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29 ElagabalusELAGABALUS
AE25 of Byblus, Phoenicia.
AV K M AVP ANTWNINOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / IEPAC BYBLOY, hexastyle temple with central arch, Astarte standing facing within, foot on prow, holding sceptre, being crowned by Nike on column to r.
SNG Cop 145, BMC 52Sosius
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AUGUSTUS. AR Cistophorus (3 denarii) of Pergamum. Struck c.19 - 18 B.C.Obverse: IMP IX TR PO V. Bare head of Augustus facing right.
Reverse: Triumphal arch surmounted by Augustus in facing triumphal quadriga; IMP IX TR POT V on architrave; S P R SIGNIS RECEPTIS in three lines within arch opening, standards at either side.
RIC I : 510 | BMC : 703 | RSC : 298.
This coin commemorates Augustus' triumphant agreement with the Parthians in 20 B.C. under which they returned the legionary standards captured from Crassus who was defeated and killed at Carrhae thirty-three years earlier (53 B.C.) Augustus installed these standards in the Temple of Mars Ultor.
The reverse of the coin shows the triumphal arch which was awarded to Augustus on the occasion of his recovery of the standards. This was the second triumphal arch awarded to Augustus and, like the earlier arch which had been constructed in 29 BC to honour his victory over Cleopatra, this second arch, which archaeological evidence suggests may actually have incorporated the first arch, stood in close proximity to the Temple of Divus Julius at the southern entrance to the Roman Forum.
This is the rarest cistophorus struck during the reign of Augustus with the exception of the exceedingly rare issues featuring a sphinx.*Alex
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(0218) ELAGABALUS218 - 222 AD
AE 23.51 mm, 9.48 g
O: AVΩN, T KM AVP A[NTΩ NINOC] Laureate draped bust right
R: Three-part (decastyle temple) temple of Astarte, with center arch, two tetrastyle wings, curved roof line from wings to top of pediment, Astarte standing facing in doorway, ... ΓΛΦ (Seleukid year 532) in ex;
Phoenicia, Tripolis; BMC 223, 120.laney
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02 Augustus RIC I 0359Augustus 27 B.C.-14 A.D. Moneyer L. Vinicius. Rome Mint. 16 B.C. (3.72g, 18.8m, 5h). Obv: Anepigraphic, bare head right. Rev: L Vinicivs in ex., Triumphal arch inscribed SPQR IMP CAE in two lines sur. by Quadriga bearing Augustus, r. holding laurel-branch, l. scepter; smaller arch on sides w archer on l. and slinger on r. RIC I 359 (R2). RSC 544.
This coin depicts Augustus’ triple arch, perhaps the first in Rome. Beginning as a double arch to commemorate his victory at Actium, the third arch was probably added to commemorate the return of the lost standards from Parthia. For a scarce type, this example is well centered and has good details on the reverse including complete legends.Lucas H
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107. PertinaxPertinax
Only a mediocre public speaker, Pertinax was first and foremost a gritty old soldier. He was heavily built, had a pot belly, although it was said, even by his critics, that he possessed the proud air of an emperor.
He possessed some charm, but was generally understood to be a rather sly character. He also acquired a reputation for being mean and greedy. He apparently even went as far as serving half portions of lettuce and artichoke before he became emperor. It was a characteristic which would not serve him well as an emperor.
When he took office, Pertinax quickly realized that the imperial treasury was in trouble. Commodus had wasted vast sums on games and luxuries. If the new emperor thought that changes would need to be made to bring the finances back in order he was no doubt right. But he sought to do too much too quickly. In the process he made himself enemies.
The gravest error, made at the very beginning of his reign, was to decide to cut some of the praetorian's privileges and that he was going to pay them only half the bonus he had promised.
Already on 3 January AD 193 the praetorians tried to set up another emperor who would pay up. But that senator, wise enough to stay out of trouble, merely reported the incident to Pertinax and then left Rome.
The ordinary citizens of Rome however also quickly had enough of their new emperor. Had Commodus spoilt them with lavish games and festivals, then now Pertinax gave them very little.
And a truly powerful enemy should be the praetorian prefect Laetus. The man who had after all put Pertinax on the throne, was to play an important role in the emperor's fate. It isn't absolutely clear if he sought to be an honest advisor of the emperor, but saw his advise ignored, or if he sought to manipulate Pertinax as his puppet emperor. In either case, he was disappointed.
And so as Pertinax grew ever more unpopular, the praetorians once more began to look for a new emperor. In early March, When Pertinax was away in Ostia overseeing the arrangements for the grain shipments to Rome, they struck again. This time they tried to set up one of the consuls, Quintus Sosius Falco.
When Pertinax returned to Rome he pardoned Falco who'd been condemned by the senate, but several praetorians were executed. A slave had given them away as being part of the conspiracy.
These executions were the final straw. On 28 March AD 193 the praetorians revolts.
300 hundred of them forced the gates to the palace. None of the guards sought to help their emperor.
Everyone, so it seemed, wanted rid of this emperor. So, too, Laetus would not listen as Pertinax ordered him to do something. The praetorian prefect simply went home, leaving the emperor to his fate.
Pertinax did not seek to flee. He stood his ground and waited, together with his chamberlain Eclectus. As the praetorians found him, they did not discover an emperor quivering with fear, but a man determined on convincing them to put down their weapons. Clearly the soldiers were over-awed by this brave man, for he spoke to them for some time. But eventually their leader found enough courage to step forwards and hurl his spear at the emperor. Pertinax fell with the spear in his chest. Eclectus fought bravely for his life, stabbing two, before he two was slain by the soldiers.
The soldiers then cut off Pertinax' head, stuck it on a spear and paraded through the streets of Rome.
Pertinax had ruled for only 87 days. He was later deified by Septimius Severus.
RI1. Pertinax. A.D. 193. AR denarius (18.0 mm, 2.74 g, 7 h). Rome mint. Rare. IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG, laureate head right / OPI DIVIN TR P COS II, Ops seated left, holding two stalks of grain, resting hand on seat of throne. RIC 8a; RSC 33; BMCRE 19. aVF, flan crack.ecoli
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114-113 B.C., Man Aemilius Lepidus, Republic AR-Denarius, Crawford-291-1, Rome, MN•AEMILIO•, equestrian statue, -/-//LEP, #1114-113 B.C., Man Aemilius Lepidus, Republic AR-Denarius, Crawford-291-1, Rome, MN•AEMILIO•, equestrian statue, -/-//LEP, #1
avers: Laureate, diademed head of Roma right, ROMA before, * behind.
reverse: MN•AEMILIO• (MN ligate), The equestrian statue on the triumphal arch, L E P between the arches.
exergue: -/-//LEP, diameter: 18,2-18,4mm, weight: 3,81g, axis: 9h,
mint: Rome, date:114-113 B.C.,, ref: Crawford 291-1, Syd 554, Aemilia 7,
Q-001quadrans
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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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1633 - Mark Antony, DenariusStruck in a travelling mint, moving with Mark Antony in 41 BC
ANT AVG IMP III VI R P C, Head of Mark Antony right
Fortuna standing left, holding rudder in right hand and cornucopiae in left; at feet, stork; below, PIETAS COS
3,82 gr - 20 mm
Ref : Crawford # 516/2, Sydenham # 1174, HCRI # 241, C # 77
Ex. Auctiones.GmbH
The following comment is copied from NAC auction # 52/294 about the very rare corresponding aureus :
The year 41 B.C., when this aureus was struck at a mint travelling in the East with Marc Antony, was a period of unusual calm for the triumvir, who took a welcomed, if unexpected, rest after the great victory he and Octavian had won late in 42 B.C. against Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi. Antony’s original plan of organising an invasion of Parthia was put on hold after he sailed to Tarsus, where he had summoned Cleopatra VII, the Greek queen of Egypt. She was to defend herself against accusations that she had aided Brutus and Cassius before Philippi, but it is generally agreed that the summons was merely a pretext for Antony’s plan to secure aid for his Parthian campaign. Their meeting was anything but a source of conflict; indeed, they found much common ground, including their agreement that it was in their mutual interests to execute Cleopatra’s sister and rival Arsinoe IV, who had been ruling Cyprus. In addition to sharing political interests, the two agreed that Antony would winter in Egypt to share a luxurious vacation with Cleopatra that caused a further postponement of Antony’s designs on Parthia. Thus began another of the queen’s liaisons with noble Romans, a prior having been Julius Caesar (and, according to Plutarch, Pompey Jr. before him). During the course of his stay in Egypt Cleopatra was impregnated, which resulted in twins born to her in 40 B.C. But this care-free period was only a momentary calm in the storm, for trouble was brewing in both the East and the West. Early in 40 B.C. Syria was overrun by the Parthians, seemingly while Antony travelled to Italy to meet Octavian following the Perusine War, in which Octavian defeated the armies of Antony’s wife and brother. The conflict with Octavian was resolved when they signed a pact at Brundisium in October, and Syria was eventually recovered through the efforts of Antony’s commanders from 40 to 38 B.C.{/i]
Potator II
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1672, Prise de douze villes en HollandeObv. Draped and cuirassed bust right LVD MAG FRA ET NAV REX PP, CHERON on bust truncation.
Rev. The King in the guise of Sol, radiating light, seated right in a heavenly chariot pulled by three horses, surrounded by clouds. Around are aerlia views of twelve towns and forts captured in Holland SOLIS QVE LABORES on scroll above central design, the names of all twelve towns/forts around.
AE63. Engraved by Charles Jean Francois Cheron. ORIGINAL STRIKE, very rare.
Charles Jean Francois Cheron (1635-1698), one of the most distinguished artists of the school of Jean Warin, was born at Nancy and was trained by his father, Jean-Charles Cheron, engraver to Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine. Cheron went to Rome and became engraver of medals for Clement IX and Innocent X. Cheron's style in his Roman medals is of remarkable boldness, and his medals of Pope Clement IX and of Bernini are grandiloquent and among the finest Italian medals of the period. He returned to France in 1675 and was employed by Louis XIV at the Medal Mint at Paris for about twelve years, where he contributed several medals to the medallic series of the monarch, the Histoire Metallique. His medals are considered to be in an international baroque style.
LordBest
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1794 AE Halfpenny, Emsworth, Hampshire.Obverse: EARL HOWE & THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE. "Youthful" bust of Earl Howe, wearing tricorn hat and with hair in long pigtail tied with a ribbon, facing left.
Reverse: RULE BRITANNIA. Britannia facing left, seated on globe, her right hand holding spear, her left arm holding laurel-branch and resting on shield at her side; in exergue, 1794.
Edge: “PAYABLE AT LONDON LIVERPOOL OR BRISTOL •.
Diameter: 29mm.
Dalton & Hamer: 13
During the 18th and 19th centuries Emsworth was a busy little port, known for shipbuilding, boat building and rope making. Grain from the area was ground into flour by tidal mills at Emsworth and the flour was then transported by ship to places like London and Portsmouth. Timber from the area was also exported from Emsworth in the 18th and 19th centuries.
This token was probably issued by John Stride, a grocer and tea dealer with a business in Emsworth, and the dies were likely engraved by Thomas Wyon. The token was probably manufactured by Peter Kempson at his mint in Birmingham.
These 18th century tokens are often generically referred to as “Conder” tokens, the name originating from James Conder, a linen draper from Tavern Street in Ipswich. Conder was an ardent collector of tokens and the author of the standard work on the subject until it was superseded by that of Atkins in 1892.
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, Knight of the Garter and Admiral of the Fleet was born on 8th March, 1726. He was a British naval officer notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. He died on the 5th of August, 1799.
The Glorious First of June, 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between Britain and the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Admiral Lord Howe, attempted to prevent the passage of a vital grain convoy from the United States, which was protected by the French fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. The two forces clashed in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 nautical miles west of the French island of Ushant, on the first of June 1794. During the battle both fleets were so severely damaged that both Howe and Villaret were compelled to return to their home ports. Both sides claimed victory and the outcome of the battle was seized upon by the press of both nations as a demonstration of the prowess and bravery of their respective navies.*Alex
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1795 AE Halfpenny, Emsworth or Portsmouth, Hampshire.Obverse: EARL HOWE & THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE. "Elderly" bust of Earl Howe, wearing tricorn hat and with hair tied with a ribbon at back, facing left.
Reverse: RULE BRITANNIA. Britannia facing left, seated on globe, her right hand holding spear, her left arm holding laurel-branch and resting on shield at her side; in exergue, 1795.
