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C. IVLIVS CAESAR - Denarius - Mint in Africa - 47-46 B.C.
Ob.: Diademed head of Venus right
Rev.: Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and the Palladium. Behind CAESAR
gs. 3,6 mm 18,2
Cr458/1, Sear RCV 1402 Syd 1013.
Maxentius
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Denarius, 112/111 B.C. Rome Mint
CN. CORNELIVS CN.F. BLASIO - Gens Cornelia
Obv.:Mars, helmeted, right (or Scipio Africanus), CN. BLASIO CN.F. before (var. N retrograde), bucranium behind. XVI (in monogram) above
Rev.: Juno, Jupiter being crowned by Minerva; letter Θ in field, ROMA in ex.
Gs. 3,25 mm. 20,6x18,4
Crawford 296/1c, Sear RCV 173, Grueber 626
Maxentius
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Hadrian Travel Series AR Den. 3.46 gm. AFRICA reclining l. holding scorpion & cornucopia, basket of fruit at feet, elephant-trunk headdress. RIC 299paul1888
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NORTH AFRICA. Cyrenaika, Kyrene. 300-280 BC. AR Didrachm (7.56 gm). Head of Apollo Kareniosright / Silphium plant. S.6318. Toned VF. Scarce. [Est. $1250]
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JUSTINIAN I, AR Siliqua or Half-Siliqua, struck 537 - 552 at CarthageObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AV. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing right.
Reverse: Monogram, cross above, S below, within circle, all encircled by wreath. (SBCV Monogram 3)
Diameter: 13mm | Weight: 1.17gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 254 (Siliqua) | Sommer 4.119
Scratched obverse. Not in DOC.
RARE
The monogram on the reverse of this coin was originally interpreted as being that of the Ostrogothic queen Mathasunta (cf. BMC 80, 1). However, a later re-interpretation by Wolfgang Hahn (MIB) attributed this issue as being a regular African Imperial issue of Justinian, and this is the attribution that was adopted by SBCV.
On September the 15th 533 Justinian's army, led by Belisarius, entered the city of Carthage and brought it back into the Roman Empire after 98 years of Vandal rule. In March 534 the Vandal king Gelimer surrendered to Belisarius ending the Vandal kingdom and returning the African provinces to the empire. Large numbers of captured Vandals were transported to Constantinople and in April Belisarius returned there too and was permitted by Justinian I to celebrate a triumph, the first non-imperial triumph for over 500 years.*Alex
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Scipio AfricanusSCIPIO AFRICANUS
Æ15, Spain, Carthago Nova, (2.4g) c. 209 B.C.
Male Roman style head left, probably Scipio Africanus before he was given title Africanus / Horse head right
SNG Cop. 298, Lindgren Eur. Mints 6. Toynbee p. 18-19. VF, green patina, encrust.
This coin may be the earliest depiction of a living Roman. Carthago Nova also produced rare likely portraits of Hannibal.
RR0029Sosius
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15 Hadrian Denarius - Travel SeriesHADRIAN
AR “Travel Series” Denarius (2.8g); 136 AD.
HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, Laureate head right / AFRICA, Africa reclining left holding scorpion & cornucopiae, basket of grain at feet
Sear 3459 vars, RIC 299, RSC 138
Note: underweight, but appears genuine
RI0093Sosius
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory standing right, holding palm branch in her right hand and placing uninscribed shield on palm tree with her left.
Diameter: 20mm | Weight: 2.83gms | Die Axis: 7h
RIC IV: 336 | RSC: 730 | SRCV: 6384 | SPINK: 651A
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
 
*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory seated on shield facing left, holding another shield resting on her knee in her right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 2.35gms | Die Axis: 12h
RIC IV: 335 | RSC: 731 | SRCV: 6385 | SPINK: 651C
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
*Alex
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195 - 211, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AR Denarius, Struck 210 at Rome, alluding to BritanniaObverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT. Laureate head of Septimius Severus facing right.
Reverse: VICTORIAE BRIT. Victory advancing right, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and palm branch in her left.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 3.5gms | Die Axis: 6h
RIC IV: 332 | RSC: 727 | SRCV: 6382 | SPINK: 650
SCARCE
This coin commemorates the success of the Roman campaigns in Scotland during 209 and 210 culminating in the death of Severus at York, England, in February 211.
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa.
Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 (the Year of the Five Emperors).
After consolidating his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged a brief, successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacked their capital Ctesiphon, expanded the eastern frontier to the Tigris and enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, captured their capital Garama and expanded the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern desert frontier of the empire. In 198 he raised his elder son Caracalla to Augustus and in 209 did the same to his younger son, Geta.
In AD 209 Severus invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, but he fell fatally ill of an infectious disease in late 210 and died at Eboracum (York, England) early in 211.
SEVERUS' CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN
In 208 Septimius Severus travelled to Britain with the intention of conquering Caledonia (Scotland). Modern archaeological discoveries have helped to throw some light on the scope and direction of this northern campaign.
Severus began by occupying the territory up to the Antonine Wall, this is evidenced by extensive Severan era fortifications and the likely reoccupation of some of the forts on that wall. Over the previous years Hadrian's Wall had fallen into disrepair and Severus strengthened and repaired much of it, he did this to such an extent that many early Antiquarians thought that he was the emperor who had actually built it. Severus constructed a 165-acre (67 ha) camp south of the Antonine Wall at Trimontium, probably assembling the main body of his forces there. Severus then thrust north across the Antonine Wall into Caledonian territory, supported and supplied by a strong naval force. He retraced the steps of Agricola of over a century before, rebuilding many abandoned Roman forts along the east coast, and he re-garrisoned the naval base at Carpow, likely built by Commodus in 185, and possibly the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the Ravenna Cosmography.
By 210 Severus' campaigning had made significant gains, despite Caledonian guerrilla tactics and purportedly heavy Roman casualties.
According to Cassius Dio: “Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island. Here he observed most accurately the variation of the sun's motion and the length of the days and the nights in summer and winter respectively. Having thus been conveyed through practically the whole of the hostile country (for he actually was conveyed in a covered litter most of the way, on account of his infirmity), he returned to the friendly portion, after he had forced the Britons to come to terms, on the condition that they should abandon a large part of their territory.”
The Caledonians had sued for peace, which Severus had granted on the condition that they relinquished control of the Central Lowlands of Scotland, but later that year (210), they, along with the Maeatae, revolted. Severus prepared for another campaign, now intent on exterminating the Caledonians. However the campaign was cut short when Severus fell ill and withdrew south to Eboracum (York) where he died on 4 February 211. Severus was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Caracalla continued campaigning in Caledonia during 212 but soon settled for peace, and shortly after that the frontier was withdrawn south to Hadrian's Wall.
On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and his remains were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome.
CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM
*Alex
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32 Gordian I AfricanusGORDIAN I AFRICANUS
AE Sestertius, Rome Mint
27-29 mm, 17.75 g
March 19 to April 9, 238 A.D.
IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / VICTORIA AVGG, S-C, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm.
RIC IV, 2, p. 161, 12. Very rare. Good portrait and fully readable name. Very fine.
Ex-Auctiones
Gordian I, an 80-year-old senator, was proclaimed as emperor during a revolt in Africa but commited suicide after his son and co-ruler Gordianus II was defeated by Maximinus' legate. Their rule only lasted for 20 days, hence the rarity of their coins.Sosius
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32 Gordian I AfricanusGORDIAN I
BI Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt (22mm, 12.90 g, 12h). Dated RY 1 (AD 238)
AK M AN ΓOPΔIANOC CЄM AΦP, Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Nike seated left; LA (date) to left.
Köln 2602; Dattari 4659; K&G 68.10. Good VF, untouched brown patina with scattered red and green.
Ex Editions V. Gadoury, Auction 2012, 1 December 2012, Monaco, Lot 335.
Ex CNG 93, May 2013Sosius
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'Slave money', carnelian25,4x13.60x11.90mm, 7.87g
This so-called 'slave money', part of a chain, was made in the first half of the 19th century in Idar-Oberstein/Germany for London. From London it was shipped to West Africa to buy black slaves.Jochen
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VANDALS, Thrasamund. 496-523.
Æ Nummus (10mm, 0.40 g)
Contemporary Vandalic imitation. Carthage mint.
Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Victory standing left, holding wreath and palm
MEC 1, 31-2; BMC Vandals 37-41
Ardatirion
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AL-MAGHREB (North Africa), Almohads (al-Muwahhidun). Anonymous. Circa AD 1160-1269
AR Dirhem. Fez mint
Hazard 1096; Album 497Ardatirion
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EAST AFRICA, Kilwa Sultanate. 'Ali bin al-Hasan. Late 5th century AH / 11th century AD
Æ Fals (21mm, 2.68 g, 3 h). Kilwa Kisiwani mint.
Inscription in two lines; star at center
Inscription in three lines
Album 1180; Walker, Kilwa 12; SICA 10, 589-91; Zeno 87054 (this coin)
Acquired in the 1960's, likely through circulation in Dar-es-Salaam.
Chittick ("On the Chronology of the sultans of Kilwa" in NC 13, 1973), the excavator of Kilwa Kisiwani, notes that these issues were found in the earliest stratigraphic layers and accordingly reassigns them to the first sultan of Kilwa. Walker and Freeman-Grenville gave them to an otherwise unattested 13th century ruler of the same name. However, the picture is muddled by finds from the excavations at Songo Mnara, occupied only between the 14th and 16th centuries, where this type was among the most numerous to be found. The type is unlikely to have remained in circulation for such a long period and may been reissued by subsequent rulers.Ardatirion
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EAST AFRICA, Kilwa Sultanate. Suleyman bin al-Hasan. AH 702-717 / AD 1302-1316
Æ Fals (23mm, 2.06 g, 11 h). Kilwa Kisiwani mint.
Inscription in two lines; star at center
Inscription in three lines
Album 1183; Walker, Kilwa 3; SICA 10, 602-11; Zeno 87052 (this coin)
Acquired in the 1960's, likely through circulation in Dar-es-Salaam.
The dating is adapted from Chittick ("On the Chronology of the sultans of Kilwa" in NC 13, 1973) - Bosworth (The New Islamic Dynasties) gives different dates. However, considering the uncertain nature of both the chronologies and how they relate to the coinage, particularly in light of the finds at Songo Mnara, all dates should be considered hypothetical.Ardatirion
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EAST AFRICA, Kilwa Sultanate. al-Hasan bin Sulayman. Circa AH 715 / AD 1315
Æ Fals (20 mm, 1.92 g, 9h)
Kilwa Kisiwani mint
Inscription in five lines
Inscription in three lines
Album 1183; Walker, Kilwa VIII; SICA 10, 613-21Ardatirion
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(0293) CONSTANTIUS I CHLORUS293 - 305 AD (As Caesar)
struck 297 - 298 AD
AE 28.5 mm, 6.96 g
O: CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head right
R: FELIX ADVENT AVGG NN, Africa standing left holding scepter and elephant tusk, lion over bull at feet on left, H in left field
PKT in exe
Carthagelaney
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000c. Sextus PompeySextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey, was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). He was the last focus of opposition to the second triumvirate.
Sextus Pompeius was the youngest son of Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) by his third wife, Mucia Tertia. His older brother was Gnaeus Pompeius, from the same mother. Both boys grew up in the shadow of their father, one of Rome's best generals and originally non-conservative politician who drifted to the more traditional faction when Julius Caesar became a threat.
When Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, thus starting a civil war, Sextus' older brother Gnaeus followed their father in his escape to the East, as did most of the conservative senators. Sextus stayed in Rome in the care of his stepmother, Cornelia Metella. Pompey's army lost the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC and Pompey himself had to run for his life. Cornelia and Sextus met him in the island of Mytilene and together they fled to Egypt. On the arrival, Sextus watched his father being killed by treachery on September 29 of the same year. After the murder, Cornelia returned to Rome, but in the following years Sextus joined the resistance against Caesar in the African provinces. Together with Metellus Scipio, Cato the younger, his brother Gnaeus and other senators, they prepared to oppose Caesar and his army to the end.
Caesar won the first battle at Thapsus in 46 BC against Metellus Scipio and Cato, who committed suicide. In 45 BC, Caesar managed to defeat the Pompeius brothers in the battle of Munda. Gnaeus Pompeius was executed, but young Sextus escaped once more, this time to Sicily.
Back in Rome, Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 BC by a group of senators led by Cassius and Brutus. This incident did not lead to a return to normality, but provoked yet another civil war between Caesar's political heirs and his assassins. The second triumvirate was formed by Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus, with the intention of avenging Caesar and subduing all opposition. Sextus Pompeius in Sicily was certainly a rebellious man, but the Cassius and Brutus faction was the second triumvirate's first priority. Thus, with the whole island as his base, Sextus had the time and resources to develop an army and, even more importantly, a strong navy operated by Sicilian marines.
