| Image search results - "Drusilla" |
004c. Drusilla & Other SistersDrusilla was the sister of Caligula, with whom he was reported to have an incestuous relationship. She has some solo portraits on provincial coins. His other two sisters, Agrippina the Younger and Julia, were on coins as part of the trio of sisters. For a portrait coin of Agrippina, see 005c.lawrence c
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004c01. Drusilla & Other SistersGaius (Caligula). Æ Sestertius (33.5mm, 23.85 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 37-38. C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, Laureate head left / AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA Gaius' three sisters standing facing: Agrippina (as Securitas) leaning on column, holding cornucopia, and placing hand on Drusilla (as Concordia), holding patera and cornucopia; on right, Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and cornucopia. RIC I 33. Portrait defaced in antiquity. CNG Auction 553, Lot 463.lawrence c
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019 - LIVIA DRVSILLALivia
Livia Drusilla was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus throughout his reign, as well as his adviser.
for obverse, reverse and coin details click here
shanxi
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1ai Augustus27 BC-14 AD
Denarius
Laureate head left, AVGVSTVS DIVI F
Apollo stg. Right, IMP XII
Van Meter notes that after about 15 BC, Augustus moved the production of gold and silver to Lugdunum and underscored the end of the moneyer issues by using "IMP" on the reverse.
RIC 180
Suetonius summarized Augusts' life in these words: He lost his father at the age of five (58BC). At twelve he delivered a funeral oration in honour of his grandmother Julia, Julius Caesar’s sister (51BC). At sixteen, having assumed the toga, he was decorated by Caesar during the African triumph (46BC) even though he had been too young to fight. When Caesar went to conquer Pompey’s sons in Spain (in 46BC), Augustus followed, despite still being weak from severe illness, and despite being shipwrecked on the way, with a minimal escort, over roads menaced by the enemy, so endearing himself greatly to Caesar, who quickly formed a high opinion of Augustus’ character, beyond merely his energetic pursuit of the journey.
After recovering the Spanish provinces, Caesar planned an expedition against the Dacians, to be followed by an attack on Parthia, and sent Augustus ahead (in 45BC) to Apollonia in Illyria, where he spent his time studying. When news came of Caesar’s assassination (in 44BC), and that the will named him as the main heir, Augustus considered seeking protection from the legions quartered there. However he decided it would be rash and premature, and chose to return to Rome, and enter on his inheritance, despite the doubts expressed by his mother, and strong opposition from his stepfather, the ex-consul Marcius Philippus.
Augustus went on to levy armies and rule the State; firstly for a twelve-year period (from 43BC to 30BC), initially with Mark Antony and Lepidus and then (from 33BC) with Antony alone; and later by himself for a further forty-four years (to his death in AD14).
In his youth he was betrothed to Servilia, the daughter of Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, but on his reconciliation with Mark Antony following their first dispute, the troops begged them to become allied by some tie of kinship, and he married (in 43BC) Claudia, Antony’s stepdaughter, born to Fulvia and Publius Clodius Pulcher, even though Claudia was barely of marriageable age. However he quarrelled with Fulvia, and divorced Claudia before the marriage had been consummated.
Not long afterwards (in 40BC), he married Scribonia, whose previous husbands had been ex-consuls, and to one of whom she had borne a child. He divorced her also ‘tired’, he wrote, ‘of her shrewish ways,’ and immediately took Livia Drusilla from her husband Tiberius Nero though she was pregnant at the time (38BC), loving and esteeming her alone to the end.Blindado
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1aj LiviaDied 29 AD
AE23 of Cilicia, Augusta
23–24 AD
ΙΟΥΛΙΑ [Σ]ΕΒΑΣΤΗ, Portrait, right
ΑΥΓΟΥCTA—NW—N, Tyche std., river god Saros at feet
This is one of my favorite pieces because I picked it up for a couple of bucks from a market stall in an Aegean country.
RPC I 4013-4014
Same design as RPC 4009v, but larger
Ancient sources accuse Livia off having schemed and murdered the heirs of Augustus to ensure the rule of her son, Tiberius. In this case, the citation comes from a modern scholar, Meagan Button:
Livia Drusilla was a devoted mother, wife, and citizen of Rome. She was a strong Roman woman who saw the importance of family and state life. Throughout the course of her 86 years, Livia enjoyed fortune, influence, motherhood, and an adoring husband. She was passionate about the beautification of Rome and the image of the Roman family. She built and restored many monuments in the empire, and was able to see the completion of many in her lifetime. As the first empress of Rome, Livia set standards for success that would never again be matched. Her enthusiasm for her country and willingness to inspire change was unprecedented in her time and legendary after her death. Livia was influenced largely by the ideas of her second husband, Octavian (who later became Augustus). Their marriage in 38 B.C. marked the fusion of two strong political minds. Together, they held power over one of the most prosperous periods in ancient Roman history.