Edge: “PAYABLE IN LONDON” the remainder engrailed.
Diameter: 29mm.
Dalton & Hamer: 23b
This token was probably issued by John Stride, a grocer and tea dealer with a business in Emsworth, and the dies were likely engraved by Thomas Wyon. The token was probably manufactured by Peter Kempson at his mint in Birmingham.
These 18th century tokens are often generically referred to as “Conder” tokens, the name originating from James Conder, a linen draper from Tavern Street in Ipswich. Conder was an ardent collector of tokens and the author of the standard work on the subject until it was superseded by that of Atkins in 1892.
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, Knight of the Garter and Admiral of the Fleet was born on 8th March, 1726. He was a British naval officer notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. He died on the 5th of August, 1799.
The Glorious First of June, 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between Britain and the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Admiral Lord Howe, attempted to prevent the passage of a vital grain convoy from the United States, which was protected by the French fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. The two forces clashed in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 nautical miles west of the French island of Ushant, on the first of June 1794. During the battle, Howe defied naval convention by ordering his fleet to turn towards the French and for each of his vessels to rake and engage their immediate opponent. This unexpected order was not understood by all of his captains, and as a result his attack, though successful, was more piecemeal than he intended. In the course of the battle the two fleets were so severely damaged that both Howe and Villaret were compelled to return to their home ports.
Both sides claimed victory and the outcome of the battle was seized upon by the press of both countries as a demonstration of the prowess and bravery of their respective navies. France because, despite losing seven of his ships, Villaret had successfully bought enough time for the grain convoy to reach safety unimpeded by Howe's fleet and Britain because, since the French were forced to withdraw their battle-fleet to port, they were left free to conduct a campaign of blockade for the remainder of the war.*Alex
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1795- MoFM Mexico Spanish Colonial 8 Reales of Charles IIII - [KM-109 -- Charles IIII]Chopmarked, 0.7797 ounce silver 8 Reales (also known as the pillar dollar), 26.65g, 39.62mm, 0 degree, Mexico City, Mexico Mint [Mo -- small 'o' set over a large 'M'], 179[5]
Obv. - • CAROLUS IIII • DEI • GR[ATIA] •, laureate bust of Charles IIII right
Rev. - • HISPAN • ET IND • REX • Mo • 8R • F • M •, coat of arms of Spain
This coin was sold as a 1794 chopmarked 8 Reale. Upon inspection in hand under high magnification and different lighting conditions, as well as inspection of large, quality pictures on the computer allowing for color/contrast/levels manipulation, and I have determined this coin to actually be from 1795. The '5', although extremely worn is visible under the correct conditions and comparisons of the worn number morphology to other 179x coins lends credence to this finding.
The reverse is just as interesting and challenging. Although the mintmark is almost completely worn off, the assayer of FM ensures that the coin is of Mexico City, Mexico mintmark.
The coat of arms of Spain, a crown crown flanked by columns and a middle shield includes the national motto PLVS VLTRA spread across the two columns. PLVS VLTRA (PLUS ULTRA) translates to "further beyond." It is adopted from the personal motto of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (and King of Spain as Charles I) and is a Latin translation from Plus Oultre, his original motto in Old French.
Although this coin is quite worn in certain areas, it has a lovely tone and great character. The numerous different chopmarks just add to the appeal. This coins was bought as a conversation piece as I have always found them interesting, albeit with knowing next to nothing concerning them. However, after doing some research, I have come to appreciate it much more and may follow suite with further additions. In any case, I plan on further reading into the subject area.
___________
Purchased from Regal Coin Exchange in Savannah, GArenegade3220
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1937 EDWARD VIII AE CORONATION MEDALObverse: • HIS • MAJESTY • KING • EDWARD • VIII •, Crowned bust of Edward VIII facing right, wearing ceremonial robes, the legend in raised letters on a raised border with each word separated by a rose.
Reverse: CROWNED - A. D. 1937. Britannia standing facing within a distyle arch, holding crown aloft with her right hand and union flag on pole in her left, in background to left, battleship and to right, London riverside scene in which St Paul's Cathedral can be discerned.
Diameter: 45mm
No coins were issued for Edward VIII who became King on the death of his father, George V, on 20th January 1936. Edward's coronation never took place because he abdicated the throne on 11th December that same year after a reign lasting only 326 days.
As Edward VIII was never crowned the coin types bearing the portrait of George V continued to be struck throughout 1936 and up until the coronation in 1937 of Edward's younger brother Albert, who reigned as George VI
This unsigned medal was struck in 1936 in anticipation of the proposed Coronation of Edward VIII on 12th May, 1937. The same reverse dies of this medal were subsequently reused on coronation medals for George VI. This was often the case with the coronation issues for George VI because the date of his coronation was the 12th of May, the same date as that originally proposed for Edward VIII.*Alex
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1bu Caracalla198-217
Denarius
Laureate head, right, ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT
Mars, MARTI PROPVGNATORI
RIC 223
The Historia Augusta, in the life of Severus, records: As he was advancing against Albinus, moreover, and had reached Viminacium 4 on his march, he gave his elder son Bassianus the name Aurelius Antoninus 5 and the title of Caesar, in order to destroy whatever hopes of succeeding to the throne his brother Geta had conceived. His reason for giving his son the name Antoninus was that he had dreamed that an Antoninus would succeed him. It was because of this dream, some believe, that Geta also was called Antoninus, in order that he too might succeed to the throne. . . . [After defeating Niger], he bestowed the. toga virilis on his younger son, Geta, and he united his elder son in marriage with Plautianus' daughter [Plautilla]. . . . Soon thereafter he appointed his sons to the consulship ; also he greatly honored his brother Geta. . . . Severus [in 198] invaded Parthia, defeated the king, and came to Ctesiphon; and about the beginning of the winter season he took the city. For this feat, likewise, the soldiers declared his son, Bassianus Antoninus, co-emperor; he had already been named Caesar and was now in his thirteenth year. And to Geta, his younger son, they gave the name Caesar. . . .
In the life of Caracalla, the history continues: He himself in his boyhood was winsome and clever, respectful to his parents and courteous to his parents' friends, beloved by the people, popular with the senate, and well able to further his own interests in winning affection. Never did he seem backward in letters or slow in deeds of kindness, never niggardly in largess or tardy in forgiving at least while under his parents. . . . All this, however, was in his boyhood. For when
he passed beyond the age of a boy, either by his father's advice or through a natural cunning, or because he thought that he must imitate Alexander of Macedonia,he became more reserved and stern and even somewhat savage in expression. . . .
After his father's death he went to the Praetorian Camp and complained there to the soldiers that his brother was forming a conspiracy against him. And so he had his brother slain in the Palace. . . . After this he committed many further murders in the city, causing many persons far and wide to be seized by soldier sand killed, as though he were punishing a rebellion. . . . After doing all this he set out for Gaul and immediately upon his arrival there killed the proconsul of Narbonensis. . . . Then he made ready for a journey to the Orient, but interrupted his march and stopped in Dacia. . . . Then he journeyed through Thrace accompanied by the prefect of the guard. . . . After this, turning to the war with the Armenians and Parthians, he appointed as military commander a man whose character resembled his own. . . . Then he betook himself to Alexandria. . . . [H]e issued an order to his soldiers to slay their hosts and thus caused great slaughter at Alexandria. . . . Next he advanced through the lands of the Cadusii and the Babylonians and waged a guerilla-warfare with the Parthian satraps, in which wild beasts were even let loose against the enemy. He then sent a letter to the senate as though he had won a real victory and thereupon was given the name Parthicus. . . .
After this he wintered at Edessa with the intention of renewing the war against the Parthians. During this time, on the eighth day before the Ides of April, the feast of the Megalensia and his own birthday, while on a journey to Carrhae to do honor to the god Lunus, he stepped aside to satisfy the needs of nature and was thereupon assassinated by the treachery of Macrinus the prefect of the guard, who after his death seized the imperial power.Blindado
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1ck Pupienus238
Sestertius
Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust, right, IMP CAES PVPIEN MAXIMVS AVG
Pax seated left with branch & scepter PAX PVBLICA SC
RIC 22b
Herodian, continuing the story of the rebellion against Maximinus, wrote: [Pupienus] led most of these soldiers out to attack Maximinus; the rest remained behind to guard and defend the city. . . . In the meantime, having completed his march, Maximinus was poised on the borders of Italy; after offering sacrifices at all the boundary altars, he advanced into Italy. . . . When no opposition was offered, they crossed the Alps without hindrance. . . . While the army was in the plain, the scouts reported that Aquileia, the largest city in that part of Italy, had closed its gates and that the Pannonian legions which had been sent ahead had launched a vigorous attack upon the walls of this city. In spite of frequent assaults, they were completely unsuccessful. . . .
As time passed, the army of Maximinus grew depressed and, cheated in its expectations, fell into despair. . . . As Maximinus rode about, the [people of Aquileia] shouted insults and indecent blasphemies at him and his son. The emperor became increasingly angry because he was powerless to retaliate. . . . The emperor's soldiers were. . . in need of everything. There was scarcely even sufficient water for them. . . .
Without warning, the soldiers whose camp was near Rome at the foot of Mount Alba, where they had left their wives and children, decided that the best solution was to kill Maximinus and end the interminable siege. . . . [T]he conspirators went to Maximinus' tent about noon. The imperial bodyguard, which was involved in the plot, ripped Maximinus' pictures from the standards; when he came out of his tent with his son to talk to them, they refused to listen and killed them both. . . .
For the rest of the time the two emperors governed in an orderly and well-regulated manner, winning approval on every hand both privately and publicly. The people honored and respected them as patriotic and admirable rulers of the empire. . . . It so happened that the two men were not in complete accord: so great is the desire for sole rule and so contrary to the usual practice is it for the sovereignty to be shared that each undertook to secure the imperial power for himself alone. Balbinus considered himself the more worthy because of his noble birth and his two terms as consul; [Pupienus] felt that he deserved first place because he had served as prefect of Rome and had won a good reputation by his administrative efforts. Both men were led to covet the sole rule because of their distinguished birth, aristocratic lineage, and the size of their families. This rivalry was the basis of their downfall. When [Pupienus] learned that the Praetorian Guard was coming to kill them, he wished to summon a sufficient number of the German auxiliaries who were in Rome to resist the conspirators. But Balbinus, thinking that this was a ruse intended to deceive him (he knew that the Germans were devoted to [Pupienus]), refused to allow [Pupienus] to issue the order. . . . While the two men were arguing, the praetorians rushed in. . . . When the guards at the palace gates deserted the emperors, the praetorians seized the old men and ripped off the plain robes they were wearing because they were at home. Dragging the two men naked from the palace, they inflicted every insult and indignity upon them. Jeering at these emperors elected by the senate, they beat and tortured them. . . . When the Germans learned what was happening, they snatched up their arms and hastened to the rescue. As soon as the praetorians were informed of their approach, they killed the mutilated emperors. Blindado
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1dc Macrianus260-261
Billon antoninianus
Radiate cuirassed bust, right, IMP C FVL MACRIANVS PF AVG
Aequitas standing left holding scales & cornucopiae, star to left, AEQVTAS AVGG
RIC 5
Macrianus did not rule in Rome. He and his brother Quietus took command of the army after the Persians captured Valerian but were defeated by one of Gallienus' generals when they marched west. According to the Historia Augusta: After the capture of Valerian, long a most
noble prince in the state, then a most valiant emperor, but at the last the most unfortunate of all men (either because in his old age he pined away among the Persians or because he left behind him unworthy descendants), Ballista, Valerian's prefect, and Macrianus, the foremost of his generals, since they knew that Gallienus was worthy only of contempt and since the soldiers, too, were seeking an emperor, withdrew together to a certain place, to consider what should be done. They then agreed that, since Gallienus was far away and Aureolus was usurping the imperial power, some emperor ought to be chosen, and, indeed, the best man, lest there should arise some pretender. . . . Ballista, perceiving that Macrianus, in so speaking, seemed to have in mind his own two sons, answered him as follows : "To your wisdom, then, we entrust the commonwealth. And so give us your sons Macrianus and Quietus, most valiant young men, long since made tribunes by Valerian, for, under the rule of Gallienus, for the very reason that they are good men, they cannot remain unharmed."
