.994g (AGW 0.1178oz), composition 0.917 Au, 0.0125 Ag, 0.0705 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 0.99mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA-DEI GRATIA (Victoria, by the Grace of God), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. with angled imperfect J raised on shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse BRITANNIARUM-REGINA FID: DEF: (Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), crowned garnished quartered high shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and seven-stringed harp for Ireland, 18-87 in exergue either side at bottom of frame, engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (4 Jun 2023); £275.00.Serendipity
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver Proof SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Proof Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3269, ESC 1753A, Davies 1151 (Dies 2+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, FDC, much as struck with a most attractive tone, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Wessex Coins (17 Jan 2024); rare; £475.00.Serendipity
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3267 R3, ESC 1752B, Davies 1150 (Dies 1+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, EF, perhaps once cleaned, now lightly toned, with light surface marks and nicks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised on shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (3 Jun 2023); extremely rare; £275.00.Serendipity
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3264, ESC 1752, Davies 1151 (Dies 2+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, aUNC, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Saltford Coins (17 Jun 2023); £25.00.Serendipity
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3265 R3, ESC 1752A, Davies 1152 (Dies 2+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, R/I variety, UNC-gEF, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), with R/I in VICTORIA, Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Rare Coins & Tokens (5 Feb 2024); extremely rare; £60.00.Serendipity
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1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Shield Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1887, Bull 3266 R3, ESC 1752C, Davies 1153 (Dies 2+A), SCWC KM 759, Friedberg 392, MCE 1409, SCBC 3928, Withdrawn Type, R/V variety, UNC, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), with R/V in VICTORIA, Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse crowned quartered shield of Arms of the United Kingdom bearing three lions passant guardant for England, lion rampant for Scotland and eight-stringed harp for Ireland, within Order of the Garter inscribed with French motto HONI ✿ SOIT ✿ QUI-MAL ✿ Y ✿ PENSE ✿ ✿ ✿ (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), 18-87 in exergue either side of strap-end, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex KB Coins (5 Feb 2024); extremely rare; £237.50.Serendipity
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1887-S Victoria Jubilee Head Gold SovereignAustralia, Victoria (1837-1901), Gold Sovereign, 1887-S, DISH S2 R2, SCWC KM 10, Marsh 138, SCBC 3868A, gEF-aUNC, lightly hairlined in fields both sides, edge milled, weight 7.9881g (AGW 0.2355oz), composition 0.917 Au, 0.0125 Ag, 0.0705 Cu, diameter 23.0mm, thickness 1.52mm, die axis 0°, Sydney mint, 1887; obverse VICTORIA D : G :-BRITT : REG : F : D : (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, tiny spread J.E.B. with hooked J raised on shoulder truncation, stops in line with each other, for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse St. George, nude but for crested Attic helmet, paludamentum fastened in front by fibula billowing behind and high-topped boots (calcei equestri), on horse rearing right, with short tail, ending in three strands, with one spur higher up at curve, holding bridle in left hand and short sword in right, looking down, trampling and slaying prostrate dragon to lower right, with broken lance in its side, looking back and up at St. George, broken lance on ground-line to left, tiny WWP raised under lance for Master of the Mint, William Wellesley-Pole, mint mark S at centre of ground-line, 1887 in exergue, tiny B.P. raised to upper right of exergue for engraver Benedetto Pistrucci, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (29 May 2020); ex David Iverson Duplicates Collection (2015); very rare; £2,000.00.Serendipity
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1888 VICTORIA AR GROAT (FOURPENCE)Obverse: VICTORIA D:G: BRITANNIAR: REGINA F:D: Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria facing left.
Reverse: FOUR PENCE. Britannia seated facing right, her right hand resting on shield, her left holding a trident; 1888 in exergue.
Diameter 16mm
SPINK: 3930
This "Jubilee head" portrait of Queen Victoria was designed by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm (1834 – 1890), this is marked by the initials “J.E.B." below the Queen's bust. *Alex
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1888 Victoria Jubilee Head Silver SixpenceGreat Britain, Victoria (1837-1901), Silver Sixpence, 1888, Bull 3277, ESC 1756, Davies 1162 (Dies 1+B), SCWC KM 760, MCE 1411, SCBC 3929, Wreath Type, Choice UNC, struck in the year of the infamous Whitechapel Murders, bright mint lustre, some light surface marks, edge milled, weight 2.8276g (ASW 0.0841oz), composition 0.925 Ag, 0.075 Cu, diameter 19.3mm, thickness 1.0mm, die axis 0°, London mint, 1888; obverse VICTORIA DEI GRATIA-BRITT: REGINA F: D: (Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), Jubilee tall, crowned, veiled and draped bust left, wearing double pearl drop earring with 13-pearl necklace, Ribbon and Star of the Garter at breast with badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, small J.E.B. raised below shoulder truncation for engraver Joseph Edgar Boehm, toothed border surrounding; reverse SIX/PENCE in two lines over small scroll -·-, surmounted by late St. Edward's Crown, within open olive and oak wreath tied with bow at base, 1888 in exergue with no die number above, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Charles Snowden Coins (31 May 2023); £89.00.Serendipity
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1915 Austrian Gold 4 Ducat RestrikeAustria, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Joseph I (1848-1916), Gold 4 Ducat Restrike, 1915, SCWC KM 2276, Friedberg 488, Her. 27-70, BU, light abrasions on obverse field, engraved by Friedrich Leisek, edge milled, weight 13.9636g (AGW 0.4427oz), composition 0.986 Au, 0.014 Cu, diameter 39.5mm, thickness 0.7mm, die axis 0°, Austrian mint, 1915; obverse FRANC • IOS • I • D • G • AVSTRIAE IMPERATOR (Franz Joseph I, by the Grace of God, Austrian Emperor) clockwise from lower left, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, wearing collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece and laurel wreath tied with bow at back, beaded border surrounding; reverse HVNGAR • BOHEM • GAL •-LOD • ILL • REX A • A • 1915 (King of Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia and Lodomeria, Illyria, Archduke of Austria, 1915) clockwise from upper right, Coat of Arms of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: double-headed Habsburg Imperial Eagle facing, heads turned left and right, wearing two crowns, with two fluttering ribbon ends, third crown above, wings spread, sword and sceptre in left talon, globus cruciger in right, shield on breast vertically divided by triband, crowned lion rampant left, diagonal band of three alerions right, within collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, ( 4 ) in exergue, beaded border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex Sovereign Rarities (24 Jul 2020); £875.00.Serendipity
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1ab Conquest of JudeaA. Plautius, moneyer
c. 54 BC
Denarius
Turreted head of Cybele, A PLAVTIVS before, AED CVR SC behind
Bacchius kneels right with camel at his side, extending olive branch, BACCHIVS in ex., IVDAEVS in right
Seaby, Plautia 13
The reverse appears to Pompey's conquest of Judaea in 63 BC.
Josephus recorded of Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem: And when he was come to the city, he looked about where he might make his attack; for he saw the walls were so firm, that it would be hard to overcome them; and that the valley before the walls was terrible; and that the temple, which was within that valley, was itself encompassed with a very strong wall, insomuch that if the city were taken, that temple would be a second place of refuge for the enemy to retire to. . . . Aristobulus's party was worsted, and retired into the temple, and cut off the communication between the temple and the city, by breaking down the bridge that joined them together, and prepared to make an opposition to the utmost; but as the others had received the Romans into the city, and had delivered up the palace to him, Pompey sent Piso, one of his great officers, into that palace with an army, who distributed a garrison about the city, because he could not persuade any one of those that had fled to the temple to come to terms of accommodation; he then disposed all things that were round about them so as might favor their attacks, as having Hyrcanus's party very ready to afford them both counsel and assistance. . . . But Pompey himself filled up the ditch that was oil the north side of the temple, and the entire valley also, the army itself being obliged to carry the materials for that purpose. And indeed it was a hard thing to fill up that valley, by reason of its immense depth, especially as the Jews used all the means possible to repel them from their superior situation; nor had the Romans succeeded in their endeavors, had not Pompey taken notice of the seventh days, on which the Jews abstain from all sorts of work on a religious account, and raised his bank, but restrained his soldiers from fighting on those days; for the Jews only acted defensively on sabbath days. Blindado
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423/1. Servilia - denarius (57 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 57 BC)
O/ Head of Flora right; lituus behind; FLORAL PRIMVS before.
R/ Two soldiers facing each other and presenting swords; C SERVEIL in exergue; C F upwards on right.
3.87g; 18mm
Crawford 423/1 (99 obverse dies/110 reverse dies)
- ROMA Numismatics, E-Sale 42, lot 484.
- Artemide Aste, 11-12 June 2016, lot 253.
* Gaius Servilius C.f. (Brocchus?):
The gens Servilia was originally patrician, but our moneyer was most likely a plebeian because at this time, the only remaining patrician branch of the gens was the Caepiones. The Servilii Gemini, likewise patricians at first, lost their status during the Second Punic War for an unknown reason and their descendants had erratic cognomina, making it difficult to reconstruct the genealogical tree of the gens. The one given by Crawford for RRC 239 is dubious, although possible.
Crawford also says that our moneyer was perhaps a brother of Marcus Servilius C.f., Tribune of the Plebs in 43 BC. He was possibly the Gaius Servilius Brocchus, son of Gaius, mentioned as Military Tribune by Flavius Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, xiv. 229), who tells that he served under the Consul L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus in Asia. It would match a career started in the 50, during which the Pompeian party was dominating, and continued as Pompey's supporter during the Civil War.
The meaning of his denarius has been debated. According to Crawford, the obverse legend refers to the priesthood of Flora, probably held by the gens, contradicting the view of Mommsen, who thought it was celebrating the establishment of the Ludi Florales in 173. This view has been in turn challenged by Robert Palmer, but without giving an explanation of his own*. It should also be mentioned that Pliny the Elder tells that there were statues of Flora, Triptolemus and Ceres by Praxiteles in the "Servilian gardens" (Natural History, xxxvi. 4), which obviously belonged to the gens, showing that Flora was of special importance for the Servilii.