According to Suetonius, "The last words [Augustus] spoke were to his wife: ‘Livia, keep the memory of our marriage alive, and farewell!’ and died the very moment he was kissing her."Blindado
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1an GermanicusAdopted by Tiberius in 4 AD, died mysteriously in 19
As, struck by Caligula
Bare head, left, GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVGVST F DIVI AVG N
C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT SC
RIC 57
Germanicus Julius Caesar (c16 BC-AD 19) was was born in Lugdunum, Gaul (modern Lyon). At birth he was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle. He received the agnomen Germanicus, in 9 BC, when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honour of his victories in Germania. Germanicus was the grandson-in-law and great-nephew of the Emperor Augustus, nephew and adoptive son of the Emperor Tiberius, father of the Emperor Caligula, brother of the Emperor Claudius, and the maternal grandfather of the Emperor Nero. He married his maternal second cousin Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus, between 5 and 1 BC. The couple had nine children. Two died very young; another, Gaius Julius Caesar, died in early childhood. The remaining six were: Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, the Emperor Caligula, the Empress Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla.
According to Suetonius: Germanicus, who was the son of Drusus the Elder and Antonia the Younger, was adopted (in 4AD) by Germanicus’s paternal uncle, Tiberius. He served as quaestor (in7AD) five years before the legal age and became consul (in12AD) without holding the intermediate offices. On the death of Augustus (in AD14) he was appointed to command the army in Germany, where, his filial piety and determination vying for prominence, he held the legions to their oath, though they stubbornly opposed Tiberius’s succession, and wished him to take power for himself.
He followed this with victory in Germany, for which he celebrated a triumph (in 17 AD), and was chosen as consul for a second time (18 AD) though unable to take office as he was despatched to the East to restore order there. He defeated the forces of the King of Armenia, and reduced Cappadocia to provincial status, but then died at Antioch, at the age of only thirty-three (in AD 19), after a lingering illness, though there was also suspicion that he had been poisoned. For as well as the livid stains which covered his body, and the foam on his lips, the heart was found entire among the ashes after his cremation, its total resistance to flame being a characteristic of that organ, they say, when it is filled with poison.
All considered Germanicus exceptional in body and mind, to a quite outstanding degree. Remarkably brave and handsome; a master of Greek and Latin oratory and learning; singularly benevolent; he was possessed of a powerful desire and vast capacity for winning respect and inspiring affection.
His scrawny legs were less in keeping with the rest of his figure, but he gradually fleshed them out by assiduous exercise on horseback after meals. He often killed enemy warriors in hand-to-hand combat; still pleaded cases in the courts even after receiving his triumph; and left various Greek comedies behind amongst other fruits of his studies.
At home and abroad his manners were unassuming, such that he always entered free or allied towns without his lictors.
Whenever he passed the tombs of famous men, he always offered a sacrifice to their shades. And he was the first to initiate a personal search for the scattered remains of Varus’s fallen legionaries, and have them gathered together, so as to inter them in a single burial mound.
As for Germanicus, Tiberius appreciated him so little, that he dismissed his famous deeds as trivial, and his brilliant victories as ruinous to the Empire. He complained to the Senate when Germanicus left for Alexandria (AD19) without consulting him, on the occasion there of a terrible and swift-spreading famine. It was even believed that Tiberius arranged for his poisoning at the hands of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the Governor of Syria, and that Piso would have revealed the written instructions at his trial, had Tiberius not retrieved them during a private interview, before having Piso put to death. As a result, the words: ‘Give us back Germanicus!’ were posted on the walls, and shouted at night, all throughout Rome. The suspicion surrounding Germanicus’ death (19 AD) was deepened by Tiberius’s cruel treatment of Germanicus’s wife, Agrippina the Elder, and their children.Blindado
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1ao2 Caesonia (?)AE 27 of Carthago Nova, Spain
Laureate head of Caligula, right, C CAESAR AVG GERMANIS
Draped bust of Caesonia (as Salus) right, DN ATEL FLAC CN POM FLAC II VIR Q V I N C, SAL AVG across field
Generally held to portray the fourth wife of Caligula.
Sear 624
Caesonia, Milonia, (d41AD) was the fourth and last wife of Caligula. Her younger half-brother was the Consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Her niece, Domitia Longina, married Domitian. In 41, Caligula was assassinated and Caesonia and her daughter Julia Drusilla murdered.
Suetonius states: As for Caesonia, who was neither young nor beautiful, had three daughters by another man, and was wildly promiscuous and extravagant, he not only loved her more passionately for it, but also more faithfully, taking her out riding, and showing her to the soldiers, dressed in a cloak with helmet and shield: while he exhibited her to his friends stark naked. He did not honour her with the title of wife until she had given him a child, announcing his paternity and the marriage on the very same day. This child, whom he named Julia Drusilla, he carried round all the temples of the goddesses, before finally entrusting her to Minerva’s lap, calling on that goddess to nurture and educate his daughter. Nothing persuaded him more clearly that she was his own issue than her violent temper, which was so savage the infant would tear at the faces and eyes of her little playmates. . . .
And as [Caligula] kissed the neck of wife or sweetheart, he never failed to say: ‘This lovely thing will be slit whenever I say.’ Now and then he even threatened his dear Caesonia with torture, if that was the only way of discovering why he was so enamoured of her. . . . Some think that Caesonia his wife administered a love potion that had instead the effect of driving him mad.Blindado
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1ao3 Julia DrusillaAE 20 of Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey)
Laureate head of Caligula, right, ΓAION KAICAPA EΠI AOYIOΛA
Drusilla as Persephone seated left, poppies between two stalks of grain in right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, ∆POYCIΛΛAN ZMYPNAIΩN MHNOΦANHC
Caligula’s sister
Klose XXVIII, 27 (Vs4/Rs10); RPC I 2472; SNG Cop 1343; SNGvA 2202; BMC Ionia p. 269, 272
According to Suetonius’ salacious account: Germanicus had married Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Marcus Agrippa and Julia the Elder, and she had borne him nine children. Two died in infancy, another in early childhood. . . .