Brutus and Cassius lost the twin battles of Philippi and committed suicide in 42 BC. After this, the triumvirs turned their attentions to Sicily and Sextus.
But by this time, Sextus was prepared for strong resistance. In the following years, military confrontations failed to return a conclusive victory for either side and in 39 BC, Sextus and the triumvirs signed for peace in the Pact of Misenum. The reason for this peace treaty was the anticipated campaign against the Parthian Empire. Antony, the leader, needed all the legions he could get so it was useful to secure an armistice in the Sicilian front. The peace did not last for long. Octavian and Antony's frequent quarrels were a strong political motivation for resuming the war against Sextus. Octavian tried again to conquer Sicily, but he was defeated in the naval battle of Messina (37 BC) and again in August 36 BC. But by then, Octavian had Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a very talented general, on his side. Only a month afterwards, Agrippa destroyed Sextus' navy off Naulochus cape. Sextus escaped to the East and, by abandoning Sicily, lost all his base of support.
Sextus Pompeius was caught in Miletus in 35 BC and executed without trial (an illegal act since Sextus was a Roman citizen) by order of Marcus Titius, Antony's minion. His violent death would be one of the weapons used by Octavian against Antony several years later, when the situation between the two became unbearable.
Sicilian Mint
Magn above laureate Janiform head
PIVS above, IMP below, prow of galley right
Sear RCV 348, RPC 671, Sydenham 1044a, Cohen 16
43-36 BC
Check ecoli
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001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 457-1, Sicily, AR-denarius, A•ALLIENVS PRO•COS, Trinacrus standing left,001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 457-1, Sicily, AR-denarius, A•ALLIENVS PRO•COS, Trinacrus standing left,
avers: C•CAESAR IMP•COS•ITER, Diademed, draped Venus Head Right,
reverse: A•ALLIENVS PRO•COS, Trinacrus standing left, placing the right foot on prow, holding triskeles in right hand and cloak in left.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 17-18,5mm, weight: 3,59g, axes: 6h,
mint: Sicily, date: 47B.C., ref: Crawford-457/1, Sydenham-1022, Babelon-Julia-14, Alliena-1, C-1,
Q-001
"In late 47 B.C. Caesar was on Sicily, preparing for his assault on the Pompeian forces in north Africa. During this period a small issue of denarii was produced in his name by Aulus Allienus, then the proconsul of Sicily. The reverse shows a figure of Trinacrus, supposedly a son of Neptune, who may have been invented to account for the name Trinacria, commonly used for Sicily. The coins of Allienus must have seen considerable circulation: almost all surviving specimens are considerably worn."quadrans
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001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #1001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #1
avers:- Diademed Venus Head Right,
revers:- CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder.
exerg: -/-//--, diameter: 16,5-17mm, weight: 3,59g, axes: 6h,
mint: Military mint travelling with Caesar in North Africa, date: 47-46 B.C., ref: Crawford-458/1, Sydneham-1013,
Q-001quadrans
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001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #2001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #2
avers:- Diademed Venus Head Right,
revers:- CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder.
exerg: -/-//--, diameter: 16,5mm, weight: 3,33g, axes: 6h,
mint: Military mint travelling with Caesar in North Africa, date: 47-46 B.C., ref: Crawford-458/1, Sydneham-1013,
Q-002quadrans
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001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #3001 Caesar (100-44 B.C.), Crawf 458-1, Africa, AR-denarius, CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, #3
avers:- Diademed Venus Head Right,
revers:- CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder.
exerg: -/-//--, diameter: 17-19mm, weight: 3,23g, axes: 6h,
mint: Military mint travelling with Caesar in North Africa, date: 47-46 B.C., ref: Crawford-458/1, Sydneham-1013,
Q-003quadrans
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001a2. Julius CaesarDenarius. 47-46 BC. North African mint. Obv: Head of Venus right.
Rev: CAESAR to right of Aeneas walking left, carrying his father Anchises on his shoulder and palladium in his right hand. Crawford 458/1.lawrence c
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001g. ScipioQ. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio. Put in command of anti-Caesar forces by Cato. He was not a particularly skilled commander. He lost battle of Thapsus to Caesarian forces on 6 April, 46 BC and committed suicide afterward.
Coin: Denarius. 17mm, 3.45 g. 47-46 BC. Mobile military mint in Africa. Obv: Q METEL PIVS, laureate head of Jupiter right. Rev: SCIPIO IMP, elephant walking right. Crawford 459/1, Syndenham 1046.lawrence c
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001s. AtratinusL. Sempronius Atratinus was a supporter of Marc Antony and was one of Mark Antony’s legates, serving as propraetor in Greece in 39 BC. In 36 BC he was given command of a portion of a fleet which Antony had sent to help Octavianus deal with Sextus Pompey. In 34 BC, he was elected as suffect consul. Prior to the Battle of Actium, Atratinus switched his support to Octavianus. He was made proconsular governor of Africa around 23 BC, and he was awarded a triumph for his actions there in 21 BC. He died in 7 AD.
Coin: Æ 27mm of Lilybaeum, Sicily. 36 BC. [ΛΙΛΥΒΑΙ]ΙΤΑΙϹ, veiled and turreted head to right, within triangular ornament / ΑΤΡΑΤΙΝΟ [ΠΥΘΙΩΝ], tripod with serpent coiled around. RPC I 655; SNG Copenhagen 376; BMC 4. 18.19g, 27mm, 12h. Roma Numismatics Auction 92, Lot 725.lawrence c
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0059 - Denarius Hadrian 136 ACObv/HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP, Hadrian laureate head r.
Rev/AFRICA, Africa, with elephant-skin headdress, reclining l., leaning on rock, holding scorpion and cornucopiae; in front of her, basket of fruit.
Ag, 18.2mm, 3.22g
Mint: Rome.
RIC II/299 [S] - BMCRE 822 - RSC 139
ex-Lockdales, auction 65, lot 706 (ex-colln. 1920s)dafnis
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007a. Civil Wars 68-69The Civil Wars erupted in Gaul in March 68 under the leadership of Vindex, quickly followed by Galba in Spain. Vindex was beaten, but Galba's revolt continued. Clodius Macer also rose up in Africa. About a year later, in March 69, pro-Vitellian forces rose up in Gaul. Finally, in late 69, a separate widespread revolt under the leadership of Julius Civilis erupted in Southern Gaul, but eventually was crushed. Some portrait coins were struck, but the majority of coinage from the firsy period was one of three types: 1) denarii with the portrait of Augustus; 2) denarii with symbolic devices; and 3) bronze coins of Nero that were overstruck with SPQR lawrence c
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01 Julius Caesar, VenusJulius Caesar. AR Denarius. Military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa c. 47-46B.C. (3.88, 19.2mm, 6h). Obv: Diademed head of Venus right. Rev: CAESAR, Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and the Palladium. Craw. 458/1. RSC 12, Sear RCV 1402.
Minted to pay his legends during their African campaign against the Pomeians, this coin harkens to Caesar’s mythical origin from Venus. Aeneas, a survivor of Troy, was the son of Aphrodite’s liaison with the mortal Anchises. Aeneas lead a group of survivors, the Aeneads, ultimately to the Italian peninsula.Lucas H
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016a01. HadrianDenarius. “Travel Series” issue. 19mm, 3.14 g. Rome Mint. Obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P. Laureate bust right, with slight drapery.
Rev: AFRICA. Africa, wearing elephant skin headdress and holding scorpion and cornucopia, reclining left on rock; basket of grain ears to left. RIC 299.
lawrence c
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02 - 02 - Julio Cesar (49 - 44 A.C.)AR Denario 19 mm de 3,9 gr.
Anv: ANEPIGRAFA - Busto diademado de Venus a derecha.
Rev: Eneas (Aeneas) avanzando a izquierda cargando a su Padre Anquises (Anchises) sobre su hombro izq. y portando Palladium en mano der, CAESAR en campo derecho.
Acuñada durante los años 47 - 46 A.C.
Ceca: Movil legionaria durante sus campañas contra Metelo Escipión (Metellus Scipio) y Labieno (Labienus) probablemente en el Norte de África.
Referencias: Babelon Vol.2 Julia #10, Pag.11 - Sear CRI #55 - Craw. 458/1 - Syd. #1013 - BMCRR East #31 - RSC Vol.I Caesar #12 Pag.107 - Sear RCTV Vol.I #1402 Pag.268 - Cohen Vol.I #12 Pag. 9 - Albert #1400 - Catalli #658, Pag.2001mdelvalle
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02 - 02 - Julio Cesar (49 - 44 A.C.)AR Denario 19 mm de 3,9 gr.
Anv: ANEPIGRAFA - Busto diademado de Venus a derecha.
Rev: Eneas (Aeneas) avanzando a izquierda cargando a su Padre Anquises (Anchises) sobre su hombro izq. y portando Palladium en mano der, CAESAR en campo derecho.
Acuñada durante los años 47 - 46 A.C.
Ceca: Movil legionaria durante sus campañas contra Metelo Escipión (Metellus Scipio) y Labieno (Labienus) probablemente en el Norte de África.
Referencias: Babelon Vol.2 Julia #10, Pag.11 - Sear CRI #55 - Craw. 458/1 - Syd. #1013 - BMCRR East #31 - RSC Vol.I Caesar #12 Pag.107 - Sear RCTV Vol.I #1402 Pag.268 - Cohen Vol.I #12 Pag. 9 - Albert #1400 - Catalli #658, Pag.2001mdelvalle
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02 - 04 - Julio Cesar (49 - 44 A.C.)AR Denario 20/18 mm de 3,5 gr.
Anv: COS·TERT·DICT·ITER, Cabeza de Ceres a der.
Rev: AVGVR / PONT MAX , D (Donativum) en campo der., Emblemas sacerdotales, Simpulum (Copa pequeña con mango), aspergillum/aspersorio (Instrumento para espolvorear o rociar), capis y Lituus/lituo (bastón ritual augural).
Esta serie fue acuñada, probablemente, para el pago de las Legiones Victoriosas en la batalla de Thapsus/Tapso (Túnez), en la cual Julio César consiguió una victoria importante sobre Metelo Escipión y el rey númida Juba I, el 6 de abril del 46 A.C.. Por otro lado Ceres es un emblema de África.
Acuñada 46 A.C.
Ceca: Movil legionaria durante sus campañas probablemente en Útica (Norte de África).
Referencias: Craw. 467/1a, Syd. #1023, BMCRR (África)#21, RSC I Caesar #4a P.106, Babelon II Iulia #16 P.14, Sear RCTV I #1403/1 P.268, Cohen I #4 P.8, Sear Imperators #57mdelvalle
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02-20 - Q. CAECILIUS METELLUS PIUS SCIPIO (47-46 A.C.) Quinto Cecilio Metelo Pio Corneliano Escipión Nasica
AR Denarius 18.2 mm 3.94 gr
Anv: "Q.METEL" sobre la Cabeza laureada de Jupiter viendo a derecha, barba y cabello rizado, "PIVS" debajo.
Rev: "SCIPIO" sobre un elefante avanzando hacia la derecha, "IMP" en exergo.
Escipión fue un comandante pompeyano de las fuerzas anti-Cesáreas. Fruto de esta colaboración fue el matrimonio de Pompeyo con su hija Cornelia (52 a. C.), que se convirtió en su quinta mujer.
Su sede se ubicaba en la capital provincial de Utica, cerca de Cartago, y esta es probablemente la ceca de la acuñación. Derrotado por las fuerzas de César, Escipión se suicidó en el año 46 A.C..
Acuñada durante los años 47 - 46 A.C.
Ceca: Utica - Norte de Africa
Referencias: Sear RCTV Vol.1 #1379 Pag.262 - Craw RRC #459/1 - Syd CRR #1046 - BMCRR (Africa) #1 - Vagi #77 - RSC Vol.1 Caecilia 47 Pag.21 - Babelon I #47 Pag.278mdelvalle
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02. Gordian I / RIC 1.Denarius, March - April 238, Rome mint.
Obverse: IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG / Laureate bust of Gordian I.
Reverse: P M TR P COS P P / Gordian I standing, togate, holding branch, and wearing parzonium.
2.88 gm., 20 mm.
RIC #1; Sear #8446.
The third century saw numerous usurpers in various parts of the Empire. However, the local revolt in Africa which brought Gordian I and his son to power was the first and only time the cause of a usurper was taken up by the Senate before a current emperor was dead. Thus the Gordiani became legitimate Roman emperors, and their coinage, all minted at the imperial mint in Rome, became legitimate coinage of the Empire.
Provenance:
ex Gillardi Collection.
Tinchant sale (1962). Callimachus
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0210 - Denarius Septimius Severus 207 ACObv/ SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head of S.Severus r.
Rev/ PM TR P XV COS III PP, Africa standing r. with elephant skin, holding tunica with l.h.; lion advancing r. at her feet.