The reverse reuses a common theme on Servilii's denarii: the duels of Marcus Servilius Pulex Geminus, Consul in 202, who was famous for his 23 victories in single combats (Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus, 31). The scene was depicted with variations on RRC 264 (horseback duel), RRC 327 (duel on foot), and RRC 370 (rider charging). It is also possible that RRC 239 shows another duel on horse, but disguised as the Dioscuri riding apart. The fact that our moneyer used this theme links him to the other direct descendants of Servilius Pulex Geminus, thus supporting Crawford's theory that he was a grandchild of Gaius Servilius, Praetor in 102.
* "Flora and the Sybil", in Ten Years of the Agnes Kirsopp Lake Michels Lectures at Bryn Mawr College, edited by Suzanne B. Faris, Lesley E. Lundeen, Bryn Mawr, 2006, pp. 58-70.Joss
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69-79 AD - VESPASIAN - AR denarius - struck 73 ADobv: IMP CAES VESP AVG CEN (laureate head right)
rev: SPQR in oak wreath
ref: RIC II 66, C.516 (6frcs)
mint: Rome
Scarce
'...as the usual appointed time when he must distribute subsistence money to the soldiers was now come, he [Titus] gave orders that the commanders should put the army into battle-array, in the face of the enemy, and then give every one of the soldiers their pay. So the soldiers, according to custom, opened the cases wherein their arms before lay covered, and marched with their breastplates on, as did the horsemen lead their horses in their fine trappings. Then did the places that were before the city shine very splendidly for a great way; nor was there any thing so grateful to Titus's own men, or so terrible to the enemy, as that sight.' Flavius Josephus: The wars of the Jews; book V berserker
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701a, Julius Caesar, Imperator and Dictator, assassinated 15 March 44 B.C.Julius Caesar
Of the great man, Joseph Sermarini states,"Gaius Julius Caesar is one of the most famous men in history. At the end of his brilliant military and political career he had gained control of the Roman state. His puppet senate heaped more and more honors upon him. In February 44 B.C. the senate named him dictator for life. Many senators, however, feared that he wished to become king, ending the Republic. On the 15th of March 44 B.C., 63 senators attacked him with knives they had hidden in the folds of their togas. This most famous of assassinations plunged the Roman Republic into 17 years of civil war, after which it would re-emerge as the Roman Empire."
It is not possible to adequately discuss Gaius Julius Caesar within the constraints of this gallery. He was born on either the 12th or the 13th of July in 100 B.C. [most scholars agree upon this date, but it is debated], and he was assassinated on 15 March 44 B.C.
Caesar is arguably the most important figure in Roman history; only Augustus and, perhaps, Constantine the Great made contributions of equivalent magnitude. Caesar was a truly gifted writer, orator, politician and soldier .
Library and book store shelves are crowded with a variety of biographies on this historical giant. Christian Meier, professor of Ancient History at the University of Munich, has written a scholarly as well as intriguing biography of Caesar. It is simply titled Caesar. It was first published in Germany in 1982, and a recently published paper back translation by David McLintock is now available from Fontana Press (a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers).
Caesar is fascinating.
J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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703a, Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Tribute Penny of Matthew 22:20-21Silver denarius, RIC I 30, RSC II 16a, SRCV 1763, gVF, Lugdunum mint, 3.837g, 18.7mm, 90o, 16 - 37 A.D.; obverse TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right; reverse PONTIF MAXIM, Pax/Livia seated right holding scepter and branch, legs on chair ornamented, feet on footstool; toned. Ex FORVM.
De Imperatoribus Romanis
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)
Garrett G. Fagan
Pennsylvania State University
Introduction
The reign of Tiberius (b. 42 B.C., d. A.D. 37, emperor A.D. 14-37) is a particularly important one for the Principate, since it was the first occasion when the powers designed for Augustus alone were exercised by somebody else. In contrast to the approachable and tactful Augustus, Tiberius emerges from the sources as an enigmatic and darkly complex figure, intelligent and cunning, but given to bouts of severe depression and dark moods that had a great impact on his political career as well as his personal relationships.
. . . .
Early life (42-12 B.C.)
Tiberius Claudius Nero was born on 16 November 42 B.C. to Ti. Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. Both parents were scions of the gens Claudia which had supplied leaders to the Roman Republic for many generations. . . [I]n 39 B.C., his mother Livia divorced Ti. Claudius Nero and married Octavian, thereby making the infant Tiberius the stepson of the future ruler of the Roman world. Forever afterward, Tiberius was to have his name coupled with this man, and always to his detriment.
. . . .
Accession and Early Reign (A.D. 14 - 23)
The accession of Tiberius proved intensely awkward. After Augustus had been buried and deified, and his will read and honored, the Senate convened on 18 September to inaugurate the new reign and officially "confirm" Tiberius as emperor. Such a transfer of power had never happened before, and nobody, including Tiberius, appears to have known what to do. Tacitus's account is the fullest. . . Rather than tactful, he came across to the senators as obdurate and obstructive. He declared that he was too old for the responsibilities of the Principate, said he did not want the job, and asked if he could just take one part of the government for himself. The Senate was confused, not knowing how to read his behavior. Finally, one senator asked pointedly, "Sire, for how long will you allow the State to be without a head?" Tiberius relented and accepted the powers voted to him, although he refused the title "Augustus."
. . . .
Tiberius allowed a trusted advisor to get too close and gain a tremendous influence over him. That advisor was the Praetorian Prefect, L. Aelius Sejanus, who would derail Tiberius's plans for the succession and drive the emperor farther into isolation, depression, and paranoia.
Sejanus (A.D. 23-31)
Sejanus hailed from Volsinii in Etruria. He and his father shared the Praetorian Prefecture until A.D. 15 when the father, L. Seius Strabo, was promoted to be Prefect of Egypt, the pinnacle of an equestrian career under the Principate. Sejanus, now sole Prefect of the Guard, enjoyed powerful connections to senatorial houses and had been a companion to Gaius Caesar on his mission to the East, 1 B.C. - A.D. 4. Through a combination of energetic efficiency, fawning sycophancy, and outward displays of loyalty, he gained the position of Tiberius's closest friend and advisor.
. . . .
[I]n a shocking and unexpected turn of events, [a] letter sent by Tiberius from Capri initially praised Sejanus extensively, and then suddenly denounced him as a traitor and demanded his arrest. Chaos ensued. Senators long allied with Sejanus headed for the exits, the others were confused -- was this a test of their loyalty? What did the emperor want them to do? -- but the Praetorian Guard, the very troops formerly under Sejanus's command but recently and secretly transferred to the command of Q. Sutorius Macro, arrested Sejanus, conveyed him to prison, and shortly afterwards executed him summarily. A witch-hunt followed. . . All around the city, grim scenes were played out, and as late as A.D. 33 a general massacre of all those still in custody took place.
Tiberius himself later claimed that he turned on Sejanus because he had been alerted to Sejanus's plot against Germanicus's family. This explanation has been rejected by most ancient and modern authorities, since Sejanus's demise did nothing to alleviate that family's troubles.
. . . .
The Last Years (A.D. 31-37)
The Sejanus affair appears to have greatly depressed Tiberius. A close friend and confidant had betrayed him; whom could he trust anymore? His withdrawal from public life seemed more complete in the last years. Letters kept him in touch with Rome, but it was the machinery of the Augustan administration that kept the empire running smoothly. Tiberius, if we believe our sources, spent much of his time indulging his perversities on Capri.
. . . .
Tiberius died quietly in a villa at Misenum on 16 March A.D. 37. He was 78 years old. There are some hints in the sources of the hand of Caligula in the deed, but such innuendo can be expected at the death of an emperor, especially when his successor proved so depraved. The level of unpopularity Tiberius had achieved by the time of his death with both the upper and lower classes is revealed by these facts: the Senate refused to vote him divine honors, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!" (in reference to a method of disposal reserved for the corpses of criminals).
Tiberius and the Empire
Three main aspects of Tiberius's impact on the empire deserve special attention: his relative military inertia; his modesty in dealing with offers of divine honors and his fair treatment of provincials; and his use of the Law of Treason (maiestas).
. . . .
Conclusion
. . . Tiberius's reign sporadically descended into tyranny of the worst sort. In the right climate of paranoia and suspicion, widespread denunciation led to the deaths of dozens of Senators and equestrians, as well as numerous members of the imperial house. In this sense, the reign of Tiberius decisively ended the Augustan illusion of "the Republic Restored" and shone some light into the future of the Principate, revealing that which was both promising and terrifying.
[For the entire article please refer to http://www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm]
Copyright © 1997, Garrett G. Fagan. Used by permission.
"Some of the things he did are hard to believe. He had little boys trained as minnows to chase him when he went swimming and to get between his legs and nibble him. He also had babies not weaned from their mother breast suck at his chest and groin . . . "
(Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Penguin Books, 1979. XLIV).
Jesus, referring to a "penny" asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible(Joseph Sermarini).
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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710a, Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.Silver denarius, RIC II, 10, aVF, 3.5 g, 18mm, Rome mint, 69-71 AD; Obverse: IMP CAESA[R] VESPASIANV[S AV]G - Laureate head right; Reverse: COS ITER [T]R POT - Pax seated left holding branch and caduceus. Ex Imperial Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis:
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 69-79)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. A.D. 9, d. A.D. 79, emperor A.D. 69-79) restored peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the Imperial throne. Although we lack many details about the events and chronology of his reign, Vespasian provided practical leadership and a return to stable government - accomplishments which, when combined with his other achievements, make his emperorship particularly notable within the history of the Principate.
