Dear 'Sosius',
Nice 'set'. A few questions, if I may:
Just as a matter of curiosity, what was your criteria for what was included and what was not?
Also, when you say "almost complete" what exactly do you mean by that? What do you define as the 'missing' items?
I see that Augustus seems to be your starting point, where (or with whom) do you intend to finish?
You have some usurpers, but not others, is that a deliberate choice? What do you need to "complete" the set?
Like I said, just curious! In any case, well done!
Walter Holt
Hi Walter,
Thanks! Here are some quick answers to your questions:
“What was your criteria for what was included and what was not?”
My goal was to include all the legitimate emperors from
Augustus to the “end.” Defining the "end" is the tricky
part. I could make a
good argument for stopping at
Libius Severus, at Julius
Nepos, or to stop at the coinage reforms of
Anastasius. I could
pick a date, like 450 A.D. and stop there. I could also say that
Constantine XI was the last! I really haven’t decided. Maybe I don’t want to finish this project at all…
“Also, when you say "almost
complete" what exactly do you mean by that? What do you define as the 'missing' items? I see that
Augustus seems to be your starting point, where (or with whom) do you intend to finish? “
What is missing depends on where I stop (see above). I forgot to include
Constantius II, but it would be cool to include the following hard-to-find emperors/tetrarchs one day:
Martinian,
Constantius III,
Petronius Maximus,
Avitus,
Majorian,
Libius Severus,
Anthemius,
Olybrius,
Glycerius,
Leo II, Julius
Nepos,
Romulus Augustus,
Basiliscus, etc. For now, though, I’m happy with it. I can justify the absence of
Martinian, since he was not a lead tetrarch, I guess. The ragged end of the
collection kind of mirrors the ragged end of the Western Empire.
“You have some usurpers, but not others, is that a deliberate
choice? What do you need to "
complete" the set?”
I included the usurpers that I have, but unless I have a massive bankroll, I could not possibly include all the usurpers like Domitianianus, etc. I do try to
pick up the less expensive ones when I see them, though.
“Like I said, just curious! In any case, well done!”
Thanks!
