| Image search results - "PROCOPIUS" |
Procopius AE3, 365 CE.Obverse: D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
Reverse: REPARATIO FEL TEMP, Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum in right hand and resting left hand on shield. Chi-ro at top right.
Uncertain mint, 17.2 mm, 2.4 g.NORMAN K
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(0365) PROCOPIUS365 - 366 AD
AE 16X17 mm 2.05 g
O: DN PROCOPIUS PF AVG diademed bust right
R: REPARATI-O FEL TEMP, emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum and resting left hand on shield
Rarelaney
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-Procopius AE3. Heraclea. AD 366.D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust left / REPARTI-O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum & resting hand on shield; Chi-Rho in upper right field. SMHB. RIC IX Heraclea 7.6. Rare (R2)ancientone
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101a. ProcopiusUsurper September 365-May 366.
Relation of Julian, Procopius was a general who led revolt in Constantinople. He was betrayed by his officers and executed. His head was paraded through Gaul as a warning to others.lawrence c
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101a01.ProcopiusAE3. 19mm, 2.27 g. Heraclea mint. AD 365-366 AD. Obv: DN PROCO-PIVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
Rev: REPARTIO FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum and resting hand on shield. Chi-Rho in upper right field. Mintmark star SMH[A?]. RIC IX Heraclea 7 var (officina); Sear 19881 var (ditto).lawrence c
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101a02. ProcopiusAE2. 3.10 g., 19 mm. Constantinople. Obv: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left. Rev: REPARATIO FEL TEMP / CONS P •(?). Procopius standing left, head right, holding labarum and resting hand upon shield; christogram to upper right. RIC 17a.
Naumann 101, Lot 864.
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11 - Personalities of the Empire
Magnentius, Decentius, Vetranius, Constantius Gallo, Julian II, Jovian, Valentinianus I, Valens, Procopius, Gratianus, Valentinianus II, Theodosius I, Aelia Flacilla and Magnus Maximus mdelvalle
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140 Procopius. AE3 2.6gmobv: DN PROCO_PIVS PF AVG pearl dia. drp. cuir. bust r.
rev: REPARATI_O FEL TEMP emp. holding labarum, hand on shield setting on ground. CHI RHO in upper r. field, unidentified object at l. foot
ex: CONSA.hill132
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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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1410a, Jovian, 27 June 363 - 17 February 364 A.D.Bronze AE 3, RIC 179, aVF, Constantinople, 3.126g, 21.6mm, 180o. Obverse: D N IOVIANVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left; Reverse: VOT V MVLT X within wreath, CONSPG in exergue; scarce.
Flavius Jovianuswas born in 331 at Singidunum, modern Belgrade. His distinguished father, Varronianus, had been a tribune of the legion Ioviani and a comes domesticorum, perhaps under Constantius II, who had retired to private life shortly before Jovian's elevation to the purple. Jovian married a daughter of Lucillianus, perhaps named Charito, and by her produced at least two children.
Jovian himself was a protector domesticus under Constantius II and Julian and, under Julian, primicerius domesticorum. Various Christian sources maintain that Jovian's Christianity led to his deposition by Julian, though most modern scholars dismiss this as ex post facto Christian apologetic. Jovian, recalled to the ranks if he had ever been dismissed, marched with Julian against Sapor in 363, and on 27 June, the day after that emperor's death, was acclaimed Augustus.
Ammianus and Zosimus, among others, detail the difficult straits of the Roman army during its withdrawal from Persian territory, Ammianus from the perspective of a proud soldier confident even in defeat of the superiority of Roman arms, Zosimus, in a much shorter and confused version, concentrating on the predicament of Jovian's troops and on the dire effects to the empire of the peace terms agreed to with Sapor. These terms entailed the cessation to Persia of Roman territory beyond the Tigris -- the cities of Singara and Nisibis, however, to be surrendered on the condition of the safe passage of their inhabitants -- and the guarantee of the neutrality of Rome's ally Arsaces, King of Armenia, in the event of future hostilities between Roman and Persia. Ammianus asserts that in agreeing to these terms Jovian misjudged his tactical strength and wasted an opportunity presented by negotiations with Sapor to move his forces closer to supplies at Corduena, and that Jovian acted on the advise of flatterers to preserve the fighting strength of his forces in the event of an attempt by Julian's relative Procopius to seize the throne. Others present the treaty terms as unavoidable given the Roman predicament.
Jovian appears to have treaded cautiously with regard to religious matters during the early months of his reign. Eunapius says that Jovian continued to honor Maximus and Priscus, the Neoplatonist advisors of Julian, and, upon reaching Tarsus, Jovian performed funeral rites for Julian. Nonetheless, various Christians, most notably Athanasius, took the initiative in an effort to gain Jovian's favor and support. An adherent of the Nicaean creed, Jovian did eventually recall various bishops of homoousian disposition and restore to their followers churches lost under earlier emperors. But in spite of such measures, unity among various Christian sects seems to have been the foremost concern of Jovian, whose ipsissima verba Socrates Scholasticus purports to give: "I abhor contentiousness, but love and honor those hurrying towards unanimity" (Hist. Eccl. 3.25).
Jovian died at the age of thirty-two on 17 February 364 at Dadastana on the boundary of Bithynia and Galatia. The cause of his death was most probably natural and is variously attributed to overeating, the consumption of poisonous mushrooms, or suffocation from fumes of charcoal or of the fresh paint on the room in which he was sleeping. Ammianus' comparison of the circumstances of Jovian's death to those of Scipio Aemilianus suggest the possibility of foul play, as does John of Antioch's reference to a poisoned rather than a poisonous mushroom, while John Chrysostom -- in a highly suspect literary context of consolatio-- asserts outright that the emperor was murdered. Eutropius records that he was enrolled among the gods, inter Divos relatus est. Zonaras says he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles and that his wife, Charito, was eventually laid to rest beside him.
Ancient authors agree that Jovian was of modest intellect but imposing physique and disposed to excessive eating and drinking.
By Thomas Banchich, Canisius College
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited By J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Constantinopolis, RIC IX 017a.1, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, object down/-//CONSB, Procopius standing, R2!!, #1157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Constantinopolis, RIC IX 017a.1, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, object down/-//CONSB, Procopius standing, R2!!, #1
avers: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped cuirassed bust left.
reverse: REPARATI O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing, facing, holding labarum, and resting a hand on shield. Small indeterminate object down in the left field and Christogram up in the right field.
exergue: object down/-//CONSB, diameter: 18-19mm, weight: 3,73g, axis: 5h,
mint: Constantinopolis, date: 364-367A.D., ref: RIC IX-17a.1, p-215, R2!!