The other children survived their father: three girls, Agrippina the Younger, Drusilla and Livilla, born in successive years; and three boys, Nero, Drusus, and Gaius Caesar (Caligula). . . . [Caligula] habitually committed incest with each of his three sisters, seating them in turn below him at large banquets while his wife reclined above. It is believed that he violated Drusilla’s virginity while a minor, and been caught in bed with her by his grandmother Antonia, in whose household they were jointly raised. Later, when Drusilla was married to Lucius Cassius Longinus, an ex-consul, he took her from him and openly treated her as his lawful married wife. When he fell ill he made her heir to his estate and the throne.
When Drusilla died (in 38AD) he declared a period of public mourning during which it was a capital offense to laugh, or bathe, or to dine with parents, spouse or children. Caligula himself was so overcome with grief that he fled the City in the middle of the night, and travelled through Campania, and on to Syracuse, returning again with the same degree of haste, and without cutting his hair or shaving. From that time forwards whenever he took an important oath, even in public or in front of the army, he always swore by Drusilla’s divinity.Blindado
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1aq Agrippina juniorMarried Claudius 49 AD
Diobol of Alexandria
Draped bust right, wreathed with corn, hair bound in plait behind, AGRIPPEINA CЄBACTH
Draped bust of Euthenia right, wreathed with corn, holding ears of corn, ЄYQH-NIA across fields, L-IB below
Milne 124
Agrippina the Younger, Julia Agrippina, or Agrippinilla (Little Agrippina) after 50 AD known as Julia Augusta Agrippina (c16 AD –59) was sister of Caligula, niece and fourth wife of Claudius and the mother of Nero. In 28, Tiberius arranged for Agrippina to marry her paternal second cousin Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Their only son was named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, after Domitius’s recently deceased father. This child would become the Emperor Nero. In 39, Agrippina and her sister Livilla, with their maternal cousin, Drusilla’s widower, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, were involved in a failed plot to murder Caligula, and make Lepidus emperor. Lepidus was executed. Agrippina and Livilla were exiled by their brother to the Pontine Islands.
Suetonius says, "But it was Agrippina the Younger, his brother Germanicus’s daughter, who ensnared him, assisted by a niece’s privilege of exchanging kisses and endearments. At the next Senate meeting, he primed a group of Senators to propose that he ought to marry Agrippina, as it was in the public interest, and that such marriages between uncle and niece should from then on be regarded as lawful, and no longer incestuous. He married her (AD 49) with barely a day’s delay, but only one freedman and one leading centurion married their respective nieces, to follow suit. Claudius himself, with Agrippina, attended the centurion’s wedding."
The Euthenia reverse reminds one of "euthanasia." which is what some suspect she did to Claudius to elevate her son Nero to the purple.Blindado
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703a, Tiberius, 19 August 14 - 16 March 37 A.D., Tribute Penny of Matthew 22:20-21Silver denarius, RIC I 30, RSC II 16a, SRCV 1763, gVF, Lugdunum mint, 3.837g, 18.7mm, 90o, 16 - 37 A.D.; obverse TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right; reverse PONTIF MAXIM, Pax/Livia seated right holding scepter and branch, legs on chair ornamented, feet on footstool; toned. Ex FORVM.
De Imperatoribus Romanis
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)
Garrett G. Fagan
Pennsylvania State University
Introduction
The reign of Tiberius (b. 42 B.C., d. A.D. 37, emperor A.D. 14-37) is a particularly important one for the Principate, since it was the first occasion when the powers designed for Augustus alone were exercised by somebody else. In contrast to the approachable and tactful Augustus, Tiberius emerges from the sources as an enigmatic and darkly complex figure, intelligent and cunning, but given to bouts of severe depression and dark moods that had a great impact on his political career as well as his personal relationships.
. . . .
Early life (42-12 B.C.)
Tiberius Claudius Nero was born on 16 November 42 B.C. to Ti. Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. Both parents were scions of the gens Claudia which had supplied leaders to the Roman Republic for many generations. . . [I]n 39 B.C., his mother Livia divorced Ti. Claudius Nero and married Octavian, thereby making the infant Tiberius the stepson of the future ruler of the Roman world. Forever afterward, Tiberius was to have his name coupled with this man, and always to his detriment.
. . . .
Accession and Early Reign (A.D. 14 - 23)
The accession of Tiberius proved intensely awkward. After Augustus had been buried and deified, and his will read and honored, the Senate convened on 18 September to inaugurate the new reign and officially "confirm" Tiberius as emperor. Such a transfer of power had never happened before, and nobody, including Tiberius, appears to have known what to do. Tacitus's account is the fullest. . . Rather than tactful, he came across to the senators as obdurate and obstructive. He declared that he was too old for the responsibilities of the Principate, said he did not want the job, and asked if he could just take one part of the government for himself. The Senate was confused, not knowing how to read his behavior. Finally, one senator asked pointedly, "Sire, for how long will you allow the State to be without a head?" Tiberius relented and accepted the powers voted to him, although he refused the title "Augustus."
. . . .
Tiberius allowed a trusted advisor to get too close and gain a tremendous influence over him. That advisor was the Praetorian Prefect, L. Aelius Sejanus, who would derail Tiberius's plans for the succession and drive the emperor farther into isolation, depression, and paranoia.