And so, with the consent of all the soldiers, Macrianus was made emperor, together with his two sons Macrianus and Quietus, and he immediately proceeded to march against Gallienus, leaving affairs in the East in whatever state he could. But while he was on the march, having with him a force of forty-five thousand soldiers, he met Aureolus in Illyricum or on the borders of Thrace, and there he was defeated and together with his son was slain. Then thirty thousand of his men yielded to Aureolus' power.Blindado
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1di Claudius Gothicus268-270
AE antoninianus
Radiate cuirassed bust right, IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG
Liberlitas stg, LIBERALITAS AVG
RIC 57
Zosimus recorded: When the troops were calmed by their commanders, Claudius was chosen emperor, having previously been designed for that dignity by general consent. Aureolus, who had for a long time kept himself out of the hands of Gallienus, presently sent agents to Claudius, to effect a peace. Surrendering himself, he was killed by the guards of the emperor, who still remembered the hatred they bore against him for his treachery.
The Scythians were by this time so elated by their former success, that they appointed a place of meeting with the Heruli, Peucae, and Gothi, near the river Tyra, which empties itself into the Pontus; where having built six thousand vessels, and put on board them three hundred and twenty thousand men, they sailed across the Pontus, and made an attempt on Tomes, a fortified town, but were repulsed from it. From thence they proceed to Marcianopolis, a city of Mysia, but failing there likewise in their attack on it, they took the opportunity of a favourable wind and sailed forward. . . . they passed through the Hellespont, and arrived at Mount Athos. Having there refitted and careened their vessels, they laid siege to Cassandria and Thessalonica, which they were near taking by means of machines which they raised against the walls. But hearing that the emperor was advancing with an army, they went into the interior, plundering all the neighbourhood of Doberus and Pelagonia. There they sustained a loss of three thousand men, who were met with by the Dalmatian cavalry, and with the rest of their force engaged the army of the emperor. Great numbers were slain in this battle on both sides, but the Romans, by a pretended flight, drew the Barbarians into an ambuscade and killed more than fifty thousand of them.
Egypt being thus reduecd by the Palmyrenians, the Barbarians, who survived the battle of Naissus between Claudius and the Scythians, defending themselves with their carriages which went before them, marched towards Macedon, but were so distressed by the want of necessaries, that many of them and of their beasts perished with hunger. They were met likewise by the Roman cavalry, who having killed many of them, drove the rest towards Mount Haemus; where being surrounded by the Roman army, they lost a vast number of men. But a quarrel ensuing between the Roman horse and foot soldiers, the emperor wishing the foot to engage the Barbarians, the Romans, after a smart engagement, were defeated with considerable loss, but the cavalry, coming up immediately, redeemed in some degree the miscarriage of the infantry. After this battle, the Barbarians proceeded on their march, and were pursued by the Romans. The pirates who cruized about Crete and Rhodes retired without doing any thing worthy of mention; and being attacked by the plague on their way home, some of them died in Thrace and some in Macedon. All that survived were either admitted into the Roman legions, or had lands assigned for them to cultivate and so become husbandmen. Nor was the plague confined to the Barbarians alone, but began to infest the Romans, many of whom died, and amongst the rest Claudius, a person adorned with every virtue. His death was a severe loss to his subjeets, and was consequently much regretted by them.Blindado
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1en Julian II "Apostate"360-363
AE3
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust left, holding shield & spear, D N FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG
VOT X MVLT XX in four lines within wreath, palm branch-BSIS-palm branch in ex [?].
RIC 415
According to Zosimus: Constantius, having so well succeeded in his design against Vetranio, marched against Magnentius, having first conferred the title of Caesar on Gallus, the son of his uncle, and brother to Julian who was afterwards emperor, and given him in marriage his sister Constantia. . . . CONSTANTIUS, after having acted towards Gallus Caesar in the manner I have related, left Pannonia to proceed into Italy. . . . He scarcely thought himself capable of managing affairs at this critical period. He was unwilling, however, to associate any one with himself in the government, because he so much desired to rule alone, and could esteem no man his friend. Under these circumstances he was at a loss how to act. It happened, however, that when the empire was in the greatest danger, Eusebia, the wife of Constantius, who was a woman of extraordinary learning, and of greater wisdom than her sex is usually endowed with, advised him to confer the government of the nations beyond the Alps on Julianus Caesar, who was brother to Gallus, and grandson to Constantius. As she knew that the emperor was suspicious of all his kindred, she thus circumvented him. She observed to him, that Julian was a young man unacquainted with the intrigues of state, having devoted himself totally to his studies; and that he was wholly inexperienced in worldly business. That on this account he would be more fit for his purpose than any other person. That either he would be fortunate, and his success would be attributed to the emperor's conduct, or that he would fail and perish; and that thus Constantius would have none of the imperial family to succeed to him.
Constantius, having approved her advice, sent for Julian from Athens, where he lived among the philosophers, and excelled all his masters in every kind of learning. Accordingly, Julian returning from Greece into Italy, Constantius declared him Caesar, gave him in marriage his sister Helena, and sent him beyond the Alps. . . .
Constantius, having thus disposed of Julian, marched himself into Pannonia and Moesia, and having there suppressed the Quadi and the Sarmatians, proceeded to the east, and was provoked to war by the inroads of the Persians. Julian by this time had arrived beyond the Alps into the Gallic nations which he was to rule. Perceiving that the Barbarians continued committing the same violence, Eusebia, for the same reasons as before, persuaded Constantius to place the entire management of those countries into the hands of Julian. . . . Julian finding the military affairs of Gallia Celtica in a very ruinous state, and that the Barbarians pased the Rhine without any resistance, even almost as far as the sea-port towns, he took a survey of the remaining parts of the enemy. And understanding that the people of those parts were terrified at the very name of the Barbarians, while those whom Constantius had sent along with him, who were not more than three hundred and sixty, knew nothing more, as he used to say, than how to say their prayers, he enlisted as many more as he could and took in a great number of volunteers. He also provided arms, and finding a quantity of old weapons in some town he fitted them up, and distributed them among the soldiers. The scouts bringing him intelligence, that an immense number of Barbarians had crossed the river near the city of Argentoratum (Strasburg) which stands on the Rhine, he no sooner heard of it, than he led forth his army with the greatest speed, and engaging with the enemy gained such a victory as exceeds all description.
After these events he raised a great army to make war on the whole German nation; He was opposed however by the Barbarians in vast numbers. Caesar therefore would not wait while they came up to him, but crossed the Rhine, preferring that their country should be the seat of war, and not that of the Romans, as by that means the cities would escape being again pillaged by the Barbarians. A most furious battle therefore took place; a great number of the Barbarians being slain on the field of battle, while the rest fled, and were pursued by Caesar into the Hercynian forest, and many of them killed. . . .
But while Julian was at Parisium, a small town in Germany, the soldiers, being ready to march, continued at supper till midnight in a place near the palace, which they so called there. They were as yet ignorant of any design against Caesar [by Constantius], when some tribunes, who began to suspect the contrivance against him, privately distributed a number of anonymous billets among the soldiers, in which they represented to them, that Caesar, by his judicious conduct had so managed affairs, that almost all of them had erected trophies over the Barbarians ; that he had always fought like a private soldier, and was now in extreme danger from the emperor, who would shortly deprive him of his whole army, unless they prevented it. Some of the soldiers having read these billets, and published the intrigue to the whole army, all were highly enraged. They suddenly rose from their seats in great commotion, and with the cups yet in their hands went to the palace. Breaking open the doors without ceremony, they brought out Caesar, and lifting him on a shield declared him emperor and Augustus. They then, without attending to his reluctance, placed a diadem upon his head. . . .
Arriving at Naisus, he consulted the soothsayers what measures to pursue. As the entrails signified that he must stay there for some time, he obeyed, observing likewise the time that was mentioned in his dream. When this, according to the motion of the planets, was arrived, a party of horsemen arrived from Constantinople at Naisus, with intelligence that Constantius was dead, and that the armies desired Julian to be emperor. Upon this he accepted what the gods had bestowed upon him, and proceeded on his journey. On his arrival at. Byzantium, he was received with joyful acclamations. . . .
[After slashing through Persia and crossing the Tigris,] they perceived the Persian army, with which they engaged, and having considerably the advantage, they killed a great number of Persians. Upon the following day, about noon, the Persians drew up in a large body, and once more attacked the rear of the Roman army. The Romans, being at that time out of their ranks, were surprised and alarmed at the suddenness of the attack, yet made a stout and spirited defence. The emperor, according to his custom, went round the army, encouraging them to fight with ardour. When by this means all were engaged, the emperor, who sometimes rode to the commanders and tribunes, and was at other times among the private soldiers, received a wound in the heat of the engagement, and was borne on a shield to his tent. He survived only till midnight. He then expired, after having nearly subverted the Persian empire.
Note: Julian favored the pagan faith over Christianity and was tarred by the church as "the apostate." Blindado
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21.14. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.14.1.1./c1g1.1./22., New sigla !, H-228, CNH I.-191, U-140, AR-Denarius, #0121.14. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.14.1.1./c1g1.1./22., New sigla !, H-228, CNH I.-191, U-140, AR-Denarius, #01
avers: Patriarchal cross on the arch, between two towers, two rosettes above, three circles below; border of dots.
reverse: Balcony over three arches, six-pointed star between two circles above, circle below; line border.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 16,0 mm, weight: 0,42 g, axis: 9h,
mint: Esztergom , date: A.D., ref: Huszár-228, CNH I.-191, Unger-140,
CÁC III. 21.14.1.1./c1g1.1./22., New sigla !,
Q-001quadrans
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21.39. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.39.1.1./a3.1./after 2. before 3., New Sigla !, H-283, CNH I.-187, U-207, AR-Obulus Very Rare! #0121.39. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.39.1.1./a3.1./after 2. before 3., New Sigla !, H-283, CNH I.-187, U-207, AR-Obulus Very Rare! #01
avers: Pediment on the column between two wings, crescent above, the border of dots.
reverse: Six-pointed star on the rod between two towers on the arch, line border.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 11,0-11,5 mm, weight: 0,17 g, axis: 10h,
mint: Esztergom, date: A.D., ref: Huszár-283, CNH I.-, Unger-207, Corponai Hoard No:78, by Gohl: Num. Közl. VI.125.
CÁC III. 21.39.1.1./a3.1./after 2. before 3., New Sigla !
Sigla three dots (a3) one on the left wing in the middle, and another two on the column in the middle. Very Rare!
Q-001quadrans
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21.71. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.71.1.1., H-259, CNH CP.-044, U-185, AR-Obulus, Rare! #0121.71. András II., (Andreas II.), King of Hungary, (1205-1235 A.D.), CÁC III. 21.71.1.1., H-259, CNH CP.-044, U-185, AR-Obulus, Rare! #01
avers: Three towers on an arch, cross on the middle one, crowned bust facing between two stars below, a double circle of dots.
reverse: Cross with rosettes in the angles, border of dots.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 11,5 mm, weight: 0,28g, axis: 0h,
mint: Esztergom , date: A.D., ref: Huszár-259, CNH CP.-044, Unger-185,
CÁC III. 21.71.1.1.,
Q-001quadrans
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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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450/ 2 Decimus Junius BrutusDecimus Junius Brutus. AR Denarius. Rome Mint, 48 B.C. (3.76g, 18.7m, 3h). Obv: Head of Pietas right, PIETAS behind. Rev: Two joined hands holding a caduceus, ALBINVS BRVTI F below. Craw. 450/2, Syd 942, Postumia 10.
Decimus Brutus Albinus was a cousin of Caesar’s who became instrumental in his assassination in 44 B.C. Decimus Junius Brutus was adopted by Consul Aulus Postumius Albinus, added the cognomen Albinus thereafter. Decimus was the third to strike Caesar on the Ides of March, and the first of the assasins to be killed, albiet by a Gaul chieftan loyal to Antony while escaping from Gaul to join Brutus and Cassius. Lucas H
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A. PlautiusA. Plautius 54 BCE, denarius, 21mm., Rome mint. O: Turreted head of Cybele right, A PLAVTIVS before, AED CVR SC behind. R: Bacchius (Aristobulus II) kneeling right, extending olive branch, camel at side, BACCHIVS in exergue, IVDAEVS on right. Hendin 1443
The 'Bacchius the Jew' kneeling on the reverse is most likely Judah Aristobulus II, who usurped the throne of Judea from his brother John Hyrcanus II between 67 and 63 BC. In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great sided with Hyrcanus and subjected Jerusalem to a brutal siege and sacking, deposing Aristobulus II. Pompey went so far as to enter the Holy of Holies, defiling the sanctuary and marking the end of the great Hasmonean dynasty.