Early Life and Career
Vespasian was born at Falacrina near Sabine Reate on 17 November, A.D. 9, the son of T. Flavius Sabinus, a successful tax collector and banker, and Vespasia Polla. Both parents were of equestrian status. Few details of his first fifteen years survive, yet it appears that his father and mother were often away from home on business for long periods. As a result, Vespasian's early education became the responsibility of his paternal grandmother, Tertulla. [[1]] In about A.D. 25 Vespasian assumed the toga virilis and later accepted the wearing of the latus clavus, and with it the senatorial path that his older brother, T. Flavius Sabinus, had already chosen. [[2]] Although many of the particulars are lacking, the posts typically occupied by one intent upon a senatorial career soon followed: a military tribunate in Thrace, perhaps for three or four years; a quaestorship in Crete-Cyrene; and the offices of aedile and praetor, successively, under the emperor Gaius. [[3]]
It was during this period that Vespasian married Flavia Domitilla. Daughter of a treasury clerk and former mistress of an African knight, Flavia lacked the social standing and family connections that the politically ambitious usually sought through marriage. In any case, the couple produced three children, a daughter, also named Flavia Domitilla, and two sons, the future emperors Titus and Domitian . Flavia did not live to witness her husband's emperorship and after her death Vespasian returned to his former mistress Caenis, who had been secretary to Antonia (daughter of Marc Antony and mother of Claudius). Caenis apparently exerted considerable influence over Vespasian, prompting Suetonius to assert that she remained his wife in all but name, even after he became emperor. [[4]]
Following the assassination of Gaius on 24 January, A.D. 41, Vespasian advanced rapidly, thanks in large part to the new princeps Claudius, whose favor the Flavians had wisely secured with that of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, and of Claudius' freedmen, especially Narcissus. [[5]] The emperor soon dispatched Vespasian to Argentoratum (Strasbourg) as legatus legionis II Augustae, apparently to prepare the legion for the invasion of Britain. Vespasian first appeared at the battle of Medway in A.D. 43, and soon thereafter led his legion across the south of England, where he engaged the enemy thirty times in battle, subdued two tribes, and conquered the Isle of Wight. According to Suetonius, these operations were conducted partly under Claudius and partly under Vespasian's commander, Aulus Plautius. Vespasian's contributions, however, did not go unnoticed; he received the ornamenta triumphalia and two priesthoods from Claudius for his exploits in Britain. [[6]]
By the end of A.D. 51 Vespasian had reached the consulship, the pinnacle of a political career at Rome. For reasons that remain obscure he withdrew from political life at this point, only to return when chosen proconsul of Africa about A.D. 63-64. His subsequent administration of the province was marked by severity and parsimony, earning him a reputation for being scrupulous but unpopular. [[7]] Upon completion of his term, Vespasian returned to Rome where, as a senior senator, he became a man of influence in the emperor Nero's court. [[8]] Important enough to be included on Nero's tour of Greece in A.D. 66-67, Vespasian soon found himself in the vicinity of increasing political turbulence in the East. The situation would prove pivotal in advancing his career.
Judaea and the Accession to Power
In response to rioting in Caesarea and Jerusalem that had led to the slaughter in the latter city of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, Nero granted to Vespasian in A.D. 66 a special command in the East with the objective of settling the revolt in Judaea. By spring A.D. 67, with 60,000 legionaries, auxiliaries, and allies under his control, Vespasian set out to subdue Galilee and then to cut off Jerusalem. Success was quick and decisive. By October all of Galilee had been pacified and plans for the strategic encirclement of Jerusalem were soon formed. [[9]] Meanwhile, at the other end of the empire, the revolts of Gaius Iulius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, had brought Nero's reign to the brink of collapse. The emperor committed suicide in June, A.D. 68, thereby ensuring chaos for the next eighteen months, as first Galba and then Marcus Salvius Otho and Aulus Vitellius acceded to power. Each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support; each would be violently deposed in turn. [[10]]
Still occupied with plans against Jerusalem, Vespasian swore allegiance to each emperor. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt. [[11]] On July 1, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judaea two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. [[12]] The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.
Meanwhile, the Danubian legions, unwilling to wait for Mucianus' arrival, began their march against Vitellius ' forces. The latter army, suffering from a lack of discipline and training, and unaccustomed to the heat of Rome, was defeated at Cremona in late October. [[13]] By mid-December the Flavian forces had reached Carsulae, 95 kilometers north of Rome on the Flaminian Road, where the Vitellians, with no further hope of reinforcements, soon surrendered. At Rome, unable to persuade his followers to accept terms for his abdication, Vitellius was in peril. On the morning of December 20 the Flavian army entered Rome. By that afternoon, the emperor was dead. [[14]]
Tacitus records that by December 22, A.D. 69, Vespasian had been given all the honors and privileges usually granted to emperors. Even so, the issue remains unclear, owing largely to a surviving fragment of an enabling law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which conferred powers, privileges, and exemptions, most with Julio-Claudian precedents, on the new emperor. Whether the fragment represents a typical granting of imperial powers that has uniquely survived in Vespasian's case, or is an attempt to limit or expand such powers, remains difficult to know. In any case, the lex sanctioned all that Vespasian had done up to its passing and gave him authority to act as he saw fit on behalf of the Roman people. [[15]]
What does seem clear is that Vespasian felt the need to legitimize his new reign with vigor. He zealously publicized the number of divine omens that predicted his accession and at every opportunity he accumulated multiple consulships and imperial salutations. He also actively promoted the principle of dynastic succession, insisting that the emperorship would fall to his son. The initiative was fulfilled when Titus succeeded his father in A.D. 79.[[16]]
Emperorship
Upon his arrival in Rome in late summer, A.D. 70, Vespasian faced the daunting task of restoring a city and a government ravaged by the recent civil wars. Although many particulars are missing, a portrait nevertheles emerges of a ruler conscientiously committed to the methodical renewal of both city and empire. Concerning Rome itself, the emperor encouraged rebuilding on vacated lots, restored the Capitol (burned in A.D. 69), and also began work on several new buildings: a temple to the deified Claudius on the Caelian Hill, a project designed to identify Vespasian as a legitimate heir to the Julio-Claudians, while distancing himself from Nero ; a temple of Peace near the Forum; and the magnificent Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), located on the site of the lake of Nero 's Golden House. [[17]]
Claiming that he needed forty thousand million sesterces for these projects and for others aimed at putting the state on more secure footing, Vespasian is said to have revoked various imperial immunities, manipulated the supply of certain commodities to inflate their price, and increased provincial taxation. [[18]] The measures are consistent with his characterization in the sources as both obdurate and avaricious. There were occasional political problems as well: Helvidius Priscus, an advocate of senatorial independence and a critic of the Flavian regime from the start, was exiled after A.D. 75 and later executed; Marcellus Eprius and A. Alienus Caecina were condemned by Titus for conspiracy, the former committing suicide, the latter executed in A.D. 79.
As Suetonius claims, however, in financial matters Vespasian always put revenues to the best possible advantage, regardless of their source. Tacitus, too, offers a generally favorable assessment, citing Vespasian as the first man to improve after becoming emperor. [[19]] Thus do we find the princeps offering subventions to senators not possessing the property qualifications of their rank, restoring many cities throughout the empire, and granting state salaries for the first time to teachers of Latin and Greek rhetoric. To enhance Roman economic and social life even further, he encouraged theatrical productions by building a new stage for the Theatre of Marcellus, and he also put on lavish state dinners to assist the food trades. [[20]]
In other matters the emperor displayed similar concern. He restored the depleted ranks of the senatorial and equestrian orders with eligible Italian and provincial candidates and reduced the backlog of pending court cases at Rome. Vespasian also re-established discipline in the army, while punishing or dismissing large numbers of Vitellius ' men. [[21]]
Beyond Rome, the emperor increased the number of legions in the East and continued the process of imperial expansion by the annexation of northern England, the pacification of Wales, and by advances into Scotland and southwest Germany between the Rhine and the Danube. Vespasian also conferred rights on communities abroad, especially in Spain, where the granting of Latin rights to all native communities contributed to the rapid Romanization of that province during the Imperial period. [[22]]
Death and Assessment
In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!" [[23]] In fact, public deification did follow his death, as did his internment in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside the Julio-Claudians.
A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century.
Bibliography
Since the scholarship on Vespasian is more comprehensive than can be treated here, the works listed below are main accounts or bear directly upon issues discussed in the entry above. A comprehensive modern anglophone study of this emperor is yet to be produced.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Vespasianei, 2 vols. Rieti, 1981.
Bosworth, A.B. "Vespasian and the Provinces: Some Problems of the Early 70s A.D." Athenaeum 51 (1973): 49-78.
Brunt, P. A. "Lex de imperio Vespasiani." JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
D'Espèrey, S. Franchet. "Vespasien, Titus et la littérature." ANRW II.32.5: 3048-3086.
Dudley, D. and Webster, G. The Roman Conquest of Britain. London, 1965.
Gonzalez, J. "The Lex Irnitana: A New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
Grant, M. The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476. New York, 1985.
Homo, L. Vespasien, l'Empereur du bons sens (69-79 ap. J.-C.). Paris, 1949.
Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.
McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors Including the Year of the Revolution. Cambridge, 1966.
Nicols, John. Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae. Wiesbaden, 1978.
Scarre, C. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London, 1995.
Suddington, D. B. The Development of the Roman Auxiliary Forces from Caesar to Vespasian, 49 B.C. - A.D. 79. Harare: U. of Zimbabwe, 1982.
Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.
Wardel, David. "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol." Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
Wellesley, K. The Long Year: A.D. 69. Bristol, 1989, 2nd ed.
Notes
[[1]] Suet. Vesp. 2.1. Suetonius remains the major source but see also Tac. Hist. 2-5; Cass. Dio 65; Joseph. BJ 3-4.
[[2]] Suetonius (Vesp. 2.1) claims that Vespasian did not accept the latus clavus, the broad striped toga worn by one aspiring to a senatorial career, immediately. The delay, however, was perhaps no more than three years. See J. Nicols, Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae (Wiesbaden, 1978), 2.
[[3]] Military tribunate and quaestorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3; aedileship: ibid., 5.3, in which Gaius, furious that Vespasian had not kept the streets clean, as was his duty, ordered some soldiers to load him with filth;,they complied by stuffing his toga with as much as it could hold. See also Dio 59.12.2-3; praetorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3, in which Vespasian is depicted as one of Gaius' leading adulators, an account consistent with Tacitus' portrayal (Hist 1.50.4; 2.5.1) of his early career. For a more complete discussion of these posts and attendant problems of dating, see Nicols, Vespasian, 2-7.
[[4]] Marriage and Caenis: Suet. Vesp. 3; Cass. Dio 65.14.
[[5]] Nicols, Vespasian, 12-39.
[[6]] Suet. Vesp. 4.1 For additional details on Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see D. Dudley and G. Webster, The Roman Conquest of Britain (London, 1965), 55 ff., 98.
