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Image search results - "Fire"

Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161
AE – Sestertius
Rome, 145-161 AD
Head, laureate, r.
ANTONINVS PIVS PP TR P
Pax standing l., setting fire with torch to heap of arms and holding cornucopiae
COS IIII, PAX AVG in field, SC in exergue
RIC 777
C
Ardatirion

JUSTINIAN I, AR 120 Nummi, struck 552 - 565 at Rome or RavennaObverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG Diademed bust of Justinian I facing right, wearing robe ornamented with a row of pellets.
Reverse: Large P•K enclosed within wreath.
Diameter: 11mm | Weight: 0.67gms | Die Axis: 6
SBCV: 317 (Rome) | DOC: 336.3 (Ravenna) | MIB: 76 (Rome) | Ranieri: 355 (Ravenna)
Very Rare

In 552 the Byzantine general Narses crossed the Apennines with an army of around 25,000 men and marched on Rome only to find himself blocked by a Gothic force, under their king Totila, near Taginae in central Italy. However, Narses deployed his army in the form of a crescent in a narrow mountain valley with his dismounted cavalry mercenaries placed as a phalanx in the centre and his flanks protected by a mixed force of archers he had sent to seize the dominant heights. The Goths opened the battle with a determined cavalry charge but were halted by the enfilading fire from both sides and fell back in disarray on to the Byzantine infantry which had curved round behind them. The Byzantine cataphracts then swept into the confused Gothic mass and more than 6,000 Goths, including their leader Totila, were killed. The remnants of the Gothic army fled and Narses proceeded to Rome, capturing the city after a brief siege. The following year Narses ambushed a combined Gothic force under King Teia and his brother Aligern. The Gothic force was crushed in a hopeless last stand south of Naples, Teia was killed in the fighting and, though Aligern escaped the battle, he surrendered a few months later, so ending the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy after 60 years of rule.3 comments*Alex

JUSTINIAN I, AE Follis (40 Nummi), struck 529 - 533 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Justinian enthroned facing, holding long sceptre in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left.
Reverse: Large M, cross above and officina letter (Δ = 4th Officina) below, asterisk in field to left of M and outward facing crescent in field to right; in exergue, +THEUP
Diameter: 34mm | Weight: 18.69gms | Die Axis: 5
SBCV: 214 | DOC: 206d.1

Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.

530: In the spring of this year Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeated a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at the Battle of Dara in modern Turkey, and in the summer a Byzantine cavalry force under the command of Sittas defeated a major Persian invasion into Roman Armenia at the Battle of Satala.
531: On April 19th, at the Battle of Callinicum, a Byzantine army commanded by Belisarius, was defeated by the Persians at Raqqa in northern Syria. Nevertheless, Justinian negotiated an end to the hostilities and Belisarius was hailed as a hero.
532: On January 11th this year anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams in Constantinople, the Blues and the Greens, escalated into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the city was in chaos and the fires that started during the rioting resulted in the destruction of much of the city. This insurrection, known as the Nika riots, was put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus resulting in 30,000 people being killed in the Hippodrome.
On February 23rd Justinian ordered the building of a new Christian basilica in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia. More than 10,000 people were employed in the construction using material brought from all over the empire.
2 comments*Alex

JUSTINIAN I, AE Half-Follis (20 Nummi), struck 529 – 533 at Antioch (Theoupolis)Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG. Justinian I enthroned facing, holding long sceptre in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left.
Reverse: Large K, Large latin cross to left dividing letters T–H/Є–U/O/P; officina letter to right of K (Δ = fourth officina).
Diameter: 28mm | Weight: 8.4gms | Die Axis: 11
SBCV: 225 | DOC: 208.6
Rare

Much of Antioch was destroyed by a great earthquake on 29th November 528 and, following this disaster, the city was renamed Theoupolis.

530: In the spring of this year Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeated a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at the Battle of Dara in modern Turkey, and in the summer a Byzantine cavalry force under the command of Sittas defeated a major Persian invasion into Roman Armenia at the Battle of Satala.
531: On April 19th, at the Battle of Callinicum, a Byzantine army commanded by Belisarius, was defeated by the Persians at Raqqa in northern Syria. Nevertheless, Justinian negotiated an end to the hostilities and Belisarius was hailed as a hero.
532: On January 11th this year anger among the supporters of the most important chariot teams in Constantinople, the Blues and the Greens, escalated into violence towards the emperor. For the next five days the city was in chaos and the fires that started during the rioting resulted in the destruction of much of the city. This insurrection, known as the Nika riots, was put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus resulting in 30,000 people being killed in the Hippodrome.
On February 23rd Justinian ordered the building of a new Christian basilica in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia. More than 10,000 people were employed in the construction using material brought from all over the empire.
1 comments*Alex

Chalukyas of Gujarat AR drachm (gadhaiya paisa) Obv. Degenerate style Sassanian bust right
Rev. stylized stepped and pelleted fire altar, above: left Sun (consisting of rosette of pellets),right crescent moon 2 commentsSkyler

CHALUKYAS of GUJARAT, Anonymous Silver drachm (gadhaiya paisa) Obv. Degenerate Indo-Sasanian style bust right, crescent moon and star above
Rev. Stylized stepped and pelleted fire altar, sun (consisting of rosette of pellets) above left, crescent moon above right4 commentsSkyler

Paramaras of Malwa, c. 1150 - 1300 CE (Omkara)Silver drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa, c. 1150 - 1300 CE (12MM / 4.32 gr)
Mint- Omkara Mandhata Monastery, Malwa;
Obverse: Degenerated Indo-Sasanian style bust, Brahmi letter "ja" in left field, circle in front of bust .
Reverse: Crude fire altar with legend Sri Omkara on shaft.
MNI 436-440Paul R3

0001 Sasanian Empire Khusro II -- Year 2 -- BishapurObv: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. on two lines reading down leftward and outward is GDH/'pzwt (xwarrah abzūd) and to the r. on one line reading down is hwslwd (Husraw) = Khusro has increased the royal glory; frontal bust facing r. of bearded Khusro II with a hair globe drawn to the back of the neck, crown with three merlons and attached to the top of the crown cap are wings (group of pellets within the base) with an attached crescent and star, double pearl diadem with three ribbons behind, earring made up of three dots, neckline edged with a row of pearls, both shoulders decorated with a crescent and star, double row of pearls from shoulders to breast, two dots on the breast, star in upper l. field, star and crescent in upper r. field, two dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, and 9h.
Rev: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. reading down is year tlyn of Khusro II's reign and to the r. reading down is the mint mark BYSh = year 2 of Khusro II's reign, Bishapur; fire altar with a base consisting of two slabs and a shaft with two ribbons pointing upwards to the r. and l. of the shaft with four altar slabs on top and flames consisting of four tiers rendered as four then three then two then one upward stroke, star to the l. and crescent to the r. of the top two tiers, to the l. and r. of the altar are two frontal facing attendants each holding a sword pointing downwards with the r. hand over the l. hand and wearing a rounded cap, three dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, 9h, and 12h.
Denomination: silver drachm; Mint: Bishapur; Date: year 2, 591 - 592 AD; Weight: 4.12g; Diameter: 29mm; Die axis: 90º; References, for example: Göbl II/2; SNS Iran 580 and 581 (same mint and regnal year).

Regnal year 2 saw major changes to the coinage of Khusro II. First, the defeat of Wahrām Chōbēn (Wahrām VI) brought to an end the interruption of Khusro II's xwarrah and so wings representing Vərəθraγna/Verethragna (Avestan), Wahrām (Middle Persian), Bahrām (Persian), i.e. the god or personification of victory, were added to Khusro II's crown. Second, for the first time in Sasanian coinage the ideogram GDH (xwarrah) is added to the legend (obverse). Third, on the reverse six pointed stars are added to the crescent moons outside of the three dotted rims at 3h, 6h, 9h, and 12h. Six pointed stars can be considered representations of the sun (see Gariboldi 2010 pp. 36ff and the sources referenced in footnote 71, p. 37).

See Daryaee (1997) for an interesting study of the religious and political iconography on the coinage of Khusro II*. He argues that Khusro II implemented iconographic changes in regnal year 2 (591 - 592 AD) as a direct result of suppressing the rebellion (with the assistance of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice) of the brilliant general Wahrām Chōbēn (Wahrām VI) in 591 AD. Further iconographic changes were carried out in regnal year 11 (600 - 601 AD) in response to the final defeat in 600 AD of the 10 year rule/rebellion of Wistahm**, his uncle (as the brother-in-law of his father Ohrmazd IV) and former staunch supporter.

*The study cannot be intended to be complete. For example, there is no discussion of the legend 'pd that appeared, beginning in the 12th regnal year but not present for all subsequent years or at all mints, in the second quadrant outside of the rims on the obverse. Gariboldi 2010 (p.64) translates the legend as "good", "excellent", "wonderful" while Göbl 1983 (p. 331) translates it as "praise".

**There is some debate about when Wistahm was finally eliminated. Daryaee, following Paruck 1924, relies on (purported?) numismatic evidence that the last coin minted in his name was for year 10. Therefore Daryaee states that 600 AD was the year of elimination (Daryaee 1997, p. 53 n. 38. Also see Daryaee 2009, p. 33 n. 166 for a slightly more tepid assertion). Frye 1984 implies a 10 year rule for Wistahm, stating that "it was not until 601 that the rule of Chosroes [Khusro] was restored over all of the empire..." (p. 336). Göbl SN, however, states that 10 years of reign are said to be represented, although personally he had only seen coins of years 2 through 7 (p. 53). Thus Wistahm's years in SN's Table XI are listed as "591/2 - 597?" Malek 1993 also lists Wistahm's years as 591/2 - 97 (p. 237).

Provenance: Ex Stephen Album Rare Coins Auction 36, January 25, 2020

Photo Credit: Stephen Album Rare Coins

Sources

Daryaee, Touraj. 'The Use of Religio-Political Propaganda on Coins of Xusrō II." The Journal of the American Numismatics (1989-), vol. 9 (1997): 41-53.
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Persia: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
Frye, Richard. The History of Ancient Iran. Munich: C.H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1984.
Gariboldi, Andrea. Sasanian Coinage and History: The Civic Numismatic Collection of Milan. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2010.
Göbl, Robert. Sasanian Numismatics. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt and Biermann, 1971.
Göbl 1983: Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3 (1), The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983: 322 - 336.
Malek, Hodge. "A Survey of Research on Sasanian Numismatics." The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 153 (1993): 227 - 269.
Paruck, F.D.J. Sasanian Coins. Bombay: 1924.
SNS Iran: Akbarzadeh, Daryoosh and Nikolaus Schindel. Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum Iran A Late Sasanian Hoard from Orumiyeh. Wien: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2017.

2 commentsTracy Aiello

0002 Sasanian Empire Khusro II -- Year 5 -- CtesiphonObv: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. on two lines reading down leftward and outward is GDH/'pzwt (xwarrah abzūd) and to the r. on one line reading down is hwslwd (Husraw) = Khusro has increased the royal glory; frontal bust facing r. of bearded Khusro II with a hair globe drawn to the back of the neck, crown with three merlons and attached to the top of the crown cap are wings (lines within the base, wings open) with an attached crescent and star, double pearl diadem with three ribbons behind, earring made up of three dots, neckline edged with a row of pearls, both shoulders decorated with a crescent and star, double row of pearls from shoulders to breast, two dots on the breast, star in upper l. field, star and crescent in upper r. field, two dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, and 9h.
Rev: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. reading down is year ḥwmŝ‵ of Khusro II's reign and to the r. reading down is the mint mark WYHC = year 5 of Khusro II's reign, Ctesiphon; fire altar with a base consisting of two slabs and a shaft with two ribbons pointing upwards to the r. and l. of the shaft with four altar slabs on top and flames consisting of four tiers rendered as four then three then two then one upward stroke, star to the l. and crescent to the r. of the top two tiers, to the l. and r. of the altar are two frontal facing attendants each holding a sword pointing downwards with the r. hand over the l. hand and wearing a rounded cap, three dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, 9h, and 12h.