The Romans now had a foot in the door and were not about to remove it. Hyrcanus became a Roman ethnarch, one who ruled by the grace of the Romans, dependent on their goodwill and support to retain his throne.
Aristobulus was permitted to live as a hostage in Rome, but later escaped and tried to resume the throne, only to be defeated again by M. Aemilius Scaurus. This issue celebrates this unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Judaea.
Behind the scenes, a rich Idumaean chieftain named Antipater continued to manipulate Hyrcanus and to pander to Rome, building influence and power. This set the stage for the eventual rise to power of his infamous son, Herod the Great.
Except for the inscription, this coin is of the same reverse type as Hendin 1441.Nemonater
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aelia111-1Elagabalus
Aelia Capitolina, Judaea
Obv: IMP C M AVR ANTONINVS AVG. Radiate draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: COL AEL CAP COMM, → P F. Tyche within tetrastyle temple with central arch, holding bust and scepter, right foot on uncertain object. Nikes between outer columns.
26 mm, 10.71 gms
Sofaer 111Charles M
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Alexander III The Great, Macedonian Kingdom, 336 - 323 B.C. Lifetime IssueSilver drachm, Price 2553, VF, 4.297g, 16.4mm, 0o, Lydia, Sardes mint, c. 334 - 323 B.C. Lifetime Issue; Obverse: Herakles' head right, clad in Nemean lion scalp headdress tied at neck; Reverse: BASILEWS ALEXANDROU, Zeus enthroned left, eagle in right, scepter in left, EYE monogram left, rose under throne. Ex FORVM.
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 the 13 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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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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Amazon on HorseThe Amazon Queen Omphale?
AE20, Lydia, Mostene, ca 100 BC
Laureate head of Zeus right
ΛYΔΩN MOΣTHNΩN, Amazon on horseback right, holding bipennis axe over shoulder; EP (or EB) to left, monogram to right
SNG Copenhagen 284, Waddington 5101 (if EB)
Adrienne Mayor, in "The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World," records the following:
"In a legend preserved by Plutarch, when Heracles took [Amazon Queen] Hippolyte's golden belt, he also carried away her battle axe, which he presented to another powerful mythical queen, Omphale of Lydia. . . . Queen Hippolyte's axe, says Plutarch, was handed down from Omphale to the kings of Lydia. That is, until King Candaules (d. 718 BC) disrespected the Amazon's axe and carelessly gave it away. Hippolyte's precious axe ultimately ended up in the Temple of Zeus at Labranda in Caria. The original axe shape was not specified in the tale, but by the time it was placed in Zeus's temple it was described as a solid gold labors, the symmetrical double-headed ritual axe traditionally associated with Zeus and Minoan goddesses. . . . (219-220.)"
As Mayor points out, the actual Scythian women horse warriors, who were the original amazons, did not use such and axe in battle, but rather the single-headed sagaris. But the double-headed axe appears on various ancient coins depicting amazons. The coin is historically accurate, however, in portraying the amazon as a horse-mounted warrior.
Given the Lydian origin of the coin, the obverse of Zeus, and reverse of an amazon with an axe shaped like the one at Zeus's temple, it is reasonable to suggest that she is Omphale.
Blindado
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Anonymous, Sardes, Lydia, AE14, ΣΑΙΔΙΑΝΩΝ, MΛOAE Unit
Sardes, Lydia
Civic Issue
133 - 131BC
14.0mm 3.30gr 6h
O: NO LEGEND; Laureate head of Apollo, right.
R: ΣΑΙΔΙΑΝΩΝ; Club, monogram, all within wreath.
Monogram: MΛO
BMC Lydia 13; SNG von Aulock 3125.
nomismaauctions 132118062545
3/11/17 4/1/17
Featured on Wildwinds, March, 2017.Nicholas Z
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Antoninus Pius 138 - 161 AD aw. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXII
Head of Antoninus Pius, laureate, right
rew. COS IIII
Tetrastyle shrine with semi-circular arch, in which male figure stands on low base, left
Ric 285
mint Rome , circa 158-159 ADWaldemar S
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Antoninus Pius, RIC 598var., Sestertius of AD 140-143 (Apollo, extremely rare left headed variety)Æ Sestertius (27.6g, Ø33mm, 5h). Rome mint. Struck AD 140-143.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing left.
Rev.: APOLLINI AVGVSTO (around) S C (in field), Apollo, standing left, holding a lyre and a patera.
RIC 598 var. (head right); BMCRE IV 1929 var. (idem; footnote); Cohen 62 var. (idem); Strack 822 var. (idem); Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 36 (2 spec.)
ex G. Henzen
This is a extremely rare left head variant of the Apollo sestertius. The references for RIC, Cohen and Strack are all for bust types with head right. BMCRE 1229 footnote mentions a variant with laureate head l. (Münzhandlung Basel, 22 March, 1937, lot 736), which turns out to be a different specimen struck from the same obverse die. Banti 36 reports 2 specimens of this variant, the illustrated specimen has the same obv. and rev. dies.Charles S
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Antoninus Pius, RIC 598var., Sestertius of AD 140-143 (Apollo, left bust variety)Æ Sestertius (27.6g, Ø33mm, 5h). Rome mint. Struck AD 140-143.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing left.
Rev.: APOLLINI AVGVSTO (around) S C (in field), Apollo, standing left, holding a lyre and a patera.
RIC 598 var. (head right); BMCRE IV 1929 var. (idem; footnote); Cohen 62 var. (idem); Strack 822 var. (idem); Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 36 (2 spec.)
ex G. Henzen
This is a extremely rare left head variant of the Apollo sestertius. The references for RIC, Cohen and Strack are all for bust types with head right. BMCRE 1229 footnote mentions a variant with laureate head l. (Münzhandlung Basel, 22 March, 1937, lot 736), which turns out to be a different specimen struck from the same obverse die. Banti 36 reports 2 specimens of this variant, the illustrated specimen has the same obv. and rev. dies.Charles S
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AQUILEIA - Antonio II. Panciera AQUILEIA - Antonio II. Panciera (1402-1411)
Obverse: Coat of arms of the Patriarch, in a beaded circle; "+ANTONIVS * PATRIARCH" around which is another beaded circle.
Reverse: Eagle over beaded circle; above it a rosetter, under, right and left a star. "AQU ILE GEN SIS" around which is another beaded circle.dpaul7
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Aquileia AQSAquileia
A former city of the Roman Empire, situated at the head of the Adriatic, on what is now the Austrian sea-coast, in the country of Goerz, at the confluence of the Anse an the Torre. It was for many centuries the seat of a famous Western patriarchate, and as such plays and important part in ecclesiastical history, particularly in that of the Holy See and Northern Italy.
The site is now known as Aglar, a village of 1500 inhabitants. The city arose (180 B.C.) on the narrow strip between the mountains and the lagoons, during the Illyrian wars, as a means of checking the advance of that warlike people. Its commerce grew rapidly, and when Marcus Aurelius made it (168) the principal fortress of the empire against the barbarians of the North and East, it rose to the acme of its greatness and soon had a population of 100,000. It was pillaged in 238 by the Emperor Maximinus, and it was so utterly destroyed in 452 by Attila, that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. The Roman inhabitants, together with those of smaller towns in the neighbourhood, fled to the lagoons, and so laid the foundations of the city of Venice. Aquileia arose again, but much diminished, and was once more destroyed (590) by the Lombards; after which it came under the Dukes of Friuli, was again a city of the Empire under Charlemagne, and in the eleventh century became a feudal possesion of its patriarch, whose temporal authority, however, was constantly disputed and assailed by the territorial nobility.
002. CONSTANTINOPOLIS Aquileia
RIC VII Aquileia 129 R4
Ex-Varangianecoli
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ARCH, Augustus, RIC 359Augustus 27 B.C.-14 A.D. Moneyer L. Vinicius. Rome Mint. 16 B.C. (3.72g, 18.8m, 5h). Obv: Anepigraphic, bare head right. Rev: L Vinicivs in ex., Triumphal arch inscribed SPQR IMP CAE in two lines sur. by Quadriga bearing Augustus, r. holding laurel-branch, l. scepter; smaller arch on sides w archer on l. and slinger on r. RIC I 359 (R2). RSC 544.
This coin depicts Augustus’ triple arch, perhaps the first in Rome. Beginning as a double arch to commemorate his victory at Actium, the third arch was probably added to commemorate the return of the lost standards from Parthia. For a scarce type, this example is well centered and has good details on the reverse including complete legends.Lucas H
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ARCH, AUGUSTUS, RIC I : 510.AR Cistophorus (Cistophoric Tetradrachm = 3 denarii) of Pergamum. Struck 19 - 18 B.C.
Obverse: IMP•IX•TR•PO•V. Bare head of Augustus facing right.
Reverse: Triumphal arch surmounted by Augustus in facing triumphal quadriga; IMP IX TR POT V on architrave; S P R SIGNIS RECEPTIS in three lines within arch opening, standards at either side.
Diameter: 24 - 25mm | Weight: 11.7gms | Die Axis: 12
RIC I : 510 | BMC : 703 | RSC : 298
This coin commemorates Augustus' triumphant agreement with the Parthians in 20 B.C. under which they returned the legionary standards captured from Crassus who was defeated and killed at Carrhae thirty-three years earlier (53 B.C.). Augustus installed these standards in the Temple of Mars Ultor.
The reverse of the coin shows the triumphal arch which was awarded to Augustus on the occasion of his recovery of the standards. This was the second triumphal arch awarded to Augustus and, like the earlier arch which had been constructed in 29 BC to honour his victory over Cleopatra, this second arch, which archaeological evidence suggests may actually have incorporated the first arch, stood in close proximity to the Temple of Divus Julius at the southern entrance to the Roman Forum.*Alex
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ARCH, Caracalla & Julia Domna, Moesia inferior, Markianopolis, 19. HrJ (2013) 6.19.46.27Caracalla & Julia Domna, AD 198-217
AE26, 11.43g, 26.27mm, 45°
struck under governor Quintilianus
obv. [ANTWNINOC] AVGOVCTOC IOVLIA - DOMNA
confronted busts of the Imperial pair
rev. VP KVNTILIANOV MARKIANOPOLITWN
Triumphal arch, with two floors, three doors, two windows; above four figures, from
l. to r.: Caracalla with sceptre(?), Severus, Julia Domna, and - a bit smaller - Geta
on r. side E (for Pentassarion)
ref. a) AMNG I/1, 695 (1 ex., Mandl)
b) Varbanov (engl.) 1041
c) Hristova/Jekov (2013) No.6.19.46.27
d) BMC 20
rare, about VF/superb EF
This type seems to depict a triumphal arch erected in Marcianopolis. For the 4 figures on top will be no other interpretation possible than that suggested by A.v.Sallet (Cat. Berlin 58, 11) of the Imperial family...So we have in te middle Severus and Domna, on the l. side Caracalla and on the r. side a bit smaller Geta. The triumphal arch seems to be erected under Severus but appears not until Caracalla's sole reign, probably at the beginning because Geta is depicted too (Pick).
Jochen
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ARCH, Gordian III, AE26, Varbanov I 1945Gordian III
Augustus, 238- 244 A.D.
Coin: AE 26
Obverse: AVT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC / AVΓ, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III, to the left, facing the draped bust of Serapis, wearing a Kalathos upon his head, to the right.
Reverse: VΠMNOΦIΛ-O-V M-APKIANO / ΠOΛITΩ, a Triumphal Arch, with three portals, surmounted with three statues. E in the central portal.
Weight: 12.34 g, Diameter: 26.7 x 26.7 x 2.5 mm, Die axis: 40°, Mint: Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior, Consular Legate: Tullius Menophilus, Reference: Varbanov I 1945
Rated Rare (R6, 50 - 100 examples known)Constantine IV
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ARCH, Macrinus & Diadumenian, Moesia inferior, Markianopolis, 24. HrJ (2013) 6.24.46.02 (plate coin)Macrinus, AD 217-218
AE 27, 12.49g, 26.91mm, 195°
struck under governor Furius Pontianus
obv. AVT K OPEL CEV MAKREIN[OC KM] OPEL ANTWNEINOC
confronted heads of Macrinus, laureate, r., and Diadumenianus, bare-headed, l.
rev. VP PONTIAN - OV MARKIANO / POLEITW / N (OV ligate)
Triumphal arch with three doors, the door in the midth much higher, four figures
on postaments above. The outer two are Victories holding wreath in upraised
hand, the other two male figures, draped, the left holding up his r. hand, the
right one holding spear in his l. hand.