Ag, 19.1 mm, 2.82 g
Mint: Roma
RIC IV.I/207 – BMCRE V/531
ex-Solidus Numismatik, auction e7, lot 264dafnis
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025a. Clodius AlbinusOf North African origin. He was governor of Britain when Didius assumed throne, and he was proclaimed as emperor by his troops. When Severus beat him to Rome, Severus offered him the office of Caesar; perhaps naively, Clodius accepted. When Severus reneged, Clodius rose against him. In a battle fought in Lugdunum, Clodius lost and either was killed or committed suicide. His head was then displayed in Rome.
lawrence c
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026a. Septimius SeverusAugustus 193-211
North African of Punic and Italian origin. Governor of Pannonia when troops proclaimed him Augustus. Defeated other two claimants to throne. Active campaigner as Augustus, with victories against Parthia and in Arabia and Britain. Very hostile to Senate. Died of illness during campaign in York. His governing philosophy could be summed up in his reported words to his sons on his death bed: "be harmonious with each other, be generous to the soldiers, and take no heed of anyone else."lawrence c
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026a04. Septimius Severus Denarius. 21mm, 3.25 gm. Rome, AD 207. Obv: SEVERVS-PIVS AVG, laureate head of Septimius Severus right. Rev: P M TR P XV-COS III P P, Africa standing facing, head right, wearing elephant headdress, with fruits in left hand; lion pouncing right. RIC IV.I 207a. Heritage 65204.
lawrence c
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03. Gordian II / RIC 3.Denarius, March - April 238, Rome mint.
Obverse: IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG / Laureate bust of Gordian II.
Reverse: VIRTVS AVGG / Virtus standing, hand of shield, leaning on spear.
2.90 gm., 20 mm.
RIC #3; Sear #8467.Callimachus
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032 Hadrianus (117-138 A.D.), RIC II 0299, Rome, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left,032 Hadrianus (117-138 A.D.), RIC II 0299, Rome, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left,
avers:-HADRIANVS-AVG-COS-III-P-P, Laureate head right.
revers:-AFRICA, Africa reclining left wearing elephant headdress, holding scorpion and cornucopiae, basket of grain at feet.
exerg: -/-//--, diameter: mm, weight: g, axes: h,
mint: Rome, date: 136 A.D., ref: RIC II 299, p-374, RSC 138, BMCRE 816,
Q-001quadrans
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032 Hadrianus (117-138 A.D.), RIC II 0299var, Rome, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left,.032 Hadrianus (117-138 A.D.), RIC II 0299var., Rome, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left,
avers:-HADRIANVS-AVG-COS-III-P-P, Laureate bust right, with draped and aegis far shoulder.
revers:-AFRICA, Africa reclining left wearing elephant headdress, holding scorpion and cornucopiae, basket of grain at feet.
exerg: -/-//--, diameter: mm, weight: g, axes: h,
mint: Rome, date: 136 A.D., ref: RIC II 299var., p-374, RSC 141, BMCRE 816,
Q-001quadrans
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033a. Gordian I AfricanusSenate-supported Usurper 22 March -- 12 April 238
Gordian Senior was the governor in North Africa who reportedly was in his 80's. With support from the Roman Senate, members of which were very opposed to Maximinus's rule, Gordian and his son Gordian Junior launched a bid for emperor. The governor of neighboring Numidia, however, remained loyal to Maximinus, and he attacked the untrained forces of Gordian, which were routed quickly. Gordian Junior was killed in the battle, and Gordian I committed suicide. All coins were struck in Rome.lawrence c
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033a01. Gordian I AfricanusAE Sestertius. Obv: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind. Rev: VICTORIA AVGG S-C, Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm. RIC 12, Cohen 14.
lawrence c
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034a. BalbinusCo-Augustus in Rome 22 April -- 29 July 238 in Rome with Pupienus.
After collapse of the Gordians in Africa, the Roman Senate felt it had no recourse except to continue its resistance to Maximinus, who remained on campaign outside the city. It therefore appointed Balbinus, a very senior senator, and Pupienus as co-rulers. War was averted between the two sides when Maximinus was killed by his own troops. The two co-emperors, however, had poor relations with each other and did not rule effectively. Both were seized by the praetorians and murdered.lawrence c
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040 ClaudiusClaudius Æ As. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP, bare head left / LIBERTAS AVGVSTA S-C, Libertas standing facing, with pileus and extending left hand. Cohen 47.
"Claudius was born at Lugdunum, in the consulship of Iullus Antonius and Fabius Africanus, on August 1st, 10 B.C., the very day when the first altar was dedicated there to Augustus the God; and he was given the name Tiberius Claudius Drusus. Subsequently he assumed the surname Germanicus after his brother had been admitted into the Julian House as Tiberius's adopted son." Randygeki(h2)
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042a. AemilianAugustus August (?) 253 - October (?) 253
Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus. Born in Africa, and perhaps a Libyan or Moor. Commander of forces in Moesia. After defeating Goths, he was proclaimed emperor by troops; about 40 years old. He defeated Trebonianus Gallus at battle of Interamna Nahars in August 253. Then killed by own troops when Valerian moved against him.lawrence c
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049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 207, Rome, AR-Denarius, P M TR P XV COS III P P, Africa standing right, #1049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 207, Rome, AR-Denarius, P M TR P XV COS III P P, Africa standing right, #1
avers: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, Laureate head right.
reverse: P M TR P XV COS III P P, Africa standing right, resting a hand on hip and holding grain ears; lion to right.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 17,5 mm, weight: 3,44 g, axis: 6 h,
mint: Rome, date: 207 A.D.,
ref: RIC IV-I 207, p118, RSC 493,
Q-001quadrans
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049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 254, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left, Scarce! #1049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 254, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left, Scarce! #1
avers: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, Laureate bust right.
reverse: AFRICA, Africa, wearing elephant-skin head-dress, reclining left with scorpion and cornucopia, the basket of corn-ears before.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 18,0-19,0mm, weight: 3,24g, axis: 1h,
mint: Rome, date: 201-210 A.D.,
ref: RIC IV-I 254, RSC 31, BMCRE 310, Sear 6261, Scarce!
Q-001quadrans
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049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 254, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left, Scarce! #2049 Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.), Rome, RIC IV-I 254, AR-Denarius, AFRICA, Africa reclining left, Scarce! #2
avers: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, Laureate bust right.
reverse: AFRICA, Africa, wearing elephant-skin head-dress, reclining left with scorpion and cornucopia, the basket of corn-ears before.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 18,5-19,9mm, weight: 3,59g, axis: 7h,
mint: Rome, date: 201-210 A.D.,
ref: RIC IV-I 254, RSC 31, BMCRE 310, Sear 6261, Scarce!
Q-002quadrans
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064 - Septimius Severus denarius - RIC 254Obv:- SEVERVS PIVS AVG, Laureate head right
Rev:- AFRICA, Africa, wearing elephant-skin head-dress, reclining left with scorpion & cornucopiae; basket of corn-ears before
References:- VM 8/2, RIC 254, RCV02 6261, RSC 31 maridvnvm
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064 Gordian I Africanus. AE tetradrachmobv: laur. cuir. bust r. wearing paludamentus
rev: std. eagle with wreath in beak
fld: LAhill132
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074a05. MaximianusAE follis. 27.9mm, 11.05 g. Carthage mint. AD 297-298. Obv: IMP MAXIMIANVS PF AVG, laureate head right. Rev: FELIX ADVENT AVGG N N, Africa standing facing, looking left, wearing elephant-skin headdress, holding standard and elephant's tusk, lion with captured bull at feet. B in left field. Mintmark PKS. RIC VI Carthage 21b. A FORUM coin.lawrence c
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0841 Hadrian AS Roma 134-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC 841f; BMCRE 1712; Cohen 143; Strack 709
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Bust of Hadrian, laureate, draped, right.
Rev.AFRICA S C in ex.
Africa, draped, wearing elephant-skin headdress, reclining left, resting left arm on rock, holding scorpion in right hand and cornucopiae in left; basket of corn-ears front.
10.78 gr
27 mm
12hokidoki
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0841 Hadrian AS Roma 134-38 AD Africa OSTROGOTHS. Uncertain king. Follis circa VI cent.Reference. very rare
RIC 841; C 147. BMC 1714. MEC I, 66 for countermark.
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Laureate and draped bust right; in front XLII.
Rev. AFRICA
Africa reclining left, wearing elephant-trunk, holding scorpion and cornucopia; in front, basket of corn.
12.22 gr
26 mm
6h
From the E.E. Clain-Stefanelli collection.okidoki
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090a. ConstansYoungest son of Constantine. Caesar 333-337. Emperor 337-350. Held Balkans, Italy, and North Africa. Very unpopular with the public and the army. He was viewed as corrupt and was intolerant of pagans and Jews. He faced an uprising by Magnentius. Constans fled and then was found and killed.lawrence c
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0aa Caius MariusC. Fundanius, moneyer
101-91 BC
Denarius
Helmeted head of Roma right, control-mark C behind
"Triumphator" (Marius) in quadriga right, holding laurel-branch and staff; a rider sits on near horse, holding laurel-branch, Q above, C FVNDAN in exergue
The reverse shows Marius as triumphator in the quadriga. He holds sceptre and laurel branch. On one of the horses rides his son. The children of the triumphator were - according to tradition - allowed to share the triumph of their father. The Q above refers to the office as quaestor the mintmaster held while minting these coins. FORVM Ancient Coins says of a similar piece, "The reverse refers to Marius triumph after victories over the Cimbri and Teutones. The rider on the near horse is Marius's son, at that time eight years old." Andrew McCabe comments, "The Triumphator on the Fundania denarius is usually taken to be Marius, with his young son on horseback. This would make it the first Roman coin to explicitly portray a living Roman politician. "
Seaby Fundania 1
Marius rose from common origins to become the First Man in Rome. Plutarch in his Life writes: There is a likeness of Marius in stone at Ravenna, in Gaul, which I myself saw quite corresponding with that roughness of character that is ascribed to him. Being naturally valiant and warlike, and more acquainted also with the discipline of the camp than of the city, he could not moderate his passion when in authority. . . . He was born of parents altogether obscure and indigent, who supported themselves by their daily labour; his father of the same name with himself, his mother called Fulcinia. He had spent a considerable part of his life before he saw and tasted the pleasures of the city; having passed previously in Cirrhaeaton, a village of the territory of Arpinum, a life, compared with city delicacies, rude and unrefined, yet temperate, and conformable to the ancient Roman severity. He first served as a soldier in the war against the Celtiberians, when Scipio Africanus besieged Numantia; where he signalized himself to his general by courage far above his comrades, and particularly by his cheerfully complying with Scipio's reformation of his army, being almost ruined by pleasures and luxury. It is stated, too, that he encountered and vanquished an enemy in single combat, in his general's sight. In consequence of all this he had several honours conferred upon him; and once when at an entertainment a question arose about commanders, and one of the company (whether really desirous to know, or only in complaisance) asked Scipio where the Romans, after him, should obtain such another general, Scipio, gently clapping Marius on the shoulder as he sat next him, replied, "Here, perhaps. . . ."
The consul Caecilius Metellus, being declared general in the war against Jugurtha in Africa took with him Marius for lieutenant; where, eager himself to do great deeds and services that would get him distinction, he did not, like others, consult Metellus's glory and the serving his interest, and attributing his honour of lieutenancy not to Metellus, but to fortune, which had presented him with a proper opportunity and theatre of great actions, he exerted his utmost courage. . . . Marius thus employed, and thus winning the affections of the soldiers, before long filled both Africa and Rome with his fame, and some, too, wrote home from the army that the war with Africa would never be brought to a conclusion unless they chose Caius Marius consul. . . .He was elected triumphantly, and at once proceeded to levy soldiers contrary both to law and custom, enlisting slaves and poor people; whereas former commanders never accepted of such, but bestowed arms, like other favours, as a matter of distinction, on persons who had the proper qualification, a man's property being thus a sort of security for his good behavior. . . .