Q-001quadrans
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157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,7, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/•//SMHΓ, Procopius standing, R2!! #1157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,7, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/•//SMHΓ, Procopius standing, R2!! #1
avers: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped cuirassed bust left.
reverse: REPARATI O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing, facing, holding labarum, and resting a hand on shield. Dot down and Christogram up in the right field.
exergue: -/•//SMHΓ, diameter: 17,5mm, weight: 3,34g, axis: 11h,
mint: Heraclea,, date: 364-367A.D.,
ref: RIC IX 7,7, p-193, R2!!
Q-001quadrans
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157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,7, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/•//SMHΓ, Procopius standing, R2!! #2157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,7, AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/•//SMHΓ, Procopius standing, R2!! #2
avers: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped cuirassed bust left.
reverse: REPARATI O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing, facing, holding labarum, and resting a hand on shield. Dot down and Christogram up in the right field.
exergue: -/•//SMHΓ, diameter: 17,0-18,0mm, weight: 3,01g, axis: 11h,
mint: Heraclea,, date: 364-367A.D.,
ref: RIC IX 7,7, p-193, R2!!
Q-002quadrans
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157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,8var!(A), AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/-//*SMHA, Procopius standing, R2!! #1157 Procopius (365-366 A.D.), Heraclea, RIC IX 007,8var!(A), AE-3, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, -/-//*SMHA, Procopius standing, R2!! #1
avers: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped cuirassed bust left.
reverse: REPARATI O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing, facing, holding labarum and resting a hand on shield, and Christogram up in the right field.
exergue: -/-//*SMHA(!), diameter: 17,9-19,5mm, weight: 2,35g, axis: 0h,
mint: Heraclea, date: 364-367A.D.,
ref: RIC IX 7,8var!(A), p-193, R2!!
Q-001quadrans
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189. Procopius (365-366 A.D.)Av.: DN PROCOPIVS PF AVG
Rv.: REPARATIO FEL TEMP
Left: dot / Right: chi-rho at top right
Ex.: SMN gamma
AE Follis Ø18 / 3.3g
RIC IX 10 Nicomedia
RIC Rarity rating R3!
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197 - PROCOPIVS Procopius was a Roman usurper against Valens, and a member of the Constantinian dynasty.
for obverse, reverse and coin details click hereshanxi
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1eo Jovian363-364
AE 3, Heraclea
Diademed bust left, draped & cuirassed, D N IOVIANVS P F AVG
VOT V MVLT X in wreath, Mintmark HERACA
RIC 110A
Zosimus recorded: A meeting of the officers and soldiers was afterwards convened, in order to appoint a successor to the empire : since it would be impossible for them without a ruler to avoid the dangers to which they were exposed in the midst of an enemy's country. The general voice was in favour of Jovianus, the son of Varronianus, tribune of the domestic forces. When Jovian had assumed the purple and the diadem, he directed his course homewards with all possible speed. . . . They then marched forward four days, continually harassed by the enemy, who followed them when they were proceeding, but fled when the Romans offered any resistance. At length, having gained some distance of the enemy, they resolved to crops the Tigris. For this purpose they fastened skins together, and floated over. When the greater part had gained the opposite bank, the commanders crossed over in safety with the remainder. The Persians, however, still accompanied them, and followed them with a large army so assiduously, that the Romans were in perpetual danger, both from the unfavourable circumstances in which they were placed, and from the want, of provisions. Although the Roman army was in this condition, the Persians were willing to treat for peace, and for that purpose sent Surenas with other |90 officers to the Roman camp. Jovian, upon hearing this, sent to them Sallustius, prefect of the court, together with Aristaeus, who, after some discussion, agreed on a truce for thirty years. The conditions were, that the Romans should give up to the Persians the country of the Rabdiceni, and that of the Candueni, Rhemeni, and Zaleni, besides fifteen castles in those provinces, with the inhabitants, lands, cattle, and all their property ; that Nisibis should be surrendered without its inhabitants, who were to be transplanted into whatever colony the Remans pleased. The Persians also deprived the Romans of great part of Armenia, leaving them but a very small part of it. The truce having been concluded on these conditions, and ratified on both sides, the Romans had an opportunity of returning home unmolested, neither party offering or sustaining any injury, either by open force; or secret machination.
Jovian marched through all the towns in great speed, because they were so filled with grief [because they were being given over to Persian rule], that the inhabitants could not look patiently on him; such being the custom and disposition of those countries. Taking with him the imperial guard, he proceeded to Antioch. . . . Jovian now turning his attention to the affairs of government, made various arrangements, and sent Lucilianus his father-in-law, Procopius, and Valentinian, who was afterwards emperor, to the armic.s in Pannoriia, to inform them of the death of Julian, and of his being chosen emperor. The Bavarians who were at Sirmium, and were left there for its protection, as soon as they received the news, put to death Lucilianus who brought such unwelcome intelligence, without regard to his relationship to the emperor. Such was the respect they had to Jovian's relations, that Valentinian himself only escaped from the death they intended to inflict on him. Jovianus proceeding from Antioch towards Constantinople, suddenly fell sick at Dadostana in Bithynia, and died after a reign of eight months, in which short time he had not been able to render the public any essential service.
Blindado
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1eq Valens364-378
AE 3, Siscia
Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right, D N VALENS P F AVG
Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, SECVRITAS REIPUBLICAE. Mintmark dot ASISC.
RIC 7b
Zosimus recorded: [Valentinian was an experienced military man, but] Valens was surrounded with disquietude on every side, having always lived inactively, and having been raised to the empire suddenly. He could not indeed sustain the weight of business. He was disturbed, not by the Persians only, who were elated with their prosperity, which had increased since their truce with Jovian. They made incursions on the provinces without controul, since Nisibis was in their possession, and by distressing the eastern towns, constrained the emperor to march against them. On his departure from Constantinople, the rebellion of Procopius commenced. . . .
{With Valentiniand dead,] Valens was inundated with wars on every side. . . . [Valens' advisers] persuaded him to |107 march forward with his whole army; that the Barbarians were almost destroyed, and the emperor might gain a victory without trouble. Their counsel, though the least prudent, so far prevailed, that the emperor led forth his whole army without order. The Barbarians resolutely opposed them, and gained so signal a victory, that they slew all, except a few with whom the emperor fled into an unfortified village. The Barbarians, therefore, surrounded the place with a quantity of wood, which they set on fire. All who had fled thither, together with the inhabitants, were consumed in the tlames, and in such a manner, that the body of the emperor could never be found.Blindado
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1er Procopius365-366
AE3
Diademed, draped & cuirassed bust left, D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG
Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum in right hand, left resting on shield set on the ground; Chi-rho in upper right field & unidentified object in left at foot; mintmark CONS Gamma.