Sejanus (A.D. 23-31)
Sejanus hailed from Volsinii in Etruria. He and his father shared the Praetorian Prefecture until A.D. 15 when the father, L. Seius Strabo, was promoted to be Prefect of Egypt, the pinnacle of an equestrian career under the Principate. Sejanus, now sole Prefect of the Guard, enjoyed powerful connections to senatorial houses and had been a companion to Gaius Caesar on his mission to the East, 1 B.C. - A.D. 4. Through a combination of energetic efficiency, fawning sycophancy, and outward displays of loyalty, he gained the position of Tiberius's closest friend and advisor.
. . . .
[I]n a shocking and unexpected turn of events, [a] letter sent by Tiberius from Capri initially praised Sejanus extensively, and then suddenly denounced him as a traitor and demanded his arrest. Chaos ensued. Senators long allied with Sejanus headed for the exits, the others were confused -- was this a test of their loyalty? What did the emperor want them to do? -- but the Praetorian Guard, the very troops formerly under Sejanus's command but recently and secretly transferred to the command of Q. Sutorius Macro, arrested Sejanus, conveyed him to prison, and shortly afterwards executed him summarily. A witch-hunt followed. . . All around the city, grim scenes were played out, and as late as A.D. 33 a general massacre of all those still in custody took place.
Tiberius himself later claimed that he turned on Sejanus because he had been alerted to Sejanus's plot against Germanicus's family. This explanation has been rejected by most ancient and modern authorities, since Sejanus's demise did nothing to alleviate that family's troubles.
. . . .
The Last Years (A.D. 31-37)
The Sejanus affair appears to have greatly depressed Tiberius. A close friend and confidant had betrayed him; whom could he trust anymore? His withdrawal from public life seemed more complete in the last years. Letters kept him in touch with Rome, but it was the machinery of the Augustan administration that kept the empire running smoothly. Tiberius, if we believe our sources, spent much of his time indulging his perversities on Capri.
. . . .
Tiberius died quietly in a villa at Misenum on 16 March A.D. 37. He was 78 years old. There are some hints in the sources of the hand of Caligula in the deed, but such innuendo can be expected at the death of an emperor, especially when his successor proved so depraved. The level of unpopularity Tiberius had achieved by the time of his death with both the upper and lower classes is revealed by these facts: the Senate refused to vote him divine honors, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!" (in reference to a method of disposal reserved for the corpses of criminals).
Tiberius and the Empire
Three main aspects of Tiberius's impact on the empire deserve special attention: his relative military inertia; his modesty in dealing with offers of divine honors and his fair treatment of provincials; and his use of the Law of Treason (maiestas).
. . . .
Conclusion
. . . Tiberius's reign sporadically descended into tyranny of the worst sort. In the right climate of paranoia and suspicion, widespread denunciation led to the deaths of dozens of Senators and equestrians, as well as numerous members of the imperial house. In this sense, the reign of Tiberius decisively ended the Augustan illusion of "the Republic Restored" and shone some light into the future of the Principate, revealing that which was both promising and terrifying.
[For the entire article please refer to http://www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm]
Copyright © 1997, Garrett G. Fagan. Used by permission.
"Some of the things he did are hard to believe. He had little boys trained as minnows to chase him when he went swimming and to get between his legs and nibble him. He also had babies not weaned from their mother breast suck at his chest and groin . . . "
(Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Penguin Books, 1979. XLIV).
Jesus, referring to a "penny" asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" When told it was Caesar, He said, ''Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:20-21). Since Tiberius was Caesar at the time, this denarius type is attributed by scholars as the "penny" referred to in the Bible(Joseph Sermarini).
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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Agrippina, Drusilla and Julia, Caligula's three sistersOrichalcum sestertius (23.4g, 34mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Gaius ("Caligula") AD 37-38.
Obverse: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT laureate portret of Gaius facing left
Reverse: AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA Agrippina (Jr), the eldest sister as Securitas, leaning on column, holding cornucopia, and placing left hand on Drusilla's shoulder; Drusilla, the middle sister, as Concordia, holding patera and cornucopia; and Julia Livilla, the youngest, as Fortuna, holding rudder and cornucopia.
RIC (Gaius) 33; Cohen 4
Ex Harlan J. Berk, Buy/Bid Sale
This specimen in the style of a provincial branch mint, rarer than those in Rome-mint style.Charles S
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Caligula, 37 - 41 ADObv: C CAESAR DIVI AVG PRON AVG PM TRP IIII PP, laureate head of Caligula facing left.
Rev: AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA, The three sisters of Caligula, standing side by side; on the left, Agrippina (personified as Securitas) with head turned right, holds cornucopia, resting right hand on column, left hand on Drusilla’s shoulder; in center Drusilla (personified as Concordia), with head turned left, holding patera in right hand and cornucopia in left; on right Julia (personified as Fortuna Augusta), with head turned left, holding rudder in right hand and cornucopia in left; SC in exergue.
20.1 grams, 35 mm
This coin is a copy of a medallion made my Giovanni da Cavino of Padua, Italy. Though it's not an "ancient forgery" I would estimate it's manufacture to be sometime in the mid to late 19th Century. There appears to be genuine wear on the coin's surface along with a waxy residue visible in the lettering above Caligula's head leading me to believe this coin might have been used as a host to cast other fakes. It appears to be a direct copy of the Paduan housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It is pictured in Imitations and Inventions of Roman Coins by Zander H. Klawans as Caligula 1.