Denomination: silver drachm; Mint: Ctesiphon;1 Date: year 5, 594 - 595 AD; Weight: 4.10g; Diameter: 31.34mm; Die axis: 90º; References, for example: Göbl II/2.

Notes:

1See Schindel (2005) pp. 296 - 299 for an argument identifying the Pahlavi mint signature WYHC with Ctesipon.

See Daryaee (1997) for an interesting study of the religious and political iconography on the coinage of Khusro II*. He argues that Khusro II implemented iconographic changes in regnal year 2 (591 - 592 AD) as a direct result of suppressing the rebellion (with the assistance of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice) of the brilliant general Wahrām Chōbēn (Wahrām VI) in 591 AD. Further iconographic changes were carried out in regnal year 11 (600 - 601 AD) in response to the final defeat in 600 AD of the 10 year rule/rebellion of Wistahm**, his uncle (as the brother-in-law of his father Ohrmazd IV) and former staunch supporter.

*The study cannot be intended to be complete. For example, there is no discussion of the legend 'pd that appeared, beginning in the 12th regnal year but not present for all subsequent years or at all mints, in the second quadrant outside of the rims on the obverse. Gariboldi 2010 (p.64) translates the legend as "good", "excellent", "wonderful' while Göbl 1983 (p. 331) translates it as "praise".

**There is some debate about when Wistahm was finally eliminated. Daryaee, following Paruck 1924, relies on (purported?) numismatic evidence that the last coin minted in his name was for year 10. Therefore Daryaee states that 600 AD was the year of elimination (Daryaee 1997, p. 53 n. 38. Also see Daryaee 2009, p. 33 n. 166 for a slightly more tepid assertion). Frye 1984 implies a 10 year rule for Wistahm, stating that "it was not until 601 that the rule of Chosroes [Khusro] was restored over all of the empire..." (p. 336). Göbl SN, however, states that 10 years of reign are said to be represented, although personally he had only seen coins of years 2 through 7 (p. 53). Thus Wistahm's years in SN's Table XI are listed as "591/2 - 597?" Malek 1993 also lists Wistahm's years as 591/2 - 97 (p. 237).

Provenance: Ex Marc R. Breitsprecher, Classical Numismatist October 2, 2018.

Photo Credit: Marc R. Breitsprecher, Classical Numismatist

Sources

Daryaee, Touraj. "The Use of Religio-Political Propaganda on Coins of Xusrō II." The Journal of the American Numismatics (1989-), vol. 9 (1997): 41-53.
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Persia: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
Frye, Richard. The History of Ancient Iran. Munich: C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1984.
Gariboldi, Andrea. Sasanian Coinage and History: The Civic Numismatic Collection of Milan. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2010.
Göbl, Robert. Sasanian Numismatics. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt and Biermann, 1971.
Göbl 1983: Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3 (1), The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983: 322 - 336.
Malek, Hodge. "A Survey of Research on Sasanian Numismatics." The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 153 (1993): 227 - 269.
Paruck, F.D.J. Sasanian Coins. Bombay: 1924.
Schindel, Nickolaus. "Sasanian Mint Abbreviations: The Evidence of Style." The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 165 (2005): 287 - 299.1 commentsTracy Aiello

0003 Sasanian Empire Khusro II -- Year 35 -- CtesiphonObv: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. on two lines reading down leftward and outward (with the first word extending through the inner rim) is GDH/'pzwt (xwarrah abzūd) and to the r. on one line reading down is hwslwd (Husraw) = Khusro has increased the royal glory; frontal bust facing r. of bearded Khusro II with a hair globe drawn to the back of the neck, crown with three merlons and attached to the top of the crown cap are wings (lines within the base, wings open) with an attached crescent and star, double pearl diadem with three ribbons behind, earring made up of three dots, neckline edged with a row of pearls, both shoulders decorated with a crescent and star, double row of pearls from shoulders to breast, two dots on the breast, star in upper l. field and star and crescent in upper r. field both extending through the inner rim, two dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, and 9h.
Rev: Pahlavi script legend: to the l. reading down is year pncsyh of Khusro II's reign and to the r. reading down is the mint mark WYHC = year 35 of Khusro II's reign, Ctesiphon; fire altar with a base consisting of two slabs and a shaft with two ribbons pointing upwards to the r. and l. of the shaft with four altar slabs on top and flames consisting of four tiers rendered as four then three then two then one upward stroke, star to the l. and crescent to the r. of the top two tiers, to the l. and r. of the altar are two frontal facing attendants each holding a sword pointing downwards with the r. hand over the l. hand and wearing a crescent cap, three dotted rims with a star on a crescent at 3h, 6h, 9h, and 12h.
Denomination: silver drachm; Mint: Ctesiphon;1 Date: year 35, 624 - 625 AD; Weight: 4.11g; Diameter: 32.6mm; Die axis: 90º; References, for example: Göbl II/3.

Notes:

1See Schindel (2005) pp. 296 - 299 for an argument identifying the Pahlavi mint signature WYHC with Ctesipon.

See Daryaee (1997) for an interesting study of the religious and political iconography on the coinage of Khusro II*. He argues that Khusro II implemented iconographic changes in regnal year 2 (591 - 592 AD) as a direct result of suppressing the rebellion (with the assistance of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice) of the brilliant general Wahrām Chōbēn (Wahrām VI) in 591 AD. Further iconographic changes were carried out in regnal year 11 (600 - 601 AD) in response to the final defeat in 600 AD of the 10 year rule/rebellion of Wistahm**, his uncle (as the brother-in-law of his father Ohrmazd IV) and former staunch supporter.

*The study cannot be intended to be complete. For example, there is no discussion of the legend 'pd that appeared, beginning in the 12th regnal year but not present for all subsequent years or at all mints, in the second quadrant outside of the rims on the obverse. Gariboldi 2010 (p.64) translates the legend as "good", "excellent", "wonderful" while Göbl 1983 (p. 331) translates it as "praise".

**There is some debate about when Wistahm was finally eliminated. Daryaee, following Paruck 1924, relies on (purported?) numismatic evidence that the last coin minted in his name was for year 10. Therefore Daryaee states that 600 AD was the year of elimination (Daryaee 1997, p. 53 n. 38. Also see Daryaee 2009, p. 33 n. 166 for a slightly more tepid assertion). Frye 1984 implies a 10 year rule for Wistahm, stating that "it was not until 601 that the rule of Chosroes [Khusro] was restored over all of the empire..." (p. 336). Göbl SN, however, states that 10 years of reign are said to be represented, although personally he had only seen coins of years 2 through 7 (p. 53). Thus Wistahm's years in SN's Table XI are listed as "591/2 - 597?" Malek 1993 also lists Wistahm's years as 591/2 - 97 (p. 237).

Provenance: Ex Forum Ancient Coins June 8, 2018, from the Jyrki Muona Collection; Ex CNG e-auction 59 (26 Feb 2003), lot 77; Ex CNG e-auction 57 (4 Apr 2001), lot 47.

Photo Credit: Forum Ancient Coins

Sources

Daryaee, Touraj. "The Use of Religio-Political Propaganda on Coins of Xusrō II." The Journal of the American Numismatics (1989-), vol. 9 (1997): 41-53.
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Persia: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
Frye, Richard. The History of Ancient Iran. Munich: C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1984.
Gariboldi, Andrea. Sasanian Coinage and History: The Civic Numismatic Collection of Milan. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2010.
Göbl, Robert. Sasanian Numismatics. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt and Biermann, 1971.
Göbl 1983: Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3 (1), The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983: 322 - 336.
Malek, Hodge. "A Survey of Research on Sasanian Numismatics." The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 153 (1993): 227 - 269.
Paruck, F.D.J. Sasanian Coins. Bombay: 1924.
Schindel, Nickolaus. "Sasanian Mint Abbreviations: The Evidence of Style." The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 165 (2005): 287 - 299.2 commentsTracy Aiello

010 Anund JacobPenny of Anund Jacob, king of Sweden 1022-1050
Mint: Sigtuna
Moneyer: Thormoth
Lagerqvist 9
Malmer 14.310/1252, chain 204
O: ANVN D REX SI
R: DORMOD ON SIHTV

King Anund Jacob of Sweden was born as just Jacob to king Olof "Skötkonung" of Sweden and Queen Estrid , his parents had converted to Christianity prior to his birth and gave their son a Christian biblical name. Sweden was only just adopting Christianity at this time, and the name Jacob was not very recognizable or acceptable to the Swedes, so he was also named Anund, and is remembered to history by this name. He became a co-ruler with his father late in Olof's reign, and became king in 1022. Despite a long reign (1022-1050), Anund's history is poorly remembered.

He did produce coins, but the volume of coinage seemed to take a sharp decline after Olof's death, and would cease altogether at some point during Anund's reign. Coins of Olof are by no means common, but those in the name of Anund are very rare. Anund's coins take three main flavors-
1- Those in his name imitating Aethelred's long cross type
2- Those in his name imitating Cnut's pointed helmet type
3- Blundered coins that die link or stylistically link to the above two

There is the likelihood that much if not all of his coinage was produced in the first few years of his reign, and may have ceased by 1030. The coins were probably all produced at Sigtuna.

Anund is remembered to history as "Kolbränna" or "coal-burner". Sadly, this was not because he cooked a mean steak on the barbecue. Rather, it presumably is due to his tactic of burning down the houses of his enemies. Keep in mind that this was probably not just an act of property vandalism. If you've read "Njáls saga", an Icelandic saga, you might recall the climax of the story, when the protagonist's house is burned by his enemies with the family still inside. This was a raiding tactic familiar to the Nordic people. A force would besiege a house, or hall, or fort, where people lived and farmed, and set the building on fire. Women and young children were usually permitted to leave, but the men would not be allowed exit and die by fire. This is brutal medieval Viking era stuff. This is our Anund 🙂

Ex- Antykwariat Numizmatyczny Michal Niemczyk Auction 38 (lot 2878)St. George's Collection

012a. TitusCaesar 68-69. Augustus 24 June 79 -- 13 September 81.

Elder son of Vespasian. Supreme commander in Jewish war after Vespasian left to assume throne. During Titus's rule, eruption of Mt Vesuvius and fire in Rome. Died of illness at age of 42.lawrence c

012a3. TitusAs Caesar. Denarius. Obv: T CAESAR VESPANSIANVS, laureate head right. Rev: ANNONA AVG, Annona seated left holding two heads of grain, elbow on throne. RIC 972.

NOTE: Caesar 68-69. Augustus 24 June 79 -- 13 September 81. Elder son of Vespasian. Supreme commander in Jewish war after Vespasian left to assume throne. During Titus's rule, eruption of Mt Vesuvius and fire in Rome. Died of illness at age of 42.lawrence c

015a20. TrajanDenarius. Rome, 101 AD. Obv: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP, laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder. Rev: COS V PP SPQR OPTIMO PRINC, PAX below, Pax standing left with cornucopiae, setting fire to pile of arms on left with short torch. RIC 102, RSC 196.lawrence c

0262 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 119-23 AD Lictor Reference.
RIC II, 590b; Banti 620; Strack 555; C 1210; RIC 262

Bust A4

Obv. IMP CAES TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG P M TR P COS III
Laureate heroic bust right, slight drapery

Rev. RELIQVA VETERA HS NOVIES MILL ABOLITA / S - C
Lictor standing left, torching heap of bonds and shouldering fasces

25.59 gr
32 mm
6h

Notes.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=RELIQVA%20VETERA%20HS%20NOVIES%20MILL%20ABOLITA

From the estate of Thomas Bentley Cederlind. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 47 (16 September 1998), lot 1611.