E in l. field (for pentassarion)
ref. a) not in AMNG
b) Varbanov (engl.) 1220
c) Hristova/Jekov (2013) No.6.24.46.2 (plate coin)
d) Price/Trell p.51, fig. 85 var.
very rare, F+/VF
added to www.wildwinds.com
Jochen
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ARCH, NERO, (Lost Arch of Nero)Orichalcum sestertius, RIC 149, VF, 24.55g, 35.1mm, 45o, Rome mint, 64 A.D.; obverse NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P, laureate head right wearing aegis; reverse S C, triumphal arch surmounted by statue of Nero in quadriga, Victory on left holds wreath & palm, Pax on right holds caduceus & cornucopia, wreath in archway, Mars nude helmeted statue in niche
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ARCH, TRAJAN, Sestertiusorichalcum sestertius (25.62g, 34mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck 103-104.
IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P laureate head of Trajan facing right.
S·P·Q·R·OPTIMO PRINCIPI [r.b.,] S C [in ex.] monumental richly decorated triumphal arch; on the sides, can be seen a biga driven by Victory; in the pediment Jupiter between two seated figures, panel above pediment inscribed IOM (= Iovi Optimo Maximo), the whole surmounted by six-horse chariot driven by Jupiter and flanked by Victories.
RIC 572 [R]; BMC 844; Cohen 547; Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 100:18
ex Künker, Auction 174
Charles S
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Augustus, 27 BC - 14 ADObv: No legend, bare head of Octavian facing right.
Rev: IMP CAESAR inscribed on architrave of the Actian arch, depicted as a single span surmounted by a statue of Octavian in a facing triumphal quadriga.
Silver Denarius, Uncertain Italian mint, 30 - 29 BC
3.4 grams, 20 mm, 270°
RIC I 267, RSC 123, S1558, VM 29Matt Inglima
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bmc393Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: IMP CAES MAV ANTONINVS AVG, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: SEP TIM TVR COL, Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
29 mm, 17.78 gms
BMC 393 variant (no Marsyas to left of Astarte)Charles M
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bmc393varElagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: IMP CAES MAV ANTONINVS AVG, laureate cuirassed bust right, seen from front. Countermark of laureate head in incuse oval.
Rev: SEP TIM TVR COL, Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
30 mm, 15.48 gms
BMC 393 variant (bust type, no Marsyas to left of Astarte). Triskeles Auctions, Sale 22, Lot 368. Countermark Howgego 65Charles M
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bmc393var_2Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: IMP CAES MAV ANTONINVS AVG, laureate cuirassed bust right, seen from front.
Rev: SEP TIM TVR COL, Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
30 mm, 15.62 gms
BMC 393 variant (bust type, no Marsyas to left of Astarte). Triskeles Auctions, Sale 22, Lot 368. Charles M
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bmc393_1Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: IMP CAES MAV ANTONINVS AVG, laureate cuirassed bust right, seen from front.
Rev: SEP TIM TVR COL, Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right, Marsyas at her feet left facing right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
29 mm, 16.20 gms
BMC 393 variant (bust type)Charles M
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bmc393_2Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: IMP CAES MAV ANTONINVS AVG, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: SEP TIM TVR COL, Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
29 mm, 15.96 gms
BMC 393 variant (no Marsyas to left of Astarte)Charles M
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bmc393_3Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
29 mm, 11.77 gms
BMC 393 variant (no Marsyas to left of Astarte)Charles M
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bmc393_4Elagabalus
Tyre, Phoenicia
Obv: Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: Temple of Astarte with 6 columns, arch over middle with pellet in pediment over arch, Astarte within with right hand on trophy being crowned by Nike standing on column on right. Altar at base of steps with palm tree on left and murex shell on right.
30 mm, 11.19 gms
BMC 393 variant (no Marsyas to left of Astarte)
Cuts on this coin are very straight as if done with a sharp edge weapon--perhaps to make change??Charles M
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Bramsen 0557. Arc de triomphe du Carrousel, 1806.Obv. Laureate bust right NAPOLEON EMP ET ROI
Rev. a triumphal arch, surmounted by a chariot, in which stands the Emperor drawn by four horses; on the pediment over the centre arch, a tablet with the inscription, NAPOLEON EMP ET ROI, &c. &c.; on each side of the tablet a bas relief: over the arches NAPOLEON . I . EMPEREUR DES FRANÇAIS ROI D'ITALIE, underneath bas reliefs.
Exergue, AUX ARMES MDCCCVI. BRENET F FONTAINE ARC. DENON D.
Commemorates the beginning of construction of the Arc de Triumphe, still visible in Paris today, in 1806.LordBest
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BYZANTINE, Manuel I, 1143 - 1180, AV Hyperpyron, Sear 1556A brave general but even more skillful diplomat and statesman. Impregnated with the idea of a universal Empire with passion for theological debate he was also perhaps the only chivalrous Emperor-Knight of Byzantine. He is a representitive of a new kind of Byzantine rulers that were influenced by the contact with the western crusaders. The customs kept in his court were not inspired by the traditional Byzantine opulence. He loved western customs and arranged jousting matches, even participating in them, an unusual and discomforting sight for the Byzantines.
Having distinguished himself in his father's war against the Seljuk Turks, he was nominated emperor in preference to his elder surviving brother. Endowed with a fine physique and great personal courage, he devoted himself whole-heartedly to a military career. He endeavoured to restore by force of arms the predominance of the Byzantine Empire in the Mediterranean countries, and so was involved in conflict with his neighbours on all sides.
Second Crusade
In 1144 he brought back Raymond of Antioch to his allegiance, and in the following year drove the Seljuk Turks out of Isauria. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France; but the numerous outbreaks of overt or secret hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which both sides were to blame, nearly precipitated a conflict between Manuel and his guests.
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C. Censorinus. 88 BC. Æ As.C. Censorinus. 88 BC. Æ As. Semuncial standard. Rome mint. Jugate heads of Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius / Two arches; beneath left arch, a spiral column surmounted by statue of Victory; protruding from right arch, prow right; crescent above prow. Crawford 346/3 (citing 20 specimens in Paris); Sydenham 716. Podiceps
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C. Servilius Vatia, DenarC. Servilius Vatia, Denar
RRC 264/1
127 bc
AV: Helmeted head of Roma, r. lituus behind, * before
RV:Battle on horseback, C Serviel in exergue
"The reverse type of of the denarius probably refers to the propensity for single combat of the moneyer's ancestor M. Servilius Pulex Geminus, Cos 202"(Crawford)
"..He is said to have received wounds in twenty-three single combats and to have been victorious in all. (Plutarch,Paulus Aemilius, xxxi.)"(Grüber)
--
Ex Gorny & Mosch, Auction 247, Los 268Norbert
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CaesarRoman Imperatorial
Gaius Julius Caesar
(Reign as Dictator and/or Consul of the Roman Republic 49-44 BC)
(b. 100 BC, d. 44 BC)
Obverse: DICT.IN PERPETVO CAESAR, Wreathed and veiled head of Caesar facing right
Reverse: C MARIDIANVS, Venus holding Victory, resting elbow on shield set on globe, facing left
Silver Denarius
Minted in Rome February-March, 44 BC
Translations:
Imperatorial=The Imperatorial period extends from the outbreak of civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey in January 49 B.C. and ends early 27 B.C. when Caesar's adopted heir Octavian was given the title "Augustus" by the Senate, effectively making him the sole ruler of the entire Roman territory.
DICT.IN PERPETVO CAESAR=Dictator for Life Julius Caesar
C MARIDIANVS=Moneyer Caius Cossutius Maridianus
References:
Crawford 480/15
RSC 42
Sphinx357
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Constantine I, Follis, IOVI CONSERVATORI, (Dot)TS(Dot)B(Dot)AE Follis
Constantine I
Caesar: 306 - 307AD
Augustus: 307 - 337AD
Issued: November, 316 - March, 317AD
21.0mm 3.52gr 0h
O: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF INV AVG; Laureate head, right.
R: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI; Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and scepter; eagle to left, wreath in beak.
Exergue: (Dot)TS(Dot)B(Dot)
Thessalonica Mint
RIC VII Thessalonica 4; Aorta: 2011: B59, O60, R101, T157, M17.
Rated R3
zurqieh_dubai 391120171602
6/26/15 2/3/17Nicholas Z
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Constantine I, Follis, SOLI INVICTO COMITI, T over (Star), F, QARLAE Follis
Constantine I
Caesar: 306 - 307AD
Augustus: 307 - 337AD
Issued: January - March, 316AD
20.0mm 4.00gr 6h
O: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: SOLI INV-I-CTO COMITI; Sol standing left, raising right hand and holding globe in left.
Exergue: T over (Star), left field; F, right field; QARL, below line.
Scarce
Arles Mint
RIC VII Arles 80; Sear 16076
Aorta: 2887; B78, O59, R186, T224, M4.
VQL2013/Luis Vaz 183305757469
7/6/18 8/6/18
Nicholas Z
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Constantine I, Follis, SOLI INVICTO COMITI, T, F, TARLAE Follis
Constantine I
Caesar: 306 - 307AD
Augustus: 307 - 337AD
Issued: January - March, 316AD
21.0mm 2.40gr 0h
O: IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: SOLI IN-V-ICTO COMITI; Sol standing left, raising right hand and holding globe in left.
Exergue: T over (Star), left field; F, right field; TARL, below line.
Arelate Mint
RIC VII Arles 80; Sear 16076; C-514; Aorta: 2889: B78, O59, R186, T204, M4.
Rated R1Nicholas Z
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Constantine the GreatConstantine I, AE3, 324-325, Rome, Officina 1
CONSTAN_TINVS AVG
Laureate head right
PROVIDEN_TIAE AVGG
Campgate with seven rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom rows empty blocks, one pellet in doorway, two pellets above
RP in exergue
18mm x 19mm, 2.84g
RIC VII, 264, sub-issue d
Note: RIC 264-269 includes a sub-issue, delineated by the number of dots on the reverse, with:
a = no dots; b = dot in arch; c = dot in arch, one dot above; d = dot in arch, two dots above; e = dot in arch, three dots above.b70
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Constantius II, AE2, FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Γ, SMHΔAE2
Constantius II
Caesar: 324 - 337AD
Augustus: 337 - 361AD
Issued: March, 351 - November, 355
23.81mm 3.21gr 11h
O: DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG; Diademed (pearls), draped and cuirassed bust, right.
R: FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO; Soldier, standing left, spearing fallen horseman.
Exergue: (Gamma), left field; SMHΔ, below line.
Heraclea Mint
RIC VIII Heraclea 67; Aorta: 1352: B10, O19, R17, T99, M8.
reranks 121969827620
5/2/16 1/21/17Nicholas Z
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Crawford 341/4, ROMAN REPUBLIC, "Mule" Titia/Pansa AE AsRome, The Republic
Q. Titius, 90 BCE
AE As (10.78g; 27mm)
Obv: Head of Janus w/rounded beard (Pansa obv die).
Rev: Prow r; palm-branch behind prow; Q●TITI above (Titius rev die)
Reference: Crawford 341/4d; Hannover 2942 (dies); c.f. Hannover 2974 (Pansa)(obv die)
Provenance: Savoca 12 (22 Jan 2017) Lot 457
Hybrid mule of rare Q. Titius reverse with a "rounded-beard" Janus obverse of Pansa. See Hannover 2974 (Pansa) for only other known example bearing this reverse control mark.
Circa 90 B.C., during the time of the Social War, Q. Titius and C. Vibius C.F. Pansa were co-moneyers at Rome. The Social War was a civil war between Rome and her Italian allies who had broken-away in a demand for citizenship rights. It was a time of massive coinage output by the Rome mints, likely to pay the costs associated with the conflict. Not much is known of TItius or Pansa. TItius is the only member of the TItia gens for whom coins are known. Pansa was possibly the father of the later Pansa who struck coins in 49 BC and became consul in 43BC.
Some of TItius’ silver coin types feature a male head with long, pointed beard. There is speculation that the head represents Mutinus Titinus, another name of the minor god Priapus, and a naming pun for Titius. His AE asses overwhelmingly depict a Janiform head with atypical, long. pointy beard, resembling the head shown on his silver coins.
On the other hand, obverses of Pansa’s AE asses overwhelmingly depict Janus with a more traditional, curled beard. The fact that the obverse styles of Pansa’s and TItius’ contemporaneous asses are so different supports the argument that the pointy-bearded character on TItius’ coins represents someone other than Janus.