RIC 41, Klawans Caligula 1Matt Inglima
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Cr 519/2 Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus AR Denariusc. 41 b.c.e. Greek coastal mint or possibly a Shipboard mint
o: Bearded head of Lucius (?) Ahenobarbus r., AHENOBAR before
r: CN.DOMITIVS.IMP Ship's prow r., w/ military trophy
HCRI 339 Domitia 21
3.79 gm.
A flip-flopper of exquisitely flexible principles, Gnaeus salvaged his family’s future by deserting to Octavian days before the battle of Actium, paving his posthumous way to becoming Emperor Nero’s great-grandfather. Suetonius says that Gnaeus “omnibus gentis suae procul dubio praeferendum” -- was “undoubtedly the best of his entire extended family, ever”. Considering that the entire extended family was considered remarkably depraved, Nero’s father most of all, that is faint praise indeed.
Lucky he was also to have previously commanded the "Liberators' " fleet and at sea instead of standing in the mud at Philippi, as the trophy presumably represents his irrelevant victory over Domitius Calvinus in October 42. To my eye, the trophy is not distinctly nautical standing alone and perhaps the entire design reflects a naval trophy that he erected on a friendly shore point.
His allies Brutus and Cassius having committed suicide, Gnaeus took his 72 ships and two legions a-pirating rather successfully for nearly a decade. Thinking he had made a good pile of stolen booty but that the tide was turning (indeed, he also struck an aureus), he then struck a deal with Antonius (an add-on to the Sextus Pompeius work-out) and became consul for 32. Dry land politics being more fickle than piracy, he soon had to choose between Octavian and Antonius and headed east. There, he suddenly became a Model Virtuous Roman in antagonism to Cleopatra, persuading no one, and finally rowed over to Octavian, who accepted him rather than having Agrippa treat him to a game of "walk the plank". Yet he died a few days later of “fever”, which tended to happen to temporarily incapacitated power brokers recuperating near Octavian (see my Cr. 449/2 Pansa) or Livia Drusilla (see, "I, Claudius"). His defection and various marriage connections (and I would like to think a map to his buried pirate treasure, but wrong movie ...) kept his descendants comfortably depraved for almost 100 years.
This denarius is scarce, and particularly scarce with anything other than a horrible obverse. It perhaps depicts pater Lucius, who also ran afoul of Caesar and Antonius (see my post of Cr. 448/3 L. Hostilius Saserna). This specimen shares the weak obverse strike seen on most, yet is a slight bit less worn and less marked than many. On the better-struck coins, whichever Ahenobarbus this is can be seen to sport a scraggly beard, presumably to cue the "red beard" cognomen, but the portraits on almost all dies are quite distinctively coarse. The reverse, which is the main appeal of this specimen, is much more carefully engraved, with distinct waves, "eye", oar box and trophy. The keel and "beak"/rostrum are clear, and the prow-stem is outlined and shows internal beam-structure.
PMah
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Gaius ("Caligula"), RIC 33, Sestertius from A.D.37-38 (three sisters)Æ Sestertius (23.4g, Ø 33-34mm, 6h), Rome mint, struck AD 37-38
Obv.: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, laurate head left
Rev.: AGRIPPINA - DRVSILLA - IVLIA (left, above and right) S C (ex.), Caligula's three sisters: Agrippina (Jr.), the eldest sister, as Securitas, leaning on column, holding cornucopiae, and placing left hand on Drusilla's shoulder; Drusilla, the middle sister, as Concordia, holding patera and cornucopiae; and Julia Livilla, the youngest, as Fortuna, holding rudder and cornucopiae.
RIC 33 (R); Mattingly (BMCRE) 36, 37; Cohen 4 (25 Fr.); Sear (Roman Coins & their Values) 1800
ex Harlan J. Berk, Buy/Bid Sale 130 (2002)
Addtional information from H.J. Berk: This specimen in the style of a provincial branch mint, apparently rarer than those in Rome-mint style. Very slightly granular.
This type was produced on two occasions, a first issue in 37-38, and a second in 39-40. This example belongs to the first, issued when the three women were all still alive. Drusilla, Caligula's favourite sister (the one with whom he is said to have had an incestuous relationship), died tragically on June 10, 38, nearly three months after the last coins of the first issue were struck. By the time the second issue was produced (beginning March 18, 39), Drusilla had been accorded the status of a goddess, providing the curious circumstance of a goddess being portrayed in the guise of a personification. Life in the palace worsened after Drusilla's death and Caligula's affection for his remaining two sisters declined.
Drusilla married to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who had also been Caligula's lover. At least after Drusilla died, Lepidus extended his sexual liaisons to include Agrippina and Julia Livilla, his former sisters-in-law. By late in 39 this web of relationships seems to have evolved into a failed plot by Lepidus against Caligula, who executed Lepidus and sent his two sisters into exile out of their suspected complicity. All of this palace intrigue occurred in the midst of the second issue of 'three sisters' sestertii, the production of which Caligula probably halted immediately since of the three sisters shown, one was dead and two were in exile for having plotted against his life. Examples of this second issue are excessively rare (RIC 41:R4). Charles S
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Gaius ("Caligula"), RIC 33, Sestertius from AD 37-38 (three sisters)Æ Sestertius (28.6g, Ø 34mm, 6h), Rome mint, struck AD 37-38
Obv.: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, laurate head left
Rev.: AGRIPPINA - DRVSILLA - IVLIA (left, above, and right) S C (ex.), Caligula's three sisters: Agrippina (Jr.), the eldest sister, as Securitas, leaning on column, holding cornucopiae, and placing left hand on Drusilla's shoulder; Drusilla, the middle sister, as Concordia, holding patera and cornucopiae; and Julia Livilla, the youngest, as Fortuna, holding rudder and cornucopiae.