In July of AD 118 Hadrian made his first appearance in Rome as emperor to celebrate a Parthian triumph in the name of Trajan. He was quickly called away to Moesia to subdue the Sarmatians and Roxolani. While away, four high ranking senators – Lucius Quietus, Cornelius Palma, L. Publius Celsus and C. Avidius – were executed by the senate for an alleged conspiracy against Hadrian, despite a promise by Hadrian not to execute members of the Senate. To calm a suspicious public, Hadrian held a week long gladiatorial show, granted an extra public largesse, and, as this coin advertises, relinquished the public debt to the state equaling 900 million sestertii. This event culminated in an elaborate ceremony held in the Forum of Trajan where all records of these debts were set on fire.4 commentsokidoki

035 Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.), RIC III 0804, Rome, AE-Dupondius, PAX AVG, S-C, Pax standing left, Scarce !035 Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.), RIC III 0804, Rome, AE-Dupondius, PAX AVG, S-C, Pax standing left, Scarce !
avers:- ANTONINVS-AVG-PI-VS-P-P-TR-P-COS-IIII, Radiate head right.
revers:-PAX-AVG, Pax standing left, setting fire with torch to heap of arms and holding cornucopiae.
exe: -/-//--, diameter: 27mm, weight: x,xxg, axis: h,
mint: Rome, date: 145-161 A.D., ref: RIC-III-804-p-128, C-593, Scarce !
Q-0012 commentsquadrans

0a Amazon StaterSilver Stater 20mm Struck circa 440-410 B.C.
Soloi in Cilicia

Amazon kneeling left, holding bow, quiver on left hip
ΣOΛEΩN, Grape cluster on vine; A-Θ to either side of stalk, monogram to lower right

Sear 5602 var.; Casabonne Type 3; SNG France 135; SNG Levante

This coin depicts an amazon in historically accurate garb. Unfortunately, the bow is corroded away on this piece, but it is pointed toward her. She wears the Scythian hat, which also has a bit along the top corroded away. The quiver on her hip is an accurate portrayal of the gorytos (quiver), which was nearly two feet long, fashioned of leather, and often decorated. Fortunately, there is redundancy in this image, and a second bow is shown as in its place in the gorytos, which had separate chambers for arrows and the bow, where the archer stored it while not in use. The amazon has just finished stringing her bow and is adjusting the top hook to make sure the strings and limbs are properly aligned. She has strung the bow using her leg to hold one limb in place so she can use both hands to string the weapon. Her recurve bow was made of horn (ibex, elk, ox) wrapped with horse hair, birch bark, or sinew (deer, elk, ox) and glue (animal or fish) wrapped around a wood core. The bow was about 30 inches long. Arrow heads from grave sites come in bone, wood, iron, and bronze with two or three flanges; the shafts were made of reed or wood (willow, birch, poplar) and fletched with feathers. Poisoned arrows were sometimes painted to resemble vipers. A Scythian archer could probably fire 15-20 arrows per minute with accuracy to 200 feet and range to 500-600 feet. Distance archery with modern reconstructions suggests a maximum unaimed flight distance of 1,600 feet. (Mayor 209ff)

Soloi was founded about 700 B.C.and came under Persian rule. According to Diodorus, when the amazons were engaging in conquest in Asia Minor, the Cilicians accepted them willingly and retained their independence. Soloi may be named after Solois, a companion of Theseus, who married the amazon Antiope. The amazon on the coin may well be Antiope. (Mayor, 264-265)1 commentsBlindado

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

1.01 Khusroe IISassanian Empire (Persia)
Silver dirhem
fire altar with two attendantsEcgþeow

1154 - 1189, HENRY II, AR Short-cross Penny, Struck 1180 - 1189 at Winchester, EnglandObverse: HENRICVS • REX around central circle enclosing a crowned, draped and bearded facing bust of Henry II holding a sceptre tipped with a cross pommee in his right hand.
Reverse: + GOCELM • ON • WIN. Voided short cross dividing legend into quarters, crosslets in each quarter of inner circle. Cross pattée in legend. Moneyer: Gocelm, which is a name of Germanic Frankish origin.
Issue type Class 1b
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 1.3gms | Die Axis: 6h
SPINK: 1344

On the night of 14th/15th July 1180 the Winchester mint burnt down, and the fire spread to "the greater and better part" of the city. The production of the new Short Cross coinage had just started earlier in 1180, and Winchester evidently only had one centralized mint building from the beginning of the new coinage. At the time of the fire the mint appears to have had four moneyers (Clement, Gocelm, Henri, and Rodbert), and Short Cross Class Ia2 was in production. After the fire some of the mint's obverse dies of Classes Ia1 and Ia2 were used at the Wilton mint, apparently as an emergency measure. The coinage of the moneyer Henri ends abruptly at this time and he seems to have been replaced by Adam, whose known issues start in Class Ia2, and at Wilton in Class 1a2 it looks like Osbert replaced Iohan. Osbert continued to issue coins in Winchester after the fire, but he seems to have been regarded as a Wilton moneyer allowed to use the facilities of the Winchester mint. The Winchester coinage of Osbert and three other moneyers (Clement, Reinier, and Rodbert) whose issues end in Class Ib1 was probably restricted to the recoinage of 1180 to 1182. After that only two moneyers remained striking Class Ib2 at Winchester (Adam and Gocelm) and, from 1183 to 1184, it is recorded that these moneyers were responsible for a rent of 2 marks each per annum for the use of the mint building.

Henry II became King of England in 1154 and reigned until his death in 1189. He was the first king of the House of Plantagenet. Henry became Count of Anjou and Maine upon the death of his father, Count Geoffrey V, in 1151, his marriage in 1152 to Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII had recently been annulled, made him Duke of Aquitaine. He became Count of Nantes by treaty in 1185.
By the age of 14, Henry became actively involved in the efforts of his mother Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, to claim the English throne, then occupied by Stephen of Blois. Stephen agreed to a peace treaty after Henry's military expedition to England in 1153, and Henry inherited the kingdom on Stephen's death a year later. Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his grandfather Henry I. During the early years of his reign Henry re-established hegemony over Wales and gained full control over his lands in Anjou, Maine and Touraine. Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This culminated in the murder of Becket by the high altar in his own church in 1170. This horrified Christians and, although Beckett was apparently disliked by the monks in life, in death he became a martyr, was canonised, and a religious cult grew up around his sainthood.
Henry II soon came into conflict with Louis VII, and the two rulers fought what has been termed a "cold war" over several decades. Henry expanded his empire at Louis's expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse, but despite numerous conferences and treaties, no lasting peace agreement was reached.
Henry and Eleanor had eight children—three daughters and five sons. As the sons grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the kingdom began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard (later king) and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Brittany, Flanders, and Boulogne all allied themselves with the rebels. This “Great Revolt” was only defeated by Henry's vigorous military action and talented local commanders. Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henry's death. Henry II's invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John, but Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and immediate power. By 1189, Young Henry and Geoffrey were dead, and Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry II would make John king, which led to a final rebellion. Henry II was decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and, suffering from a bleeding ulcer, he retreated to Chinon Castle in Anjou. Henry died soon afterwards and was succeeded by his son Richard I (the lionheart).
Many of the changes Henry II introduced during his long reign had long-term consequences, his legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales, and Scotland shaped the development of their societies and governmental systems.1 comments*Alex

118 AD: Hadrian relinquishes public debt worth 900 million sestertii Orichalcum sestertius (24.91g, 34mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-121
IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG P M TR P COS III laureate bust right, drapery on far shoulder
RELIQVA VETERA IIS NOVIES MILL ABOLITA / S C Lictor standing left, holding fasces, setting fire to heap of bonds on the ground to left with brand
RIC 552 [R]; Cohen 914; Foss (Roman Historic Coins) 112/15
CNG EAuction 202; ex White Mountain Collection; ex Mazzini Collection
While Hadrian was on a mission in AD 118, four high ranking senators were executed by the senate for conspiring against Hadrian, despite a promise by Hadrian not to execute members of the Senate. To calm the public, Hadrian granted an extra public largesse and relinquished the public debt to the state equaling 900 million sestertii. In a ceremony held in the Forum Trajanum, all records of these debts were set on fire1 commentsCharles S

1307 - 1327, EDWARD II, AR Penny, Struck 1311 - 1316 at Durham, EnglandObverse: + EDWAR ANGL DNS hYB. Crowned and draped bust of Edward II facing within circle of pellets. Cross pattee in legend.
Reverse: CIVITAS DVNELM. Long cross, the upper limb of which is in the form of a bishop's crozier, dividing legend into quarters, trefoil in each quarter of inner circle.
Diameter: 18mm | Weight: 1.2gms | Die Axis: 7h
Rare
SPINK: 1469

Undated Penny, Class 11a, struck under Bishop Kellawe. Bishop Kellawe was enthroned as Bishop of Durham in 1311 but he died in 1316 so this coin was struck during the five years between those two dates. These coins were sometimes called "poker pennies" because the shape of the crozier on the reverse is reminiscent of an old iron fireside poker. It's an unfortunate nickname considering the reputed manner of the King's death.

Edward II was born on 25 April 1284, the fourth son of Edward I of England and when Edward I died in July 1307 Edward II became king because his three elder brothers were already dead. Edward II was the first English prince to hold the title prince of Wales, which was bestowed on him by his father in 1301.
Unfortunately Edward II had few of the qualities that made a successful medieval king. He surrounded himself with favourites, the best known being Piers Gaveston who he recalled from exile, Edward I having banished him to France due to his bad influence on his son. Furthermore, Edward II gave Gaveston the earldom of Cornwall, a title which had previously only been conferred on royalty.
Opposition to the king and his favourite began almost immediately, and in 1311 the nobles issued the 'Ordinances', in an attempt to limit royal control of finance and appointments. Gaveston was twice exiled at the demand of the barons, only for him to return to England shortly afterwards. However, in 1312, he was captured by the barons and executed.
In 1314, Edward invaded Scotland where he was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. So bad was this for Edward's rule that by the following year parts of England had fallen into anarchy and power was in the hands of the barons headed by Edward's cousin Thomas of Lancaster, who had virtually made himself the real ruler of England.
By 1318, Edward and Lancaster had been partly reconciled, but the king now had two new favourites, Hugh le Despenser and his son. When Edward supported the two Despensers' ambitions in Wales the barons banished both father and son. This prompted Edward to fight back and he defeated Lancaster at Boroughbridge in March 1322, Lancaster was executed him and the Despensers were called back to Edward's court.
But now, Edward's wife, Isabella of France, emerged as a focus of opposition. In 1325, she was sent on a diplomatic mission to France where she met and became the mistress of Roger Mortimer, an exiled opponent of Edward. In September 1326, Isabella and Mortimer invaded England. There was virtually no resistance and the Despensers were captured and executed. Defeated, Edward was made to renounce the throne in favour of his son Edward who was crowned Edward III in January 1327.
Edward II was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle and later murdered there.
*Alex

138-161 AD - ANTONINUS PIUS AR denarius - struck 158-159 ADobv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP (laureate head right)
rev: TEMPLVM DIV AVG REST COS IIII (octastyle temple [8 columns] in which the statues of Augustus and Livia reside)
ref: RIC III 143D (R), Cohen 809 (8frcs)
3.01 gms, 18mm,
Rare

History: The Temple of Divus Augustus was built between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, behind the Basilica Julia. It is known from Roman coinage that the temple was originally built to an Ionic hexastyle design (see my Caligula sestertius). During the reign of Domitian the Temple of Divus Augustus was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt and rededicated in 89/90 with a shrine to his favourite deity, Minerva. The temple was redesigned as a memorial to four deified emperors, including Vespasian and Titus.
It was restored again in the late 150s by Antoninus Pius, who was perhaps motivated by a desire to be publicly associated with the first emperor. The exact date of the restoration is not known, but the restored temple was an octostyle design with Corinthian capitals and two statues - presumably of Augustus and Livia - in the cella. The pediment displayed a relief featuring Augustus and was topped by a quadriga. Two figures stood on the eaves of the roof, that on the left representing Romulus and the one on the right depicting Aeneas leading his family out of Troy, alluding to Rome's origin-myth. The steps of the temple were flanked by two statues of Victory.1 commentsberserker

177-192 AD - COMMODUS AR denarius - struck 191 ADobv: M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT P P (laureate head right)
rev: APOL PAL P M TR P XVI COS VI (Apollo attired in the stola, holding the plectrum in the right hand and resting his left on the lyre, which surmounts on a short column)
ref: RIC III 218 (S), C.24 (8frcs)
mint: Rome
2.7gms, 17mm
Scarce

Apollini Palatino – this coin has reference to the temple, which Emperor Augustus erected at Rome, in honour of his guardian divinity in the Palatium. This temple was destroyed by fire during the reign of Julian the Apostate.berserker

1797 AE Halfpenny, Middlesex County.Obverse: FREDk. DUKE OF YORK. Bare headed bust of Frederick Augustus, Duke of York, facing right; HALFPENNY 1795 in two lines below.
Reverse: RULE BRITANNIA. Britannia seated on globe facing left, left arm resting on shield and holding laurel-branch, right hand holding spear, ship's masts in front of her in background; 1797 in exergue.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 27mm | Die Axis: 6h | Obverse die flaw.
Dalton & Hamer: 990. Cobwright No: F.0010/R.0010. Not in Atkins.