The fact that Titius and Pansa served as moneyers at the same time is evidenced by occasional mules of Titius’ pointy-bearded obverses with Pansa reverses and vice versa.
An online search of acsearch, Coin Archives and Coins of the Roman Republic Online yielded only four auction sales and one ANS example of this rare reverse, and all of them were paired with a pointy-bearded obverse. However, the Kestner Museum Hannover has a similar mule that may be a double die match to my coin (see Berger, Hannover 2942). Further, the Kestner Museum has a Pansa AE As in their collection with an apparent obverse die match to my mule (see Berger, Hannover 2974).
Are these Titius/Pansa mules indicative of particular administrative practices at the mint?
One possibility is that obverse dies, which contained no legends, were mixed freely among the two moneyers; however, the overwhelming conformity of pointy-bearded TItius asses and curled-beard Pansa asses refutes this suggestion. The mules are too scarce to suggest any freewheeling intent.
Second possibility is that all dies, TItius’ and Pansa’s, were controlled by a central mint repository which assigned the dies to teams at the commencement of work shifts and likely collected them for security at the end of work shifts. Care was certainly taken to pair pointy-bearded Janus obverses with TItius reverses, as evidenced by the super-majority of extant coins. Mistakes were inevitably made. How long it took the mint to correct such mistakes is unclear. The fact that my collection and the Kestner Museum share a mule from the same dies suggests that a good number of coins were made by those dies. The fact that Kestner Museum also has the same Pansa obverse die paired with a correct Pansa reverse proves that die combination was a likely mistake; whether the correct pairing was made at a previous work shift, at a subsequent work shift when dies were reassigned, or in the middle of the same work shift cannot be determined – the coins are not in such great condition that die states can be easily compared.
Third, the mules suggest that TItius’ and Pansa’s coins were struck at the same mint and perhaps in the same workshop by different striking teams. I don’t think it’s possible to extrapolate whether the dies were controlled on a workshop basis vs. a full mint basis.
Carausius
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Crawford 412/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, L. Roscius Fabatus, AR Serrate DenariusRome. The Republic.
L. Roscius Fabatus, 59 BCE.
AR Serrate Denarius (3.95g; 19mm).
Rome Mint.
Obverse: Head of Juno Sospita, wearing goat skin headdress tied at neck, facing right; L•ROSCI, below; control symbol (two-handled cup or bowl) behind.
Reverse: Female figure feeding serpent from fold of cloak; control symbol (pileus/cap?) behind; FABATI in exergue.
References: Crawford 412/1 (Symbols 199?); Sydenham 915; BMCRR 3394 -3510; Roscia 2.
Provenance: Ex John Barton Collection; Aes Rude Chiasso 4 (6 Apr 1979), Lot 240.
Crawford dated the issue to 64 BCE, but Hersh and Walker brought that date down to 59 BCE based on their analysis of the Mesagne hoard. Harlan picks a median date of 62 BCE based on some prosopographic assumptions.
The moneyer would go on to serve as lieutenant for Caesar in Gaul in 54 BCE. In 49 BCE, he was elected praetor and intermediated between Pompey and Caesar. He was killed at Mutina in 43 BCE.
Juno Sospita was a deity who’s temple was in Lanuvium, a Latin town 32 kilometers southeast of Rome, and it’s likely that both Roscius and L. Papius, whose 79 BCE coinage is a model for Roscius’ issue, came from that town. The reverse depicts an annual rite of the Juno Sospita cult in which a girl is sent into the grotto beneath the temple to feed the sacred snake. Only chaste girls could survive the ordeal.
Like Papius’s coins, these denarii are struck on serrated flans – the last of the Roman Republic to be produced with this fabric. Like Papius’s coins, Roscius’ denarii have obverse and reverse control symbols that are paired, with no pair of symbols appearing on more than one pair of dies. On both Roscius’ and Papius’s coins, the paired control symbols have some loose relationship to one another. Roscius re-used many of Papius’s symbol pairs, but reversed their locations on the coins.
The symbol pair on my coin is very rare. As of 10/1/18, there are no matching examples on Acsearch, Coinarchives or CNG’s website database. The pair is unlisted in Babelon, Sydenham, BMCRR and Banti. It resembles symbol pair 199 in Crawford, although some differences are evident. In his manuscript on Roman Republican series marks, Charles Hersh includes a hand drawn entry AI within the section of previously unpublished Roscia symbol pairs that is a precise match for the symbols on this coin. He cites the Vienna Museum (38465) and Vatican Museum (5158) for that entry.
Carausius
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Denarius 77a (Not in Crawford)Denomination: Denarius
Era: c. 209-208 BC
Metal: AR
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r. with peaked visor. Hair curl visible on far side of Roma’s neck. Behind, “X”. Border of dots
Reverse: Dioscuri r.; in linear frame. “ROMA”.
Mint: Sicily
Weight: 3.95 gm.
Reference: Crawford 77a (Unlisted in Crawford)
Provenance: Roma Numismatics E-Sale 44, March, 2018
Comments: Anonymous denarius, with peaked visor. Not in Crawford. In the style of the Sicilian series represented by Cr. 72 - 78. The peaked visor places this probably somewhere between Cr. 76 (obverse Branch symbol with splayed visor) and Cr. 77 (Corn-ear and crooked staff with Peaked visor). Unlike the other peaked visor varieties of this series, the visor is rendered as 3 lines of increasing length with no body in between. The lowest line extends to a peak. Visible and prominent hair binding. Excessively rare, three known examples, all from the same two dies.
Some reverse corrosion, otherwise VF.
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Dictator Perpetuo (44 BC)Julius Caesar portrait AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 44 BC, Lifetime issue
Obv: CAESAR IMP, wreathed head r.; star to l.
Rev: P SEPVLLIVS MACER, Venus standing l., with head lowered, holding victoriola and scepter set upon star.
After Munda there were no more conservative armies challenging Caesar's dominion. Upon his return to Rome, according to Plutarch, the "triumph which he celebrated for this victory displeased the Romans beyond any thing. For he had not defeated foreign generals, or barbarian kings, but had destroyed the children and family of one of the greatest men of Rome." In Febrary 44 BC, the Senate decreed that Caesar would serve as Dictator “for life”. They also decreed that Caesar’s portrait would appear on the obverses of Rome’s coins, which was unprecedented in Rome, as no Roman had ever before been portrayed on a Roman coin during his lifetime. This last “honor” led directly to Caesar’s murder two months later, on the Ides of March.
This is a denarius portraying Caesar on the obverse, issued a few weeks before his assassination.YuenTsin C
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diumspijk010Elagabalus
Dium
Obv: AV KAI MAV ANTW..., Laureate draped bust right, seen from front.
Rev: Hexastyle temple, flaming altar within under central arch, ΓΠ-C (year 283) divided above roof, ΔIHNW in exergue.
22 mm, 8.74 gms
Spijkerman 10 variant (obverse and reverse legends); CNG, Electronic Auction 307, Lot 201; CNG, Electronic Auction 339, Lot 283 (Exact legend matches for both CNG coins.)Charles M
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diumspijk010_2Obv: AV KAI MAV ANT..., Laureate draped bust right, seen from front.
Rev: Hexastyle temple, flaming altar within under central arch, divided above roof, ΔIHNW in exergue.
21 mm, 9.47 gms
Spijkerman 10 variant (obverse and reverse legends); CNG, Electronic Auction 307, Lot 201; CNG, Electronic Auction 339, Lot 283 (Exact legend matches for both CNG coins.)Charles M
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E. Tooling: Clodius Albinus, Rare Saeculum Frugiferum AE Sestertius, 194/5 CESorry, not a good photo; the video is clearer: https://i.imgur.com/YUYiCH3.mp4
Roman Imperial. Clodius Albinus AE Sesterius (29mm, 17.9g, 12h), Rome, 194/5 CE.
Obv: D CLODIVS ALBINVS CAES. Bare head of Clodius Albinus r. (Legend tooled.)
Rev: SAECVLO FRVGIFERO COS II / S-C. Saeculum Frugiferum radiate, standing l., holding caduceus (perhaps winged or between corn ears?) in r. hand & trident pitchfork in l.
Ref: RIC 56; Cohen 71; Banti 22. Cf. RIC 50 for Clodius Albinus' Year 1 (193/4 CE) AE Sestertius w/ full name "CLODIVS" obv. legend (Minerva rev.).
Prov: Group lot from a major auction house in 2019, purchased "as is," so no blame to the auctioneer.
Notes: Clodius Albinus was born in Hadrumetum, N. Africa, where Saeculum Frugiferum was the patron god, making this reverse type particularly relevant for him. The rev. legend can't be fully made out, but it is only known for COS II (194/5 CE, his second year).
However, for Sestertii, the obverse legend with his full name spelled out (D CLODIVS ALBINVS CAES) is known only on a very rare type from his first year, 193/4 CE, also known as the "Year of of the Five Emperors." To find a new, unpublished Sestertius for Clodius Albinus from such a historically important year -- and with a reverse of personal biographical significance to him -- would be quite the exciting discovery!
Unfortunately (but predictably), this coin is not a spectacular unicum, but a moderate rarity that has been tooled. The lettering style is a bit clumsy, but more decisively, the legend breaks are in the wrong place.
Based on weights reported in ACSearch, this example is lighter than almost 90% of Clodius Albinus Sestertii; part of that weight loss may be due to tooling.
Many thanks especially to Curtis Clay for feedback and suggestions, also to Julius Germanicus, both on [CT 374682 (Feb 2021)], and for checking Banti, absent from my library. (This is one of several coins on my list to bring along next time I visit Chicago.)Curtis JJ
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Elagabalus, AD 218-222 * Silver Denarius - (Scarce)
AR Denarius "May your future be filled with victory and success"
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG - Laureate bust right, draped and cuirassed * (hornless type)
Rev: PM TR P V COS IIII PP - Elagabalus standing left, holding patera over altar sacrificing and a Cypress branch (or club? / parazonium?) in left hand; single star in left field.
Mint: Rome
Struck: February-March, 222 AD.
Size: 19 mm.
Weight: 2.75 grams
Die Axis: 0 degs.
Beautiful luster
RIC IVii, 52 (s), page 32 * Scarce
Cohen 213
RSC 213a, BMC 268
The scarcity of this coin may owe in some part to the late date of its being struck – January-March 222 AD, in the very brief period just preceding his assassination, along with his mother and the purge of his followers – his ‘creatures’ (to note Gibbons’ term).
So being, that these coins were not held from release & circulation at the mints, to be melted down to strike new coinage for his successor, his cousin Severus Alexander.
Tiathena
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Elagabalus, sestertius of AD 221Æ Sestertius (27.00g, Ø 31mm, 12h), Rome mint, Struck AD 221
Obv.: IMP CAES M AVG ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laurate, draped, cuirassed and horned bust of Elagabalus facing right.
Rev.: PM TR P IIII COS III P P (around edge) S C (in field), Elagabalus standing left, sacrificing over lighted altar, holding cypress-branch in left hand; star in field.
RIC 323 (R); Cohen 198 (fr.20)
ex G. Henzen
This type refers to the emperor in his role as priest of the sun-god Elagabalus. For this, as well as for many other reasons, he was much detested by the Romans and soon murdered by his own troops. His body was thrown down a sewer after having been dragged through the city. Quoting one of the most remarkable and wonderful sentences from the old Dictionary of Roman Coins (see Elagabalus): "Thus perished, on the 11th of March, one of the most cruel, debauched and shameless wretches, that ever disgraced humanity, or polluted a throne, after a reign of three years and nine months, disfigured with every feature of hideous criminality and extravagant folly, not having attained more than the eighteenth year of his age."Charles S
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Elagabalus, Tripolis, PhoeniciaBronze AE 25, Tripolis mint, 220 - 221 A.D.
12.154g, 25.0mm, 0°
Obv.: AVT KM AVP ANTW NINOC, laureate head right
Rev.: TRI PO LI TWN, temple, center arch, two tetrastyle wings, curved roof line from wings to top of pediment, Astarte stands facing in doorway, ΓΛΦ (Seleukid year 532) in exergue
BMC Phoenicia p. 223, 120; SNG Cop 291
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/zoompg.asp?param=08634q00.jpg&id=6141
Not sure if this is correct.areich
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ETRURIA, Central Italy Uncertain City AE26, 300-250BC.ETRURIA, Central Italy Uncertain City AE26, 300-250BC. Male figure with Scepter (or lance) and Patera n. l. standing. Dog Rt. Holding a Aryballos in the muzzle hanging on cords for R. 10.17 G. SNG Cop. 44. P. Visonà, Due monete etrusche inedite e rare into collezioni italiane, SNR 79 (2000), 30, fig. 5. Very rare. Dark Green patina.