[In Marius' fourth consulship,] The enemy dividing themselves into two parts, the Cimbri arranged to go against Catulus higher up through the country of the Norici, and to force that passage; the Teutones and Ambrones to march against Marius by the seaside through Liguria. . . . The Romans, pursuing them, slew and took prisoners above one hundred thousand, and possessing themselves of their spoil, tents, and carriages, voted all that was not purloined to Marius's share, which, though so magnificent a present, yet was generally thought less than his conduct deserved in so great a danger. . . . After the battle, Marius chose out from amongst the barbarians' spoils and arms those that were whole and handsome, and that would make the greatest show in his triumph; the rest he heaped upon a large pile, and offered a very splendid sacrifice. Whilst the army stood round about with their arms and garlands, himself attired (as the fashion is on such occasions) in the purple-bordered robe, and taking a lighted torch, and with both hands lifting it up towards heaven, he was then going to put it to the pile, when some friends were espied with all haste coming towards him on horseback. Upon which every one remained in silence and expectation. They, upon their coming up, leapt off and saluted Marius, bringing him the news of his fifth consulship, and delivered him letters to that effect. This gave the addition of no small joy to the solemnity; and while the soldiers clashed their arms and shouted, the officers again crowned Marius with a laurel wreath, and he thus set fire to the pile, and finished his sacrifice. Blindado
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0aa Defeat of Hannibal on Sicily, 222 BCCn. Lentulus, moneyer
90-85 BC
Quinarius
Laureled head of Jupiter, right
Victory crowning trophy, CN LENT in ex
Seaby, Cornelia 51
Possibly a reference to this event: [Q. Fabius Maximus, afterwards called Cunctator] broke up his camp at Suessula and decided to begin by an attack on Arpi. . . . Now at last the enemy was roused; there was a lull in the storm and daylight was approaching. Hannibal's garrison in the city amounted to about 5000 men, and the citizens themselves had raised a force of 3000. These the Carthaginians put in front to meet the enemy, that there might be no attempt at treachery in their rear. The fighting began in the dark in the narrow streets, the Romans having occupied not only the streets near the gate but the houses also, that they might not be assailed from the roofs. Gradually as it grew light some of the citizen troops and some of the Romans recognised one another, and entered into conversation. The Roman soldiers asked what it was that the Arpinians wanted, what wrong had Rome done them, what good service had Carthage rendered them that they, Italians-bred and born, should fight against their old friends the Romans on behalf of foreigners and barbarians, and wish to make Italy a tributary province of Africa. The people of Arpi urged in their excuse that they knew nothing of what was going on, they had in fact been sold by their leaders to the Carthaginians, they had been victimised and enslaved by a small oligarchy. When a beginning had been once made the conversations became more and more general; at last the praetor of Arpi was conducted by his friends to the consul, and after they had given each other mutual assurances, surrounded by the troops under their standards, the citizens suddenly turned against the Carthaginians and fought for the Romans. A body of Spaniards also, numbering something less than a thousand, transferred their services to the consul upon the sole condition that the Carthaginian garrison should be allowed to depart uninjured. The gates were opened for them and they were dismissed, according to the stipulation, in perfect safety, and went to Hannibal at Salapia. Thus Arpi was restored to the Romans without the loss of a single life, except in the case of one man who had long ago been a traitor and had recently deserted. The Spaniards were ordered to receive double rations, and the republic availed itself on very many occasions of their courage and fidelity.
Livy, History of Rome, 24.46-47Blindado
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0aa2 Defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War, 202 BCQ. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio
Imperator 47-46 BC
Denarius
Head of Jupiter, right, Q METEL PIVS
Elephant, right, SCIPIO IMP
Seaby, Caecilia 47
At least one theory for the depiction of the elephant on the reverse of this coin is that it refers to Scipio Africanus' defeat of Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which ended the Second Punic War. It could also simply refer to the location of the mint in Africa. Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio became Pompey's father-in-law in 53 BC. in 49, he got the Senate to issue the ultimatum that Caesar disband his army before crossing the Rubicon River or be branded a public enemy. He commanded Pompey's center at Pharsalus. After Pompey's death, he fought on from North Africa. At Thapsus, Caesar routed Scipio again (46 BC). He escaped again only to fall on his sword and drown a few months later in a naval battle near Hippo.Blindado
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1) Julius Caesar Denarius - AeneasJulius Caesar
AR Denarius
47-46 BC, military mint traveling with Caesar in Africa
Diademed head of Venus right / CAESAR, Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and the Palladium
Cr458/1, Syd 1013, RSC 12; Sear5 #1402
VF, nicely toned
RM0030Sosius
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105a. Magnus MaximusOf Spanish descent, Maximus became a very successful general. In 383, as commander of Britain, he tried to usurp Gratian. After negotiations with emperor Theodosius I, he was made emperor in Britannia and Gaul the next year while Gratian's brother Valentinian II retained Italy, Pannonia, Hispania, and Africa. In 387, Maximus invaded Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the Battle of the Save in 388. He then was beheaded. Maximus later featured prominently in both Welsh folklore and in literature.lawrence c
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118a. Valentinian IIIWestern Augustus 425-455.
In 424, at age 5 he was named Caesar. Son of Constantius III. Supported by Theodosius II over Johannes. Lost Africa to Vandals and also lost most of Gaul and Spain. Very weak ruler. He killed by his own hand Aetius, his best general. Six months later, Valentinian was killed by 2 of his own guards.lawrence c
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121 Constantius I. Chlorus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-306 A.D. Augustus), Carthage, RIC VI 024a, AE-1 Follis, FELIX ADVENT AVG G N N, Africa standing right, #1121 Constantius I. Chlorus (293-305 A.D. Caesar, 305-306 A.D. Augustus), Carthage, RIC VI 024a, AE-1 Follis, FELIX ADVENT AVG G N N, Africa standing right, #1
avers:- CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, Laureate head right.
revers:- FELIX AD VENT AVG G N N, Africa standing right, head left, wearing elephant head headress, standard in right and tusk in left, lion and bull at feet left, H left, PKT in ex.
exerg: H|-//PKT, diameter: 25,0-28,5mm, weight: 10,38g, axes: 0h,
mint: Carthage, date: 298 A.D., ref: RIC VI 024a,
Q-001quadrans
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1307a, Maxentius, February 307 - 28 October 312 A.D.Bronze follis, RIC 163, aEF, Rome mint, 5.712g, 25.6mm, 0o, summer 307 A.D.; obverse MAXENTIVS P F AVG, laureate head right; reverse CONSERVATO-RES VRB SVAE, Roma holding globe and scepter, seated in hexastyle temple, RT in ex; rare. Ex FORVM; Ex Maridvnvm
De Imperatoribus Romanis : An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Maxentius (306-312 A.D.)
Michael DiMaio, Jr.
Salve Regina University
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius, more commonly known as Maxentius, was the child of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius and the Syrian, Eutropia; he was born ca. 278 A.D. After Galerius' appointment to the rank of Caesar on 1 March 293, Maxentius married Galerius' daughter Valeria Maximilla, who bore him a son named Romulus and another son whose name is unknown. Due to his haughty nature and bad disposition, Maxentius could seldom agree with his father or his father-in-law; Galerius' and Maximianus Herculius' aversion to Maxentius prevented the young man from becoming a Caesar in 305. Little else is known of Maxentius' private life prior to his accession and, although there is some evidence that it was spent in idleness, he did become a Senator.
On 28 October 306 Maxentius was acclaimed emperor, although he was politically astute enough not to use the title Augustus; like the Emperor Augustus, he called himself princeps. It was not until the summer of 307 that he started using the title Augustus and started offending other claimants to the imperial throne. He was enthroned by the plebs and the Praetorians. At the time of his acclamation Maxentius was at a public villa on the Via Labicana. He strengthened his position with promises of riches for those who helped him obtain his objective. He forced his father Maximianus Herculius to affirm his son's acclamation in order to give his regime a facade of legitimacy. His realm included Italy, Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica. As soon as Galerius learned about the acclamation of Herculius' son, he dispatched the Emperor Severus to quell the rebellion. With the help of his father and Severus' own troops, Maxentius' took his enemy prisoner.
When Severus died, Galerius was determined to avenge his death. In the early summer of 307 the Augustus invaded Italy; he advanced to the south and encamped at Interamna near the Tiber. His attempt to besiege the city was abortive because his army was not large enough to encompass the city's fortifications. Negotiations between Maxentius and Galerius broke down when the emperor discovered that the usurper was trying to win over his troops. Galerius' troops were open to Maxentius' promises because they were fighting a civil war between members of the same family; some of the soldiers went over to the enemy. Not trusting his own troops, Galerius withdrew. During its retreat, Galerius' army ravaged the Italian countryside as it was returning to its original base. If it was not enough that Maxentius had to deal with the havoc created by the ineffectual invasions of Severus and Galerius, he also had to deal with his father's attempts to regain the throne between 308 and 310. When Maximianus Herculius was unable to regain power by pushing his son off his throne, he attempted to win over Constantine to his cause. When this plan failed, he tried to win Diocletian over to his side at Carnuntum in October and November 308. Frustrated at every turn, Herculius returned to his son-in-law Constantine's side in Gaul where he died in 310, having been implicated in a plot against his son-in-law. Maxentius' control of the situation was weakened by the revolt of L. Domitius Alexander in 308. Although the revolt only lasted until the end of 309, it drastically cut the size of the grain supply availble for Rome. Maxentius' rule collapsed when he died on 27 October 312 in an engagement he had with the Emperor Constantine at the Milvian Bridge after the latter had invaded his realm.
Copyright (C) 1996, Michael DiMaio, Jr.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1400 - Julius Caesar, DenariusDenarius minted in North Africa c.47-46 BC
No legend, Diademed head of Venus right
CAESAR, Aeneas left, bearing Anchises on his shoulder
3.91 gr
Ref : HCRI # 55, RCV #1402, Cohen #12Potator II
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1405a, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Alexandria)Bronze AE 4, RIC 37, gVF, Egypt, Alexandria, 1.54g, 15.0mm, 180o, 345-347 A.D. Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl diademed head right; Reverse: VOT XX MVLT XXX in wreath, SMALA• in exergue.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion UniversityPublished: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1405n, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Siscia)Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. Bronze AE 3, RIC 241, S 3978, VM 69, VF, Siscia, 2.32g, 18.3mm, 180o. Obverse: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, pearl diademed draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO, Phoenix radiate, standing on rocky mound, GSIS and symbol in ex; nice green patina.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1405t, Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D. (Thessalonica )Constans, 9 September 337 - 19 January 350 A.D., Bronze AE 3, unattributed; Thessalonica mint, 2.25g, 18.9mm, 0; aVF.
Flavius Julius Constans, third and youngest son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born between 320 and 323 A.D. Primary sources for the life and reign of Constans I are scarce. To reconstruct his life and career, one must draw on a variety of references in both fourth century and later works. Raised as a Christian, he was made a Caesar on 25 December 333 A.D. Constans I and his two brothers, after the death of their father on 22 May 337 and the subsequent "massacre of the princes" in which many other relatives were purged, met in the first part of September 337 in Pannonia to re-divide the empire among themselves. There they were acclaimed Augusti by the army. Constans' new realm included Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Macedonia, and Achaea. Shortly before his father's death, Constans' engagement to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, was announced; although the match was never solemnized because of political reasons.
It would appear that Constans was successful in the military sphere. Following his accession to the purple in 337, he seems to have won a victory over the Sarmatians. In 340 Constans was able to beat back an attempt by his brother Constantine II to seize some of his realm. The latter died in a battle fought near Aquileia and Constans absorbed his late brother's territory. In 341 and 342 he conducted a successful campaign against the Franci. He also visited Britain in 343, probably on a military campaign.
As an emperor Constans gets mixed reviews. In what may be a topos, sources suggest that the first part of his reign was moderate but in later years, however, he became overbearing. The emperor apparently attempted to obtain as much money as he could from his subjects and sold government posts to the highest bidder. His favorites were allowed to oppress his subjects. Sources also condemn his homosexuality. He did have some military success and, in addition to other military threats, he had to deal with Donatist-related bandits in North Africa.
Like his father Constantine I and his brother Constantius II, Constans had a deep interest in Christianity. Together with Constantius II he issued (or perhaps re-issued) a ban against pagan sacrifice in 341. The next year, they cautioned against the destruction of pagan temples. Unlike his brother Constantius II, who supported the Arian faction, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Athanasius and other members of the Orthodox clique. In fact, it is due to his request that the Council of Serdica was called to deal with the ecclesiastical squabble between Athanasius of Alexandria and Paul of Constantinople on one side and the Arian faction on the other.
When Magnentius was declared emperor in Gaul during January 350, Constans realized his reign was at an end. When he learned of the revolt, he fled toward Helena, a town in the Pyrenees. Constans was put to death by Gaeso and a band of Magnentius' assassins, who dragged their victim from a temple in which he had sought refuge.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University and Robert Frakes, Clarion University.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1406a, Constantine II, 22 May 337 - March or April 340 A.D. (Antioch)Constantine II, 22 May 337 - March or April 340 A.D. Bronze AE 3, RIC 87, gVF, Antioch, 2.17g, 17.6mm, 0o, 330-335 A.D. Obverse: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers, each holding spear and shield on ground, flanking two standards, SMANE in exergue.
Constantine II (February 317 - 340) was Roman Emperor (337 - 340). The eldest son of Constantine I the Great and Fausta, he was born at Arles. Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II became Emperor jointly with his brothers Constantius II and Constans. His section of the Empire was Gaul, Britain and Spain. At first, he was the guardian of his younger brother Constans, whose portion was Italy, Africa and Illyria. As Constans came of age, Constantine would not relinquish the guardianship, and in 340 he marched against Constans in Italy, but was defeated at Aquileia and died in battle. Constans came to control Constantine II's portion of the empire.