RIC 17a
Zosimus tells us: On [Valens'] departure from Constantinople, the rebellion of Procopius commenced. This person had been intrusted by Julian, being one of his relations, with a part of his forces, and had been charged to march with Sebastianus through Adiabene, and to meet Julian, who took another route. Permission, moreover, was given him to wear a purple robe, for a reason which no other person was acquainted with. But the deity being pleased to ordain it otherwise, and Jovian having succeeded to the imperial dignity, Procopius immediately delivered up the imperial robe which he had received from Julian, confessing why it had been given to him, and entreating the emperor to absolve him from his military oath, and to allow him to live in retirement, and to attend to agriculture and his own private affairs. Having obtained this, he went with his wife and children to Caesarea in Cappadocia, intending to reside in that place, where he possessed a valuable estate. During his abode there, Valentinian and Valens being made emperors, and being suspicious of him, sent persons to take him into custody. In that they found no difficulty, for he surrendered himself voluntarily; and desired them to carry him wherever they pleased, if they would suffer him first to see his children. To this they consented, and he prepared an entertainment for them. When he perceived them to be intoxicated, he and his family fled towards the Taurica Chersonesus. Having remained there for some time, he found the inhabitants to he a faithless race, and was apprehensive lest they should deliver him to his persecutors. He, therefore, put himself and his family on board a trading vessel, and arrived in the night at Constantinople. He there resided in the house of an old acquaintance, and making observations on the state of the city after the departure of the emperor, he attempted to raise himself to the empire, and formed his design on the following incident.
A eunuch, named Eugenius, had not long before been discharged from the court, who entertained but little friendship for the emperors. Procopius therefore won this man to his interest. . . . Their first attempt was to bribe the court guards, which consisted of two legions. Then arming the slaves, and collecting with ease a considerable multitude, chiefly volunteers, they sent them in the night into the city, and occasioned a general commotion; the people issuing from their houses, and gazing on Procopiusas on a king made in a theatre. But the city being in general confusion, and no person being sufficiently collected in mind by reason of the surprise to know how to act, Procopius imagined his design to be still undiscovered, and that he might secure the empire if the enterprise were no further revealed. Having then seized on Cesarius, whom the emperors had made prefect of the city, and on Nebridius, who was appointed to succeed Sallustius in tbe prefecture of the court, he compelled them to write to the subjects of the empire whatever he wished. He also kept them separate, that they might not consult with each other. Having formed these projects, he proceeded in a splendid manner towards the palace. Ascending a tribunal before the gate, he gave the people great hopes and promises. He then entered the palace to provide for the remainder of his affairs.
The new emperors having divided the army between them, Procopius determined to send persons to the soldiers, who were as yet in confusion, and went by the command of the emperors from place to place without any order. He thus hoped to seduce some of them to his party. Nor did he fail of accomplishing his purpose with ease by distributing money amongst the soldiers and their officers; by which means he collected a considerable force, and prepared to make an open attack on the enemy. Procopius then sent Marcellus into Bithynia with an army against Serenianus and the imperial cavalry that was under his command, in hope of cutting them to pieces. This force having fled to Cyzicus, Marcellus, whose army was superior to theirs both by sea and land, took possession of that town; and having taken Serenianus, who fled into Lydia, put him to death. Procopius was so elevated by this fortunate commencement, that his forces considerably augmented, many being of opinion that he was able to contend with the emperors. Both the Roman legions and the Barbarian troops now flocked to his standard. Besides the reputation of being related to Julian, and of having accompanied him in all the wars he had ever been engaged in, attracted many partizans. He likewise sent ambassadors to the chief of Scythia beyond the Ister, who sent to his assistance ten thousand men. The other Barbarian nations likewise sent auxiliaries to share in the expedition. Procopius however considered that it would be imprudent in him to engage with both emperors together, and therefore thought it best to advance against him who was nearest, and afterwards deliberate on what course to pursue.
Thus was Procopius employed; while the emperor Valens, who heard of this insurrection at Galatia in Phrygia, was filled with consternation at the news. Arbitrio having encouraged him not to despair, he prepared the troops that were with him for war, and sent to his brother to inform him of the designs of Procopius. Valentinian however was little disposed for sending auxiliaries to one who was incapable of defending the empire committed to his charge. Valens was therefore under the necessity of. preparing for war, and appointed Arbitrio to the command of his army. When the armies were ready to engage, Arbitrio circumvented Procopius by a stratagem, and thereby seduced from him a great number of his men, from whom he received previous information of the designs of Procopius. On the advance of the emperor and Procopius towards each other, the two armies met near Thyatira. Procopius at first appeared to have the advantage, by which he would have gained the supreme authority, Hormisdas in the engagement having overpowered the enemy. But Gomarius, another of the commanders of Procopius, imparting his intention to all the soldiers of Procopius who were attached to the emperor, in the midst of the battle cried out Augustus, and gave a signal for them to imitate his example. Thus the most of the troops of Procopius went over to Valens.
After having obtained this victory, Valens marched to Sardes, and from thence into Phrygia, where he found Procopius in a town called Nacolia. Affairs having been ordered for the advantage of the emperor by Naplo, an officer of Procopius, Valens again prevailed, and took him prisoner, and soon afterwards Marcellus, both of whom he put to death. Blindado
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2011THIS YEAR'S WINNERS
CLICK ON A COIN FOR ITS DETAILS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  *Alex
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504. CONSTANTIUS II GLORIA EXERCITVS AntiochAntioch
Under the empire we chiefly hear of the earthquakes which shook Antioch. One, in AD 37, caused the emperor Caligula to send two senators to report on the condition of the city. Another followed in the next reign; and in 115, during Trajan's sojourn in the place with his army of Parthia, the whole site was convulsed, the landscape altered, and the emperor himself forced to take shelter in the circus for several days. He and his successor restored the city; but in 526, after minor shocks, the calamity returned in a terrible form; the octagonal cathedral which had been erected by the emperor Constantius II suffered and thousands of lives were lost, largely those of Christians gathered to a great church assembly. We hear also of especially terrific earthquakes on November 29, 528 and October 31, 588.