RIC 33 (R); BMCRE 36, 37; Cohen 4 (25 Fr.); Sear (Roman Coins & their Values) 1800
ex Macho & Chlapovic Auction 2 (april 2012)
Charles S
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Juba II & Cleopatra SeleneREX IVBA
Diademed and draped bust right, club over shoulder
BACIΛICCA KΛEOΠATPA
Headdress of Isis, with stalks of grain, crescent above
Caesarea mint, 25 B.C. - 24 A.D
12.62g
Bronze AE 27, Alexandropoulos 209, Mazard 351 (RRR), SNG Cop 605, De Luynes 4013
Very Rare! Excellent for the type!
From a very old collection
Juba II was the only son and heir of his father King Juba I. King Juba I was the King of Numidia and ally to Pompey the Great. He fought against Julius Caesar at the battle of Thapsus and lost commiting suicide soon after. His son Juba II was taken away to Rome to be paraded in Caesar's Triumph's. He was then raised in Caesar's houshold and educated in both Latin and Greek excelling in his studies. He was praised as one of Rome's most educated citizens and at age 20 even published a work entitled Roman Archaeology. He became life long friends with Julius Caesar's heir Octavian. He accompanied Octavian on several campaigns during the turbulent times after Caesar's death even fighting at the battle of Actium against his future wifes parents...Antony and Cleopatra VII.
Augustus restored Juba II as the king of Numidia between 29 BC-27 BC and Numidia become one of the most loyal client kings that served Rome. Between 26 BC-20 BC, Augustus arranged for him to marry Cleopatra Selene II (Daughter of Antony and Cleopatra) giving her a large dowry and appointing her queen. She also had been paraded in a Triumph in Rome after the battle of Actium. It was probably due to his services with Augustus in a campaign in Spain that led Augustus to make him King of Mauretania.
Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade. Mauretania traded all over the Mediterranean and exported fish grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process.
Cleopatra Selene seems to have inherited the same qualities of both Antony and Cleopatra VII. She was strong willed and maintained her Egyptian/Greek heritage. She seems intent on continuing the Ptolomaic line of strong women rulers using the same titles as her mother. She died sometime before Juba II. The Greek Historian Plutarch describes Juba II as 'one of the most gifted rulers of his time'. Between 2 BC-2, he travelled with Gaius Caesar as a member of his advisory staff to the troubled Eastern Mediterranean. In 21, Juba II made his son Ptolemy co-ruler. Juba II died in 23 AD. He had two children by Cleopatra Selene, Ptolomy of Mauretania (1 BC- 40 AD) and Drusilla of Mauretania (born in 5 AD). He was burried in the Mausolium he constructed for himself and his wife which is still visible today.
Sold to Calgary Coin Feb 2017Jay GT4
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Juba II and Cleopatra SeleneREX IVBA
Diademed head right
BACIΛICCA KΛEOΠATPA
Star and crescent.
Caesarea; 25 B.C.-23 A.D
17 mm, 2.62 gm
MAA 85; SNG Copenhagen 590; Mazard 300.
VF, toned
Scarce
Ex-ANE
Juba II was the only son and heir of his father King Juba I. King Juba I was the King of Numidia and ally to Pompey the Great. He fought against Julius Caesar at the battle of Thapsus and lost commiting suicide soon after. His son Juba II was taken away to Rome to be paraded in Caesar's Triumph's. He was then raised in Caesar's houshold and educated in both Latin and Greek excelling in his studies. He was praised as one of Rome's most educated citizens and at age 20 even published a work entitled Roman Archaeology. He became life long friends with Julius Caesar's heir Octavian. He accompanied Octavian on several campaigns during the turbulent times after Caesar's death even fighting at the battle of Actium against his future wifes parents...Antony and Cleopatra VII.
Augustus restored Juba II as the king of Numidia between 29 BC-27 BC and Numidia become one of the most loyal client kings that served Rome. Between 26 BC-20 BC, Augustus arranged for him to marry Cleopatra Selene II (daughter of Antony and Cleopatra) giving her a large dowry and appointing her queen. She also had been paraded in a Triumph in Rome after the battle of Actium. It was probably due to his services with Augustus in a campaign in Spain that led Augustus to make him King of Mauretania.
Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade. Mauretania traded all over the Mediterranean and exported fish grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process.
Cleopatra Selene seems to have inherited the same qualities of both Antony and Cleopatra VII. She was strong willed and maintained her Egyptian/Greek heritage. She seems intent on continuing the Ptolomaic line of strong women rulers using the same titles as her mother. She died sometime before Juba II. The Greek Historian Plutarch describes Juba II as 'one of the most gifted rulers of his time'. Between 2 BC-2, he travelled with Gaius Caesar as a member of his advisory staff to the troubled Eastern Mediterranean. In 21, Juba II made his son Ptolemy co-ruler. Juba II died in 23 AD. He had two children by Cleopatra Selene, Ptolomy of Mauretania (1 BC- 40 AD) and Drusilla of Mauretania (born in 5 AD). He was burried in the Mausolium he constructed for himself and his wife which is still visible today. Jay GT4
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Nero with Polemo II-Mark Antony's great grandsonSilver drachm
BACΙΛΕΩC ΠΟΛΕΜΩΝΟC
diademed head of Polemo right
ETOYC - K (year 20)
laureate head of Nero right;
57 - 58 A.D.