Manufactured by William Lutwyche, Birmingham.
In the 18th century, token manufacturers often used their dies to their own advantage by striking “mules”, solely with the object of creating rare varieties which were sold to the collectors of the day.

Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, was born on16th August 1763. He was the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III. Thrust into the British army at a very young age he was appointed a colonel by his father on 4th November 1780 when he was only 17 years old. He was created Duke of York and Albany on 27th November 1784.
On 26th May 1789 he took part a duel with Colonel Charles Lennox, who had insulted him; Lennox missed and Prince Frederick honourably refused to return fire.
On 12th April 1793 he was promoted to a full general and sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent destined for the invasion of France. Frederick's command fought under extremely trying conditions and though he won several notable engagements, he was defeated at the Battle of Hondschoote in September 1793. Then, in the 1794 campaign, he was successful at the battle of Willems in May but was defeated at the Battle of Tourcoing later that month.
Promoted to the rank of field marshal, on 3rd April 1795 he became effective Commander-in-Chief in succession to Lord Amherst and went with the army sent for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799. A number of disasters befell the allied forces however and, on 17th October, the Duke signed the Convention of Alkmaar, by which the allied expedition withdrew after giving up its prisoners.
These military setbacks led to Frederick being mocked in the rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York":
The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.
However, Frederick's experience in the Dutch campaign had demonstrated the numerous weaknesses of the British army after years of neglect so he carried through a massive programme of reform and he was the person most responsible for creating the force which served in the Peninsular War.
Frederick died of dropsy and apparent cardioid-vascular disease at the home of the Duke of Rutland on Arlington Street, London, on 5th January, 1827. After lying in state in London, his remains were interred in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor.*Alex

1812 AE Non-local Halfpenny Token. Stockton on Tees, Yorkshire.Obverse: ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY •. Bust of Horatio Nelson facing left.
Reverse: BRITISH NAVAL HALPPENNY (sic). Three masted ship, probably H.M.S. Victory, sailing right, 1812 in panel below.
Edge: Centre Grained.
Diameter 30mm | Die Axis 6
Withers: 1590 | Davis: 150 (Yorkshire)

The dies for this token were, according to some sources, engraved by Thomas Wyon. Though the manufacturer of the token is unknown, it was most likely struck in Birmingham.

Issued from Stockton on Tees, this token seems to have been struck to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar which took place in 1805, and in which Nelson was killed. The issuer is uncertain but it was probably Robert Christopher and Thomas Jennett.
Robert Christopher & Thomas Jennett were booksellers and printers in Stockton, they were also the Stockton agents for the Sun Fire Office.
Jennett was Christopher's apprentice and on the completion of his indentures, he was taken into partnership. Matching the high standards of his companion, Jennett became well known and much respected, growing to be a man of power and influence. He became a magistrate and was mayor of Stockton three times.*Alex

1813 AE Penny, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.Obverse: CHRISTOPHER & JENNETT * STOCKTON *, incuse letters on a raised rim. View of the bridge over the Tees being crossed by several small figures including a rider on horse, rowing boat containing two figures in river below; in field above, TEES; in field below, 1813.
Reverse: BRITANNIA * ONE PENNY TOKEN *, incuse letters on a raised rim. Britannia seated facing left on shield, holding olive branch and trident, small ship in left background at her feet.
Edge: Centre-grained.
Diameter 34mm | Weight 19.7gms
Davis:6 | Withers:1109

The die engraver for this token was Peter Wyon. It was issued by Robert Christopher & Thomas Jennett who were booksellers and printers in Stockton, they were also the Stockton agents for the Sun Fire Office.
Jennett was Christopher's apprentice and on the completion of his indentures, he was taken into partnership. Matching the high standards of his companion, Jennett became well known and much respected, growing to be a man of power and influence. He became a magistrate and was mayor of Stockton three times.

The bridge shown on this token was the first bridge to serve the growing town of Stockton, it was a five arch stone bridge which was completed in 1769. Before the existence of the bridge at this location, the only way of crossing the Tees was by the Bishop’s Ferry. The bridge was subject to rent to the Bishop of Durham and the costs of building it had to be repaid, so a system of tolls was charged. These were supposed to be abolished as soon as the debt was cleared, but they remained in place until, in 1819, the local people took the law into their own hands, throwing two of the bridge gates into the river and burning the third gate in the High Street. Although the bridge was good news for Stockton’s business, it had a devastating impact on Yarm. As ships were growing in size at this time, the building of the bridge prevented many ships reaching Yarm because they were unable to navigate further up the river. This only heightened shipping in Stockton and affirmed its place as the main port on the Tees before the 1800s. The bridge also halted Yarm’s shipbuilding industry and, since Stockton was unaffected, yards sprang up east of the bridge towards the sea. By 1876 the old bridge was inadequate and in 1881 work was begun on a new bridge. This new bridge, named the ‘Victoria Bridge’ in recognition of Queen Victoria, was opened in 1887 and the old stone bridge was demolished.*Alex

1ab Marcus Licinius CrassusFormed First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey in 60 BC, killed at Carrhae in Parthia in 53 BC.

Denarius, minted by son, P Licinius Crassus, ca 54 BC.
Bust of Venus, right, SC behind
Amazon with horse, P CRASSVS MF.

These coins were probably minted to pay Crassus' army for the invasion of Parthia. The reverse figure is sometimes described as a warrior or Gaulish horseman, but this example clearly accords with those who identify the figure as a woman! Member of the first triumvirate, 59-53 BC.

Seaby, Licinia 18

Plutarch wrote of Crassus: People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were darkened by the one vice of avarice, and indeed he seemed to have no other but that; for it being the most predominant, obscured others to which he was inclined. The arguments in proof of his avarice were the vastness of his estate, and the manner of raising it; for whereas at first he was not worth above three hundred talents, yet, though in the course of his political life he dedicated the tenth of all he had to Hercules, and feasted the people, and gave to every citizen corn enough to serve him three months, upon casting up his accounts, before he went upon his Parthian expedition, he found his possessions to amount to seven thousand one hundred talents; most of which, if we may scandal him with a truth, he got by fire and rapine, making his advantages of the public calamities. . . . Crassus, however, was very eager to be hospitable to strangers; he kept open house, and to his friends he would lend money without interest, but called it in precisely at the time; so that his kindness was often thought worse than the paying the interest would have been. His entertainments were, for the most part, plain and citizen-like, the company general and popular; good taste and kindness made them pleasanter than sumptuosity would have done. As for learning he chiefly cared for rhetoric, and what would be serviceable with large numbers; he became one of the best speakers at Rome, and by his pains and industry outdid the best natural orators. . . . Besides, the people were pleased with his courteous and unpretending salutations and greetings, for he never met any citizen however humble and low, but he returned him his salute by name. He was looked upon as a man well-read in history, and pretty well versed in Aristotle's philosophy. . . . Crassus was killed by a Parthian, called Pomaxathres; others say by a different man, and that Pomaxathres only cut off his head and right hand after he had fallen. But this is conjecture rather than certain knowledge, for those that were by had not leisure to observe particulars. . . .2 commentsBlindado

1ab_2 Marcus Licinius CrassusFormed First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey in 60 BC, killed at Carrhae in Parthia in 53 BC.

Denarius, minted by son, P Licinius Crassus, ca 54 BC.
Bust of Venus, right, SC behind
Amazon with horse, P CRASSVS MF.

Seaby, Licinia 18

These coins were probably minted to pay Crassus' army for the invasion of Parthia. My synthesis of reviewing 90 examples of this issue revealed a female warrior wearing a soft felt Scythian cap with ear flaps (visible in this example); a fabric garment with a decorated skirt to the knees; probably trousers; an ornate war belt; a baldric; a cape, animal skin, or shoulder cord on attached to the left shoulder; and decorated calf-high boots. She matches the historically confirmed garb of the real amazons—Scythian horsewomen—and of course holds her steed. The horse’s tack is consistent with archeological discoveries of tack in use by Scythians and Romans.

Adrienne Mayor writes that amazon imagery on Greek vases suddenly appeared in 575-550 BC, initially depicting them in Greek-style armor. By the end of the century, as the Greeks learned more through direct and indirect contact with Scythians, they began to appear wearing archeologically confirmed Scythian-Sarmatian-Thracian patterned attire. (Adrienne Mayor, The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2014, 199-200). To this, artists added their own creative ideas regarding colors, fabric patterns, and decorations. “They dressed the warrior women in body-hugging ‘unitards’ or tunics, short chitons or belted dresses, sometimes over leggings or trousers. . . . In paintings and sculpture, pointed or soft Scythian caps with earflaps or ties (kidaris) soon replaced the Greek helmets, and the women wear a variety of belts, baldrics (diagonal straps), corselets, shoulder cords or bands, and crisscrossing leather straps attached to belt loops like those worn by the archer huntress Artemis. . . . Amazon footgear included soft leather moccasin-like shoes, calf-high boots (endromides), or taller laced boots (embades) with scallops or flaps and lined with felt or fur.” (Mayor, 202)
The artists apparently had detailed knowledge of gear used by real Scythian horsewomen to equip their imagined Amazons. “Archeological discoveries of well-preserved sets of clothing confirm that real horsewomen of ancient Scythian lands dressed much as did those described in Greek texts and illustrated in Scythian and Greek artwork.” (Mayor, 203)

Plutarch wrote of Crassus: People were wont to say that the many virtues of Crassus were darkened by the one vice of avarice, and indeed he seemed to have no other but that; for it being the most predominant, obscured others to which he was inclined. The arguments in proof of his avarice were the vastness of his estate, and the manner of raising it; for whereas at first he was not worth above three hundred talents, yet, though in the course of his political life he dedicated the tenth of all he had to Hercules, and feasted the people, and gave to every citizen corn enough to serve him three months, upon casting up his accounts, before he went upon his Parthian expedition, he found his possessions to amount to seven thousand one hundred talents; most of which, if we may scandal him with a truth, he got by fire and rapine, making his advantages of the public calamities. . . . Crassus, however, was very eager to be hospitable to strangers; he kept open house, and to his friends he would lend money without interest, but called it in precisely at the time; so that his kindness was often thought worse than the paying the interest would have been. His entertainments were, for the most part, plain and citizen-like, the company general and popular; good taste and kindness made them pleasanter than sumptuosity would have done. As for learning he chiefly cared for rhetoric, and what would be serviceable with large numbers; he became one of the best speakers at Rome, and by his pains and industry outdid the best natural orators. . . . Besides, the people were pleased with his courteous and unpretending salutations and greetings, for he never met any citizen however humble and low, but he returned him his salute by name. He was looked upon as a man well-read in history, and pretty well versed in Aristotle's philosophy. . . . Crassus was killed by a Parthian, called Pomaxathres; others say by a different man, and that Pomaxathres only cut off his head and right hand after he had fallen. But this is conjecture rather than certain knowledge, for those that were by had not leisure to observe particulars. . . .1 commentsBlindado

1ar Nero54-68

As

Bare head, right, IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TR P P P
Genius, GENIO AVGVSTI

RIC 86

Suetonius wrote: Nero was born nine months after the death of Tiberius, at Antium, at sunrise on the 15th of December (AD 37). . . . While he was still a young stripling he took part in a successful performance of the Troy Game in the Circus, in which he exhibited great self-possession. At the age of twelve or so (sometime in AD 50), he was adopted by Claudius, who appointed Annaeus Seneca, already a member of the Senate, as his tutor. The following night, it is said, Seneca dreamed that his young charge was really Caligula, and Nero soon proved the dream prophetic by seizing the first opportunity to reveal his cruel disposition. . . . After Claudius’s death (AD 54) had been announced publicly, Nero, who was not quite seventeen years old, decided to address the Guards in the late afternoon, since inauspicious omens that day had ruled out an earlier appearance. After being acclaimed Emperor on the Palace steps, he was carried in a litter to the Praetorian Camp where he spoke to the Guards, and then to the House where he stayed until evening. He refused only one of the many honours that were heaped upon him, that of ‘Father of the Country’, and declined that simply on account of his youth.