At Antioch Germanicus died in AD 19, and his body was burnt in the forum. Titus set up the Cherubim, captured from the Jewish temple, over one of the gates. Commodus had Olympic games celebrated at Antioch, and in 266 the town was suddenly raided by the Persians, who slew many in the theatre. In 387 there was a great sedition caused by a new tax levied by order of Theodosius, and the city was punished by the loss of its metropolitan status. Zeno, who renamed it Theopolis, restored many of its public buildings just before the great earthquake of 526, whose destructive work was completed by the Persian Chosroes twelve years later. Justinian I made an effort to revive it, and Procopius describes his repairing of the walls; but its glory was past.
The chief interest of Antioch under the empire lies in its relation to Christianity. Evangelized perhaps by Peter, according to the tradition upon which the Antiochene patriarchate still rests its claim for primacy (cf. Acts xi.), and certainly by Barnabas and Paul, who here preached his first Christian sermon in a synagogue, its converts were the first to be called Christians
004. CONSTANTIUS II Antioch
RIC VII Antioch 88 C3
From Uncleaned Lot
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510. Valentinian IFlavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, (321 - November 17, 375) was a Roman Emperor (364 - 375). He was born at Cibalis, in Pannonia, the son of a successful general, Gratian the Elder.
He had been an officer of the Praetorian guard under Julian and Jovian, and had risen high in the imperial service. Of robust frame and distinguished appearance, he possessed great courage and military capacity. After the death of Jovian, he was chosen emperor in his forty-third year by the officers of the army at Nicaea in Bithynia on February 26, 364, and shortly afterwards named his brother Valens colleague with him in the empire.
The two brothers, after passing through the chief cities of the neighbouring district, arranged the partition of the empire at Naissus (Nissa) in Upper Moesia. As Western Roman Emperor, Valentinian took Italia, Illyricum, Hispania, the Gauls, Britain and Africa, leaving to Eastern Roman Emperor Valens the eastern half of the Balkan peninsula, Greece, Aegyptus, Syria and Asia Minor as far as Persia. They were immediately confronted by the revolt of Procopius, a relative of the deceased Julian. Valens managed to defeat his army at Thyatria in Lydia in 366, and Procopius was executed shortly afterwards.
During the short reign of Valentinian there were wars in Africa, in Germany and in Britain, and Rome came into collision with barbarian peoples never of heard before, specifically the Burgundians, and the Saxons.
Valentinian's chief work was guarding the frontiers and establishing military positions. Milan was at first his headquarters for settling the affairs of northern Italy. The following year (365) Valentinian was at Paris, and then at Reims, to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni. These people, defeated at Scarpona (Charpeigne) and Catelauni (Châlons-en-Champagne) by Jovinus, were driven back to the German bank of the Rhine, and checked for a while by a chain of military posts and fortresses. At the close of 367, however, they suddenly crossed the Rhine, attacked Moguntiacum (Mainz) and plundered the city. Valentinian attacked them at Solicinium (Sulz am Neckar, in the Neckar valley, or Schwetzingen) with a large army, and defeated them with great slaughter. But his own losses were so considerable that Valentinian abandoned the idea of following up his success.
Later, in 374, Valentinian made peace with their king, Macrianus, who from that time remained a true friend of the Romans. The next three years he spent at Trier, which he chiefly made his headquarters, organizing the defence of the Rhine frontier, and personally superintending the construction of numerous forts.
During his reign the coasts of Gaul were harassed by the Saxon pirates, with whom the Picts and Scots of northern Britain joined hands, and ravaged the island from the Antonine Wall to the shores of Kent. In 368 Count Theodosius was sent to drive back the invaders; in this he was completely successful, and established a new British province, called Valentia in honour of the emperor.
In Africa, Firmus, raised the standard of revolt, being joined by the provincials, who had been rendered desperate by the cruelty and extortions of Comes Romanus, the military governor. The services of Theodosius were again requisitioned. He landed in Africa with a small band of veterans, and Firmus, to avoid being taken prisoner, committed suicide.
In 374 the Quadi, a Germanic tribe in what is now Moravia and Slovakia, resenting the erection of Roman forts to the north of the Danube in what they considered to be their own territory, and further exasperated by the treacherous murder of their king, Gabinius, crossed the river and laid waste the province of Pannonia. The emperor in April, 375 entered Illyricum with a powerful army. But during an audience to an embassy from the Quadi at Brigetio on the Danube (near Komárom, Hungary), Valentinian suffered a burst blood vessel in the skull while angrily yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on November 17, 375.
His general administration seems to have been thoroughly honest and able, in some respects beneficent. If Valentinian was hard and exacting in the matter of taxes, he spent them in the defence and improvement of his dominions, not in idle show or luxury. Though himself a plain and almost illiterate soldier, Valentinian was a founder of schools. He also provided medical attendance for the poor of Rome, by appointing a physician for each of the fourteen districts of the city.
Valentinian was a Christian but permitted absolute religious freedom to all his subjects. Against all abuses, both civil and ecclesiastical, Valentinian steadily set his face, even against the increasing wealth and worldliness of the clergy. His chief flaw was his temper, which at times was frightful, and showed itself in its full fierceness in the punishment of persons accused of witchcraft, fortune-telling or magical practices.
Valentinian I; RIC IX, Siscia 15(a); C.37; second period: 24 Aug. 367-17 Nov. 375; common. obv. DN VALENTINI-ANVS PF AVG, bust cuir., drap., r., rev. SECVRITAS-REI PVBLICAE, Victory advancing l., holding wreath and trophy. l. field R above R with adnex, r. field F, ex. gamma SISC rev.Z dot (type xxxv) ecoli
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512. ProcopiusProcopius (326 - May 27, 366), was a Roman usurper against Valentinian I, and member of the Constantinian dynasty.
According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Procopius was a native of Cilicia. On his mother's side, Procopius was cousin of Emperor Julian.
Procopius took part in the emperor Julian's campaign against the Persian Empire in 363. He was entrusted of leading 30,000 men towards Armenia, joining King Arsaces, and later return to Julian camp. At the time of Julian's death, there were rumors that he had intended Procopius to be his successor, but when Jovian was elected emperor by the Roman army, Procopius went into hiding to preserve his life. The ancient historians differ on the exact details of Procopius' life in hiding, but agree that he returned to public knowledge at Chalcedon before the house of the senator Strategius suffering from starvation and ignorant of current affairs.
By that time, Jovianus was dead, and Valentinian I shared the purple with his brother Valens. Procopius immediately moved to declare himself emperor. He bribed two legions that were resting at Constantinople to support his efforts, and took control of the imperial city. Shortly after this he proclaimed himself Emperor on September 28, 365, and quickly took control of the provinces of Thrace, and later Bithynia.