3.645g
18.1mm, die axis 180o
RPC I 3832, SNG Cop 242, BMC Pontus 7 - 8, SNG von Aulock 6691
Ex-Forum
Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon II of Pontos and Polemon of Cilicia is the only known direct descendant of Mark Antony who bares his name. Through his maternal grandmother he was a direct descendant of Mark Antony and his second wife Antonia Hybrida Minor. Antony and Antonia Hybrida were first paternal cousins. He was Antony’s second born great grandson. Through Antony, he was a distant cousin to Roman Client King Ptolemy of Mauretania and Drusilla of Mauretania. He was also a distant cousin to Roman Emperors Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Roman Empresses Valeria Messalina, Agrippina the Younger and Claudia Octavia.
Polemon II’s father Polemon Pythodoros King of Pontos died in 8 BC. His mother then married King Archelaus of Cappadocia, and the family moved to the court of his stepfather. In 17 AD Archelaus died and Polemon II and his mother moved back to Pontus. From 17 until 38, Polemon II assisted his mother in the administration of Pontos. When his mother died in 38, Polemon II succeeded her as the sole ruler of Pontus, Colchis and Cilicia.
Around 50 AD, Polemon II met the Judean princess Julia Berenice in Tiberias during a visit to King Agrippa I. Berenice was widowed in 48 AD when her second husband and paternal uncle Herod of Chalcis, died. She had two sons by him, Berenicianus and Hyrcanus. Berenice set the condition that Polemon II had to convert to Judaism before marriage, which included undergoing the rite of circumcision. Polemon II complied, and the marriage went ahead but it did not last long. Berenice left Pontus with her sons and returned to the court of her brother. Polemon II abandoned Judaism and, according to the legend of Bartholomew the Apostle, accepted Christianity, only to become a pagan again.
In 62, Nero compelled Polemon II to abdicate the Pontian throne. Pontos and Colchis became a Roman province. From then until his death, Polemon II only ruled Cilicia. He never remarried and had no children that are known.
Polemon's sister Antonia Tryphaena's Royal lineage goes all the way down to Nana Queen of Iberia, who died in 363 AD. Truly Antony may have lost the battle of Actium but won the war of genetics!Jay GT4
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Phrygia, Eumeneia, Livia SNG Copenhagen 392Livia AD 14-29, mother of Tiberius
AE 14 mm, 3.32g
struck under magistrate Kleon Agapetos
obv. CEB
bust of Livia, draped, l.
rev. KLEWN / AGAPH / TOC / EUMENE / WN ( in 5 lines)
in laurel wreath
SNG Copenhagen 392; RPC I, 509, 3148
very rare, about VF, olive-green patina
Obv. shows Livia Drusilla, mother of Tiberius. She had a strong, but not welcomed influence on Tiberius. When she died AD 29, he didn't came to Rome for her funeral.
Jochen
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Roman Empire, Drusus, Son of Tiberius, Twin Sestertius Tiberius and Germanicus Gemellus Sestertius
Obv. Busts of two children on cornucopiae (Tiberius und Germanicus), between winged caduceus.
Rev. DRVSVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N PONT TR POT II, big S C in the center.
Mint: Rome, struck under Tiberius for Drusus, 22-23 AD.
33mm 27.23g
BMC 95; Coh. 1 (Drusus); RIC² 42.
Provenance:
Ex Künker, Auction 377, 20th October 2022, lot 5700.
Ex Salton Collection.
Ex Auction M. Etienne Bourgey, Paris 1923, No. 69.
Ex Auction Ars Classica 12, Luzern 1926, No. 2747.
This issue, commemorating the birth of twin sons to Drusus Caesar and his wife Livia Drusilla (Livilla), was part of the series issued under Tiberius in AD 22-23 to promote the imperial virtue and dynastic solidity of the emperor's family. Although Germanicus Gemellus died very young, his brother Tiberius lived into his adulthood, with the expectation that he would be heir to his grandfather following the premature death of his father, Drusus. In the later years of the emperor’s life, however, Gaius (Caligula) was often seen in close company with the emperor, while Tiberius Gemellus’ status was shrouded in obscurity. Thus after the death of the emperor, Caligula, assisted by the Praetorian Prefect, Macro, quickly moved to take the purple. Upon the reading of the deceased emperor’s will it was discovered that Tiberius intended for both Tiberius Gemellus and his cousin Gaius to be jointly elevated, and, moreover, that Gemellus was to be the senior partner. Under unknown authority, Caligula quickly had the will vacated, and, shortly thereafter, his cousin murdered (CNG).kc
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SOLD Juba II & Cleopatra Selene daughter of AntonyJuba II of Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene
REX IVBA REGIS IVBA E F R A VI
Head of Juba II left.
BACIΛICCA KΛE - OΠATPA
Cleopatra Selene left
dated year 6 = 20-19 BC.