The Etruscan civilization was responsible for much of the Greek culture imported into early Republican Rome, including the twelve Olympian gods, the growing of olives and grapes, the Latin alphabet (adapted from the Greek alphabet), and architecture like the arch, sewerage and drainage systems.ancientone
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Galba, RIC 79, As of Sept-Dec. 68, Spanish mint (Tarraco?)Æ As (10,5g, Ø 18mm, 10h). Spanish mint (Tarraco?), struck Sept-Dec. 68 AD.
Obv.: SER GALBA IMP AVGVSTVS, laureate head left, globe at point of bust.
Rev.: QVADRAGENS REMISSAE, around, S C in ex., triumphal arch with two equestrian statues to left, three prisoners with hands tied behind their backs, advancing right, the foremost under the arch, second and third walking towards the arch, followed by officer.
RIC 079 (S); BMC 205 var. (obv. legend); BNC 40 var. (obv. legend); RCV 2136; RHC 75:20
Ex John Jencek, Oct., 2002Charles S
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GALILEE, SEPPHORIS Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 AD) AE 24mm .
Draped bust of Antoninus Pius right; AYTO KAI ANTWNINW EY
City-goddess standing right, in tetrastyle temple with central arch, resting left hand on scepter and holding cornucopia with right; ∆ΙΟΚΑΙ IEP · ACY ΑΥΤΟ (Diocaesarea, holy, inviolable, autonomous). Sofaer pl. 64,7. BMC Palestine (Sepphoris) 21; Rosenberger 8. Maritima
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Hadrian, RIC 803 var., As of AD 134-138 (Felicitas)Æ As (10.4g, Ø27mm, 6h). Rome, AD 134-138.
Obv.: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head right.
Rev.: FELICITAS AVG around, S | C, Felicitas standing left holding caduceus and patera.
RIC 803 var. (Felicitas holding patera instead of branch) (C); Cohen 617 var. (same); Strack 663 var. (same)
Ex D. Ruskin, Oxford, March, 1997Charles S
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Hadrian, RIC 1012, Quadrans, undated (extremely rare coin of the mines)Æ quadrans (3,4g, Ø 17mm, 6h). PINCVM mint, AD 119-138.
Obv.: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P, laureate head right.
Rev.: AELIANA / PINCEN/ SIA, in three lines within oak wreath.
RIC 1012 (R2); Cohen 120; Strack 455a
Ex D. Ruskin, Oxford, March, 2003Charles S
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Henry IV V VI. Half-length bust. Hardi d'Argent.Anglo-Gallic. Henry IV V VI. 1399-1413. AR Hardi d'Argent (1.15 gm, 20.0mm, 4h). Crowned half-length facing bust in arch, holding sword, 🟊 above. ✠Є'RIC’R ΛϬLIЄ. / Long cross pattée with pelleted leopards and fleurs in quarters. ✠FRΛ | CIЄ | DȠS | ΛQI. VF. Pegasi Numismatics A33 (VAuctions Sale 317) #775. Ex-Tucker Coll., Joel L. Malter & Co. 11/30/70 #273. Withers AGC 285A (1/a); Boudeau 518 (H IV); Duplessy Féodales II #1140; Elias 233f; Elias Coll. 345; Roberts (Henry IV) 6836; Spink SCBC 8147. cf Poey d'Avant Féodales I #3117 (pl 66/10-12).Anaximander
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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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Italy, Rome, Arch of Septimius SeverusThe Arch of Septimius Severus was erected in 203 A.D. to commemorate the Parthian victories of Septimius Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta in their campaigns against the Parthians of 194-195 A.D. and 197–199 A.D.
Interestingly, Caracalla invoked damnatio memoriae on Geta after he had his younger brother killed and Geta's name was removed from the Arch, though it's still faintly visible today. Ron C2
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Italy, Rome, Arch of TitusThe Arch of Titus was erected in 81 AD by Domitian shortly after the death of Titus to commemorate his consecratio and the victory of Titus together with their father, Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea.
The Arch if notable for the menorah depicted on the arch, one of the best period depictions of the artifact from the Jewish temple. Ron C2
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Italy- Pompeii- The Forum 1The Forum
ENTRANCE TO THE FORUM Forum of Pompeii After 80 B.C. One of the two arches originally covered with marble which flank the Temple of Jupiter and are the main entrances to the forum. The temple was built under the Samnites in the second century B.C.
FORUM OF POMPEII After 80 B.C. The Forum of Pompeii has a central rectangular space, 466 feet long by 124 feet wide, surrounded by the most important public buildings in the city. Like other forums, it is set up on an axial plan. A colonnade lines three sides. In the center of the fourth side, visible in the distance, is the Temple of Jupiter, known as the Capitolium. The forum was paved with travertine stone and only pedestrians were permitted in its precinct. Situated on an old site, it was largely rebuilt after 80 B.C. when Pompeii became a Roman colony. The forum was again in the process of rebuilding after the earthquake of 62 AD. It was buried under the eruption of Vesuvius seen in the distance in 79.
FORUM (VII,8)
The first monumental arrangement dates from the 2nd cent. BC, with a few buildings and the porticos with their double row of tufa columns, replaced with white limestone in the imperial age, when the site was repaved and buildings added on the east side where shops had previously stood. Located at the intersection between the two main streets of the original urban center, the Forum was the city's main square, where cart traffic was forbidden: it was surrounded on all sides by religious, political, and business buildings. In the 1st cent. AD the Forum highlighted the celebratory intention of the imperial house, where the monumental bases for commemorative statues were placed on the south side, in front of the city's administrative buildings, while those of illustrious citizens stood along the porticos : the sculptures have not been found, perhaps because they were removed by the people of Pompeii who returned after the eruption to take whatever they could. In the center of the western side stands an orators' tribune.
MEMORIAL ARCHES
In opus latericium, at one time covered with marble, these elegantly enclose the Forum to the north, in celebration of the imperial family. Of the two built on either side of the Temple of Jupiter, the one to the west is attributed to Augustus, the east to Nero, perhaps demolished following the death (68 AD) and sentencing of the emperor, or simply to avoid blocking the view of the other arch behind it, at the north entrance to the Forum. This has two niches on one side that once held statues of Nero and Drusus, on the other side two fountains; an equestrian statue (perhaps of the emperor Tiberius) topped this arch. The other arch, in the back at the start of Via di Mercurio, is called the Caligula Arch because an equestrian statue was found nearby, that may have depicted the emperor Caligula and probably stood on the arch.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo SeveroThe Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumphPeter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo Severo 1The Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumph
The reign of Septimius provides an interesting example of the persecution meted out to Christians under the Roman Empire. Septimius made no new laws against Christians, but allowed the enforcement of laws already long-established. There is no evidence of systematic persecution, and there is much evidence that not only was the Emperor not personally hostile to the Christians, but he even protected them against the populace. There were doubtless Christians in his own household, and in his reign the Church at Rome had almost absolute peace. On the other hand, individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in Egypt and the Thebaid, as well as in proconsular Africa and the East. Christian martyrs were numerous in Alexandria (cf. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, ii. 20; Eusebius, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf. Tertullian's Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the Roman martyrology as the martyrs of Madaura. Probably in 202 or 203 Felicitas and Perpetua suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time under the proconsul Scapula in 211, especially in Numidia and Mauritania. Later accounts of a Gallic persecution, especially at Lyons, are legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians under Septimius Severus was the same as under the Antonines; but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the rescript of Trajan had failed to execute its purpose.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- Forum Romanum and The Arch of Septimo Severo backsideThe Arch of Septimus Severus was built in AD 203 to celebrate his victories over the Parthians. The original inscription dedicated the arch to Severus and his two sons Geta and Caracalla. However, following Severus' death in AD 211 Caracalla had Geta murdered and his name was erased from all public buildings. On the arch, Caracalla had the words Optimis Fortissimique Princibus inscribed to replace Geta's name. The Arch is highly decorated with panels depicting scenes from the Parthian campaigns and the following triumphPeter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The Arch of Constantine The GreatArch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312 AD. Dedicated in 315 AD, it is the latest of the extant triumphal arches in Rome, from which it differs by the extensive re-use of parts of earlier buildings.
General Description
The arch is 21 m high, 25.7 m wide and 7.4 m deep. It has three archways, the central one being 11.5 m high and 6.5 m wide, the lateral archways 7.4 m by 3.4 m each. The lower part of the monument is built of marble blocks, the top (called attic) is brickwork revetted with marble. A staircase formed in the thickness of the arch is entered from a door at some height from the ground, in the end towards the Palatine Hill. The general design with a main part structured by detached columns and an attic with the main inscription above is modelled after the example of the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum Romanum. It has been suggested that the lower part of the arch is re-used from an older monument, probably from the times of the emperor Hadrian (Conforto et al., 2001; for a defence of the view that the whole arch was constructed in the 4th century, see Pensabene & Panella). The arch spans the Via Triumphalis, the way taken by the emperors when they entered the city in triumph. This route started at the Campus Martius, led through the Circus Maximus and around the Palatine Hill; immediately after the Arch of Constantine, the procession would turn left and march along the Via Sacra to the Forum Romanum and on to the Capitoline Hill, passing both the Arches of Titus and Septimius Severus. During the Middle Ages, the Arch of Constantine was incorporated into one of the family strongholds of ancient Rome. Works of restoration were first carried out in the 18th century; the last excavations have taken place in the late 1990s, just before the Great Jubilee of 2000.
Decoration
The decoration of the arch heavily uses parts of older monuments, which are given a new meaning in the context of the Constantinian building. As it celebrates the victory of Constantine, the new "historic" friezes illustrating his campaign in Italy convey the central meaning: the praise of the emperor, both in battle and in his civilian duties. The other imagery supports this purpose: decoration taken from the "golden times" of the Empire under Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius places Constantine next to these "good emperors", and the content of the pieces evokes images of the victorious and pious ruler. Another explanation given for the re-use is the short time between the start of construction (late 312 at the earliest) and the dedication (summer 315), so the architects used existing artwork to make up for the lack of time to create new one. As yet another possible reason, it has often been suggested that the Romans of the 4th century lacked the artistic skill to produce acceptable artwork and therefore plundered the ancient buildings to adorn their contemporary monuments. This interpretation has become less prominent in more recent times, as the art of Late Antiquity has been appreciated in its own right. It is, of course, possible that a combination of two or all three of those explanations are correct, as they are not mutually exclusive.
Attic
Above the middle archway, the main inscription (see below) takes the most prominent place of the attic. It is identical on both sides of the arch. Flanking the inscription on both sides, there are pairs of relief panels above the minor archways, 8 in total. They were taken from an unknown monument erected in honour of Marcus Aurelius, and show (north side, left to right) the emperor's return to Rome after the campaign (adventus), the emperor leaving the city and saluted by a personification of the Via Flaminia, the emperor distributing money among the people (largitio), the emperor interrogating a German prisoner, (south side, left to right) a captured enemy chieftain led before the emperor, a similar scene with other prisoners, the emperor speaking to the troops (adlocutio), and the emperor sacrificing pig, sheep and bull. Together with three panels now in the Capitoline Museum, the reliefs were probably taken from a triumphal monument commemorating Marcus Aurelius' war against the Sarmatians from 169 - 175, which ended with his triumphant return in 176. On the largitio panel, the figure of Marcus Aurelius' son Commodus has been eradicated after the latter's damnatio memoriae. On top of each of the columns stand marble statues of Dacian prisoners from the times of Trajan, probably taken from the Forum of Trajan. From the same time date the two large (3 m high) panels decorating the attic on the small sides of the arch, showing scenes from the emperor's Dacian Wars. Together with the two reliefs on the inside of the central archway, they came from a large frieze celebrating the Dacian victory. The original place of this frieze was either the Forum of Trajan, as well, or the barracks of the emperor's horse guard on the Caelius.