Valens was left with the task of dealing with this rebel, and over the next months struggled with both cities and units that wavered in their allegiance. Eventually their armies met at the Battle of Thyatira, and Procopius' forces were defeated. He fled the battlefield, but was betrayed to Valens by two of his remaining followers. Valens had all three executed May 27, 366.
Procopius - Usurper in the east, 365-6 , AE-3, Nicomedia mint
2.90g
Obv: Bust of Procopius, beared left "DN PROCOPIVS PF AVG"
Rev: Procopius standing head right, foot resting on a prow and leaning on a shield. "REPARATIO FEL TEMP" "SMNG" in the exergue.
RIC 10
ecoli
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64. Procopius.AE 3, Sept. 365 - May 355, Constantinople mint.
Obverse: DN PROCOPIVS P F AVG / Diademed bust of Procopius, facing left.
Reverse: REPARATIO FEL TEMP / The emperor standing, holding labarum and shield, a small indeterminate object at foot. Christogram at upper right, palm branch at left.
Mint mark: CONSS
3.88 gm., 17 mm.
RIC #17 var.; Sear #19882/83.
This coin is not listed in RIC. The description of the types would indicate RIC 17a. However the branch at left indicates RIC 17b. But RIC 17b does not have the "indeterminate object" at the emperor's feet. Also, the officina number (S) is not listed for RIC 17a or 17b. Callimachus
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A139-02 - Procopio (365 - 366 D.C.)AE3 Centenional 17 x 16 mm 1.9 gr.
Pariente de Juliano II y General de su ejército en la campaña contra los persas. Usurpador en Tracia y Asia Menor
Anv: "DN PROCO-PIVS P F AVG" - Busto Tipo A, con diadema de perlas, coraza y Paludamentum (capote militar) sobre ella, viendo a derecha.
Rev: "REPARATI-[O FEL TEMP]" - Emperador vestido militarmente de pié a izquierda, portando labarum (estandarte militar) con signo Chi-Ro en su bandera, en mano derecha y descansando la izquierda en un escudo que descansa a sus pies. "SMHA" en exergo.
Acuñada 364 - 367 D.C.
Ceca: Heraclea (Off.1ra.)
Rareza: R3
Referencias: RIC Vol.IX (Heraclea) #8 var. (Busto NO LISTADO) Pag.193 - Cohen Vol.VIII #10 Pag.122 - DVM #6 Pag.309 - Salgado MRBI Vol.III #9085.a. Pag.275mdelvalle
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Barberini Faun (Drunken Satyr) located in the Glyptothek in Munich, GermanyThe life-size marble statue known as the Barberini Faun or Drunken Satyr is located in the Glyptothek in Munich, Germany. A Faun is the Roman equivalent of a Greek Satyr. In Greek mythology, satyrs were human-like male woodland spirits with several animal features, often a goat-like tail, hooves, ears, or horns. Satyrs attended Dionysus. The position of the right arm over the head was a classical artistic convention indicating sleep. The statue is believed to have once adorned Hadrian's Mausoleum. The historian Procopius recorded that during the siege of Rome in 537 the defenders had hurled down upon the Goths the statues adorning Hadrian's Mausoleum. When discovered, the statue was heavily damaged; the right leg, parts of both hands, and parts of the head were missing. Johann Winckelmann speculated that the place of discovery and the statue's condition suggested that it had been such a projectile.
Joe Sermarini
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PROCOPE - CONSTANTINOPLE - RIC 13e(03)Silique, 365-366, R1
A/D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG
Dominus Noster Procopius Pius Felix Augustus, Notre maître Procope Pieux et Heureux Auguste
Buste barbu à droite, diadémé (Perles), drapé et cuirassé.
R/VOT/V//C•Î“
Votis quinquennalibus, Vœux pour le cinquième anniversaire de règne
Légende en 2 lignes dans une couronne de lauriers fermée.
Argent - 1.58 gr - 17.6 mm - 6h
RIC IX 13e(03), RSC 14
Siliquae
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Procopius Procopius AE3
20.5 mm 3.692 gm
O: D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG
Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left;
R: REPARATIO FEL TEMP
Procopius holding labarum in right, resting left on shield, object on ground to left, Christogram above right, CONSΓ in ex;Koffy
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ProcopiusProcopius (365-366)
Maiorina ou nummus
Heraclea
Obv: D N PROCOPI[VS P F AVG] Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust l.
Rev: [REPARATI]O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head l., holding labarum, SMHA.
Ref.: RIC 7. 2
AE, 2.75g, 20.5mm
shanxi
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ProcopiusDN PROCOPIVS PF AVG
REPARATIO FEL TEMP
AE3, 18mm, 2.06g
Diademed bust left
Procopius standing, facing, holding labarum and shield resting on groundnovacystis
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Procopius DN PROCO-PIVS PF AVG
PDC REPARATI-O FEL TEMP spear
CONS? Constantinople
RIC IX Constantinople 19; Sear 19878
James b4
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Procopius (RIC 7, Coin #440)RIC 7 (R2), AE3, Heraclea, 365 - 366 AD.
OBV: D N PROCOPIVS AVG; Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
REV: REPARATIO FEL TEMP (SMH gamma); Procopius holding labarum in right hand and resting left hand on shield, Chi-Rho Christogram above right, • right.
SIZE: 18.1mm 2.82gMaynardGee
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PROCOPIUS - AE 318mm, 2.3g
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Procopius - RIC IX 17aConstantinopla 365-366 AD.
19 mm, 3.8 g.
DN PROCOPIVS PF AVG
REPARATIO FEL TEMP
CONS E in ex.
xokleng
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Procopius AE 3RIC IX 10 Nicomedia
2.52 gm, 18 mm
D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped & cuirassed bust left
REPARATI-O FEL TEMP, Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarumin right hand and resting left hand on shield. Dot in left field. Chi-rho at top right.
SMNB(eta) or G(amma) in exergue
R3Mark Z
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Procopius AE3Procopius, 365-366 AD
Unknown Mint; 365-366 AD
18mm., 3.13g.
D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG: Bust of Procopius, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed, left:
REPARATI-O FEL TEMP: Emperor, head right, standing facing, holding labarum in right hand and resting left on shield. At foot, left, a small indeterminate objekt; above, in field right, ☧
References: RIC IX Heraclea 7
AAJTRL
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PROCOPIUS Ae3 NICOMEDIA MintBest portrait for this typegb29400
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Procopius AE3, 365-366 ADRoman Imperial, Procopius AE3, (365-366 AD), 3.3g, 16mm
Obverse: DN PROCOPIVS P F AVG, Pearl diademed, draped bust right.