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1406c, Constantine II, 337-340 A.D.Constantine II, 317-340. AE3, RIC VII, 74 ('theta' = r), page 581 2.22 grams, 333-335 AD, Constantinople mint, VF. Obverse : CONSTANTIVS IVN NOB C - Laureate bust right, draped and cuirassed. Reverse: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS - Two soldiers looking in at each other and both holding a spear; between them, two standards. CONS (theta) (dot) in exergue. Rare.
Constantine II (February 317 - 340) was Roman Emperor (337 - 340). The eldest son of Constantine I the Great and Fausta, he was born at Arles. Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II became Emperor jointly with his brothers Constantius II and Constans. His section of the Empire was Gaul, Britain and Spain. At first, he was the guardian of his younger brother Constans, whose portion was Italy, Africa and Illyria. As Constans came of age, Constantine would not relinquish the guardianship, and in 340 he marched against Constans in Italy, but was defeated at Aquileia and died in battle. Constans came to control Constantine II's portion of the empire.Cleisthenes
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1409a, Julian II "the Philosopher," February 360 - 26 June 363 A.D.Julian II, A.D. 360-363; RIC 167; VF; 2.7g, 20mm; Constantinople mint; Obverse: DN FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG, helmeted & cuirassed bust right, holding spear & shield; Reverse: VOT X MVLT XX in four lines within wreath; CONSPB in exergue; Attractive green patina. Ex Nemesis.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Julian the Apostate (360-363 A.D.)
Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University
Introduction
The emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus reigned from 360 to 26 June 363, when he was killed fighting against the Persians. Despite his short rule, his emperorship was pivotal in the development of the history of the later Roman empire. This essay is not meant to be a comprehensive look at the various issues central to the reign of Julian and the history of the later empire. Rather, this short work is meant to be a brief history and introduction for the general reader. Julian was the last direct descendent of the Constantinian line to ascend to the purple, and it is one of history's great ironies that he was the last non-Christian emperor. As such, he has been vilified by most Christian sources, beginning with John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzus in the later fourth century. This tradition was picked up by the fifth century Eusebian continuators Sozomen, Socrates Scholasticus, and Theodoret and passed on to scholars down through the 20th century. Most contemporary sources, however, paint a much more balanced picture of Julian and his reign. The adoption of Christianity by emperors and society, while still a vital concern, was but one of several issues that concerned Julian.
It is fortunate that extensive writings from Julian himself exist, which help interpret his reign in the light of contemporary evidence. Still extant are some letters, several panegyrics, and a few satires. Other contemporary sources include the soldier Ammianus Marcellinus' history, correspondence between Julian and Libanius of Antioch, several panegyrics, laws from the Theodosian Code, inscriptions, and coinage. These sources show Julian's emphasis on restoration. He saw himself as the restorer of the traditional values of Roman society. Of course much of this was rhetoric, meant to defend Julian against charges that he was a usurper. At the same time this theme of restoration was central to all emperors of the fourth century. Julian thought that he was the one emperor who could regain what was viewed as the lost glory of the Roman empire. To achieve this goal he courted select groups of social elites to get across his message of restoration. This was the way that emperors functioned in the fourth century. By choosing whom to include in the sharing of power, they sought to shape society.
Early Life
Julian was born at Constantinople in 331. His father was Julius Constantius, half-brother of the emperor Constantine through Constantius Chlorus, and his mother was Basilina, Julius' second wife. Julian had two half-brothers via Julius' first marriage. One of these was Gallus, who played a major role in Julian's life. Julian appeared destined for a bright future via his father's connection to the Constantinian house. After many years of tense relations with his three half-brothers, Constantine seemed to have welcomed them into the fold of the imperial family. From 333 to 335, Constantine conferred a series of honors upon his three half-siblings, including appointing Julius Constantius as one of the consuls for 335. Julian's mother was equally distinguished. Ammianus related that she was from a noble family. This is supported by Libanius, who claimed that she was the daughter of Julius Julianus, a Praetorian Prefect under Licinius, who was such a model of administrative virtue that he was pardoned and honored by Constantine.
Despite the fact that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, Julian experienced an idyllic early childhood. This ended when Constantius II conducted a purge of many of his relatives shortly after Constantine's death in 337, particularly targeting the families of Constantine's half-brothers. ulian and Gallus were spared, probably due to their young age. Julian was put under the care of Mardonius, a Scythian eunuch who had tutored his mother, in 339, and was raised in the Greek philosophical tradition, and probably lived in Nicomedia. Ammianus also supplied the fact that while in Nicomedia, Julian was cared for by the local bishop Eusebius, of whom the future emperor was a distant relation. Julian was educated by some of the most famous names in grammar and rhetoric in the Greek world at that time, including Nicocles and Hecebolius. In 344 Constantius II sent Julian and Gallus to Macellum in Cappadocia, where they remained for six years. In 351, Gallus was made Caesar by Constantius II and Julian was allowed to return to Nicomedia, where he studied under Aedesius, Eusebius, and Chrysanthius, all famed philosophers, and was exposed to the Neo-Platonism that would become such a prominent part of his life. But Julian was most proud of the time he spent studying under Maximus of Ephesus, a noted Neo-Platonic philospher and theurgist. It was Maximus who completed Julian's full-scale conversion to Neo-Platonism. Later, when he was Caesar, Julian told of how he put letters from this philosopher under his pillows so that he would continue to absorb wisdom while he slept, and while campaigning on the Rhine, he sent his speeches to Maximus for approval before letting others hear them. When Gallus was executed in 354 for treason by Constantius II, Julian was summoned to Italy and essentially kept under house arrest at Comum, near Milan, for seven months before Constantius' wife Eusebia convinced the emperor that Julian posed no threat. This allowed Julian to return to Greece and continue his life as a scholar where he studied under the Neo-Platonist Priscus. Julian's life of scholarly pursuit, however, ended abruptly when he was summoned to the imperial court and made Caesar by Constantius II on 6 November 355.
Julian as Caesar
Constantius II realized an essential truth of the empire that had been evident since the time of the Tetrarchy--the empire was too big to be ruled effectively by one man. Julian was pressed into service as Caesar, or subordinate emperor, because an imperial presence was needed in the west, in particular in the Gallic provinces. Julian, due to the emperor's earlier purges, was the only viable candidate of the imperial family left who could act as Caesar. Constantius enjoined Julian with the task of restoring order along the Rhine frontier. A few days after he was made Caesar, Julian was married to Constantius' sister Helena in order to cement the alliance between the two men. On 1 December 355, Julian journeyed north, and in Augusta Taurinorum he learned that Alamannic raiders had destroyed Colonia Agrippina. He then proceeded to Vienne where he spent the winter. At Vienne, he learned that Augustudunum was also under siege, but was being held by a veteran garrison. He made this his first priority, and arrived there on 24 June 356. When he had assured himself that the city was in no immediate danger, he journeyed to Augusta Treverorum via Autessioduram, and from there to Durocortorum where he rendezvoused with his army. Julian had the army stage a series of punitive strikes around the Dieuse region, and then he moved them towards the Argentoratum/Mongontiacum region when word of barbarian incursions reached him.
From there, Julian moved on to Colonia Agrippina, and negotiated a peace with the local barbarian leaders who had assaulted the city. He then wintered at Senonae. He spent the early part of the campaigning season of 357 fighting off besiegers at Senonae, and then conducting operations around Lugdunum and Tres Tabernae. Later that summer, he encountered his watershed moment as a military general. Ammianus went into great detail about Julian's victory over seven rogue Alamannic chieftains near Argentoratum, and Julian himself bragged about it in his later writing. After this battle, the soldiers acclaimed Julian Augustus, but he rejected this title. After mounting a series of follow-up raids into Alamannic territory, he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia, and on the way defeated some Frankish raiders in the Mosa region. Julian considered this campaign one of the major events of his time as Caesar.
Julian began his 358 military campaigns early, hoping to catch the barbarians by surprise. His first target was the Franks in the northern Rhine region. He then proceeded to restore some forts in the Mosa region, but his soldiers threatened to mutiny because they were on short rations and had not been paid their donative since Julian had become Caesar. After he soothed his soldiers, Julian spent the rest of the summer negotiating a peace with various Alamannic leaders in the mid and lower Rhine areas, and retired to winter quarters at Lutetia. In 359, he prepared once again to carry out a series of punitive expeditions against the Alamanni in the Rhine region who were still hostile to the Roman presence. In preparation, the Caesar repopulated seven previously destroyed cities and set them up as supply bases and staging areas. This was done with the help of the people with whom Julian had negotiated a peace the year before. Julian then had a detachment of lightly armed soldiers cross the Rhine near Mogontiacum and conduct a guerilla strike against several chieftains. As a result of these campaigns, Julian was able to negotiate a peace with all but a handful of the Alamannic leaders, and he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia.
Of course, Julian did more than act as a general during his time as Caesar. According to Ammianus, Julian was an able administrator who took steps to correct the injustices of Constantius' appointees. Ammianus related the story of how Julian prevented Florentius, the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, from raising taxes, and also how Julian actually took over as governor for the province of Belgica Secunda. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, supported Ammianus' basic assessment of Julian in this regard when he reported that Julian was an able representative of the emperor to the Gallic provincials. There is also epigraphic evidence to support Julian's popularity amongst the provincial elites. An inscription found near Beneventum in Apulia reads:
"To Flavius Claudius Julianus, most noble and sanctified Caesar, from the caring Tocius Maximus, vir clarissimus, for the care of the res publica from Beneventum".
Tocius Maximus, as a vir clarissimus, was at the highest point in the social spectrum and was a leader in his local community. This inscription shows that Julian was successful in establishing a positive image amongst provincial elites while he was Caesar.
Julian Augustus
In early 360, Constantius, driven by jealousy of Julian's success, stripped Julian of many troops and officers, ostensibly because the emperor needed them for his upcoming campaign against the Persians. One of the legions ordered east, the Petulantes, did not want to leave Gaul because the majority of the soldiers in the unit were from this region. As a result they mutinied and hailed Julian as Augustus at Lutetia. Julian refused this acclamation as he had done at Argentoratum earlier, but the soldiers would have none of his denial. They raised him on a shield and adorned him with a neck chain, which had formerly been the possession of the standard-bearer of the Petulantes and symbolized a royal diadem. Julian appeared reluctantly to acquiesce to their wishes, and promised a generous donative. The exact date of his acclamation is unknown, but most scholars put it in February or March. Julian himself supported Ammianus' picture of a jealous Constantius. In his Letter to the Athenians, a document constructed to answer charges that he was a usurper, Julian stated that from the start he, as Caesar, had been meant as a figurehead to the soldiers and provincials. The real power he claimed lay with the generals and officials already present in Gaul. In fact, according to Julian, the generals were charged with watching him as much as the enemy. His account of the actual acclamation closely followed what Ammianus told us, but he stressed even more his reluctance to take power. Julian claimed that he did so only after praying to Zeus for guidance.
Fearing the reaction of Constantius, Julian sent a letter to his fellow emperor justifying the events at Lutetia and trying to arrange a peaceful solution. This letter berated Constantius for forcing the troops in Gaul into an untenable situation. Ammianus stated that Julian's letter blamed Constantius' decision to transfer Gallic legions east as the reason for the soldiers' rebellion. Julian once again asserted that he was an unwilling participant who was only following the desire of the soldiers. In both of these basic accounts Ammianus and Julian are playing upon the theme of restoration. Implicit in their version of Julian's acclamation is the argument that Constantius was unfit to rule. The soldiers were the vehicle of the gods' will. The Letter to the Athenians is full of references to the fact that Julian was assuming the mantle of Augustus at the instigation of the gods. Ammianus summed up this position nicely when he related the story of how, when Julian was agonizing over whether to accept the soldiers' acclamation, he had a dream in which he was visited by the Genius (guardian spirit) of the Roman state. The Genius told Julian that it had often tried to bestow high honors upon Julian but had been rebuffed. Now, the Genius went on to say, was Julian's final chance to take the power that was rightfully his. If the Caesar refused this chance, the Genius would depart forever, and both Julian and the state would rue Julian's rejection. Julian himself wrote a letter to his friend Maximus of Ephesus in November of 361 detailing his thoughts on his proclamation. In this letter, Julian stated that the soldiers proclaimed him Augustus against his will. Julian, however, defended his accession, saying that the gods willed it and that he had treated his enemies with clemency and justice. He went on to say that he led the troops in propitiating the traditional deities, because the gods commanded him to return to the traditional rites, and would reward him if he fulfilled this duty.