[[7]] Concerning Vespasian's years between his consulship and proconsulship, see Suet. Vesp. 4.2 and Nicols, Vespasian, 9. On his unpopularity in Africa, see Suet. Vesp. 4.3, an account of a riot at Hadrumentum, where he was once pelted with turnips. In recording that Africa supported Vitellius in A.D. 69, Tacitus too suggests popular dissatisfaction with Vespasian's proconsulship. See Hist. 2.97.2.
[[8]] This despite the fact that the sources record two rebukes of Vespasian, one for extorting money from a young man seeking career advancement (Suet. Vesp. 4.3), the other for either leaving the room or dozing off during one of the emperor's recitals (Suet. Vesp. 4.4 and 14, which places the transgression in Greece; Tac. (Ann. 16.5.3), who makes Rome and the Quinquennial Games of A.D. 65 the setting; A. Braithwaite, C. Suetoni Tranquilli Divus Vespasianus, Oxford, 1927, 30, who argues for both Greece and Rome).
[[9]] Subjugation of Galilee: Joseph. BJ 3.65-4.106; siege of Jerusalem: ibid., 4.366-376, 414.
[[10]] Revolt of Vindex: Suet. Nero 40; Tac. Ann. 14.4; revolt of Galba: Suet. Galba 10; Plut. Galba, 4-5; suicide of Nero: Suet. Nero 49; Cass. Dio 63.29.2. For the most complete account of the period between Nero's death and the accession of Vespasian, see K. Wellesley, The Long Year: A.D. 69, 2nd. ed. (Bristol, 1989).
[[11]] Tac. Hist. 2.76.
[[12]] Troops in support of Vespasian: Suet. Vit. 15; Mucianus and his forces: Tac. Hist. 2.83; Vespasian and grain shipments: Joseph. BJ 4.605 ff.; see also Tac. Hist. 3.48, on Vespasian's possible plan to shut off grain shipments to Italy from Carthage as well.
[[13]] On Vitellius' army and its lack of discipline, see Tac. Hist. 2.93-94; illness of army: ibid., 2.99.1; Cremona: ibid., 3.32-33.
[[14]] On Vitellius' last days, see Tac. Hist. 3.68-81. On the complicated issue of Vitellius' death date, see L. Holzapfel, "Römische Kaiserdaten," Klio 13 (1913): 301.
[[15]] Honors, etc. Tac. Hist. 4.3. For more on the lex de imperio Vespasiani, see P. A. Brunt, "Lex de imperio Vespasiani," JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
[[16]] Omens: Suet. Vesp. 5; consulships and honors: ibid., 8; succession of sons: ibid., 25.
[[17]] On Vespasian's restoration of Rome, see Suet. Vesp. 9; Cass. Dio 65.10; D. Wardel, "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol," Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
[[18]] Suet. Vesp. 16.
[[19]] Ibid.; Tac. Hist. 1.50.
[[20]] Suet. Vesp. 17-19.
[[21]] Ibid., 8-10.
[[22]] On Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see esp. Tac., Agricola, eds. R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond (1967), and W. S. Hanson, Agricola and the Conquest of the North (1987); on the granting of Latin rights in Spain, see, e.g., J. Gonzalez, "The Lex Irnitana: a New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
[[23]] For this witticism and other anecdotes concerning Vespasian's sense of humor, see Suet. Vesp. 23.
Copyright (C) 1998, John Donahue. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, an Online Encyplopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm
Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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A. Plautius denarius 55 BCEA. Plautius.
AED • CVR • S • C downwards to left, A • PLAVTIVS downward to right
Turreted head of Cybele right, wearing cruciform earring, hair in knot, locks falling down neck;
IVDAEVS upward to right, BACCHIVS in exergue.
Bearded male figure (Aristobulus II) kneels right with palm branch in left hand, alongside camel
Rome, 55 BCE.
3.75g
Hendin 6470
Ex-Taters
The very first Judaea Capta type commemorating the defeat of Aristobulus II in trying to usurp the High Priesthood and Kingship from his brother Hyrcanus II.
From Hendin's Guide to Biblical Coins volume 6:
"Bacchus the Jew has been an enigma in numismatics. The most popular opinion is that the figure on the coin represents Aristobulus II, ally of Aretas III, and commemorates Aristobulus' unsuccessful insurrection against both his brother Hyrcanus II and Pompey the Great.
"I suggest that BACCHIVS IVDAEVS is not only half-playful, but tauntingly mean and mischievous as well. There are numerous suggestions that many Romans and Greeks believed the ancient Jewish religion to be a cult of Dionysus, the popular god of grapes and winemaking, feasting, drunken behavior, and ecstasy. Josephus does not discuss any aspects of Bacchus and the Jews, but he mentions that Herod I presented a golden vine to the Temple. It was used to hang donatives of golden grapes and vine leaves and the vine was said to be part of the booty taken to Rome by Titus. Among the important prayers in Judaism, both ancient and modern, are those prayers that call upon the monotheistic God to bless "the fruit of the vine."
Grapes were also one of the seven species listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as special products of the ancient Land of Israel. The relationship the Greeks and Romans fantasized to exist between the Jews and Dionysus may also be related to the traditional mythology that Dionysus was the son of Semele, "who was the daughter of Cadmus, who, being a Phoenician, was a Semite who spoke a language closely akin to Hebrew." (GBC p. 367)"Jay GT4
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Abraham Lincoln 1862 Indian Peace MedalObv: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, draped bust of Abraham Lincoln (16th President) facing right, 1862 below.
Rev: In the center, within a circle is a village scene including children playing baseball in front of a school and a church steeple; in the foreground an Indian, wearing full chief's feathered head-dress, operates a horse-drawn plough; in the outer ring, an Indian pulls the hair of a foe, preparing to scalp him with a knife; below and to the left is a quiver of arrows, on the right is a crossed bow and a peace pipe; below center is the head of an Indian princess with eyes closed.
Engravers: Salathiel Ellis (obverse), Joseph Willson (reverse).
Mint: Philadelphia, Date: 1862 (20th Century Restrike), Bronze, Diameter: 76 mmMatt Inglima
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Abraham Lincoln 1862 Indian Peace MedalObv: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, draped bust of Abraham Lincoln (16th President) facing right, 1862 below.
Rev: In the center, within a circle is a village scene including children playing baseball in front of a school and a church steeple; in the foreground an Indian, wearing full chief's feathered head-dress, operates a horse-drawn plough; in the outer ring, an Indian pulls the hair of a foe, preparing to scalp him with a knife; below and to the left is a quiver of arrows, on the right is a crossed bow and a peace pipe; below center is the head of an Indian princess with eyes closed.
Engravers: Salathiel Ellis (obverse), Joseph Willson (reverse).
Mint: Philadelphia, Date: 1862 (20th Century Restrike), Bronze, Diameter: 76 mmMatt Inglima
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AE Arrowhead #38Western or NW Iran
1200-800 BC
14.1 cm (5.6”)
Cf. Mahboubian (Art of Ancient Iran: Copper and Bronze), 390 (several similar in grouping at bottom of page)
Cf. Muscarella (Bronze and Iron, Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Fig. 410
Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Fig. 73, (page 85)
Description:
Deltoid shaped bilobate blade with shallow wide rib, long tang.
Ex-Joseph K. Long III collection, New Hampshire, USA, acquired in the 1980sKamnaskires
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AE Spearhead #30NW Iran
(Possibly Amlash)
9th to 7th century BC
17 cm (6.7”)
Cf. Khorasani (Arms and Armor from Iran), Cat. 284
Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum), Pl. 9, Fig. 85 (also illustrated on page 89)
Description:
Narrow leaf-shaped blade, midrib, long folded socket.
Ex-Joseph K. Long III collection, New Hampshire, USA, acquired in the 1980sKamnaskires
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AE Spearhead #31NW Iran
(Moorey states that this rare type is associated with the Persian Talish region)
c. 9th – 8th century BC
36.5 cm (14.4”)
Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum), Pl. 9, Fig. 88 (also illustrated on page 91)
Description:
Long, triangular blade tapering towards point; straight shoulders; triangular midrib with double traced lines running down either side; folded socket, the upper part decorated with long incised lines and a stacked chevrons pattern; rivet holes near base.
Ex-Joseph K. Long III collection, New Hampshire, USA, acquired in the 1980sKamnaskires
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Alexander III , The Great Drachm Miletos mint.Silver Drachm,
Miletos (near Balat, Turkey) mint, struck under Philoxenos, c. 325 - 323 B.C.
Obverse :head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck.
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on backless throne, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, right leg forward (lifetime style), eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, thunderbolt left, AΛEΞANΔPOY downward behind, ΔΗ monogram under throne.
Price 2088, Müller Alexander 11, SNG Alpha Bank 627.
The Sam Mansourati Collection./Given as a souvenir to a superb dear friend Dr. Joseph Diaz.Sam
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Alexander III The Great Drachm Miletos mint Silver Drachm,
Miletos (near Balat, Turkey) mint, struck under Philoxenos, c. 325 - 323 B.C.
Obverse :head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck.
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on backless throne, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, right leg forward (lifetime style), eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, thunderbolt left, AΛEΞANΔPOY downward behind, ΔΗ monogram under throne.
Price 2088, Müller Alexander 11, SNG Alpha Bank 627.
The Sam Mansourati Collection./Given as a souvenir to a superb dear friend Dr. Joseph Diaz.Sam
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Alexander III The Great, Macedonian Kingdom, 336 - 323 B.C., Possible Lifetime IssueThis is the same coin in my collection, different picture, as the Alexander tetradrachm listed as [300mem].
Silver tetradrachm, Price 3971, VF, 16.081g, 26.1mm, 0o, Egypt, Memphis mint, c. 332 - 323 or 323 - 305 B.C.; obverse Herakles' head right, clad in Nemean lion scalp headdress tied at neck; reverse ALEXANDROU, Zeus enthroned left, legs crossed, eagle in right, scepter in left, rose left, DI-O under throne. Ex Pavlos S. Pavlou. Ex FORVM, "The Memphis issues are among the finest style Alexander coins. Experts disagree on the date of this issue. Some identify it as a lifetime issue and others as a posthumous issue (Joseph Sermarini).
Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon (356-323 BC)
"Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the entire nature of the ancient world in little more than ten years.