Reverse: SECVRITAS REIPVB, Emperor standing left, head right, holding labarum & shield on ground. Mintmark off flan. "Security of the Republic"
Reference: Waage 1764cf, Not in RIC.
Gil-galad
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Procopius AE3. AD 366. Obv: D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust left.
Rev: REPARTI-O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum & resting hand on shield; Chi-Rho in upper right field, dot in right field.ancientone
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PROCOPIUS AE3. Reparatio Fel Temp. Cho-Rho in field, and on shield. Rare.PROCOPIUS, Usurper in the East, 365-366 AD. Heraclea mint. D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left. Reverse - REPARATIO FEL TEMP, Procopius standing right, holding labarum and shield set on ground; Christogram in upper right field, • in lower right field; SMHG in exergue. RIC IX 7.5; LRBC 1930. 18mm, 3.0g. _51.90
*63-366 AD. After the death of Julian II in AD 363, it was rumoured that Procopius had been named successor but the army selected Jovian. Three years later, Procopius and his dwindling army tried to confront the new emperor Valens, but he was captured after the battle of Nacolia in Summer 366 and executed.
Antonivs Protti
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Procopius wLabarum and ShieldROMAN EMPIRE: BRONZE AE3/CENTENIONALIS of PROCOPIUS (365-366 AD).
A usurper against Valentinian I. 18mm, 2.6g, RIC IX 17a, LRBC 2081
OBV: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
REV: REPARATIO FEL TEMP, emperor standing, holding labarum and shield.
Ex-Nemesis Ancients & Antiquities, 07/2008. As is the case with many usurpers, the coins of Procopius are relatively scarce and usually fairly crude. Fine+ to aVery Fine.
RARE
SRukke
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Procopius, AE3Heraclea mint
D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
REPARATI-O FEL TEMP, Emperor standing facing, head left, holding labarum in right hand and leaning on shield. Chi-Rho in upper right field, dot in left field. Exergue illisible
2.17 gr 18 mm
Ref : Cohen # 9, LRBC # 1929
Ex. PscipioPotator II
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Procopius, AE3 of Cyzicus, AD. 365-366.Procopius, AE3 of Cyzicus, AD. 365-366. DN PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust left / REPARATI-O FEL TEMP, Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum and resting left hand on shield. Mintmark star SMKГ. Britanikus
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Procopius, Constantinople RIC IX-17aAE3
Constantinople mint, 365-366A.D.
19mm, 2.51g
RIC IX-17a
Obverse:
D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG
Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left.
Reverse:
REPARATIO FEL TEMP
CONS Γ .
Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum in right hand and resting left on shield. At foot, left, a small indeterminate object. Above in field right, Chi-Rho.Will J
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Procopius, Heraclea RIC IX-07AE3
Heraclea mint, 365-366A.D.
19mm, 2.68g
RIC IX-7
Obverse:
D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG
Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left.
Reverse:
REPARATIO FEL TEMP
. in right field
SM H B
Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum in right
hand and resting left on shield. Above in right field, Chi-Rho.Will J
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Procopius, RIC IX, Constantinopolis 17b var., unpublishedProcopius, AD 365-366
AE - AE 3, 3.93g
Constantinopolis, 4th officina
obv. DN PROCO - PIVS PF AVG
Bust, draped and cuirassed, pearl-diademed, l.
rev. REPARATI - O FEL TEMP
Emperor in military cloak, stg. half-left, head r., holding labarum in in r. hand
and resting with l. hand on shield;
palmbranch in l. field, Chi-Rho in r. field
in ex. CONS Delta
Ref.: RIC IX 17b var.; C.7 var.;
(in RIC only officina Gamma and Epsilon but Delta expexted)
very rare, EF, sharp, nice green patina
From Forum Ancient Coins, thanks!
The variant with the palmbranch is much rarer than the usual 'unknown object' or the empty field. And there is no officina Delta listet nor yet found in any reference!
Jochen
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Procopius, Waage 1764cf 365-366 AD
Obv: DN PROCOPIVS P F AVG,
pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: SECVRITAS REIPVB
emperor standing left, head right, holding
labarum & shield on ground
CONSA in ex.
17mm 2.1gmOWL365
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Procopius. REPARATIO FEL TEMP Centenionalis of Heraclea.Roman Empire. Procopius. 365-366 AD. AE Centenionalis (3.12 gm, 19.1mm, 6h) of Heraclea 365-366. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left, D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG. / Emperor standing, facing, in military attire, head right, holding labarum shield. ⳩ to right, ⦁ to left, REPARATIO FEL TEMP, ex: SMH B. gVF. Bt. Herakles Numismatics, 2011. RIC IX p.193 #7.4; Cohen 9; LRBC II #1928-1931; SRCV V #19881.Anaximander
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Procopius. Votive Siliqua of Constantinople.Roman Empire. Procopius. 365-366 AD. AR Siliqua (1.81 gm, 19.0mm, 12h) of Constantinople, 365-366. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right. D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG. / Votive inscription within wreath, VOT V. ex: C•Δ. VF. Ponterio Auction 121 #274. RIC IX p.213 #13e.4; RSC V #14c; SRCV V #19867.Anaximander
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ROMAN EMPIRE - ProcopiusProcopius, 365-66 AD, bronze (AE 3) of 19 mm, 2.19 grams.
Reference: cf. Sear 4123. Heraclea mint. D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left / REPARATI-O FEL TEMP, Procopius standing facing, head right, holding labarum and shield; Chi-rho in upper right field; /SMH[Gamma]. RIC IX 7.7; Cohen 8. dpaul7
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ROMAN EMPIRE, ProcopiusProcopius AE3. AD 366. D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG, Diademed bust left, draped & cuirassed / REPARTI-O (Chi-Rho) FEL TEMP, Procopius in military attire, standing front, head turned right, holding spear & shield behind left leg & Labarum in right hand, SMHB. in ex.
Heraclea R2
RIC 7
ex-ruttencoins.de
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ROMAN EMPIRE, PROCOPIUS Ae3 NICOMEDIA MintBest portrait for this typegb29400
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Procopius ae3, ConstantinopleObv: D N PROCO-PIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust left.
Rev: REPARATI-O FEL TEMP. Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum in right hand and resting left on shield. At foot, left, a small indeterminate object, possibly a helmet. Above, in right field, Chi-Rho; in exergue, CONS gamma.