Eutropius summarized: To him succeeded NERO, who greatly resembled his uncle Caligula, and both disgraced and weakened the Roman empire; he indulged in such extraordinary luxury and extravagance, that, after the example of Caius Caligula, he even bathed in hot and cold perfumes, and fished with golden nets, which he drew up with cords of purple silk. He put to death a very great number of the senate. To all good men he was an enemy. At last he exposed himself in so disgraceful a manner, that he danced and sung upon the stage in the dress of a harp-player and tragedian. He was guilty of many murders, his brother, wife, and mother, being put to death by him. He set on fire the city of Rome, that he might enjoy the sight of a spectacle such as Troy formerly presented when taken and burned.

In military affairs he attempted nothing. Britain he almost lost; for two of its most noble towns4 were taken and levelled to the ground under his reign. The Parthians took from him Armenia, and compelled the Roman legions to pass under the yoke. Two provinces however were formed under him; Pontus Polemoniacus, by the concession of King Polemon; and the Cottian Alps, on the death of King Cottius.

15 When, having become detestable by such conduct to the city of Rome, and being deserted at the same time by every one, and declared an enemy by the senate, he was sought for to be led to punishment (the punishment being, that he should be dragged naked through the streets, with a fork placed under his head,5 be beaten to death with rods, and then hurled from the Tarpeian rock), he fled from the palace, and killed himself in a suburban villa of one of his freed-men, between the Salarian and Nomentane roads, at the fourth milestone from the city. He built those hot baths at Rome, which were formerly called the Neronian, but now the Alexandrian. He died in the thirty-second year of his age, and the fourteenth year of his reign; and in him all the family of Augustus became extinct.

Having successfully dispatched his scheming mother Agrippina in 59 and survived a decade on the throne, Nero must have felt like a genius when this was minted ca 64 AD!1 commentsBlindado

1az Domitian81-96

As

Laureate head right, IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XV CENS PER P P
Moneta std, MONETA AVGVSTI S C

RIC 708

Suetonius wrote: Domitian was born on the 24th of October AD51, a month before his father Vespasian took up office as consul. . . . When Vespasian died, Domitian considered granting his soldiers twice the bounty offered by his brother Titus, and had no qualms in claiming that his father’s will had been tampered with, since he had been due a half-share of the Empire. From then on, he plotted continually against his brother, openly and in secret. When Titus was gripped by his fatal illness, Domitian ordered him to be left for dead, before he had actually breathed his last. . . .

He governed inconsistently, displaying a mixture of virtue and vice, but after some time his virtues too gave way to vice, since he seems to have been made avaricious through lack of funds, and cruel through fear, contrary to his natural disposition. . . . Domitian was diligent and conscientiousness in his administration of justice, often holding special sittings on the tribunal in the Forum. . . . [I]n his private life, and even for some time after becoming Emperor, he was considered free of greed and avarice; and indeed often showed proof not only of moderation, but of real generosity. . . . His moderation and clemency however were not destined to last, his predilection to cruelty appearing somewhat sooner than his avarice. . . . In this way he became an object of terror to all, and so hated that he was finally brought down by a conspiracy of his companions and favourite freedmen, which also involved his wife, Domitia Longina.

Domitian was tall, and of a ruddy complexion, with large rather weak eyes, and a modest expression. He was handsome and attractive when young, his whole body well-made except for his feet with their short toes. Later, he lost his hair, and developed a protruding belly, while his legs became thin and spindly after a long illness. . . . He found exercise intolerable, seldom walked when in Rome and while travelling and on campaign rarely rode but used a litter. Weaponry in general held no interest for him, though he was exceptionally keen on archery. There are plenty of witnesses to his killing a hundred wild creatures or more at a time on his Alban estate, bringing them down with successive arrows planted so deftly as to give the effect of horns. . . .

At the beginning of his reign, he had the libraries, which had been damaged by fire, restored at great expense, instituting a search for copies of lost works, and sending scribes to Alexandria to transcribe and edit them. Yet he himself neglected liberal studies, and never bothered to interest himself in history or poetry, or even to acquire a decent writing style.Blindado

1bm LucillaWife of Lucius Verus, executed 182 AD

Sestertius
Draped bust, right, LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F
Venus standing facing left holding apple, drawing out robe, VENUS

RIC 1767

Daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior, she married Lucius Verus in 164.

According to Herodian: For the present, however, the memory of his father and his respect for his advisers held Commodus in check. But then a disastrous stroke of ill fortune completely altered his previously mild, moderate disposition. It happened this way. The oldest of the emperor's sisters was Lucilla. She had formerly been married to Lucius Verus Caesar. . . . But after Lucius died, Lucilla, who retained all the privileges of her imperial position, was married by her father to Pompeianus.

Commodus, too, allowed his sister to retain the imperial honors; she continued to occupy the imperial seat at the theaters, and the sacred fire was carried before her. But when Commodus married Crispina, custom demanded that the front seat at the theater be assigned to the empress. Lucilla found this difficult to endure, and felt that any honor paid to the empress was an insult to her; but since she was well aware that her husband Pompeianus was devoted to Commodus, she told him nothing about her plans to seize control of the empire. Instead, she tested the sentiments of a wealthy young nobleman, Quadratus, with whom she was rumored to be sleeping in secret. Complaining constantly about this matter of imperial precedence, she soon persuaded the young man to set in motion a plot which brought destruction upon himself and the entire senate.

Quadratus, in selecting confederates among the prominent senators, prevailed upon Quintianus, a bold and reckless young senator, to conceal a dagger beneath his robe and, watching for a suitable time and place, to stab Commodus; as for the rest, he assured Quintianus that he would set matters straight by bribes.

But the assassin, standing in the entrance to the amphitheater (it was dark there and he hoped to escape detection), drew his dagger and shouted at Commodus that he had been sent by the Senate to kill him. Quintianus wasted time making his little speech and waving his dagger; as a result, he was seized by the emperor's bodyguards before he could strike, and died for his stupidity in revealing the plot prematurely.

This was the initial reason for the young emperor's hatred of the Senate. He took Quintianus' words to heart and, ever mindful of what his attacker had said, now considered the entire Senate his collective enemy.

This incident also gave Perennis sufficient excuse for taking action, for he was always advising the emperor to eliminate and destroy the prominent men. By confiscating their property, Perennis easily made himself the richest man of his time. After the attempt at assassination had been thoroughly investigated by the prefect, Commodus without mercy put to death his sister, all those actually involved in the plot, and any who were under the slightest suspicion as well.3 commentsBlindado

1eq Valens364-378

AE 3, Siscia

Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right, D N VALENS P F AVG
Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, SECVRITAS REIPUBLICAE. Mintmark dot ASISC.

RIC 7b

Zosimus recorded: [Valentinian was an experienced military man, but] Valens was surrounded with disquietude on every side, having always lived inactively, and having been raised to the empire suddenly. He could not indeed sustain the weight of business. He was disturbed, not by the Persians only, who were elated with their prosperity, which had increased since their truce with Jovian. They made incursions on the provinces without controul, since Nisibis was in their possession, and by distressing the eastern towns, constrained the emperor to march against them. On his departure from Constantinople, the rebellion of Procopius commenced. . . .

{With Valentiniand dead,] Valens was inundated with wars on every side. . . . [Valens' advisers] persuaded him to |107 march forward with his whole army; that the Barbarians were almost destroyed, and the emperor might gain a victory without trouble. Their counsel, though the least prudent, so far prevailed, that the emperor led forth his whole army without order. The Barbarians resolutely opposed them, and gained so signal a victory, that they slew all, except a few with whom the emperor fled into an unfortified village. The Barbarians, therefore, surrounded the place with a quantity of wood, which they set on fire. All who had fled thither, together with the inhabitants, were consumed in the tlames, and in such a manner, that the body of the emperor could never be found.Blindado

201a. Julia DomnaIn Rome, when the worship of Cybele, as Magna Mater, was formally initiated in 203 BC, Rome was embroiled in the Second Punic War. The previous year, an inspection had been made of the Sibylline Books, and some oracular verses had been discovered that announced that if a foreign foe should carry war into Italy, he could be driven out and conquered if the Mater Magna were brought from Pessinos to Rome. Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica was ordered to go to the port of Ostia, accompanied by all the matrons, to meet the goddess. He was to receive her as she left the vessel, and when brought to land he was to place her in the hands of the matrons who were to bear her to her destination, the Temple of Victory on the Palatine Hill. The day on which this event took place, 12 April, was observed afterwards as a festival, the Megalesian. (Livy, History of Rome, circa AD 10)

In Rome, her Phrygian origins were recalled by Catullus, whose famous poem on the theme of Attis includes a vivid description of Cybele's worship: "Together come and follow to the Phrygian home of Cybele, to the Phrygian forests of the goddess, where the clash of cymbals ring, where tambourines resound, where the Phrygian flute-player blows deeply on his curved reed, where ivy-crowned maenads toss their heads wildly."

Roman devotion to Cybele ran deep. Not coincidentally, when a Christian basilica was built over the site of a temple to Cybele, to occupy the site, it was dedicated as the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

The worship of Cybele penetrated as far as Mauretania, where, just outside Setif, the ceremonial "tree-bearers" and the faithful (religiosi) restored the temple of Cybele and Attis after a disastrous fire in AD 288. Lavish new fittings paid for by the private group included the silver statue of Cybele and the chariot that carried her in procession received a new canopy, with tassels in the form of fir cones. (Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians, p 581.)

Today, a monumental statue of Cybele can be found in one of the principal traffic circles of Madrid, the Plaza de Cibeles (illustration, upper right).

In Roman mythology, Magna Mater deorum Idaea ("great Idaean mother of the gods") was the name for the originally Phrygian goddess Cybele, as well as Rhea.

Her cult moved from Phrygia to Greece from the 6th century to the 4th. In 205 BC, Rome adopted her cult.

Julia Domna Denarius. 212 AD. IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, draped bust right / MATRI DEVM, Cybele standing left, leaning on column, holding drum & scepter, lion at foot. RSC 137. RIC 3821 commentsecoli

201a. JULIA DOMNALuna

In Greek mythology, Selene was an ancient lunar deity and the daughter of the titans Hyperion and Theia. She was identified with the Roman moon goddess, Luna.