Born in the northern Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 356 BC, to Philip II and his formidable wife Olympias, Alexander was educated by the philosopher Aristotle. Following his father's assassination in 336 BC, he inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom, which he had to secure - along with the rest of the Greek city states - before he could set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire, in revenge for Persia's earlier attempts to conquer Greece.
Against overwhelming odds, he led his army to victories across the Persian territories of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt without incurring a single defeat. With his greatest victory at the Battle of Gaugamela, in what is now northern Iraq, in 331 BC, the young king of Macedonia, leader of the Greeks, Overlord of Asia Minor and Pharaoh of Egypt also became Great King of Persia at the age of 25.
Over the next eight years, in his capacity as king, commander, politician, scholar and explorer, Alexander led his army a further 11,000 miles, founding over 70 cities and creating an empire that stretched across three continents and covered some two million square miles.
The entire area from Greece in the west, north to the Danube, south into Egypt and as far east as the Indian Punjab, was linked together in a vast international network of trade and commerce. This was united by a common Greek language and culture, whilst the king himself adopted foreign customs in order to rule his millions of ethnically diverse subjects.
Primarily a soldier, Alexander was an acknowledged military genius who always led by example, although his belief in his own indestructibility meant he was often reckless with his own life and that of those he expected to follow him. The fact that his army only refused to do so once, in the13 years of a reign during which there was constant fighting, indicates the loyalty he inspired.
Following his death in 323 BC at the age of only 32, his empire was torn apart in the power struggles of his successors. Yet Alexander's mythical status rapidly reached epic proportions and inspired individuals as diverse as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Louis XIV and Napoleon.
He continues to be portrayed according to the bias of those interpreting his achievements. He is either Alexander the Great or Iskander the Accursed, chivalrous knight or bloody monster, benign multi-culturalist or racist imperialist - but above all he is fully deserving of his description as 'the most significant secular individual in history'."
By Dr. Joann Fletcher
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/alexander_the_great.shtml
"When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."--attributed to Plutarch, The Moralia.
http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=96
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr. Cleisthenes
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Arcadia, Phigalia. Septimius Severus. BCD Peloponnesos 1644 var. Æ20. Arcadia, Phigalia. Septimius Severus (AD 193–211), laureate head to r., bare bust. Legend mostly illegible. Rev., Dionysus to l., holding cantharus and thyrsus. ΦI - [A?]Λ - EΩN. BCD Peloponnesos 1644 var. (CNG notes: "unpublished in the standard references."). Ex. Collegium Josephinum Bonn, 2-14-2010.
Possibly same obverse die as CNG 81, Lot 2910: http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=141929Mark Fox
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Australia, Tasmania, New Town: Reuben JosephsAndrews 310, Renniks 310, KM Tn140
½ penny token , copper; dated 1855 and minted by Heaton and Sons of Birmingham, England per Renniks or W.J. Taylor of London, England per Museums Victoria Collection website (which states that the corresponding penny token was minted by Heaton and Sons). 28.0 mm., 0°
Obv.: Tollgate with associated building, NEW TOWN TOLLGATE / * R. JOSEPHS *,
Rev.: Blindfolded personification of Justice seated holding scale in right hand and inverted overflowing cornucopia in left hand, wine barrel behind her, three-masted sailing ship on the horizon to the left, VAN DIEMAN’S LAND above and 1855 below
Reuben Josephs (1790-1862) was a tailor who sold old clothes from a warehouse in London until 1827, when he was convicted of receiving stolen goods, sentenced to fourteen years transportation and sent to Van Diemen’s Land (later renamed Tasmania). His wife emigrated to Tasmania and purchased two blocks of land at New Norfolk. Reuben was assigned to be her servant, and they started a business. He was granted a ticket of leave in 1833, a conditional pardon in 1836, and his certificate of freedom in 1841. After his wife died in 1844, he moved to Liverpool Street in Hobart. In 1852 he won the tender to operate the New Town toll gate for three years. He married Rachel Levien in Hobart in 1856.
In documents of the Hobart Hebrew Congregation, Reuben Josephs was listed as a contributor to the fund for the construction of the Hobart Synagogue, and as a “seatholder” (financial member) of the Congregation starting in 1852. He was buried in the Jewish section of the Old Hobart Cemetery.
Renniks rarity R1 (most frequently seen)Stkp
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AUSTRIA - Franz Joseph IAUSTRIA - Franz Joseph I (1848-1916) AR 1 Corona, 1908. Commemorative of 60th year of reign. KM#2808.dpaul7
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AUSTRIA - JOSEPH I1706 AUSTRIA 3-Kreutzer. SILVER. Emperor Joseph I (1705-1711)/Arms. KM-122dpaul7
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AUSTRIA - Joseph IAUSTRIA - Joseph I (1705-1711). AR 3 Kreuzer, 1709, Graz Mint. KM #483. dpaul7
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AUSTRIA HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE Joseph I, 1707.ancientone
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AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDSAUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS - Joseph II 1780-1790; AR Kronenthaler, 1788, with A Mintmark. KM#32. *NOTE: Another issue with mintmark M is for Milan.dpaul7
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Auxonne in France, 1424-1427 AD., Duchy of Burgundy, Philippe le Bon, Blanc aux écus, Poey d'Avant # 5735.France, Duchy of Burgundy, Auxonne mint (?), Philip the Good (Philippe le Bon, 1419-1467), struck 1424-1427 AD.,
AR blanc aux écus (26-28 mm / 3,27 g),
Obv.: + DVX : ET : COMES : BVRGVDIE , Ecus accolés de Bourgogne nouveau et Bourgogne ancien sous PhILIPVS.
Rev.: + SIT : NOMEN : DNI : BENEDICTVM , Croix longue entre un lis et un lion, au-dessus de PhILIPVS.
B., 1230 ; Dumas, 15-7-1 ; Poey d'Avant # 5735.
"PotatorII": "This coin is atributed to Auxonne mint because of the presence of a "secret dot" under the first letter (S) on reverse."
Rare
Imitation du blanc aux écus d'Henri VI d'Angleterre, frappé en France à partir de novembre 1422.
Philip the Good (French: Philippe le Bon), also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (July 31, 1396 – June 15, 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty (the then Royal family of France). During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts. Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck, and the capture of Joan of Arc. During his reign he alternated between English and French alliances in an attempt to improve his dynasty's position.
Born in Dijon, he was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. On the 28 January 1405, he was named Count of Charolais in appanage of his father and probably on the same day he was engaged to Michele of Valois (1395–1422), daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. They were married in June of 1409.
Philip subsequently married Bonne of Artois (1393–1425), daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, and also the widow of his uncle, Philip II, Count of Nevers, in Moulins-les-Engelbert on November 30, 1424. The latter is sometimes confused with Philip's biological aunt, also named Bonne (sister of John the Fearless, lived 1379 - 1399), in part due to the Papal Dispensation required for the marriage which made no distinction between a marital aunt and a biological aunt.
His third marriage, in Bruges on January 7, 1430 with Isabella of Portugal (1397 - December 17, 1471), daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, produced three sons:
* Antoine (September 30, 1430, Brussels – February 5, 1432, Brussels), Count of Charolais
* Joseph (April 24, 1432 – aft. May 6, 1432), Count of Charolais
* Charles (1433–1477), Count of Charolais and Philip's successor as Duke, called "Charles the Bold" or "Charles the Rash"
Philip also had some eighteen illegitimate children, including Antoine, bastard of Burgundy, by twenty four documented mistresses [1]. Another, Philip of Burgundy (1464-1524), bishop of Utrecht, was a fine amateur artist, and the subject of a biography in 1529.
Philip became duke of Burgundy, count of Flanders, Artois and Franche Comté when his father was assassinated in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philip's brother-in-law of planning the murder of his father which had taken place during a meeting between the two at Montereau, and so he continued to prosecute the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1420 Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes. In 1423 the alliance was strengthened by the marriage of his sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England.
In 1430 Philip's troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English who orchestrated a heresy trial against her, conducted by pro-Burgundian clerics. Despite this action against Joan of Arc, Philip's alliance with England was broken in 1435 when Philip signed the Treaty of Arras (which completely revoked the Treaty of Troyes) and thus recognised Charles VII as king of France. Philip signed for a variety of reasons, one of which may have been a desire to be recognised as the Premier Duke in France. Philip then attacked Calais, but this alliance with Charles was broken in 1439, with Philip supporting the revolt of the French nobles the following year (an event known as the Praguerie) and sheltering the Dauphin Louis.
Philip generally was preoccupied with matters in his own territories and seldom was directly involved in the Hundred Years' War, although he did play a role during a number of periods such as the campaign against Compiegne during which his troops captured Joan of Arc. He incorporated Namur into Burgundian territory in 1429 (March 1, by purchase from John III, Marquis of Namur), Hainault and Holland, Frisia and Zealand in 1432 (with the defeat of Countess Jacqueline in the last episode of the Hook and Cod wars); inherited the duchy of Brabant and Limburg and the margrave of Antwerp in 1430 (on the death of his cousin Philip of Saint-Pol); and purchased Luxembourg in 1443 from Elisabeth of Bohemia, Duchess of Luxembourg. Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son, David, was elected Bishop of Utrecht in 1456. It is not surprising that in 1435, Philip began to style himself "Grand Duke of the West". In 1463 Philip returned some of his territory to Louis XI. That year he also created an Estates-General based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France and to ensure support for the succession of his son, Charles I, to his dominions. Philip died in Bruges in 1467.
my ancient coin database
Arminius
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BAVARIA - Maximilian II JosephBAVARIA - Maximilian II Joseph AR Thaler, 1754. KM #223.dpaul7
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BAVARIA - Maximilian II JosephBAVARIA - Maximilian II Joseph (1745-1777) AR Thaler, 1774. Bust of king right/Nimbate Madonna holding Christ child and sceptre, seated on crescent. KM#234.1. dpaul7
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Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, 1745 - 1777Obv: D . G . MAX . IOS . U . B . & P . S . D . C . P . R . S . R . I . A . & EL . L . L., bare-headed bust, draped, facing right.
Rev: PATRONA BAVARIAE, The Holy Mother holding an infant Jesus, 1756 below.
Silver Thaler, Munich mint, 1756
27.5 grams, 42.12 mmMatt Inglima
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BCC LT109 Lead Tessera Hippodrome?Lead Tessera
Roman 1st-4th Century CE
Obv: Uncertain type. Hippodrome?