RIC IX : 17a (R2)
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Procopius REPARATIO FEL TEMPProcopius, AE3, 365-66 A.D., Constantinople (?) mint.
OBV: DN PROCOPIVS PF AVG, diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right.
REV: REPARATIO FEL TEMP, Procopius standing, head right, holding labarum with cross (is it a cross?) and leaning on shield. Not sure of exergue.
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Procopius, AE 3Procopius. Usurper, AD 365-366. Æ 19mm (2.56 g). Constantinople mint. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left / Procopius standing front, head right, holding labarum and shield set on the ground; Chi-Rho in upper right field and unidentified object by left foot; CONSD•. RIC IX 17(a).6; LRBC 2082. VF, dark green patina, ragged around the edge, reverse strike a touch soft.
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Procopius, Ae3, Constantinople, RIC 19 (R2), LRBC 2080, 365-66 ADObv: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG
Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: REPARATIO FEL TEMP
Procopius standing, facing, with head right, holding spear and leaning on shield.
2.4 gm 16.3 mm Exergue: CONSA
Comment: Represents the early issues when Procopius used the light and smaller flan standard of his predecessor, Valentinian I. He soon changed to the heavier standard and broader flan size of Julian II and simultaneously turned his portrait to the left. (Thanks to Curtis Clay.)
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ROMAN EMPIRE, Procopius, Ae3, Constantinople, RIC 19 (R2), LRBC 2080, 365-66 ADObv: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG
Pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: REPARATIO FEL TEMP
Procopius facing, head right, holding spear and resting left hand on shield.
3.1 gm 16 mm (north to south) Exergue: CONS(?)
Comment: Unusually thick flan that had been reduced at the mint, conjecturably after the strike in light of the care given not to disturb the portrait and reverse figure. Tool marks can be seen at the eight to ten o'clock positions. Conceivably a transitional piece struck just before his switch to a higher weighted and broader flan issue (with head left).
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Roman Imperial: Procopius as Augustus, AE3.Constantinople 364-367 A.D. 1.85g - 16.9mm, Axis 5h.
Obv: D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG - Pearl diademed, cuirassed bust right.
Rev: REPARATI-O FEL TEMP - Emperor standing facing, head left, holding labarum and resting hand on shield. Mintmark [CON]SA.
Ref: RIC IX, 18.
Rated Rare R2.
Provenance: Chris Scarlioli Collection.Christian Scarlioli
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Turkey, Misis, Roman bridge over the PyramusRoman bridge in Misis-Mopsuestia over the Pyramus. Constantius II built this magnificent bridge over the Pyramus (Malalas, Chronographia, XIII; P.G., XCVII, 488) afterwards it was restored by Justinian (Procopius, De Edificiis, V. 5) and it has been restored again recently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopsuestia Joe Sermarini
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[1611a] Justinian I, 4 April 527 - 14 November 565 A.D.Bronze follis, S 201, choice VF, 22.147g, 43.8mm, 180o, 2nd officina, Nikomedia mint, 541 - 542 A.D.; Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, globus cruciger in right, shield decorated with a horseman brandishing a spear, cross right; Reverse: large M, cross above, ANNO left, Xu (= year 15) right, B below, NIKO in ex; full circle strike on a huge flan. Ex FORVM.
De Imperatoribus Romanis
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Justinian (527-565 A.D.).
James Allan Evans
University of British Columbia
Introduction
The reign of Justinian was a turning-point in Late Antiquity. It is the period when paganism finally lost its long struggle to survive, and when the schism in Christianity between the Monophysite east and the Chalcedonian west became insurmountable. From a military viewpoint, it marked the last time that the Roman Empire could go on the offensive with hope of success. Africa and Italy were recovered, and a foothold was established in Spain. When Justinian died, the frontiers were still intact although the Balkans had been devastated by a series of raids and the Italian economy was in ruins. His extensive building program has left us the most celebrated example of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture that still survives: Hagia Sophia in modern Istanbul. His reign was a period when classical culture was in sharp decline and yet it had a last flowering, with historians such as Procopius and Agathias working within the tradition inherited from Herodotus and Thucydides, and poets such as Paul the Silentiary who wrote some of the most sensuous poems that the classical tradition has ever produced. The Codex Justinianus, the Institutes and the Digest of Roman jurisprudence, all commissioned by Justinian, are monuments to the past achievements of Roman legal heritage. Justinian's reign sums up the past. It also provides a matrix for the future. In particular, there was the bubonic plague, which appeared in Constantinople in 542, for the first time in Europe, and then travelled round the empire in search of victims, returning to the capital for a new crop in 558. The plague ended a period of economic growth and initiated one of overstrained resources.
The 'Nika' Revolt
The 'Nika' Revolt which broke out in January, 532, in Constantinople, was an outburst of street violence which went far beyond the norms even in a society where a great deal of street violence was accepted. Every city worth notice had its chariot-racing factions which took their names from their racing colors: Reds, Whites, Blues and Greens. These were professional organizations initially responsible for fielding chariot-racing teams in the hippodromes, though by Justinian's time they were in charge of other shows as well. The Blues and the Greens were dominant, but the Reds and Whites attracted some supporters: the emperor Anastasius was a fan of the Reds. The aficionados of the factions were assigned their own blocs of seats in the Hippodrome in Constantinople, opposite the imperial loge, and the Blue and Green "demes" provided an outlet for the energies of the city's young males. G. M. Manojlovic in an influential article originally published in Serbo-Croat in 1904, argued that the "demes" were organized divisions of a city militia, and thus played an important role in the imperial defense structure. His thesis is now generally disregarded and the dominant view is that of Alan Cameron, that demos, whether used in the singular or plural, means simply "people" and the rioting of the "demes", the "fury of the Hippodrome", as Edward Gibbon called it, was hooliganism, which was also Gibbon's view. Efforts to make the Greens into supporters of Monophysitism and the Blues of Orthodoxy founder on lack of evidence. However, in support of Manojlovic's thesis, it must be said that, although we cannot show that the Blue and Green "demes" were an organized city militia, we hear of "Young Greens" both in Constantinople and Alexandria who bore arms, and in 540, when Antioch fell to the Persians, Blue and Green street-fighters continued to defend the city after the regular troops had fled.