Like most moon deities, Selene plays a fairly large role in her pantheon. However, Selene was eventually largely supplanted by Artemis, and Luna by Diana. In the collection known as the Homeric hymns, there is a Hymn to Selene (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios. Selene is described in Apollodorus 1.2.2; Hesiod's Theogony 371; Nonnius 48.581; Pausanias 5.1.4; and Strabo 14.1.6, among others.

The Roman goddess of the moon, Luna, had a temple on the Aventine Hill. It was built in the 6th century BC, but was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome during Nero's reign. There was also a temple dedicated to Luna Noctiluca ("Luna that shines by night") on the Palatine Hill. There were festivals in honor of Luna on March 31, August 24 and August 28

JULIA DOMNA, - 217 AD. Antoninianus, Rome, 215 - 217 AD Bust, no crescent, right / Luna Lucifera in biga left. Rare. RIC 379.1 commentsecoli

201a. Julia DomnaVesta

Vesta was introduced in Rome by King Numa Pompilius. She was a native Roman deity (some authors suggest received from the Sabine cults), sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera and Demeter, and presumably the daughter of Saturn and Ops (or Rea). However, the similarity with the cult of Greek Hestia is notable. Vesta too protected familial harmony and the res publica. Apollo and Neptune had asked for her in marriage, but she refused both, preferring to preserve her virginity, whose symbol was the perpetually lit fire in her circular fane next to the Forum which the Romans always distinguished from a temple by calling it her "house".

As Goddess of the Hearth she was the symbol of the home, around which a newborn child must be carried before it could be received into the family. Every meal began and ended with an offering to her:

Vesta, in all dwellings of men and immortals
Yours is the highest honor, the sweet wine offered
First and last at the feast, poured out to you duly.
Never without you can gods or mortals hold banquet.

Landscape with Vesta temple in Tivoli, Italy, c. 1600.Each city too had a public hearth sacred to Vesta, where the fire was never allowed to go out. If a colony was to be founded, the colonists carried with them coals from the hearth of the mother-city with which to kindle the fire on the new city's hearth.

The fire was guarded by her priestesses, the Vestales. Every March 1 the fire was renewed. It burned until 391, when the Emperor Theodosius I forbade public pagan worship. One of the Vestales was Rea Silvia, who with Mars conceived Romulus and Remus (see founding of Rome).

3070. Silver denarius, RIC 538, RSC 221, VF, 2.30g, 17.5mm, 0o, Rome mint, 193-196 A.D.; obverse IVLIA DOMNA AVG, draped bust right; reverse VESTA, Vesta seated left, holding palladium and scepter. Ex Forum
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213 AD - CARACALLA denariusobv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT (laureate head right)
rev: PROFECTIO AVG (Caracalla in military dress standing right, holding spear; behind two standard)
ref: RIC IVi 225 (S), RSC 508 (10frcs)
mint: Rome
2.57gms, 19mm
Scarce

This coin is commemorate the departure for a short visit to Gallia and a campaing along the borders of Upper Germany and Raetia.
Historical backround: During the German war (213 AD), the emperor visited the shrine of the Celtic healing-god Grannus.
In classical Celtic polytheism, Grannus was a deity associated with spas, the sun, fires and healing thermal and mineral springs. He seems to have embodied the notion of therapeutic heat. One of the god’s most famous cult centres was at Aquae Granni (now Aachen, Germany). Aachen means ‘water’ in Old High German, a calque of the Roman name of "Aquae Granni".
berserker

241-272 Shapur I - dirhamPahlavi legend , crowned bust right (crown with earflaps)
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants. There is a symbol on the altar's shaft.Ginolerhino

2428 Hadrian Sestertius Roma 130-38 AD Decastyle TempleReference.
RIC II 783; Strack 696; C. 1422; BMC 1554; RIC III, 2428 (noted): Banti 752

Bust A1

Obv. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P
Laureate head

Rev. [SPQR] S-C
Decastyle temple set on base; temple is flanked by two columns, each decorated with a statue on top columns surmounted by statues and set on pedestals on either side

22.71 gr
31 mm
12h

Note.
The great temple of Venus and Rome, was actually two temples that were built back-to-back. Dedigned by Hadrian, the temple of Venus faced the Flavian ampitheatre and that of Rome overlooked the Forum. Construction began in 121 AD, but was not completed until 141 AD under Antoninus Pius. The temple was destroyed by fire in 307 AD, and later rebuilt by Maxentius. Its remains can still be seen in Rome today.3 commentsokidoki

399-420 Yazdagard I - dirham from Bishapur (near Qazerun, Iran) or court mint.Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right (crown with frontal crescent)
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants.3 commentsGinolerhino

459-484 Peroz - dirham from Goyman (Iran)Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right (crown with wings)
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants.1 commentsGinolerhino

459-484 Peroz - dirham from Hormizd-Ardashir (Iran)Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants.3 commentsGinolerhino

501. Constantine I In the year 320, Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan in 313 and began another persecution of the Christians. This was a puzzling inconsistency since Constantia, half-sister of Constantine and wife of Licinius, was an influential Christian. It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. The armies were so large another like these would not be seen again until at least the 14th century. Licinius, aided by Goth mercenaries, represented the past and the ancient faith of Paganism. Constantine and his Franks marched under the Christian standard of the labarum, and both sides saw the battle in religious terms. Supposedly outnumbered, but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious. With the defeat and death of Licinius (Constantine was known for being ruthless with his political enemies: Constantine had publicly promised to spare his life, but a year later he accused him of plotting against him and had him executed by strangulation), Constantine then became the sole emperor of the entire Roman Empire.[

RIC VII Siscia 235 c3

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501. Constantine I London BEATA TRANQVILLITASLondon

Londinium was established as a town by the Romans after the invasion of 43 AD led by the Emperor Claudius. Archaeological excavation (undertaken by the Department of Urban Archaeology of the Museum of London now called MOLAS) since the 1970s has also failed to unearth any convincing traces of major settlement before c.50 — so ideas about Londinium being a military foundation around the Fort that protected London Bridge are now largely discounted.

The name Londinium is thought to be pre-Roman in origin although there is no consensus on what it means. One suggestion is that it derived from a personal name meaning 'fierce'. However, recent research by Richard Coates has suggested that the name derives from pre-Celtic Old European — Plowonida — from 2 roots, "plew" and "nejd", meaning something like "the flowing river" or "the wide flowing river". Londinium therefore means "the settlement on the wide river". He suggests that the river was called the Thames up river where it was narrower, and Plowonida down river where it was too wide to ford. For a discussion on the legends of London and Plowonida see [1]. The story of the settlement being named after Lud is considered unlikely.

Archaeologists now believe that London was founded as a civilian settlement by 50 AD. A wooden drain by the side of the main roman road excavated at No 1 Poultry has been dated to 47 which is likely to be the foundation date.

Ten years later, Londinium was sacked by the Iceni lead by the British queen Boudica. Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of destruction by fire at this date, and recently a military compound has been discovered in the City of London which may have been the headquarters of the Roman fight back against the British uprising.

The city recovered after perhaps 10 years, and reached its population height by about 120 AD, with a population of around 60,000. London became the capital of Roman Britain (Britannia) (previously the capital was the older, nearby town of Colchester). Thereafter began a slow decline; however, habitation and associated building work did not cease. By 375 London was a small wealthy community protected by completed defences. By 410 Roman occupation officially came to an end, with the citizens being ordered to look after their own defenses. By the middle of the 5th century the Roman city was practically abandoned.

RIC VII London 271 R2

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501. Constantine I Ostia SolOstia
Although Ostia was probably founded for the sole purpose of military defence — since through the Tiber's mouths armies could eventually reach Rome by water — in time the port became a commercial harbour, and a very important one too. Many of the goods that Rome received from its colonies and provinces passed through Ostia. In this role, Ostia soon replaced Pozzuoli (Puteoli, near Naples).

In 87 BC, the town was razed by Marius, and again in 67 BC it was sacked by pirates. After this second attack, the town was re-built and provided with protective walls by Cicero. The town was then further developed during the 1st century AD, mainly under the influence of Tiberius, who ordered the building of the first Forum. The town was also soon enriched by the construction of a new harbour on the northern mouths of the Tiber (which reaches the sea with a larger mouth in Ostia, Fiumara Grande, and a narrower one near to the current Fiumicino international airport). The new harbour, not surprisingly called Portus, was excavated from the ground at the orders of the emperor Claudius; it has an hexagonal form, in order to reduce the waves strength. The town was provided with all the services a town of the time could require; in particular, a famous lighthouse. Archaeologists also discovered the public latrinas, organised for collective use as a series of seats that lets us imagine today that the function was also a social moment. In addition, Ostia had a large theatre, public baths and a fire fighting service. You can still see the mosaic floors of the baths near today's entrance to the town.

Trajan too, required a widening of the naval areas, and ordered the building of another harbour, again pointing towards the north. It must be remembered that at a relatively short distance, there was also the harbour of Civitavecchia (Centum Cellae), and Rome was starting to have a significant number of harbours, the most important remaining Portus.

Ostia grew to 50,000 inhabitants in the 2nd century AD and in time focused its naval activities on Portus. With the end of the Roman Empire, Ostia fell slowly into decay, and was finally abandoned in the 9th century due to the fall of the Roman empire in combination with repeated invasions and sackings by Arab pirates; the inhabitants moved to Gregoriopolis. In the Middle Ages, bricks from buildings in Ostia were used for several other occasions. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was entirely built of material originally belonging to Ostia. A "local sacking" was carried out by baroque architects, who used the remains as a sort of marble store for the palazzi they were building in Rome. Soon after, foreign explorers came in search of ancient statues and objects. The Papacy started organising its own investigations with Pope Pius VII and the research still continues today. It has been estimated that two thirds of the ancient town have currently been found.

001. Constantine I Ostia

RIC VI Ostia 85 S

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504. Constantius II Campgate NicomediaNicomedia

Titular see of Bithynia Prima, founded by King Zipoetes. About 264 B.C. his son Nicodemes I dedicated the city anew, gave it his name, made it his capital, and adorned it with magnificent monuments. At his court the vanquished Hannibal sought refuge. When Bithynia became a Roman province Nicomedia remained its capital. Pliny the Younger mentions, in his letters to Trajan, several public edifices of the city — a senate house, an aqueduct which he had built, a forum, the temple of Cybele, etc. He also proposed to join the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora by a canal which should follow the river Sangarius and empty the waters of the Lake of Sabandja into the Gulf of Astacus. A fire then almost destroyed the town. From Nicomedia perhaps, he wrote to Trajan his famous letter concerning the Christians. Under Marcus Aurelius, Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, addressed a letter to his community warning them against the Marcionites (Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", IV, xxiii). Bishop Evander, who opposed the sect of the Ophites (P.L., LIII, 592), seems to have lived at the same time. Nicomedia was the favorite residence of Diocletian, who built there a palace, a hippodrome, a mint, and an arsenal. In 303 the edict of the tenth persecution caused rivers of blood to flow through the empire, especially in Nicomedia, where the Bishop Anthimus and a great many Christians were martyred. The city was then half Christian, the palace itself being filled with them. In 303, in the vast plain east of Nicomedia, Diocletian renounced the empire in favour of Galerius. In 311 Lucian, a priest of Antioch, delivered a discourse in the presence of the judge before he was executed. Other martyrs of the city are numbered by hundreds. Nicomedia suffered greatly during the fourth century from an invasion of the Goths and from an earthquake (24 Aug., 354), which overthrew all the public and private monuments; fire completed the catastrophe. The city was rebuilt, on a smaller scale. In the reign of Justinian new public buildings were erected, which were destroyed in the following century by the Shah Chosroes. Pope Constantine I visited the city in 711. In 1073 John Comnenus was there proclaimed emperor and shortly afterwards was compelled to abdicate. In 1328 it was captured by the Sultan Orkhan, who restored its ramparts, parts of which are still preserved.