Barge? or Hieroglyph?
Rev: Uncertain type, extremely
faint image or blank.
The image on this unique tessera is remarkably
similar to the layout of the original Herodian era
hippodrome at Caesarea, mentioned by Josephus.
This U-shaped structure was located along the
shoreline between the "promontory palace" and
the central harbour of the ancient city, as seen in
this aerial view from the south. The orientation
exactly matches the image on the tessera, with the
curved end at the bottom, the ocean waves on the
left, and additional structures along the sides.
Other ideas are welcome.
Pb12.5 x 10.5 x 1.0mm. 0.88gm.
Surface find Caesarea Maritima ca. 1970's
J. Berlin Caesarea Collection
(click for larger pic)v-drome
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Behold! We have Gold, Silver, Wheat and Wine.Thrace, Pautalia, Caracalla 198-217 Æ29mm (or Pentassarion).
Obv: AÎ¥T K M AΥΡH – ANTΩNINOC, Laureate head of Caracalla right,
Rev: OΥΛΠIAC ΠAΥTAΛIAC, The River-god Strymon reclining left on urn from
which water flows, resting right hand on a rocky outcrop and holding a grape
vine with several grape bunches.
Four youths (or less correctly 'erotes') around; APΓY/POC (Argyros = silver)
emerging to the left, out of the cave in the mountain, with a small basket over
his shoulder; BOTPY (Botry = grapes) standing right on top of the mountain,
supporting one of the grape bunches; to right of waterfall, XPY/COC (Chrysos
= gold) seated left; in exergue, CTAXY (Stachy = grain ear) standing left and
holding sickle, harvesting ears of grain, probably wheat.
16.6g, Ruzicka 634; Mouchmov 4286; Varbanov 5174.
ex: Numismatik Lanz 163/374, where it had an estimate of €1,500- Euros.
Also: Schow (1789) p.6; Sestini (1796) 37, p.67; Mionnet (1822) 1108, p.388;
Eckhel (1839) Part 1, Vol.II, p.38; Von Sallet (1888) p.202-3; Imhoof-Blumer
(1908) 459, p.163-4, pl.X, 28.
"In the field of numismatics, there is no other coin upon which a city proclaims
the products of its territory so exquisitely". - Joseph H. Eckhel.
Also, see this recent article:
Behold! We have Gold, Silver, Wheat and Wine. by Walter C. Holt, M.A.
Australasian Coin and Banknote Magazine "2017 Yearbook", Volume 20.11,
December 2017/January 2018, pp.72-75 (illustrated). OldMoney
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Belgium, 5 Centimes, 1850Obv:- L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE, A lion, symbol of Belgium, with a paw over the Belgian Constitution dating 1831. 5 CENTs. / Engraver BRAEMT F.
Rev:- LEOPOLD PREMIER ROI DES BELGES, The royal monogram is surrounded with lettering in French. // 1850
Engraver: Joseph-Pierre Braemt
Reference:- KM# 5
Mintage 2,689,000
Part of a large, mixed world lot I bought on a whim.maridvnvm
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Belgium, 5 Centimes, 1852Obv:- L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE, A lion, symbol of Belgium, with a paw over the Belgian Constitution dating 1831. 5 CENTs. / Engraver BRAEMT F.
Rev:- LEOPOLD PREMIER ROI DES BELGES, The royal monogram is surrounded with lettering in French. // 1852
Engraver: Joseph-Pierre Braemt
Reference:- KM# 5
Mintage 1,943,000
My ref:- BEL 002
Part of a large, mixed world lot I bought on a whim.maridvnvm
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Bramsen 0310. Légion d'Honneur, 1804.Obv. Laureate head of Napoleon ANDRIEU F below.
Rev.the cross of the order, in the centre of which the eagle of France stands on the fulmen of Jove, encircled with a flat ring, on which the motto, HONNEUR . ET . PATRIE. is impressed. A wreath of the branches of oak and laurel, with their fruit, surrounds the cross behind AUSPICE NEAPOLEONE GALLIA RENOVATA. Exergue, DENON DIRT. JALEY FT.
The engraving is of the highest quality. Some scratches on the obverse, not particularly visible in hand. The scratches on the portrait itself do not penetrate the patination to bare metal.
Laskey's Narrative:
Napoleon having been elected First Consul for life, immediately marked his great event by instituting the order of the Legion of Honour, which, by joining personal decoration with pecuniary stipend, answered two purposes, that of reconciling the people of France to the restoration of artificial rank in society, and also or securing to Napoleon himself the personal attachment of all those connected with the institution; in short it was a cheap, but efficacious mode of giving bribes to all ranks both in military and civil life, and therefore likely to be attended with the best consequences to his own popularity.
On this occasion, Joseph Bonaparte, the Consul's brother, was made the grand officer of the order.
It was also decreed that the legion should be composed of fifteen cohorts, and a council of administration; that each cohort should consist of seven grand officers, twenty commandants, thirty officers, and 350 legionaries; and that the First Consul should always be the chief of the legion, and of the council of administration. The members were to be military men, who had distinguished themselves in the war, or citizens, who, by their knowledge, talents, and virtues, had contributed to establish or defend the republic.
LordBest
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Bramsen 0476. Josephine imperatrice et reine, 1805. Obv. Draped and diademed bust of Josephine to the right JOSEPHINE IMP ET REINE
Bronzed lead 68mm. Uniface.
A lead cliche produced by the engraver Andrieu approximately dated to 1805-21. Original paper backing, missing glass bubble.LordBest
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Bramsen 1091. Le Roi de Rome, 1811.Obv. Profile busts of the Emperor Napoleon, and the Empress Maria Louisa; the head of the Emperor encircled with a wreath, that of the Empress is adorned with the imperial diadem as worn by the former Queens of France; under the head of Napoleon or exergue, the name of the artist and designer, ANDRIEU F. DENON D.
Rev. Bust of the infant son of Napoleon; on base of the bust, ANDRIEU F.
Legend, NAPOLEON FRANCOIS JOSEPH CHARLES ROI DE ROME.
Exergue, XX MARS MDCCCXI.
Struck to commemorate the birth of Napoleon II in 1811.LordBest
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Cilicia, Tarsos (under Mazaios) AR Stater, Ex-Athena Fund, Seventko, JB CollectionsGreek (Classical, Asia Minor). Cilicia, Tarsos. Mazaios (Satrap, 361-334 BCE). AR Stater (10.65g, 22.5mm, 12h)
Obv: "BLTRZ" (Baaltars, all legends Aramaic) to r. Baal seated left, holding eagle, grain ear, grapes, and scepter; "TR" lower left, "M" below throne. Rev: "MZDI" (Mazaios). Lion attacking bull left; monogram (ankh) below.
References: SNG Levante 106 (same dies); Casabonne Series 2, Group C.
Provenance: Ex-Athena Fund (c. 1988-1993); Sotheby’s NFA-Athena Fund Sale II (Zurich, 27 October 1993), Lot 808.1 (part of, this reverse illustrated); CNG MBS 29 (30 March 1994), Lot 252; Dr. Joseph M. Seventko Collection; ICG (AU53) #5571290112 (removed from slab, Feb 2021); Heritage Auctions 296 (New York, 30 July 2002), 11134; Calgary Coin Galleries (Roberto Kokotailo), 2004; J.B. (Edmonton, d. 2019) Collection; CNG e-Auction 455 (30 Oct 2019) 168
Notes: Presumably ex-"Tarsus Hoard" (unknown findspot, late 1970s). (See Bing 1988: 73 ff.; LINK.) This coin was part of several defining moments in the history of the ancient coin market of the past 50 years. Not only was it in a famous 1980s ancient coin investment fund but was later one of the first ancient coins encapsulated by TPGs (part of a major promotion with Heritage Auctions in 2002). See the "Provenance Chart" (LINK) for this coin.Curtis JJ
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Constantine the Great, early 307 - 22 May 337 A.D.Silvered AE 3, RIC VII 92, EF, 3.456g, 18.1mm, 0o, Heraclea mint, 327 - 329 A.D.; Obverse: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, diademed head right, eyes to God; Reverse: D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG, VOT XXX in wreath, •SMHB in exergue.
As leading numismatist Joseph Sermarini notes, "The 'looking upwards' portraits of Constantine are often described as 'gazing to Heaven (or God).' The model of these portraits is of course that of the Deified Alexander the Great
(https://www.forumancientcoins.com/ssl/myforum.asp).
The Emperor Constantine I was effectively the sole ruler of the Roman world between 324 and 337 A.D.; his reign was perhaps one of the most crucial of all the emperors in determining the future course of western civilization. By beginning the process of making Christianity the religious foundation of his realm, he set the religious course for the future of Europe which remains in place to this very day. Because he replaced Rome with Constantinople as the center of imperial power, he made it clear that the city of Rome was no longer the center of power, and he also set the stage for the Middle Ages. His philosophical view of monarchy, largely spelled out in some of the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, became the foundation for the concept of the divine right of kings which prevailed in Europe.
Constantine was not a "Christian convert" in any traditional sense. He was not baptized until close to death, and while that was not an uncommon practice, the mention of Christ in his speeches and decrees is conspicuous by its absence. Eusebius, Church historian and Constantine biographer, is responsible for much of the valorization of Constantine as the Christian Emperor. The somnambulant "sign" in which Constantine was to become victor at the Milvian Bridge is, not so surprisingly, revealed to posterity long after the "fact." Throughout his reign, Constantine continues to portray himself on coins as a sun god (Freeman, Charles. Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean; Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 582). Above all, Constantine was a pragmatist. It would be cynical to egregiously disavow his commitment to Christianity, but it would be equally wrong to think that he would allow Christianity to meddle in the governance of his empire. As he reputedly told a group of bishops, "You are bishops of those within the church, but I am perhaps a bishop appointed by God of those outside." Whatever the motives for his decision to support Christianity, Christianity benefitted from the arrangement; so, too, did Constantine. It was a match made in heaven.
Which brings us to Crispus.