During 360 an uneasy peace simmered between the two emperors. Julian spent the 360 campaigning season continuing his efforts to restore order along the Rhine, while Constantius continued operations against the Persians. Julian wintered in Vienne, and celebrated his Quinquennalia. It was at this time that his wife Helena died, and he sent her remains to Rome for a proper burial at his family villa on the Via Nomentana where the body of her sister was entombed. The uneasy peace held through the summer of 361, but Julian concentrated his military operations around harassing the Alamannic chieftain Vadomarius and his allies, who had concluded a peace treaty with Constantius some years earlier. By the end of the summer, Julian decided to put an end to the waiting and gathered his army to march east against Constantius. The empire teetered on the brink of another civil war. Constantius had spent the summer negotiating with the Persians and making preparations for possible military action against his cousin. When he was assured that the Persians would not attack, he summoned his army and sallied forth to meet Julian. As the armies drew inexorably closer to one another, the empire was saved from another bloody civil war when Constantius died unexpectedly of natural causes on 3 November near the town of Mopsucrenae in Cilicia, naming Julian -- the sources say-- as his legitimate successor.
Julian was in Dacia when he learned of his cousin's death. He made his way through Thrace and came to Constantinople on 11 December 361 where Julian honored the emperor with the funeral rites appropriate for a man of his station. Julian immediately set about putting his supporters in positions of power and trimming the imperial bureaucracy, which had become extremely overstaffed during Constantius' reign. Cooks and barbers had increased during the late emperor's reign and Julian expelled them from his court. Ammianus gave a mixed assessment of how the new emperor handled the followers of Constantius. Traditionally, emperors were supposed to show clemency to the supporters of a defeated enemy. Julian, however, gave some men over to death to appease the army. Ammianus used the case of Ursulus, Constantius' comes sacrum largitionum, to illustrate his point. Ursulus had actually tried to acquire money for the Gallic troops when Julian had first been appointed Caesar, but he had also made a disparaging remark about the ineffectiveness of the army after the battle of Amida. The soldiers remembered this, and when Julian became sole Augustus, they demanded Ursulus' head. Julian obliged, much to the disapproval of Ammianus. This seems to be a case of Julian courting the favor of the military leadership, and is indicative of a pattern in which Julian courted the goodwill of various societal elites to legitimize his position as emperor.
Another case in point is the officials who made up the imperial bureaucracy. Many of them were subjected to trial and punishment. To achieve this goal, during the last weeks of December 361 Julian assembled a military tribunal at Chalcedon, empanelling six judges to try the cases. The president of the tribunal was Salutius, just promoted to the rank of Praetorian Prefect; the five other members were Mamertinus, the orator, and four general officers: Jovinus, Agilo, Nevitta, and Arbetio. Relative to the proceedings of the tribunal, Ammianus noted that the judges, " . . . oversaw the cases more vehemently than was right or fair, with the exception of a few . . .." Ammianus' account of Julian's attempt at reform of the imperial bureaucracy is supported by legal evidence from the Theodosian Code. A series of laws sent to Mamertinus, Julian's appointee as Praetorian Prefect in Italy, Illyricum, and Africa, illustrate this point nicely. On 6 June 362, Mamertinus received a law that prohibited provincial governors from bypassing the Vicars when giving their reports to the Prefect. Traditionally, Vicars were given civil authority over a group of provinces, and were in theory meant to serve as a middle step between governors and Prefects. This law suggests that the Vicars were being left out, at least in Illyricum. Julian issued another edict to Mamertinus on 22 February 362 to stop abuse of the public post by governors. According to this law, only Mamertinus could issue post warrants, but the Vicars were given twelve blank warrants to be used as they saw fit, and each governor was given two. Continuing the trend of bureaucratic reform, Julian also imposed penalties on governors who purposefully delayed appeals in court cases they had heard. The emperor also established a new official to weigh solidi used in official government transactions to combat coin clipping.
For Julian, reigning in the abuses of imperial bureaucrats was one step in restoring the prestige of the office of emperor. Because he could not affect all elements of society personally, Julian, like other Neo-Flavian emperors, decided to concentrate on select groups of societal elites as intercessors between himself and the general populace. One of these groups was the imperial bureaucracy. Julian made it very clear that imperial officials were intercessors in a very real sense in a letter to Alypius, Vicar of Britain. In this letter, sent from Gaul sometime before 361, the emperor praises Alypius for his use of "mildness and moderation with courage and force" in his rule of the provincials. Such virtues were characteristic of the emperors, and it was good that Alypius is representing Julian in this way. Julian courted the army because it put him in power. Another group he sought to include in his rule was the traditional Senatorial aristocracy. One of his first appointments as consul was Claudius Mamertinus, a Gallic Senator and rhetorician. Mamertinus' speech in praise of Julian delivered at Constantinople in January of 362 is preserved. In this speech, Claudius presented his consular selection as inaugurating a new golden age and Julian as the restorer of the empire founded by Augustus. The image Mamertinus gave of his own consulate inaugurating a new golden age is not merely formulaic. The comparison of Julian to Augustus has very real, if implicit, relevance to Claudius' situation. Claudius emphasized the imperial period as the true age of renewal. Augustus ushered in a new era with his formation of a partnership between the emperor and the Senate based upon a series of honors and offices bestowed upon the Senate in return for their role as intercessor between emperor and populace. It was this system that Julian was restoring, and the consulate was one concrete example of this bond. To be chosen as a consul by the emperor, who himself had been divinely mandated, was a divine honor. In addition to being named consul, Mamertinus went on to hold several offices under Julian, including the Prefecture of Italy, Illyricum, and Africa. Similarly, inscriptional evidence illustrates a link between municipal elites and Julian during his time as Caesar, something which continued after he became emperor. One concrete example comes from the municipal senate of Aceruntia in Apulia, which established a monument on which Julian is styled as "Repairer of the World."
Julian seems to have given up actual Christian belief before his acclamation as emperor and was a practitioner of more traditional Greco-Roman religious beliefs, in particular, a follower of certain late antique Platonist philosophers who were especially adept at theurgy as was noted earlier. In fact Julian himself spoke of his conversion to Neo-Platonism in a letter to the Alexandrians written in 363. He stated that he had abandoned Christianity when he was twenty years old and been an adherent of the traditional Greco-Roman deities for the twelve years prior to writing this letter.
(For the complete text of this article see: http://www.roman-emperors.org/julian.htm)
Julian’s Persian Campaign
The exact goals Julian had for his ill-fated Persian campaign were never clear. The Sassanid Persians, and before them the Parthians, had been a traditional enemy from the time of the Late Republic, and indeed Constantius had been conducting a war against them before Julian's accession forced the former to forge an uneasy peace. Julian, however, had no concrete reason to reopen hostilities in the east. Socrates Scholasticus attributed Julian's motives to imitation of Alexander the Great, but perhaps the real reason lay in his need to gather the support of the army. Despite his acclamation by the Gallic legions, relations between Julian and the top military officers was uneasy at best. A war against the Persians would have brought prestige and power both to Julian and the army.
Julian set out on his fateful campaign on 5 March 363. Using his trademark strategy of striking quickly and where least expected, he moved his army through Heirapolis and from there speedily across the Euphrates and into the province of Mesopotamia, where he stopped at the town of Batnae. His plan was to eventually return through Armenia and winter in Tarsus. Once in Mesopotamia, Julian was faced with the decision of whether to travel south through the province of Babylonia or cross the Tigris into Assyria, and he eventually decided to move south through Babylonia and turn west into Assyria at a later date. By 27 March, he had the bulk of his army across the Euphrates, and had also arranged a flotilla to guard his supply line along the mighty river. He then left his generals Procopius and Sebastianus to help Arsacius, the king of Armenia and a Roman client, to guard the northern Tigris line. It was also during this time that he received the surrender of many prominent local leaders who had nominally supported the Persians. These men supplied Julian with money and troops for further military action against their former masters. Julian decided to turn south into Babylonia and proceeded along the Euphrates, coming to the fortress of Cercusium at the junction of the Abora and Euphrates Rivers around the first of April, and from there he took his army west to a region called Zaitha near the abandoned town of Dura where they visited the tomb of the emperor Gordian which was in the area. On April 7 he set out from there into the heart of Babylonia and towards Assyria.
Ammianus then stated that Julian and his army crossed into Assyria, which on the face of things appears very confusing. Julian still seems to be operating within the province of Babylonia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The confusion is alleviated when one realizes that,for Ammianus, the region of Assyria encompassed the provinces of Babylonia and Assyria. On their march, Julian's forces took the fortress of Anatha, received the surrender and support of several more local princes, and ravaged the countryside of Assyria between the rivers. As the army continued south, they came across the fortresses Thilutha and Achaiachala, but these places were too well defended and Julian decided to leave them alone. Further south were the cities Diacira and Ozogardana, which the Roman forces sacked and burned. Soon, Julian came to Pirisabora and a brief siege ensued, but the city fell and was also looted and destroyed. It was also at this time that the Roman army met its first systematic resistance from the Persians. As the Romans penetrated further south and west, the local inhabitants began to flood their route. Nevertheless, the Roman forces pressed on and came to Maiozamalcha, a sizable city not far from Ctesiphon. After a short siege, this city too fell to Julian. Inexorably, Julian's forces zeroed in on Ctesiphon, but as they drew closer, the Persian resistance grew fiercer, with guerilla raids whittling at Julian's men and supplies. A sizable force of the army was lost and the emperor himself was almost killed taking a fort a few miles from the target city.
Finally, the army approached Ctesiphon following a canal that linked the Tigris and Euphrates. It soon became apparent after a few preliminary skirmishes that a protracted siege would be necessary to take this important city. Many of his generals, however, thought that pursuing this course of action would be foolish. Julian reluctantly agreed, but became enraged by this failure and ordered his fleet to be burned as he decided to march through the province of Assyria. Julian had planned for his army to live off the land, but the Persians employed a scorched-earth policy. When it became apparent that his army would perish (because his supplies were beginning to dwindle) from starvation and the heat if he continued his campaign, and also in the face of superior numbers of the enemy, Julian ordered a retreat on 16 June. As the Roman army retreated, they were constantly harassed by guerilla strikes. It was during one of these raids that Julian got caught up in the fighting and took a spear to his abdomen. Mortally wounded he was carried to his tent, where, after conferring with some of his officers, he died. The date was 26 June 363.
Conclusion
Thus an ignominious end for a man came about who had hoped to restore the glory of the Roman empire during his reign as emperor. Due to his intense hatred of Christianity, the opinion of posterity has not been kind to Julian. The contemporary opinion, however, was overall positive. The evidence shows that Julian was a complex ruler with a definite agenda to use traditional social institutions in order to revive what he saw as a collapsing empire. In the final assessment, he was not so different from any of the other emperors of the fourth century. He was a man grasping desperately to hang on to a Greco-Roman conception of leadership that was undergoing a subtle yet profound change.
Copyright (C) 2002, Walter E. Roberts and Michael DiMaio, Jr. Used by permission.
In reality, Julian worked to promote culture and philosophy in any manifestation. He tried to reduce taxes and the public debts of municipalities; he augmented administrative decentralisation; he promoted a campaign of austerity to reduce public expenditure (setting himself as the example). He reformed the postal service and eliminated the powerful secret police.
by Federico Morando; JULIAN II, The Apostate, See the Julian II Page on NumisWiki
Flavius Claudius Iulianus was born in 331 or maybe 332 A.D. in Constantinople. He ruled the Western Empire as Caesar from 355 to 360 and was hailed Augustus by his legions in Lutetia (Paris) in 360. Julian was a gifted administrator and military strategist. Famed as the last pagan emperor, his reinstatement of the pagan religion earned him the moniker "the Apostate." As evidenced by his brilliant writing, some of which has survived to the present day, the title "the Philosopher" may have been more appropriate. He died from wounds suffered during the Persian campaign of 363 A.D. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1452 - Julius Caesar, DenariusDenarius minted in North Africa in 46 BC
COS TERT / DICT ITER, head of Ceres right
AVGVR / PONT MAX, simpulum, sprinkler, capis and lituum, D in right field
3,81 gr
Ref : HCRI # 57, RCV # 1403/1, RSC # 4a, Cohen # 4Potator II
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1495 Hadrian Denarius Roma 134-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II, 299; Strack 297; RIC 1495
Bust A1+
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Bare head
Rev. AFRICA
Africa reclining left, wearing elephant-skin headdress and holding scorpion and cornucopia, basket of fruits at her feet
3.20 gr
18 mm
12hokidoki
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1498 Hadrian Denarius Roma 134-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II 299; Strack 297; RIC 1498
Bust A4+
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P.
Bare headed bare bust with drapery
Rev. AFRICA
Africa reclining left, wearing elephant-skin headdress and holding scorpion and cornucopia, basket of fruits at her feet
2.68 gr
17 mm
6hokidoki
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1501s, Valentinian I, 25 February 364 - 17 November 375 A.D. (Siscia)Valentinian I, 25 February 364 - 17 November 375 A.D., Bronze AE 3, S 4103, VF, Siscia mint, 2.012g, 18.7mm, 180o, 24 Aug 367 - 17 Nov 375 A.D.obverse D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse SECVRITAS - REIPVBLICAE, Victory advancing left, wreath in right and palm in left, symbols in fields, mintmark in exergue.