Main Section
The general layout of the main facade is identical on both sides of the arch. It is divided by four columns of Corinthian order made of Numidian yellow marble (giallo antico), one of which has been transferred into the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and was replaced by a white marble column. The columns stand on bases showing victory figures on front, and captured barbarians and Roman soldiers on the sides. The spandrels of the main archway are decorated with reliefs depicting victory figures with trophies, those of the smaller archways show river gods. Column bases and spandrel reliefs are from the times of Constantine. Above each lateral archway are pairs of round reliefs dated to the times of emperor Hadrian. They display scenes of hunting and sacrificing: (north side, left to right) hunt of a boar, sacrifice to Apollo, hunt of a lion, sacrifice to Hercules, (south side, left to right) departure for the hunt, sacrifice to Silvanus, hunt of a bear, sacrifice to Diana. The head of the emperor (originally Hadrian) has been reworked in all medaillons: on the north side, into Constantine in the hunting scenes and into Licinius or Constantius I in the sacrifice scenes; on the south side, vice versa. The reliefs, c. 2 m in diameter, were framed in porphyry; this framing is only extant on the right side of the northern facade. Similar medaillons, this time of Constantinian origin, are placed on the small sides of the arch; on the eastern side, showing the Sun rising, and on the western side, the Moon, both on chariots. The main piece from the time of Constantine is the "historical" relief frieze running around the monument under the round panels, one strip above each lateral archway and at the small sides of the arch. These reliefs depict scenes from the Italian campaign of Constantine against Maxentius which was the reason for the construction of the monument. The frieze starts at the western side with the "Departure from Milan". It continues on the southern, "outward" looking face, with the siege of a city, probably Verona, which was of great importance to the war in Northern Italy; also on that face, the Battle of Milvian Bridge with Constantine's army victorious and the enemy drowning in the river Tiber. On the eastern side, Constantine and his army enter Rome; the artist here has avoided to use the imagery of the triumph, as Constantine probably did not want to be shown triumphant over the Eternal City. On the northern face, looking "towards" the city, two strips with the emperor's actions after taking possession of Rome: Constantine speaking to the citizens on the Forum Romanum, and distributing money to the people.
Inner Sides of the Archways
In the central archway, there is one of the large panels of Trajan's Dacian War on either wall. Inside the lateral archways, eight portraits busts (two on each wall), destroyed to such an extent that it is not possible to identify them any more.
Inscriptions
The main inscription reads:
IMP · CAES · FL · CONSTANTINO · MAXIMO · P · F · AVGUSTO · S · P · Q · R · QVOD · INSTINCTV · DIVINITATIS · MENTIS · MAGNITVDINE · CVM · EXERCITV · SVO · TAM · DE · TYRANNO · QVAM · DE · OMNI · EIVS · FACTIONE · VNO · TEMPORE · IVSTIS · REM-PUBLICAM · VLTVS · EST · ARMIS · ARCVM · TRIVMPHIS · INSIGNEM · DICAVIT
Which means in English:
To the Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus, the greatest, pious, and blessed Augustus: because he, inspired by the divine, and by the greatness of his mind, has delivered the state from the tyrant and all of his followers at the same time, with his army and just force of arms, the Senate and People of Rome have dedicated this arch, decorated with triumphs.
The words instinctu divinitatis ("inspired by the divine") have been much commented. They are usually read as sign of Constantine's shifting religious affiliation: The Christian tradition, most notably Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea, relate the story of a vision of the Christian god to Constantine during the campaign, and that he was victorious in the sign of the cross at the Milvian Bridge. The official documents (esp. coins) still prominently display the Sun God until 324 AD, while Constantine started to support the Christian church from 312 on. In this situation, the vague wording of the inscription can be seen as the attempt to please all possible readers, being deliberately ambiguous, and acceptable to both pagans and Christians. As was customary, the vanquished enemy is not mentioned by name, but only referred to as "the tyrant", drawing on the notion of the rightful killing of a tyrannical ruler; together with the image of the "just war", it serves as justification of Constantine's civil war against his co-emperor Maxentius.
Two short inscriptions on the inside of the central archway transport a similar message: Constantine came not as conqueror, but freed Rome from occupation:
LIBERATORI VRBIS (liberator of the city) - FUNDATORI QVIETIS (founder of peace)
Over each of the small archways, inscriptions read:
VOTIS X - VOTIS XX SIC X - SIC XX
They give a hint on the date of the arch: "Solemn vows for the 10th anniversary - for the 20th anniversary" and "as for the 10th, so for the 20th anniversary". Both refer to Constantine's decennalia, i.e. the 10th anniversary of his reign (counted from 306), which he celebrated in Rome in the summer of 315 AD. It can be assumed that the arch honouring his victory was inaugurated during his stay in the city.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The Arch of TitoThe Arch of Titus (Arcus Titi) is a triumphal arch that commemorates the victory of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in Judea in 70 CE, which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish temple there, and the triumphal procession the two held in Rome in 71 CE. It is situated at the E. entrance to the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, south of the Temple of Amor and Roma, close to the Colosseum.
The arch was definitely erected sometimes after after the death of Titus in 81 CE, since Titus is referred to as Divus in the inscription. The deification of an emperor only happened posthumously after decision by the senate. It was most probably erected by emperor Domitian who succeeded his brother Titus in 81 CE, but it has also been suggested that it was built later, by Trajan, because of stylistic similarities with the Arch of Trajan at Benevento.
The Arch of Titus is a single arch, measuring 15.4m in height, 13.5m in width and 4.75m in depth, originally constructed entirely in Pantelic marble, with four semi-columns on each side. The external decorations include figures of Victoria with trophies on the spandrels and images of Roma and the Genius of Rome on the two keystones.
The inscription on the E. side is the original dedication of the arch by the senate. It reads:
Senatus
Populusque Romanus
divo Tito divo Vespasiani f(ilio)
Vespasiano Augusto
The senate
and people of Rome
to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian,
Vespasianus Augustus
The inside the archway the monument is decorated with reliefs in marble. The S. side shows the beginning of the triumphal entry into Rome of the victorious emperor and his troops. The soldiers, walking left to right, are carrying the spoils of war, which include the seven armed candelabrum and the silver trumpets from the temple of Jerusalem. The signs carried by some soldiers displayed the names of the conquered cities and people. To the right the procession is entering the city through the Porta Triumphalis.
The N. side of the arch is decorated with a relief of the emperor in the triumphal procession. The emperor is riding a quadriga, which is lead by the goddess Roma, and he is crowned by Victoria flying above him. The lictors are walking in front of the chariot with their long ceremonial axes. After the emperor follow as a young man, who represents the Roman people, and an older man in toga, representing the senate. In the middle, under the vault a small relief shows the apotheosis of Titus, flying to the heavens on the back of an eagle.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The arch of Tito and inside the archesThe Arch of Titus (Arcus Titi) is a triumphal arch that commemorates the victory of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in Judea in 70 CE, which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish temple there, and the triumphal procession the two held in Rome in 71 CE. It is situated at the E. entrance to the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, south of the Temple of Amor and Roma, close to the Colosseum.
The arch was definitely erected sometimes after after the death of Titus in 81 CE, since Titus is referred to as Divus in the inscription. The deification of an emperor only happened posthumously after decision by the senate. It was most probably erected by emperor Domitian who succeeded his brother Titus in 81 CE, but it has also been suggested that it was built later, by Trajan, because of stylistic similarities with the Arch of Trajan at Benevento.
The Arch of Titus is a single arch, measuring 15.4m in height, 13.5m in width and 4.75m in depth, originally constructed entirely in Pantelic marble, with four semi-columns on each side. The external decorations include figures of Victoria with trophies on the spandrels and images of Roma and the Genius of Rome on the two keystones.
The inscription on the E. side is the original dedication of the arch by the senate. It reads:
Senatus
Populusque Romanus
divo Tito divo Vespasiani f(ilio)
Vespasiano Augusto
The senate
and people of Rome
to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian,
Vespasianus Augustus
The inside the archway the monument is decorated with reliefs in marble. The S. side shows the beginning of the triumphal entry into Rome of the victorious emperor and his troops. The soldiers, walking left to right, are carrying the spoils of war, which include the seven armed candelabrum and the silver trumpets from the temple of Jerusalem. The signs carried by some soldiers displayed the names of the conquered cities and people. To the right the procession is entering the city through the Porta Triumphalis.
The N. side of the arch is decorated with a relief of the emperor in the triumphal procession. The emperor is riding a quadriga, which is lead by the goddess Roma, and he is crowned by Victoria flying above him. The lictors are walking in front of the chariot with their long ceremonial axes. After the emperor follow as a young man, who represents the Roman people, and an older man in toga, representing the senate. In the middle, under the vault a small relief shows the apotheosis of Titus, flying to the heavens on the back of an eagle.
Peter Wissing
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Italy- Rome- The entrance to Forum and the arch of TitoThe Arch of Titus (Arcus Titi) is a triumphal arch that commemorates the victory of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in Judea in 70 CE, which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish temple there, and the triumphal procession the two held in Rome in 71 CE. It is situated at the E. entrance to the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, south of the Temple of Amor and Roma, close to the Colosseum.
The arch was definitely erected sometimes after after the death of Titus in 81 CE, since Titus is referred to as Divus in the inscription. The deification of an emperor only happened posthumously after decision by the senate. It was most probably erected by emperor Domitian who succeeded his brother Titus in 81 CE, but it has also been suggested that it was built later, by Trajan, because of stylistic similarities with the Arch of Trajan at Benevento.
The Arch of Titus is a single arch, measuring 15.4m in height, 13.5m in width and 4.75m in depth, originally constructed entirely in Pantelic marble, with four semi-columns on each side. The external decorations include figures of Victoria with trophies on the spandrels and images of Roma and the Genius of Rome on the two keystones.
The inscription on the E. side is the original dedication of the arch by the senate. It reads:
Senatus
Populusque Romanus
divo Tito divo Vespasiani f(ilio)
Vespasiano Augusto
The senate
and people of Rome
to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian,
Vespasianus Augustus
The inside the archway the monument is decorated with reliefs in marble. The S. side shows the beginning of the triumphal entry into Rome of the victorious emperor and his troops. The soldiers, walking left to right, are carrying the spoils of war, which include the seven armed candelabrum and the silver trumpets from the temple of Jerusalem. The signs carried by some soldiers displayed the names of the conquered cities and people. To the right the procession is entering the city through the Porta Triumphalis.
The N. side of the arch is decorated with a relief of the emperor in the triumphal procession. The emperor is riding a quadriga, which is lead by the goddess Roma, and he is crowned by Victoria flying above him. The lictors are walking in front of the chariot with their long ceremonial axes. After the emperor follow as a young man, who represents the Roman people, and an older man in toga, representing the senate. In the middle, under the vault a small relief shows the apotheosis of Titus, flying to the heavens on the back of an eagle.
Peter Wissing
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Judaea. Antiochus VII Euergetes (Sidetes) (138-129 B.C.) and John Hyrcanus I (135-104 B.C.)Hendin 451 (4th ed.), Hendin 1131 (5th ed.), Meshorer TJC pp. 30-31, Meshorer AJC I, Supp. II, A2
AE Prutah, Jerusalem mint, dated Seleucid year 181 (132-131 B.C.), average weight 2.47 ± 0.03 grams, 15 mm.
Obv: Upside down anchor flanked by ΒΑ[ΣΙΛΕΩΣ] / ΑΝΤΙΟ[ΧΟΥ] (of King Antiochus) on left and ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ (Benefactor) on right, ΑΠΡ (date) below anchor.
Rev: Lily
Note: Minted either on the initiative of Antiochus VII as a conciliatory gesture to the Jews or by John Hyrcanus I himself, in honor of the Seleucid monarch, as an act of good will and appeasement (per Meshorer TJC p. 31). Stkp
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Judaea. Herod Archelaus (4 B.C. – 6 A.D.)Hendin 505, Meshorer TJC 73, Meshorer AJC II, 251, 6
AE Prutah, 15 mm.
Obv: Bunch of grapes on a branch with leaf on left; above ΗΡΩΔΟΥ (of Herod).
Rev: Crested helmet with two cheek straps, small caduceus and counterclockwise and retrograde inscription ΕΘΝΑΡΧΟΥ (Ethnarch, with the A missing) below.
Note: A faint X appears to be visible toward the right side of the legend. If this is so, it suggests that this coin might be a variety with a shortened legend, i.e., Meshorer TJC 73a (ΕΘΝΑΡΧΟ) or 73c (ΕΘΝΑΧΟ). The position of the X further suggests that the legend is not written counterclockwise, although this is not recorded in either Hendin or Meshorer TJC.
Stkp
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Julia Domna with Caracalla, Marcianopolis. Julia Domna with Caracalla, Marcianopolis. City gate or Triumphal arch, Septimius Severus, Geta, Caracalla and Julia Domna standing on top. AE 28, 11.41gm, Varbanov 1042.Ancient Aussie
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