Whenever I am engaged in any discussion concerning Constantine I, Crispus is never far from my mind. As historian Hans Pohlsander from SUNY notes, "Crispus' end was as tragic as his career had been brilliant. His own father ordered him to be put to death. We know the year of this sad event, 326, from the Consularia Constantinopolitana, and the place, Pola in Istria, from Ammianus Marcellinus. The circumstances, however, are less clear. Zosimus (6th c.) and Zonaras (12th c.) both report that Crispus and his stepmother Fausta were involved in an illicit relationship." And Pohlsander continues with, "There may be as much gossip as fact in their reports, but Crispus must have committed, or at least must have been suspected of having committed, some especially shocking offense to earn him a sentence of death from his own father. He also suffered damnatio memoriae, his honor was never restored, and history has not recorded the fate of his wife and his child (or children)(Copyright (C) 1997, Hans A. Pohlsander. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis;An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors and their Families:http://www.roman-emperors.org/crispus.htm).
But there is something terribly illogigical about Constantinian apologetics. In 294 BC, prior to the death of his father, Seleucus I; Antiochus married his step-mother, Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. His elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying of lovesickness. If this is the way a "Pagan" father is able to express love for his son, then would not a saintly Christian love his son in at least similar measure? This particular Christian father, about whom St. Nectarios writes, "Hellenism spread by Alexander, paved the way for Christianity by the Emperor Constantine the Great," is unique. It is important to our discussion to take note of the fact that in the Greek Orthodox Church, Constantine the Great is revered as a Saint.
Now would be an appropriate time to recall what Joseph Sermarini noted above, "The 'looking upwards' portraits of Constantine are often described as 'gazing to Heaven (or God).' The model of these portraits is of course that of the Deified Alexander the Great(https://www.forumancientcoins.com/ssl/myforum.asp).
Isn’t it all too possible--even probable--that Constantine had been growing obsessively jealous of his ever more successful and adulated son? It is completely out of character for Constantine to merely acquiesce to being Philip to Crispus' Alexander. Remember the Constantine who has proven time and again (recall Constantine's disingenuous promise of clemency to Licinius) that he is a completely self-serving liar and a murderer, and Constantine decides to murder again. Why "must we, "as Pohlsander adamantly suggests, "resolutely reject the claim of Zosimus that it was Constantine's sense of guilt over these deeds which caused him to accept Christianity, as it alone promised him forgiveness for his sins? A similar claim had already been made by Julian the Apostate [Philosopher]."
Perhaps it is time to cease being apologists for the sometime megalomaniacal Constantine. As Michael Grant notes, "It is a mocking travesty of justice to call such a murderer Constantine the Great . . ." (Grant, Michael. The Emperor Constantine. London: Phoenix Press, 1998. 226).
Keep in mind that the obverse device of this coin shows Constantine I "gazing toward God" and was struck within a year or possibly two of Constantine I murdering his first-born son and condemning him to damnatio memoriae.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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Consulat - essai de Pierre-Joseph Lorthior (1733-1813) du 2 décimes, AN 8, Paris.Billon, 20 mm, 2,40 g
A/ REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE, buste de Minerve casqué à gauche.
R/ En trois lignes, 2 // DECIMES // L'AN 8, corne d'abondance et caducée entrecroisés, au-dessous A.
Réfs : Brandon 80Gabalor
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Crawford 495/2, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, AR DenariusRome. The Imperators.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Octavian, 42 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.70g; 20mm).
Military Mint in Italy.
Obverse: LEPIDVS· PONT· MAX· III· V· R· P· C; bare head of Lepidus facing right.
Reverse: C· CAESAR· IMP· III· VIR· R ·P· C; bare head of Octavian facing right.
References: Crawford 495/2d; HCRI 140a; Sydenham 1323var (rev legend); Aemilia 35var (rev legend); BMCRR (Africa) 29-31var (rev legend); Banti & Simonetti 7 (this coin illustrated).
Provenance: Ex Leu Numismatik Auction 8 (30 Jun 2019) Lot 949; Bank Leu 7 (9 May 1973) Lot 317; Valerio Traverso Collection [Michelle Baranowsky Auction (25 Feb 1931) Lot 1273]; Joseph Martini Collection [Rodolfo Ratto Auction (24 Feb 1930) Lot 1334]; Rodolfo Ratto Fixed Price List (1927) Lot 629; Dr. Bonazzi Collection a/k/a Riche Collection [Rodolfo Ratto Auction (23 Jan 1924) Lot 1352].
This reverse die differs from most of this denarius issue in that the inscription begins with the initial “C” for Octavian's first name (Caius), while the remainder of the issue begins, simply, "CAESAR." The coins appear to celebrate the formation of the Second Triumvirate, although it is unclear why Lepidus did not also strike coins with Antony’s portrait.
This particular example appeared in a remarkable number of important Roman Republican coin sales between 1924-1931, including sales of the collections of Dr. Bonazzi and Joseph Martini.
Carausius
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DDR Medaille 1956 (Kupfer)auf Joseph Wirth, Lenin-Friedenspreisträger
Vs: Kopf von vorne
Rs.: Schrift
Gewicht: 98,3g. Durchmesser: 60mm
Erhaltung:zaponiert, vorzüglich _271
Antonivs Protti
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Domitian as Caesar RIC II V0680Domitian under Vespasian. AR Denarius. Rome Mint. 73 A.D. (2.96 grams, 19.27 mm. 0 degree). Obv: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II, laureate head right. Rev: Domitian riding horse left, right hand raised, sceptre in left with human head on it. RIC II V680. BMC 129.
This type probably refers to triumphal parade held for the victory Vespasian and Titus earned in Judaea. Suetonius and Josephus reveal that while Vespasian and Titus rode in separate chariots, Domitian, "magnificently adorned," rode alongside Titus' chariot on a splendid white horse.Lucas H
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Domitian on horsebackAD 69-81. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.48 g, 2h). Rome mint. Struck AD 73.
O: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II; Laureate head right
R: Domitian on horseback left, raising hand and holding eagle-tipped scepter.
RIC II 680 (Vespasian); RSC 664.
The reverse depicts Domitian participating in the Judaea Capta triumph of 71 A.D. He is, as Josephus described him, riding alongside in magnificent apparel and mounted on a horse that was itself a site worth seeing.Nemonater
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France, Louis XIV, Subjugation of the Algerian pirates by the French fleet, 1684Louis XIV (1643-1715), King of France, the Sun King
AE - Bronze, 75.40g, 54.97mm, 0°
Medallists: Joseph Roettiers and Michel Molart
restrike 1880 (french mint)
Obv.: LVDOVICVS . XIIII - D. G. FR. ET. NAV. REX
Bust, draped and cuirassed, r.
Signed R
Rev.: CONFECTO BELLO PIRATICO / AFRICA. SVPPLEX. M.DC.LXXXIV.
The king in the attire of a Roman general in front of the forepart of a
Roman galley l., one foot on a cannonball, accepts the submission treaty of the
Algerian governor, who kneels to his left; in the background sea with ships.
Signed D
On the rim BRONZE and CORNUCOPIA (French Mint after 1880)
Ref.: Catalogue General Illustre des Editions de la Monnaie de Paris (French Mint
1977)
> Legends: After the pirate war is over - Africa begging for mercy.Jochen
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France. Monneron Confidence TokenAE/copper token; valued at 2 Sols; designed by Augustin Dupré and minted in 1791 (the first pieces leaving the mint on November 3, 1791) on the Watt steam presses of Matthew Boulton’s Soho Mint, Birminghan, England, for Frères Monneron; 18.28 gr. (minted at 27 to the pound), 32 mm., 180°.
KM France TN23; Guilloteau.233l; Mazard153; Brandon 217c; Droulers.62; Bouchert 54/1; Hennin 342. Pl. 32.
Obv: France in the guise of Liberty seated, facing left, raising a spear surmounted by a Phrygian cap leaning on a tablet bearing the inscription DROITS / DE / L'HOMME / ARTIC. / V. (representing the Declaration of the Rights of Man), rooster on a pillar behind her, LIBERTE SOUS LA LOI (= Liberty Under the Law), L'AN III DE LA LIBERTE (= Year III/1791 of Liberty) in exergue.
Rev: MONNERON FRERES NEGOCIANS A PARIS (= Moneron Brothers, Merchats of Paris), MEDALLE / DE CONFIANCE / DE DEUX SOLS A / ECHANGER CONTRE / DES ASSIGNATS DE / 50L ET AU DESSUS / 1791 (= Medal of Confidence of Two Sols, to be Exchanged for Assignats of 50 Livres or Above, 1791).
Edge: ⁕ BON POUR BORD MARSEI ⁕. LYON ROUEN ⁕ NANT ET STRASB (= Good for Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lyon, Rouen, Nantes and Strasbourg).
Although the Bastille was stormed in 1789, the coinage of Louis XVI continued to be struck until 1792, with a new constitutional coinage in copper or bell-metal, silver and gold commencing in 1791. Thar coinage circulated alongside the ancien régime pieces, but did little to alleviate the shortage of specie. A short-term solution was attempted by the introduction of the assignats, which were paper money backed by confiscated church properties and land. Produced in vast quantities, the assignats eventually depreciated to the point of worthlessness. The tokens of Frères Monneron were issued in response to this situation.
The Monneron brothers, Jean-Louis (1742-1805), Pierre-Antoine (1747-1811), and Joseph-François-Augustin (1756-1824), were the sons of a Huguenot lawyer from Annonay, who made his fortune by buying the rights to receive the gabelle (salt tax) for the town of Annonay. By 1791, Joseph-François-Augustin obtained the right to strike copper token coinage. Production began in late 1791. However, in March 1792, Frères Monneron went bankrupt and Pierre-Antoine fled. His Francois-Augustin resumed the business, but a law of enacted on May 3, 1792 prohibited the manufacture of private coins. These currencies of necessity circulated only until the end of 1793.
The tokens were designed by the greatest engraver of the revolutionary era, Augustin Dupré (1748-1833), who had made his name as a medalist, producing many medals commemorating the American Revolution before becoming the Engraver General of the French mints in 1791. Stkp
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Franklin Pierce, 1853 Indian Peace MedalObv: FRANKLIN PIERCE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, bare head of Franklin Pierce (14th President) facing left; 1853 below.
Rev: A settler and a Native American standing, facing each other before an American flag; "LABOR," "VIRTUE," and "HONOR" inscribed above within three oval-shaped links of chain-like scroll; field landscape in background.