RIC VII Nicomedia 158 R2

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531-579 Khosrow I - dirham from Eran-asan-kar-Kavad (Hulwan, Iran)Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants, wearing turbans.3 commentsGinolerhino

590-628 Khosrow II - dirham from Hormizd-Ardashir (Iran)Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants.2 commentsGinolerhino

590-628 Khosrow II - dirham from Kerman (?)Pahlavi legend , crowned bust right
Pahlavi legend , fire-altar with two attendants.2 commentsGinolerhino

6252 EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian Tetradrachm 137-38 AD Pronoia Reference.
RPC III, 6252; Emmett 881.22; K&G 32.770; Dattari (Savio) pl. 68, 7457; Köln 1243 var. (distribution of rev. legend)

Issue L KB = year 22

Obv. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙС ΤΡΑ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟС СƐΒ
Laureate head of Hadrian, r., drapery on l. shoulder

Rev. ΠΡΟΝΟΙΑ LKB
Pronoia standing left, holding phoenix and sceptre.

13.60 gr
24 mm
12h

Note.
CNG
Pronoia (“foresight”) was an Oceanid nymph and wife of the Titan Prometheus, who was sentenced to eternal torture for stealing fire from the Olympian gods for use by humans.2 commentsokidoki

64-65 Ad Nero - RIC 53 - RareNERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS - Laureate Bust right
IVPPITER CVSTOS - Jupiter, seated left, holding thunderbolt and scepter.
The reverse "type commemorates the protection of Nero from the Pisonian Conspiracy. In 64 AD, a large section of central Rome burned; Nero's reputed singing of the destruction of Troy during the fire led to the later association of him "fiddling" as the city burned. Nero's "excesses" resulted in a conspiracy to overthrow and replace him with Gaius Calpurnius Piso. Among the conspirators were many high-ranking members of Nero's court including Seneca the Younger, the poet Lucan, and Petronius, who called himself Nero's "arbiter of elegance." To Nero, the the failure of a conspiracy made up of those so close to him could have been achieved only through divine intervention. As the king of the Gods oversaw the security of the Roman state, Nero believed it was Jupiter the Guardian (Custos) who had saved him from harm."5 commentsjimwho523

706a, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D.6, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D. AE setertius, Date: 66 AD; RIC I 516, 36.71 mm; 25.5 grams; aVF. Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG PONT MAX TR POT PP, Laureate bust right; Reverse: S C, ROMA, Roma seated left, exceptional portrait and full obverse legends. Ex Ancient Imports.

NERO (54-68 A.D.)

It is difficult for the modern student of history to realize just how popular Nero actually was, at least at the beginning of his reign. Rome looked upon her new Emperor with hope. He was the student of Seneca, and he had a sensitive nature. He loved art, music, literature, and theatre. He was also devoted to horses and horse racing—a devotion shared by many of his subjects. The plebs loved their new Emperor. As Professor of Classics Judith P. Hallett (University of Maryland, College Park) says, “It is not clear to me that Nero ever changed or that Nero ever grew-up, and that was both his strength and his weakness. Nero was an extraordinarily popular Emperor: he was like Elvis” (The Roman Empire in the First Century, III. Dir. Margaret Koval and Lyn Goldfarb. 2001. DVD. PBS/Warner Bros. 2003).

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

Herbert W. Benario
Emory University

Introduction and Sources
The five Julio-Claudian emperors are very different one from the other. Augustus dominates in prestige and achievement from the enormous impact he had upon the Roman state and his long service to Rome, during which he attained unrivaled auctoritas. Tiberius was clearly the only possible successor when Augustus died in AD 14, but, upon his death twenty-three years later, the next three were a peculiar mix of viciousness, arrogance, and inexperience. Gaius, better known as Caligula, is generally styled a monster, whose brief tenure did Rome no service. His successor Claudius, his uncle, was a capable man who served Rome well, but was condemned for being subject to his wives and freedmen. The last of the dynasty, Nero, reigned more than three times as long as Gaius, and the damage for which he was responsible to the state was correspondingly greater. An emperor who is well described by statements such as these, "But above all he was carried away by a craze for popularity and he was jealous of all who in any way stirred the feeling of the mob." and "What an artist the world is losing!" and who is above all remembered for crimes against his mother and the Christians was indeed a sad falling-off from the levels of Augustus and Tiberius. Few will argue that Nero does not rank as one of the worst emperors of all.

The prime sources for Nero's life and reign are Tacitus' Annales 12-16, Suetonius' Life of Nero, and Dio Cassius' Roman History 61-63, written in the early third century. Additional valuable material comes from inscriptions, coinage, papyri, and archaeology.

Early Life
He was born on December 15, 37, at Antium, the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbusand Agrippina. Domitius was a member of an ancient noble family, consul in 32; Agrippina was the daughter of the popular Germanicus, who had died in 19, and Agrippina, daughter of Agrippa, Augustus' closest associate, and Julia, the emperor's daughter, and thus in direct descent from the first princeps. When the child was born, his uncle Gaius had only recently become emperor. The relationship between mother and uncle was difficult, and Agrippina suffered occasional humiliation. But the family survived the short reign of the "crazy" emperor, and when he was assassinated, it chanced that Agrippina's uncle, Claudius, was the chosen of the praetorian guard, although there may have been a conspiracy to accomplish this.

Ahenobarbus had died in 40, so the son was now the responsibility of Agrippina alone. She lived as a private citizen for much of the decade, until the death of Messalina, the emperor's wife, in 48 made competition among several likely candidates to become the new empress inevitable. Although Roman law forbade marriage between uncle and niece, an eloquent speech in the senate by Lucius Vitellius, Claudius' closest advisor in the senatorial order, persuaded his audience that the public good required their union. The marriage took place in 49, and soon thereafter the philosopher Seneca [[PIR2 A617]] was recalled from exile to become the young Domitius' tutor, a relationship which endured for some dozen years.

His advance was thereafter rapid. He was adopted by Claudius the following year and took the name Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar or Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was preferred to Claudius' natural son, Britannicus, who was about three years younger, was betrothed to the emperor's daughter Octavia, and was, in the eyes of the people, the clear successor to the emperor. In 54, Claudius died, having eaten some poisoned mushrooms, responsibility for which was believed to be Agrippina's, and the young Nero, not yet seventeen years old, was hailed on October 13 as emperor by the praetorian guard.

The First Years of Rule
The first five years of Nero's rule are customarily called the quinquennium, a period of good government under the influence, not always coinciding, of three people, his mother, Seneca, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, the praetorian prefect. The latter two were allies in their "education" of the emperor. Seneca continued his philosophical and rhetorical training, Burrus was more involved in advising on the actualities of government. They often combined their influence against Agrippina, who, having made her son emperor, never let him forget the debt he owed his mother, until finally, and fatally, he moved against her.

Nero's betrothal to Octavia was a significant step in his ultimate accession to the throne, as it were, but she was too quiet, too shy, too modest for his taste. He was early attracted to Poppaea Sabina, the wife of Otho, and she continually goaded him to break from Octavia and to show himself an adult by opposing his mother. In his private life, Nero honed the musical and artistic tastes which were his chief interest, but, at this stage, they were kept private, at the instigation of Seneca and Burrus.

As the year 59 began, Nero had just celebrated his twenty-first birthday and now felt the need to employ the powers which he possessed as emperor as he wished, without the limits imposed by others. Poppaea's urgings had their effect, first of all, at the very onset of the year, with Nero's murder of his mother in the Bay of Naples.

Agrippina had tried desperately to retain her influence with her son, going so far as to have intercourse with him. But the break between them proved irrevocable, and Nero undertook various devices to eliminate his mother without the appearance of guilt on his part. The choice was a splendid vessel which would collapse while she was on board. As this happened, she swam ashore and, when her attendant, having cried out that she was Agrippina, was clubbed to death, Agrippina knew what was going on. She sent Nero a message that she was well; his response was to send a detachment of sailors to finish the job. When she was struck across the head, she bared her womb and said, "Strike here, Anicetus, strike here, for this bore Nero," and she was brutally murdered.

Nero was petrified with fear when he learned that the deed had been done, yet his popularity with the plebs of Rome was not impaired. This matricide, however, proved a turning point in his life and principate. It appeared that all shackles were now removed. The influence of Seneca and Burrus began to wane, and when Burrus died in 62, Seneca realized that his powers of persuasion were at an end and soon went into retirement. Britannicus had died as early as 55; now Octavia was to follow, and Nero became free to marry Poppaea. It may be that it had been Burrus rather than Agrippina who had continually urged that Nero's position depended in large part upon his marriage to Octavia. Burrus' successor as commander of the praetorian guard, although now with a colleague, was Ofonius Tigellinus, quite the opposite of Burrus in character and outlook. Tigellinus became Nero's "evil twin," urging and assisting in the performance of crimes and the satisfaction of lusts.

Administrative and Foreign Policy
With Seneca and Burrus in charge of administration at home, the first half-dozen years of Nero's principate ran smoothly. He himself devoted his attention to his artistic, literary, and physical bents, with music, poetry, and chariot racing to the fore. But his advisors were able to keep these performances and displays private, with small, select audiences on hand. Yet there was a gradual trend toward public performance, with the establishment of games. Further, he spent many nights roaming the city in disguise, with numerous companions, who terrorized the streets and attacked individuals. Those who dared to defend themselves often faced death afterward, because they had shown disrespect for the emperor. The die was being cast for the last phases of Nero's reign.

The Great Fire at Rome and The Punishment
of the Christians
The year 64 was the most significant of Nero's principate up to this point. His mother and wife were dead, as was Burrus, and Seneca, unable to maintain his influence over Nero without his colleague's support, had withdrawn into private life. The abysmal Tigellinus was now the foremost advisor of the still young emperor, a man whose origin was from the lowest levels of society and who can accurately be described as criminal in outlook and action. Yet Nero must have considered that he was happier than he had ever been in his life. Those who had constrained his enjoyment of his (seemingly) limitless power were gone, he was married to Poppaea, a woman with all advantages save for a bad character the empire was essentially at peace, and the people of Rome enjoyed a full measure of panem et circenses. But then occurred one of the greatest disasters that the city of Rome, in its long history, had ever endured.

The fire began in the southeastern angle of the Circus Maximus, spreading through the shops which clustered there, and raged for the better part of a week. There was brief success in controlling the blaze, but then it burst forth once more, so that many people claimed that the fires were deliberately set. After about a fortnight, the fire burned itself out, having consumed ten of the fourteen Augustan regions into which the city had been divided.

Nero was in Antium through much of the disaster, but his efforts at relief were substantial. Yet many believed that he had been responsible, so that he could perform his own work comparing the current fate of Rome to the downfall of Troy. All his efforts to assist the stricken city could not remove the suspicion that "the emperor had fiddled while Rome burned." He lost favor even among the plebs who had been enthusiastic supporters, particularly when his plans for the rebuilding of the city revealed that a very large part of the center was to become his new home.

As his popularity waned, Nero and Tigellinus realized that individuals were needed who could be charged with the disaster. It so happened that there was such a group ready at hand, Christians, who had made themselves unpopular because of their refusal to worship the emperor, their way of life, and their secret meetings. Further, at this time two of their most significant "teachers" were in Rome, Peter and Paul. They were ideal scapegoats, individuals whom most Romans loathed, and who had continually sung of the forthcoming end of the world.

Their destruction was planned with the utmost precision and cruelty, for the entertainment of the populace. The venue was Nero's circus near the Mons Vaticanus. Christians were exposed to wild animals and were set ablaze, smeared with pitch, to illuminate the night. The executions were so grisly that even the populace displayed sympathy for the victims. Separately, Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican hill and Paul was beheaded along the Via Ostiensis. But Nero's attempt, and hope, to shift all suspicion of arson to others failed. His popularity even among the lower classes was irrevocably impaired.