3.12g
Rare
Ex-D. Loates Fine Arts; Ex-William McDonald Collection; Ex-Geoffrey Bell 2012 Fall Auction lot 273
SNG Cop. 546 ; Mazard 357 ; Sear 6000 ; Müller III, 108, 87
Wildwinds example
Juba II was the only son and heir of his father King Juba I. King Juba I was the King of Numidia and ally to Pompey the Great. He fought against Julius Caesar at the battle of Thapsus and lost commiting suicide soon after. His son Juba II was taken away to Rome to be paraded in Caesar's Triumph's. He was then raised in Caesar's houshold and educated in both Latin and Greek excelling in his studies. He was praised as one of Rome's most educated citizens and at age 20 even published a work entitled Roman Archaeology. He became life long friends with Julius Caesar's heir Octavian. He accompanied Octavian on several campaigns during the turbulent times after Caesar's death even fighting at the battle of Actium against his future wifes parents...Antony and Cleopatra VII.
Augustus restored Juba II as the king of Numidia between 29 BC-27 BC and Numidia become one of the most loyal client kings that served Rome. Between 26 BC-20 BC, Augustus arranged for him to marry Cleopatra Selene II (Daughter of Antony and Cleopatra) giving her a large dowry and appointing her queen. She also had been paraded in a Triumph in Rome after the battle of Actium. It was probably due to his services with Augustus in a campaign in Spain that led Augustus to make him King of Mauretania.
Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade. Mauretania traded all over the Mediterranean and exported fish grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process.
Cleopatra Selene seems to have inherited the same qualities of both Antony and Cleopatra VII. She was strong willed and maintained her Egyptian/Greek heritage. She seems intent on continuing the Ptolomaic line of strong women rulers using the same titles as her mother. She died sometime before Juba II. The Greek Historian Plutarch describes Juba II as 'one of the most gifted rulers of his time'. Between 2 BC-2, he travelled with Gaius Caesar as a member of his advisory staff to the troubled Eastern Mediterranean. In 21, Juba II made his son Ptolemy co-ruler. Juba II died in 23 AD. He had two children by Cleopatra Selene, Ptolomy of Mauretania (1 BC- 40 AD) and Drusilla of Mauretania (born in 5 AD). He was burried in the Mausolium he constructed for himself and his wife which is still visible today. A partial inscription attributed to her reads:
The moon herself grew dark, rising at sunset,
Covering her suffering in the night,
Because she saw her beautiful namesake, Selene,
Breathless, descending to Hades,
With her she had had the beauty of her light in common,
And mingled her own darkness with her death
SOLD to Calgary Coins February 2024Jay GT4
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SOLD Juba II and Cleopatra SeleneJuba II of Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene
REX IVBA REGIS IVBA E F R A VI
Head of Juba II left.
BACIΛICCA KΛE - OΠATPA
Cleopatra Selene left
dated year 6 = 20-19 BC.
3.12g
Rare
Ex-William McDonald Collection
SNG Cop. 546 ; Mazard 357 ; Sear 6000 ; Müller III, 108, 87
Wildwinds example
Juba II was the only son and heir of his father King Juba I. King Juba I was the King of Numidia and ally to Pompey the Great. He fought against Julius Caesar at the battle of Thapsus and lost commiting suicide soon after. His son Juba II was taken away to Rome to be paraded in Caesar's Triumph's. He was then raised in Caesar's houshold and educated in both Latin and Greek excelling in his studies. He was praised as one of Rome's most educated citizens and at age 20 even published a work entitled Roman Archaeology. He became life long friends with Julius Caesar's heir Octavian. He accompanied Octavian on several campaigns during the turbulent times after Caesar's death even fighting at the battle of Actium against his future wifes parents...Antony and Cleopatra VII.
Augustus restored Juba II as the king of Numidia between 29 BC-27 BC and Numidia become one of the most loyal client kings that served Rome. Between 26 BC-20 BC, Augustus arranged for him to marry Cleopatra Selene II (Daughter of Antony and Cleopatra) giving her a large dowry and appointing her queen. She also had been paraded in a Triumph in Rome after the battle of Actium. It was probably due to his services with Augustus in a campaign in Spain that led Augustus to make him King of Mauretania.
Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade. Mauretania traded all over the Mediterranean and exported fish grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process.
Cleopatra Selene seems to have inherited the same qualities of both Antony and Cleopatra VII. She was strong willed and maintained her Egyptian/Greek heritage. She seems intent on continuing the Ptolomaic line of strong women rulers using the same titles as her mother. She died sometime before Juba II. The Greek Historian Plutarch describes Juba II as 'one of the most gifted rulers of his time'. Between 2 BC-2, he travelled with Gaius Caesar as a member of his advisory staff to the troubled Eastern Mediterranean. In 21, Juba II made his son Ptolemy co-ruler. Juba II died in 23 AD. He had two children by Cleopatra Selene, Ptolomy of Mauretania (1 BC- 40 AD) and Drusilla of Mauretania (born in 5 AD). He was burried in the Mausolium he constructed for himself and his wife which is still visible today. A partial inscription attributed to her reads:
The moon herself grew dark, rising at sunset,
Covering her suffering in the night,
Because she saw her beautiful namesake, Selene,
Breathless, descending to Hades,
With her she had had the beauty of her light in common,
And mingled her own darkness with her death.
Sold to Calgary Coins February 2024Jay GT4
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