Justinian and Theodora were known Blue supporters, and when street violence escalated under Justin I, Procopius claims that they encouraged it. But since Justinian became emperor he had taken a firmer, more even-handed stand. On Saturday, January 10, 532, the city prefect Eudaemon who had arrested some hooligans and found seven guilty of murder, had them hanged outside the city at Sycae, across the Golden Horn, but the scaffold broke and saved two of them from death, a Blue and a Green. Some monks from St. Conon's monastery nearby took the two men to sanctuary at the church of St Lawrence where the prefect set troops to watch. The following Tuesday while the two malefactors were still trapped in the church, the Blues and Greens begged Justinian to show mercy. He ignored the plea and made no reply. The Blues and Green continued their appeals until the twenty-second race (out of twenty-four) when they suddenly united and raised the watchword 'Nika'. Riots started and the court took refuge in the palace. That evening the mob burned the city prefect's praetorium.
Justinian tried to continue the games next day but only provoked more riot and arson. The rioting and destruction continued throughout the week; even the arrival of loyal troops from Thrace failed to restore order. On Sunday before sunrise, Justinian appeared in the Hippodrome where he repented publicly and promised an amnesty. The mob turned hostile, and Justinian retreated. The evening before Justinian had dismissed two nephews of the old emperor Anastasius, Hypatius and Pompey, against their will, from the palace and sent them home, and now the mob found Hypatius and proclaimed him emperor in the Hippodrome. Justinian was now ready to flee, and perhaps would have done so except for Theodora, who did not frighten easily. Instead Justinian decided to strike ruthlessly. Belisarius and Mundo made their separate ways into the Hippodrome where they fell on Hypatius' supporters who were crowded there, and the 'Nika' riot ended with a bloodbath.
A recent study of the riot by Geoffrey Greatrex has made the point that what was unique about it was not the actions of the mob so much as Justinian's attempts to deal with it. His first reaction was to placate: when the mob demanded that three of his ministers must go, the praetorian prefect of the East, John the Cappadocian, the Quaestor of the Sacred Palace Tribonian and the urban prefect Eudaemon, Justinian replaced them immediately. He hesitated when he should have been firm and aggravated the situation. It may well have been Theodora who emboldened him for the final act of repression. Procopius imagines Theodora on the last day engaging in formal debate about what should be done, and misquoting a famous maxim that was once offered the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder "Tyranny is a good shroud." Theodora emends it to "Kingship is a good shroud" and readers of Procopius may have thought wryly that the emendation was unnecessary. The formal debate, and Theodora's great scene, was probably a creation of Procopius' imagination, but a splendid one.
The 'Nika' revolt left Justinian firmly in charge. The mob was cowed and the senatorial opposition that surfaced during the revolt was forced underground. The damage to Constantinople was great, but it cleared the way for Justinian's own building program. Work in his new church of Hagia Sophia to replace the old Hagia Sophia that was destroyed in the rioting, started only forty-five days after the revolt was crushed. The two leaders of the Hippodrome massacre, Mundo and Belisarius, went on to new appointments: Mundo back to Illyricum as magister militum and Belisarius to make his reputation as the conqueror of the Vandals in Africa. The 530s were a decade of confidence and the 'Nika' riot was only a momentary crisis.
(for a detailed account of the reign of Justinian I, see: http://www.roman-emperors.org/justinia.htm)
Last Years
Misfortune crowded into the final years of Justinian's reign. There was another Samaritan revolt in midsummer, 556. Next year, in December, a great earthquake shook Constantinople and in May of the following year, the dome of Justinian's new Hagia Sophia collapsed, and had to be rebuilt with a new design. About the same time, the plague returned to the capital. Then in early 559 a horde of Kutrigur 'Huns' (proto-Bulgars) crossed the frozen Danube and advanced into the Balkans. It split into three columns: one pushed into Greece but got no further than Thermopylae, another advanced into the Gallipoli peninsula but got no further than the Long Wall, which was defended by a young officer from Justinian's native city, while the third, most dangerous spearhead led by the 'Hun' khan, Zabergan himself, made for Constantinople. Faced with this attack and without any forces for defense, Justinian called Belisarius out of retirement, and Belisarius, using a scratch force, the core of which was 300 of his veterans, ambushed the Kutrigur horde and routed it. Once the immediate danger was over, however, Justinian recalled Belisarius and took charge himself. The news that Justinian was reinforcing his Danube fleet made the Kutrigurs anxious and they agreed to a treaty which gave them a subsidy and safe passage back across the river. But as soon as they were north of the Danube, they were attacked by their rivals the Utigurs who were incited by Justinian to relieve them of their booty. The Kutrigurs raided Thrace again in 562, but they and the Utigurs were soon to fall prey to the Avars who swept out of the Asian steppes in the early 560s.
There was discontent in the capital. Street violence was on the increase again. There were bread shortages and water shortages. In late 562, there was a conspiracy which almost succeeded in killing the emperor. The chief conspirator was Marcellus, an argyroprates, a goldsmith and banker, and the conspiracy probably reflected the dissatisfaction of the business community. But Justinian was too old to learn to be frugal. He resorted to forced loans and requisitions and his successor found the treasury deeply in debt.
What remained of the great emperor's achievement? His successor Justin II, out of a combination of necessity and foolhardiness, denied the 'barbarians' the subsidies which had played a major role in Justinian's defense of the frontiers, and, to be fair, which had also been provided by emperors before him. Subsidies had been part of Anastasius' policy as well, but that was before the plague, while the imperial economy was still expanding. The result of Justin II's change of policy was renewed hostility with Persia and a shift of power in the Balkans. In 567 the Avars and Lombards joined forces against the Gepids and destroyed them. But the Lombards distrusted their allies and next year they migrated into Italy where Narses had just been removed from command and recalled, though he disobeyed orders and stayed in Rome until his death. By the end of the century only a third of Italy was in Byzantine hands. On the eastern frontier, Justin alienated the Ghassanid allies and lost the fortress of Daras, a reverse which overwhelmed his frangible sanity. For this Justinian can hardly be blamed. No one can deny his greatness; a recent study by Asterios Gerostergios even lionizes him. But if we look at his reign with the unforgiving eye of hindsight, it appears to be a brilliant effort to stem the tide of history, and in the end, it was more a failure than a moderate success.
Copyright (C) 1998, James Allan Evans. Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
The Church we know today as Hagia Sophia - or Divine Wisdom, its true name - was dedicated by the Emperor Justinian in 537AD. Through many visitudes Justinian's cathedral church of Constantinople still stands, its soring vaults and amazing dome testiments to the human spirit, the engineering talents of its builders and Divine inspiration. In the same fashion that Vespasian's Collesium (the Flavian Amphitheatre) is symbolic of Rome, Justinian's Hagia Sophia is a symbol of Byzantium.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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