De Imperatoribus Romanis, An Online Encyclopedia of the Roman Emperors and their Families
Valentinian I (364-375 AD.)
Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Valentinian was one of Rome's last great warrior emperors. Flavius Valentinianus, was born in A.D. 321 at Cibalis (modern Vinkovci) in southern Pannonia. His father Gratian was a soldier renowned for his strength and wrestling skills. Gratian had an illustrious career in the army, rising from staff officer to tribune, to comes Africae, and finally [i/comes Britanniae.
The emperor Jovian died on 17 February 364, apparently of natural causes, on the border between Bithynia and Galatia. The army marched on to Nicaea, the nearest city of any consequence, and a meeting of civil and military officials was convened to choose a new emperor. The assembly finally agreed upon Valentinian.
On 26 February 364, Valentinian accepted the office offered to him. As he prepared to make his accession speech, the soldiers threatened to riot, apparently uncertain as to where his loyalties lay. Valentinian reassured them that the army was his greatest priority. Furthermore, to prevent a crisis of succession if he should die prematurely, he agreed to pick a co-Augustus. According to Ammianus, the soldiers were astounded by Valentinian’s bold demeanor and his willingness to assume the imperial authority. His decision to elect a fellow-emperor could also be construed as a move to appease any opposition among the civilian officials in the eastern portion of the empire. By agreeing to appoint a co-ruler, he assured the eastern officials that someone with imperial authority would remain in the east to protect their interests. After promoting his brother Valens to the rank of tribune and putting him in charge of the royal stables on March 1, Valentinian selected Valens as co-Augustus at Constantinople on 28 March 364, though this was done over the objections of Dagalaifus. Ammianus makes it clear, however, that Valens was clearly subordinate to his brother.
Ammianus and Zosimus as well as modern scholars praise Valentinian for his military accomplishments. He is generally credited with keeping the Roman empire from crumbling away by “. . . reversing the generally waning confidence in the army and imperial defense . . ..” Several other aspects of Valentinian's reign also set the course of Roman history for the next century.
Valentinian deliberately polarized Roman society, subordinating the civilian population to the military. The military order took over the old prestige of the senatorial nobility. The imperial court, which was becoming more and more of a military court, became a vehicle for social mobility. There were new ideas of nobility, which was increasingly provincial in character. By this it is meant that the imperial court, not the Senate, was the seat of nobility, and most of these new nobles came from the provinces. With the erosion of the old nobility, the stage was set for the ascendancy of Christianity. Ammianus makes it clear that actions such as these were part of a systematic plan by Valentinian to erode the power and prestige of the senatorial aristocracy. Several pieces of extant legislation seem to confirm Ammianus’ allegations that Valentinian was eroding senatorial prestige.
Valentinian's reign affords valuable insights into late Roman society, civilian as well as military. First, there was a growing fracture between the eastern and western portions of the empire. Valentinian was the last emperor to really concentrate his resources on the west. Valens was clearly in an inferior position in the partnership. Second, there was a growing polarization of society, both Christian versus pagan, and civil versus military. Finally there was a growing regionalism in the west, driven by heavy taxation and the inability of Valentinian to fully exercise military authority in all areas of the west. All of these trends would continue over the next century, profoundly reshaping the Roman empire and western Europe.
By Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1501s, Valentinian I, 25 February 364 - 17 November 375 A.D. (Siscia)Valentinian I, 25 February 364 - 17 November 375 A.D. Bronze AE 3, RIC 5(a) ii, VF, Siscia, 1.905g, 19.3mm, 0o, 25 Feb 364 - 24 Aug 367 A.D. Obverse: D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: GLORIA RO-MANORVM, Emperor dragging captive with right, labarum (chi-rho standard) in left, •GSISC in exergue.
De Imperatoribus Romanis, An Online Encyclopedia of the Roman Emperors and their Families
Valentinian I (364-375 AD.)
Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Valentinian was one of Rome's last great warrior emperors. Flavius Valentinianus, was born in A.D. 321 at Cibalis (modern Vinkovci) in southern Pannonia. His father Gratian was a soldier renowned for his strength and wrestling skills. Gratian had an illustrious career in the army, rising from staff officer to tribune, to comes Africae, and finally [i/comes Britanniae.
The emperor Jovian died on 17 February 364, apparently of natural causes, on the border between Bithynia and Galatia. The army marched on to Nicaea, the nearest city of any consequence, and a meeting of civil and military officials was convened to choose a new emperor. The assembly finally agreed upon Valentinian.
On 26 February 364, Valentinian accepted the office offered to him. As he prepared to make his accession speech, the soldiers threatened to riot, apparently uncertain as to where his loyalties lay. Valentinian reassured them that the army was his greatest priority. Furthermore, to prevent a crisis of succession if he should die prematurely, he agreed to pick a co-Augustus. According to Ammianus, the soldiers were astounded by Valentinian’s bold demeanor and his willingness to assume the imperial authority. His decision to elect a fellow-emperor could also be construed as a move to appease any opposition among the civilian officials in the eastern portion of the empire. By agreeing to appoint a co-ruler, he assured the eastern officials that someone with imperial authority would remain in the east to protect their interests. After promoting his brother Valens to the rank of tribune and putting him in charge of the royal stables on March 1, Valentinian selected Valens as co-Augustus at Constantinople on 28 March 364, though this was done over the objections of Dagalaifus. Ammianus makes it clear, however, that Valens was clearly subordinate to his brother.
Ammianus and Zosimus as well as modern scholars praise Valentinian for his military accomplishments. He is generally credited with keeping the Roman empire from crumbling away by “. . . reversing the generally waning confidence in the army and imperial defense . . ..” Several other aspects of Valentinian's reign also set the course of Roman history for the next century.
Valentinian deliberately polarized Roman society, subordinating the civilian population to the military. The military order took over the old prestige of the senatorial nobility. The imperial court, which was becoming more and more of a military court, became a vehicle for social mobility. There were new ideas of nobility, which was increasingly provincial in character. By this it is meant that the imperial court, not the Senate, was the seat of nobility, and most of these new nobles came from the provinces. With the erosion of the old nobility, the stage was set for the ascendancy of Christianity. Ammianus makes it clear that actions such as these were part of a systematic plan by Valentinian to erode the power and prestige of the senatorial aristocracy. Several pieces of extant legislation seem to confirm Ammianus’ allegations that Valentinian was eroding senatorial prestige.
Valentinian's reign affords valuable insights into late Roman society, civilian as well as military. First, there was a growing fracture between the eastern and western portions of the empire. Valentinian was the last emperor to really concentrate his resources on the west. Valens was clearly in an inferior position in the partnership. Second, there was a growing polarization of society, both Christian versus pagan, and civil versus military. Finally there was a growing regionalism in the west, driven by heavy taxation and the inability of Valentinian to fully exercise military authority in all areas of the west. All of these trends would continue over the next century, profoundly reshaping the Roman empire and western Europe.
By Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1505b, Theodosius I, 19 January 379 - 17 January 395 A.D. (Antioch)Theodosius I, 19 January 379 - 17 January 395 A.D. Bronze AE 3, RIC 44(b), VF, Antioch, 2.17g, 18.1mm, 180o, 9 Aug 378 - 25 Aug 383 A.D. Obverse: D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; Reverse: CONCORDIA AVGGG, Constantinopolis enthroned facing, r. foot on prow, globe in l., scepter in r., Q and F at sides, ANTG in ex; scarce.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
THEODOSIUS I (379-395 A.D.)
David Woods
University College of Cork
Origin and Early Career
Flavius Theodosius was born at Cauca in Spain in about 346 to Thermantia and Theodosius the Elder (so-called to distinguish him from his son). Theodosius the Elder was a senior military officer serving in the Western empire and rose to become the magister equitum praesentalis under the emperor Valentinian I from late 368 until his execution in early 375. As the son of a soldier, Theodosius was legally obliged to enter upon a military career. He seems to have served under his father during his expedition to Britain in 367/8, and was the dux Moesiae Primae by late 374. Unfortunately, great controversy surrounds the rest of his career until Gratian had him hailed as his imperial colleague in succession to the emperor Valens at Sirmium on 19 January 379. It is clear that he was forced to retire home to Spain only to be recalled to active service shortly thereafter, but the circumstances of his forced retirement are shrouded in mystery. His father was executed at roughly the same time, and much speculation has centred on the relationship between these events.
[For a very detailed and interesting discussion of the Foreign Policy of Theodosius and the Civil Wars that plagued his reign, please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/theo1.htm]
Family and Succession
Theodosius married twice. His first wife was the Spanish Aelia Flavia Flaccilla. She bore him Arcadius ca. 377, Honorius on 9 September 384, and Pulcheria ca. 385. Theodosius honoured her with the title of Augusta shortly after his accession, but she died in 386. In late 387 he married Galla, daughter of Valentinian I and full-sister of Valentinian II. She bore him Gratian ca. 388, Galla Placidia ca. 388/390, and died in childbirth in 394, together with her new-born son John. Of his two sons who survived infancy, he appointed Arcadius as Augustus on 19 January 383 and Honorius as Augustus on 23 January 393. His promotion of Arcadius as a full Augustus at an unusually young age points to his determination right from the start that one of his own sons should succeed him. He sought to strengthen Arcadius' position in particular by means of a series of strategic marriages whose purpose was to tie his leading "generals" irrevocably to his dynasty. Hence he married his niece and adoptive daughter Serena to his magister militum per Orientem Stilicho in 387, her elder sister Thermantia to a "general" whose name has not been preserved, and ca. 387 his nephew-in-law Nebridius to Salvina, daughter of the comes Africae Gildo. By the time of his death by illness on 17 January 395, Theodosius had promoted Stilicho from his position as one of the two comites domesticorum under his own eastern administration to that of magister peditum praesentalis in a western administration, in an entirely traditional manner, under his younger son Honorius. Although Stilicho managed to increase the power of the magister peditum praesentalis to the disadvantage of his colleague the magister equitum praesentalis and claimed that Theodosius had appointed him as guardian for both his sons, this tells us more about his cunning and ambition than it does about Theodosius' constitutional arrangements.
Theodosius' importance rests on the fact that he founded a dynasty which continued in power until the death of his grandson Theodosius II in 450. This ensured a continuity of policy which saw the emergence of Nicene Christianity as the orthodox belief of the vast majority of Christians throughout the middle ages. It also ensured the essential destruction of paganism and the emergence of Christianity as the religion of the state, even if the individual steps in this process can be difficult to identify. On the negative side, however, he allowed his dynastic interests and ambitions to lead him into two unnecessary and bloody civil wars which severely weakened the empire's ability to defend itself in the face of continued barbarian pressure upon its frontiers. In this manner, he put the interests of his family before those of the wider Roman population and was responsible, in many ways, for the phenomenon to which we now refer as the fall of the western Roman empire.
Copyright (C) 1998, David Woods.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
There is a nice segue here, as we pick-up John Julius Norwich's summation of the reign of Theodosius, "Readers of this brief account of his career may well find themselves wondering, not so much whether he deserved the title of 'the Great' as how he ever came to acquire it in the first place. If so, however, they may also like to ask themselves another question: what would have been the fate of the Empire if, at that critical moment in its history after the battle of Adrianople, young Gratian had not called him from his Spanish estates and put the future of the East into his hands? . . . the probability is that the whole Empire of the East would have been lost, swallowed up in a revived Gothic kingdom, with effects on world history that defy speculation.
In his civil legislation he showed, again and again, a consideration for the humblest of his subjects that was rare indeed among rulers of the fourth century. What other prince would have decreed that any criminal, sentenced to execution, imprisonment or exile, must first be allowed thirty days' grace to put his affairs in order? Or that a specified part of his worldly goods must go to his children, upon whom their father's crimes must on no account be visited? Or that no farmer should be obliged to sell his produce to the State at a price lower than he would receive on the open market?
Had he earned his title? Not, perhaps, in the way that Constantine had done or as Justinian was to do. But, if not ultimately great himself, he had surely come very close to greatness; and had he reigned as long as they did his achievements might well have equalled theirs. He might even have saved the Western Empire. One thing only is certain: it would be nearly a century and a half before the Romans would look upon his like again" (Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium, the Early Centuries. London: Penguin Group, 1990. 116-7;118).
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1505c, Theodosius I, 379 - 395 A.D. (Constantinople)Theodosius I (379 - 395 AD) AE3. 388-394 AD, RIC IX 27(a)3, Third Officina. Seventh Period. 20.27 mm. 4.8gm. Near VF with black and earthen patina. Constantinople. Obverse: DN THEODO-SIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, & cuirassed bust right; Reverse: GLORIA-ROMANORVM, Theodosius I standing, facing, holding labarum and globe, CONSB in exergue (scarcer reverse). A Spanish find.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
THEODOSIUS I (379-395 A.D.)