Engravers: Salathiel Ellis (obverse), Joseph Willson (reverse).
Mint: Philadelphia, Date: 1853 (20th Century Restrike), Bronze, Diameter: 76 mmMatt Inglima
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Franz Joseph I. 5 Corona. 1908.Kremnitz mint, Frühwald 2109, Huszár 2201, Herinek 777, Novotný 84.
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GENIO POP ROM - Maximinus IIAE Follis, London, Mid 310 - Late 312
4.81gm, 22mm
Ox: IMP MAXIMINVS P F AVG
O: Laureate, cuirassed bust right.
Rx: GENIO POP ROM, PLN in ex., * in right field
R: Genius standing left, head towered, loins draped, holding patera in right hand, cornucopiae in left.
RIC VI.209b (C2), ex. Joseph Sermarini, ex. Aiello CollectionPaul DiMarzio
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German Notgeld: Coblenz, RhinelandCity: Coblenz
State: Rhineland
Denomination: ½ Mark
Obverse: STAD – COBLENZ – 1921 on each side of a triangle, ½ Mark within triangle.
Reverse: GÖRRES, bust of German writer Johann Joseph von Görres facing right.
Date: 1921
Grade: XF
Catalog #:Matt Inglima
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German States, Bavaria. Maximillian V, King Maximillan I, Joseph of Bavaria 1806 - 1825 copper pfennig 1810.German States, Bavaria. Maximillian V, King Maximillan I, Joseph of Bavaria 1806 - 1825 copper pfennig 1810. Crowned arms / value and date.
KM 341
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German States, Berg. Maximillian IV, Joseph of Bavaria 3 stuber 1804 RGerman States, Berg. Maximillian IV, Joseph of Bavaria 1799 - 1806 A.D. Crowned M monogram in wreath / LANDMUNZ * III STUBER * BERGISCHE 1804 R
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German States. Bavaria. Maximillian II Joseph 1745 - 1777. Silver Kreuzer 1760.German States. Bavaria. Maximillian II Joseph 1745 - 1777. Silver Kreuzer 1760. MAX . IOS . H . I . B . C . d . , bust right / capped arms, value divides date.
KM 207
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German States. Bavaria. Maximillian III Joseph 1745 - 1777. Silver 10-kreuzer.German States. Bavaria. Maximillian III Joseph 1745 - 1777. Silver 10-kreuzer. D.G.MAX.IOS.U.B & P.S.D.C.P.R.S.R.I.A & E.L.L, bust right within wreath / INDIO CONSILIUM, crowned arms between branches, value below dividing date.
KM 23a
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German States. Bavaria. Maximillian IV, Joseph as elector 1799 - 1805. .3330 silver 6-Kreuzer 1790.German States. Bavaria. Maximillian IV, Joseph as elector 1799 - 1805. .3330 silver 6-Kreuzer 1790. MAX.IOSEPH II KONIG VON BAIERNm head right . LAND MUNZE 1807, crowned arms divide value.
KM 346
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German States. BAvaria. Maximillian IV, Joseph as elector 1799 - 1805. .3330 silver 6-Kreuzer.German States. BAvaria. Maximillian IV, Joseph as elector 1799 - 1805. .3330 silver 6-Kreuzer. MAX.IOS.H.L.B.C.&, head right / crowned arms divides value and date.
KM 310 var.
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Great Britain Lord Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson 1758 - 1805The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society Membership Token
Tin medal; Hardy 94; Weight 8.7g; Diameter 32mm; Die axis 0o; Date 1905; Obverse: uniformed bust of Lord Vice Admiral Nelson l., in l. field: №, circular and clockwise ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY inscribed on a belt with the fastened buckle at 6 1/2h; Reverse: port-quarter view of a three-masted ship partially dismasted driving on the rocks in a heavy sea, clockwise SHIPWRECKED MARINERS SOCIETY, ・1861・at 6h between the start and end of the legend. Slot pierced for suspension. Creator: Joseph Davis.
Photo Credits: 56salesman
Per Royal Museums Greenwich this is a membership token issued annually as a receipt for a subscription. I assume that the № in the left field was for inscribing one’s membership number, but I have no evidence of that. The date at 6h is the date of issue.Tracy Aiello
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Great Britain, Captain James Cook Medal (Æ) by Lewis Pingo for the Royal Society 1784Left-facing bust of Captain James Cook (1728-1779) in his naval uniform. IAC. COOK OCEANI INVESTIGATOR ACERRIMVS (James Cook the most intrepid investigator of the seas) around the border. REG. SOC.LOND. / SOCIO. SVO (The Royal Society London, to its Fellow) below; signed L.P.F. (Lewis Pingo fecit) beneath the truncation of the shoulder.
The personified figure of Fortune leaning against a rostral column, holding a rudder resting on a globe; shield bearing Union Jack leaning against rostra column. NIL INTENTATVM NOSTRI LIQUERE (Our men have left nothing unattempted) around the border. In exergue AUSPICIIS / GEORGII / III (Under the auspices of George III).
MH 374; BHM 258; Betts 553; Eimar 780.
(43 mm, 12h).
On 14 February 1779, the world’s greatest navigator and maritime explorer, Captain James Cook (1728-1779), was killed in a skirmish with the Hawaiian inhabitants at Kealakekua Bay, on the big island. News of his death took almost a year to reach England. On receiving the news, the Chairman of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks, sought designs for a medal to celebrate Cook’s achievements. Many artisans submitted ideas for consideration. However, it was the design of the chief engraver of the London Mint, Lewis Pingo (1743-1830) that won the sanction of the Royal Society. Work on the dies commenced on 15 June 1780 although it was to be more than three years before Sir Joseph Banks announced that the engraving was complete in November 1783. The medal was struck the following year in gold (22 copies), silver (322 copies) and bronze (577 copies). The bronze strikes were distributed free to the Fellows of the Royal Society, while gold and silver were by subscription only, with several of the gold medals reserved for dignitaries, including the King George III and James Cook’s widow Elizabeth.
The portrayal of Cook on the medal is derived from the famous portrait by Nathaniel Dance. The accompanying Latin legend translates to ‘James Cook the most intrepid explorer of the seas.' The reverse celebrates Cook's journeys, with the image of Fortune holding a rudder over the globe and a motto in Latin, which translated reads 'Our men have left nothing unattempted'.n.igma
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Great Britain, Hanover. Victoria and Prince Albert WM Medal.Birmingham, AD 1851. Dies by Allen & Moore. QUEEN VICTORIA & PR: ALBERT, jugate busts of Albert and Victoria to left, within ornate wreathed frame / THE INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, view of the Crystal Palace, LONDON, 1851 above, PROPOSED BY H. R. H. PRINCE ALBERT, DESIGNED BY JOSEPH PAXTON ESQ. F. L. S., ERECTED BY FOX, HENDERSON & Co., LENGTH 1848 FEET, WIDTH 456 FEET, HEIGHT OF PRINCIPAL ROOF 66 FEET, HEIGHT OF TRANSEPT 108 FEET, GLAZED SURFACE 900,000 SUP FEET, OCCUPIES 18 ACRES OF GROUND, ESTIMATED VALUE £150,000, in ten lines below. BHM 2419; Eimer 1462. 39.35g, 51mm, 12h.
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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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Henry Ward Beecher, 1964 NYU Hall of Fame MedalObv: HENRY WARD BEECHER 1813 – 1887, bust of Reverend Beecher facing left.
Rev: Reverend Beecher giving a sermon to his congregation, THE HALL OF FAME FOR GREAT AMERICANS AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ©1964
Category: Clergyman
Year Elected: 1900
Medal Issued: 1964
Sculptor: Joseph Kiselewski
Mint: Medallic Art Company
Details: Bronze, 44 mm, 0°
Matt Inglima
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Herod Antipas Half UnitHERODIANS. Herod Antipas (4 BCE - 39 CE). Tiberias Mint, Æ half denomination, 19.4mm, 5.3 g.
O: TIBE PIAC in two lines within wreath.
R: HPΩΔOY TETPAPXOY (Herod Tetrarch), vertical palm branch, L to left, ΛZ to right, (RY 37 = 33/34 CE)
Hendin-1212 in GBC 5; ex. Hendin; ex Leu Numismatic AG 2003 Auction 86 (part of) lot 494; ex. Teddy Kollek Collection, Mayor of Jerusalem from 1965-1993; Menorah Coin Project ANT 15, Die 02/R12; Sear certificate.
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samaritan woman. He was brought up in Rome with his brother Archelaus.
In Herod’s will, Antipas had been named to receive the kingship, but Herod changed his will, naming Archelaus instead. Antipas contested the will before Augustus Caesar, who upheld Archelaus’ claim but divided the kingdom, giving Antipas the tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea. “Tetrarch,” meaning ‘ruler over one fourth’ of a province, was a term applied to a minor district ruler or territorial prince.
Antipas married the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia. But on one of his trips to Rome, Antipas visited his half brother Herod Philip, the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II (not Philip the tetrarch). While visiting, he became infatuated with Philip’s wife Herodias, who was quite the ambitious woman. He took her back to Galilee and married her, divorcing Aretas’ daughter and sending her back home. This insulting action brought war. Aretas invaded and Antipas suffered major losses before receiving orders from Rome for Aretas to stop.
According to Josephus, Herod's defeat was popularly believed to be divine punishment for his execution of John the Baptist. Tiberius ordered Vitellius, the governor of Syria, to capture or kill Aretas, but Vitellius was reluctant to support Herod and abandoned his campaign upon Tiberius' death in 37.
It was Herod Antipas’ adulterous relationship with Herodias that brought reproof from John the Baptizer. John was correct in reproving Antipas, because Antipas was nominally a Jew and professedly under the Law. This would lead to John's murder being schemed during a celebration of Antipas' birthday.
On the last day of Jesus’ earthly life, when he was brought before Pontius Pilate and Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas who happened to be in Jerusalem. Herod, disappointed in Jesus, discredited him and made fun of him, then sent him back to Pilate, who was the superior authority as far as Rome was concerned. Pilate and Herod had been enemies, possibly because of certain accusations that Herod had leveled against Pilate. But this move on Pilate’s part pleased Herod and they became friends.Nemonater
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