David Woods
University College of Cork
Origin and Early Career
Flavius Theodosius was born at Cauca in Spain in about 346 to Thermantia and Theodosius the Elder (so-called to distinguish him from his son). Theodosius the Elder was a senior military officer serving in the Western empire and rose to become the magister equitum praesentalis under the emperor Valentinian I from late 368 until his execution in early 375. As the son of a soldier, Theodosius was legally obliged to enter upon a military career. He seems to have served under his father during his expedition to Britain in 367/8, and was the dux Moesiae Primae by late 374. Unfortunately, great controversy surrounds the rest of his career until Gratian had him hailed as his imperial colleague in succession to the emperor Valens at Sirmium on 19 January 379. It is clear that he was forced to retire home to Spain only to be recalled to active service shortly thereafter, but the circumstances of his forced retirement are shrouded in mystery. His father was executed at roughly the same time, and much speculation has centred on the relationship between these events.
[For a very detailed and interesting discussion of the Foreign Policy of Theodosius and the Civil Wars that plagued his reign, please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/theo1.htm]
Family and Succession
Theodosius married twice. His first wife was the Spanish Aelia Flavia Flaccilla. She bore him Arcadius ca. 377, Honorius on 9 September 384, and Pulcheria ca. 385. Theodosius honoured her with the title of Augusta shortly after his accession, but she died in 386. In late 387 he married Galla, daughter of Valentinian I and full-sister of Valentinian II. She bore him Gratian ca. 388, Galla Placidia ca. 388/390, and died in childbirth in 394, together with her new-born son John. Of his two sons who survived infancy, he appointed Arcadius as Augustus on 19 January 383 and Honorius as Augustus on 23 January 393. His promotion of Arcadius as a full Augustus at an unusually young age points to his determination right from the start that one of his own sons should succeed him. He sought to strengthen Arcadius' position in particular by means of a series of strategic marriages whose purpose was to tie his leading "generals" irrevocably to his dynasty. Hence he married his niece and adoptive daughter Serena to his magister militum per Orientem Stilicho in 387, her elder sister Thermantia to a "general" whose name has not been preserved, and ca. 387 his nephew-in-law Nebridius to Salvina, daughter of the comes Africae Gildo. By the time of his death by illness on 17 January 395, Theodosius had promoted Stilicho from his position as one of the two comites domesticorum under his own eastern administration to that of magister peditum praesentalis in a western administration, in an entirely traditional manner, under his younger son Honorius. Although Stilicho managed to increase the power of the magister peditum praesentalis to the disadvantage of his colleague the magister equitum praesentalis and claimed that Theodosius had appointed him as guardian for both his sons, this tells us more about his cunning and ambition than it does about Theodosius' constitutional arrangements.
Theodosius' importance rests on the fact that he founded a dynasty which continued in power until the death of his grandson Theodosius II in 450. This ensured a continuity of policy which saw the emergence of Nicene Christianity as the orthodox belief of the vast majority of Christians throughout the middle ages. It also ensured the essential destruction of paganism and the emergence of Christianity as the religion of the state, even if the individual steps in this process can be difficult to identify. On the negative side, however, he allowed his dynastic interests and ambitions to lead him into two unnecessary and bloody civil wars which severely weakened the empire's ability to defend itself in the face of continued barbarian pressure upon its frontiers. In this manner, he put the interests of his family before those of the wider Roman population and was responsible, in many ways, for the phenomenon to which we now refer as the fall of the western Roman empire.
Copyright (C) 1998, David Woods.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
There is a nice segue here, as we pick-up John Julius Norwich's summation of the reign of Theodosius, "Readers of this brief account of his career may well find themselves wondering, not so much whether he deserved the title of 'the Great' as how he ever came to acquire it in the first place. If so, however, they may also like to ask themselves another question: what would have been the fate of the Empire if, at that critical moment in its history after the battle of Adrianople, young Gratian had not called him from his Spanish estates and put the future of the East into his hands? . . . the probability is that the whole Empire of the East would have been lost, swallowed up in a revived Gothic kingdom, with effects on world history that defy speculation.
In his civil legislation he showed, again and again, a consideration for the humblest of his subjects that was rare indeed among rulers of the fourth century. What other prince would have decreed that any criminal, sentenced to execution, imprisonment or exile, must first be allowed thirty days' grace to put his affairs in order? Or that a specified part of his worldly goods must go to his children, upon whom their father's crimes must on no account be visited? Or that no farmer should be obliged to sell his produce to the State at a price lower than he would receive on the open market?
Had he earned his title? Not, perhaps, in the way that Constantine had done or as Justinian was to do. But, if not ultimately great himself, he had surely come very close to greatness; and had he reigned as long as they did his achievements might well have equalled theirs. He might even have saved the Western Empire. One thing only is certain: it would be nearly a century and a half before the Romans would look upon his like again" (Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium, the Early Centuries. London: Penguin Group, 1990. 116-7;118).
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1569 Hadrian Denarius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II 322; C. 1223; BMC 871; RIC III, 1569; Strack 318
Bust A1
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Laureate head right
Rev. RESTITVTORI AFRICAE
Hadrian standing left, holding scroll and raising up Africa who wears elephant-scalp and holds bunch of corn-ears; on the ground between the figures grow ears of corn
3.40 gr
17 mm
6hokidoki
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1569 Hadrian Denarius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II, 322e; C. 1223; BMC 871; RIC III, 1569
Bust A2
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Laureate head with drapery
Rev. RESTITVTORI AFRICAE
Hadrian standing left, holding scroll and raising up Africa who wears elephant-scalp and holds bunch of corn-ears; on the ground between the figures grow ears of corn
3.13
17 mm
6hokidoki
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1608 - Lepidus and Octavian, DenariusDenarius minted in Italy, 42 BC
LEPIDVS PONT MAX III V R P C, bare head of Lepidus right (NT and MA in monograms)
C CAESAR IMPIII VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right (MP in monogram)
3.78 gr
Ref : HCRI # 140, RCV # 1523, Cohen # 2
The following from forum catalog :
"Lepidus was a faithful follower of Julius Caesar, and he served as Praetor and Consul. When Caesar was assassinated, Lepidus was in charge of the cavalry and commanded a legion. This position secured him a place in the Second Triumvirate along Marc Antony and Octavian. His cut was Africa. When Octavian attacked Sextus Pompey's Sicily, Lepidus' ships and troops supported him. In an uninspired move, Lepidus thought he could force Octavian to leave him the island. The two armies separated and isolated skirmishes occurred, but soon the soldiers sick of yet another civil war, acknowledging Octavian's superiority deserted Lepidus en-masse. Lepidus left the island as a simple civilian, retaining only his priesthood, but he was the only defeated Imperator not to suffer a violent death."Potator II
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1609 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II, 840; C.144; Strack 709: RIC III, 1609; Banti 92
Bust C2
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS
Laureate, draped bust viewed from side
Rev. AFRICA S C in ex.
Africa, reclining left, before basket of corn, wearing elephant scalp headdress, holding up scorpion and also holding cornucopia
23.30 gr
32 mm
12h
Note.
From the E.E. Clain Stefanelli collectionokidoki
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1609 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II, 840; C.144; Strack 709: RIC III, 1609; Banti 92
Bust C2
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS
Laureate, draped bust viewed from side
Rev. AFRICA S C in ex.
Africa, reclining left, before basket of corn, wearing elephant scalp headdress, holding up scorpion and also holding cornucopia
25.01 gr
32 mm
6hokidoki
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1610 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
RIC II, 840; C.144; Strack 709: RIC III, 1610; Banti 89
Bust C2+
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS
Bare head, draped bust viewed from side
Rev. AFRICA S C in ex.
Africa, reclining left, before basket of corn, wearing elephant scalp headdress, holding up scorpion and also holding cornucopia
29.06 gr
33 mm
12hokidoki
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177-192 AD - COMMODUS AR denarius - struck 191 or 192 ADobv: L AEL AVREL COM-M AVG P FEL (laureate head right)
rev: PROVIDENTIAE AVG (Hercules standing right, his foot is placed on the prow of a vessel, resting club on treetrunk right and holding thunderbolt; clasping hands with Africa, who wears elephantskin on head, in her left hand holding sistrum, at her feet lion)
ref: RIC III 259a (R), RSC 643 (20frcs)
mint: Rome
2.86gms, 18mm
Rare
This coin legend and type is regarded to the African fleet of corn transports. The elephant's head, the sistrum, and the lion are attributes peculiar to Egypt and to Africa proper, which were the granaries of Rome. But Commodus having sent his ships for freights of corn is on this coin represented paying worship to Hercules, and he himself plants his foot on the prow of one of the vessels, as if showing care for his new colony.berserker
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1815 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 130-38 AD AfricaReference.
Strack 769; RIC II, 941f; BMCRE 1789; C.1228; RIC III 1815
Bust C2
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Laureate, draped bust viewed from side
Rev. RESTITVTORI AFRICAE, in Ex.SC,
Hadrian standing left, holding scroll and raising up kneeling Africa who wears elephant-scalp and holds bunch of corn-ears; more corn grows on the ground between figures
24.65 gr
34 mm
6hokidoki
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1932-SA George V Gold SovereignSouth Africa, George V (1910-36), Gold Sovereign, 1932-SA, Bentley 931, Hern S347, Kaplan 109, SCWC KM 21, Friedberg 5, Marsh 296, SCBC 4005, BU, edge milled, weight 7.9881g (AGW 0.2355oz), composition 0.917 Au, 0.083 Cu, diameter 22.05mm, thickness 1.52mm, die axis 0°, Pretoria mint, 1932; obverse GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F.D. IND: IMP: (George V, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India), second smaller bare head left, B.M. raised on truncation for engraver Bertram Mackennal, toothed border surrounding; reverse St. George, nude but for crested Attic helmet with three-strand streamer, paludamentum fastened in front by fibula billowing behind and high-topped boots (calcei equestri), on horse rearing right, with long tail, ending in three strands, with one spur higher up at curve, holding bridle in left hand and short sword in right, looking down, trampling and slaying prostrate dragon to lower right, with broken lance in its side, looking back and up at St. George, broken lance on ground-line to left, mint mark SA at centre of ground-line, 1932 in exergue, tiny B.P. raised to upper right of exergue for engraver Benedetto Pistrucci, toothed border surrounding; from the Roger Belmar Collection; ex KB Coins (28 Aug 2020); £475.00.Serendipity
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194_Septimius_Severus_Dupondius_RIC_680_1Septimius Severus (193 – 211 AD)
AE Dupondius, Rome, 194 – 195
L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP IIII;
Radiate head right
AFRICA, S-C;
Africa, in elephant-skin head-dress, standing right, holding corn-ears in fold of robe(?), lion at feet
10, 04 gr, 24 mm
RIC IVa, 680; BMC V, 523; C. 30
ga77
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1981 Hadrian Denarius Roma 134-38 AD Hadrian & Roma Reference.
RIC 1981; Strack 218; RIC 227; C.cf 94; BMCR cf 584
Bust A1+
Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Bare head
Rev. ADVENTVS AVGVSTI
Roma standing left, holding spear, and parazonium on hip?? and clasping hands with Hadrian standing right, holding a roll.
3.35 gr
18 mm
6h
Note.
Strack saw two similar coins in Vienna and Sofia with same die pair.
This denarius was Rome struck during the latter part of Hadrian’s reign, and which fall into three classes or categories: 1) a series of coins commemorating the visit or arrival (adventus) of the emperor to each province; 2) another series which commemorates the restoration (restitutor) of the province by the emperor; and 3) an additional series which commemorates the military strength (exercitus) of province, for those provinces which had legions stationed within them. In addition to these three categories of commemorative issues that are collectively known as Hadrian’s ‘travel’ series, there are a further two related groups of coins. The first is quite extensive and simply commemorates the various provinces, with the provinces of Egypt, Africa, Hispania and Gallia being the most common. Then there is a much smaller issue which commemorates the emperor’s final return (adventus) to Rome, after his subjugation of the Jewish zealots under Simon Bar Kochba led to the pacification of the province of Judaea, of which this coin is a particularly handsome specimen. After spending more than half his reign on the road, and especially after having just inflicted such a crushing defeat on the recalcitrant Jews, Hadrian’s homecoming was a momentous occasion in the capital which was warmly welcomed by the citizens. The reverse shows the city of Rome personified as the goddess Roma, helmeted and draped in military attire, holding a spear and clasping the hand of the now elderly emperor who is depicted togate and holding a roll in the guise of a citizen, standing before her. The legend which appears on the obverse of this coin was only employed ca. A.D. 134-138. As Hadrian returned to Italy during A.D. 136 and died not two years later, this coin belongs to the very last issue of coinage struck at Rome during his principate.okidoki
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