[For a detailed and interesting discussion of Nero’s reign please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm]

The End - Nero's Death and its Aftermath
Nero's and Tigellinus' response to the conspiracy was immediate and long-lasting. The senatorial order was decimated, as one leading member after another was put to death or compelled to commit suicide. The year 66 saw the suicides of perhaps the most distinguished victims of the "reign of terror," Caius Petronius and Thrasea Paetus. Petronius, long a favorite of Nero because of his aesthetic taste, had been an able public servant before he turned to a life of ease and indolence. He was recognized as the arbiter elegantiae of Nero's circle, and may be the author of the Satyricon. At his death, he left for Nero a document which itemized many of the latter's crimes. Thrasea, a staunch Stoic who had been for some years an outspoken opponent of Nero's policies, committed suicide in the Socratic manner. This scene is the last episode in the surviving books of Tacitus' Annals.

In the year 68, revolt began in the provinces. . . the end of Nero's reign became inevitable. Galba claimed the throne and began his march from Spain. Nero panicked and was rapidly abandoned by his supporters. He finally committed suicide with assistance, on June 9, 68, and his body was tended and buried by three women who had been close to him in his younger days, chief of whom was Acte. His death scene is marked above all by the statement, "Qualis artifex pereo," (What an artist dies in me.) Even at the end he was more concerned with his private life than with the affairs of state.

The aftermath of Nero's death was cataclysmic. Galba was the first of four emperors who revealed the new secret of empire, that an emperor could be made elsewhere than in Rome. Civil war ensued, which was only ended by the victory of the fourth claimant, Vespasian, who established the brief dynasty of the Flavians. The dynasty of the Julio-Claudians was at an end.

Nero's popularity among the lower classes remained even after his death.

. . . .

It is not excessive to say that he was one of the worst of Rome's emperors in the first two centuries and more of the empire. Whatever talents he had, whatever good he may have done, all is overwhelmed by three events, the murder of his mother, the fire at Rome, and his savage treatment of the Christians.

Precisely these qualities are the reasons that he has remained so well known and has been the subject of many writers and opera composers in modern times. These works of fiction particularly merit mention: Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis, one of the finest works of the 1907 Nobel Laureate in Literature, and John Hersey's The Conspiracy. Nero unquestionably will always be with us.

Copyright (C) 2006, Herbert W. Benario.
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.

1 commentsCleisthenes

707a, Galba, 3 April 68 - 15 January 69 A.D.Galba AE As, 68-69 AD; cf. SRC 727, 729ff; 27.85mm, 12g; Rome: Obverse: GALBA IMP CAESAR…, Laureate head right; Reverse: S P Q R OB CIV SER in oak wreath; gF+/F Ex. Ancient Imports.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

Galba (68-69 A.D.)

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Introduction
The evidence for the principate of Galba is unsatisfactory. The sources either concentrate on the personality of the man, thereby failing to offer a balanced account of his policies and a firm chronological base for his actions; or, they focus on the final two weeks of his life at the expense of the earlier part of his reign. As a result, a detailed account of his principate is difficult to write. Even so, Galba is noteworthy because he was neither related to nor adopted by his predecessor Nero. Thus, his accession marked the end of the nearly century-long control of the Principate by the Julio-Claudians. Additionally, Galba's declaration as emperor by his troops abroad set a precedent for the further political upheavals of 68-69. Although these events worked to Galba's favor initially, they soon came back to haunt him, ending his tumultuous rule after only seven months.

Early Life and Rise to Power
Born 24 December 3 BC in Tarracina, a town on the Appian Way, 65 miles south of Rome, Servius Galba was the son of C. Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. Galba's connection with the noble house of the Servii gave him great prestige and assured his acceptance among the highest levels of Julio-Claudian society. Adopted in his youth by Livia, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, he is said to have owed much of his early advancement to her. Upon her death, Livia made Galba her chief legatee, bequeathing him some 50 million sesterces. Tiberius, Livia's heir, reduced the amount, however, and then never paid it. Galba's marriage proved to be a further source of disappointment, as he outlived both his wife Lepida and their two sons. Nothing else is known of Galba's immediate family, other than that he remained a widower for the rest of his life.

Although the details of Galba's early political career are incomplete, the surviving record is one of an ambitious Roman making his way in the Emperor's service. Suetonius records that as praetor Galba put on a new kind of exhibition for the people - elephants walking on a rope. Later, he served as governor of the province of Aquitania, followed by a six-month term as consul at the beginning of 33. Ironically, as consul he was succeeded by Salvius Otho, whose own son would succeed Galba as emperor. Over the years three more governorships followed - Upper Germany (date unknown), North Africa (45) and Hispania Tarraconensis, the largest of Spain's three provinces (61). He was selected as a proconsul of Africa by the emperor Claudius himself instead of by the usual method of drawing lots. During his two-year tenure in the province he successfully restored internal order and quelled a revolt by the barbarians. As an imperial legate he was a governor in Spain for eight years under Nero, even though he was already in his early sixties when he assumed his duties. The appointment showed that Galba was still considered efficient and loyal. In all of these posts Galba generally displayed an enthusiasm for old-fashioned disciplina, a trait consistent with the traditional characterization of the man as a hard-bitten aristocrat of the old Republican type. Such service did not go unnoticed, as he was honored with triumphal insignia and three priesthoods during his career.

On the basis of his ancestry, family tradition and service to the state Galba was the most distinguished Roman alive (with the exception of the houses of the Julii and Claudii) at the time of Nero's demise in 68. The complex chain of events that would lead him to the Principate later that year began in March with the rebellion of Gaius Iulius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis. Vindex had begun to sound out provincial governors about support for a rebellion perhaps in late 67 or early 68. Galba did not respond but, because of his displeasure with Neronian misgovernment, neither did he inform the emperor of these treasonous solicitations. This, of course, left him dangerously exposed; moreover, he was already aware that Nero, anxious to remove anyone of distinguished birth and noble achievements, had ordered his death. Given these circumstances, Galba likely felt that he had no choice but to rebel.

In April, 68, while still in Spain, Galba "went public," positioning himself as a vir militaris, a military representative of the senate and people of Rome. For the moment, he refused the title of Emperor, but it is clear that the Principate was his goal. To this end, he organized a concilium of advisors in order to make it known that any decisions were not made by him alone but only after consultation with a group. The arrangement was meant to recall the Augustan Age relationship between the emperor and senate in Rome. Even more revealing of his imperial ambitions were legends like LIBERTAS RESTITUTA (Liberty Restored), ROM RENASC (Rome Reborn) and SALUS GENERIS HUMANI (Salvation of Mankind), preserved on his coinage from the period. Such evidence has brought into question the traditional assessment of Galba as nothing more than an ineffectual representative of a bygone antiquus rigor in favor of a more balanced portrait of a traditional constitutionalist eager to publicize the virtues of an Augustan-style Principate.
Events now began to move quickly. In May, 68 Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the III legio Augusta in Africa, revolted from Nero and cut off the grain supply to Rome. Choosing not to recognize Galba, he called himself propraetor, issued his own coinage, and raised a new legion, the I Macriana liberatrix. Galba later had him executed. At the same time, 68, Lucius Verginius Rufus, legionary commander in Upper Germany, led a combined force of soldiers from Upper and Lower Germany in defeating Vindex at Vesontio in Gallia Lugdunensis. Verginius refused to accept a call to the emperorship by his own troops and by those from the Danube, however, thereby creating at Rome an opportunity for Galba's agents to win over Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt praetorian prefect since 65. Sabinus was able to turn the imperial guard against Nero on the promise that they would be rewarded financially by Galba upon his arrival. That was the end for Nero. Deposed by the senate and abandoned by his supporters, he committed suicide in June. At this point, encouraged to march on Rome by the praetorians and especially by Sabinus, who had his own designs on the throne, Galba hurriedly established broad-based political and financial support and assembled his own legion (subsequently known as the legio VII Gemina). As he departed from Spain, he abandoned the title of governor in favor of "Caesar," apparently in an attempt to lay claim to the entire inheritance of the Julio-Claudian house. Even so, he continued to proceed cautiously, and did not actually adopt the name of Caesar (and with it the emperorship) until sometime after he had left Spain.

The Principate of Galba
Meanwhile, Rome was anything but serene. An unusual force of soldiers, many of whom had been mustered by Nero to crush the attempt of Vindex, remained idle and restless. In addition, there was the matter concerning Nymphidius Sabinus. Intent on being the power behind the throne, Nymphidius had orchestrated a demand from the praetorians that Galba appoint him sole praetorian prefect for life. The senate capitulated to his pretensions and he began to have designs on the throne himself. In an attempt to rattle Galba, Nymphidius then sent messages of alarm to the emperor telling of unrest in both the city and abroad. When Galba ignored these reports, Nymphidius decided to launch a coup by presenting himself to the praetorians. The plan misfired, and the praetorians killed him when he appeared at their camp. Upon learning of the incident, Galba ordered the executions of Nymphidius' followers. To make matters worse, Galba's arrival was preceded by a confrontation with a boisterous band of soldiers who had been formed into a legion by Nero and were now demanding legionary standards and regular quarters. When they persisted, Galba's forces attacked, with the result that many of them were killed.
Thus it was amid carnage and fear that Galba arrived at the capital in October, 68, accompanied by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, who had joined the cause. Once Galba was within Rome, miscalculations and missteps seemed to multiply. First, he relied upon the advice of a corrupt circle of advisors, most notably: Titus Vinius, a general from Spain; Cornelius Laco, praetorian prefect; and his own freedman, Icelus. Second, he zealously attempted to recover some of Nero's more excessive expenditures by seizing the property of many citizens, a measure that seems to have gone too far and to have caused real hardship and resentment. Third, he created further ill-will by disbanding the imperial corps of German bodyguards, effectively abolishing a tradition that originated with Marius and had been endorsed by Augustus. Finally, he seriously alienated the military by refusing cash rewards for both the praetorians and for the soldiers in Upper Germany who had fought against Vindex.

This last act proved to be the beginning of the end for Galba. On 1 January 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. In response, Galba adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus to show that he was still in charge and that his successor would not be chosen for him. Piso, although an aristocrat, was a man completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate, and it especially angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with the now-familiar promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered.

Assessment
In sum, Galba had displayed talent and ambition during his lengthy career. He enjoyed distinguished ancestry, moved easily among the Julio-Claudian emperors (with the exception of Nero towards the end of his principate), and had been awarded the highest military and religious honors of ancient Rome. His qualifications for the principate cannot be questioned. Even so, history has been unkind to him. Tacitus characterized Galba as "weak and old," a man "equal to the imperial office, if he had never held it." Modern historians of the Roman world have been no less critical. To be sure, Galba's greatest mistake lay in his general handling of the military. His treatment of the army in Upper Germany was heedless, his policy towards the praetorians short sighted. Given the climate in 68-69, Galba was unrealistic in expecting disciplina without paying the promised rewards. He was also guilty of relying on poor advisors, who shielded him from reality and ultimately allowed Otho's conspiracy to succeed. Additionally, the excessive power of his henchmen brought the regime into disfavor and made Galba himself the principal target of the hatred that his aides had incited. Finally, the appointment of Piso, a young man in no way equal to the challenges placed before him, further underscored the emperor's isolation and lack of judgment. In the end, the instability of the post-Julio-Claudian political landscape offered challenges more formidable than a tired, septuagenarian aristocrat could hope to overcome. Ironically, his regime proved no more successful than the Neronian government he was so eager to replace. Another year of bloodshed would be necessary before the Principate could once again stand firm.

Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
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

708a, OthoOtho (69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Introduction
In January 69 Otho led a successful coup to overthrow the emperor Galba. Upon advancing to the throne, he hoped to conciliate his adversaries and restore political stability to the Empire. These ambitions were never to be realized. Instead, our sources portray a leader never fully able to win political confidence at Rome or to overcome military anarchy abroad. As a result, he was defeated in battle by the forces of Vitellius, his successor, and took his own life at the conclusion of the conflict. His principate lasted only eight weeks.
Early Life and Career
Marcus Salvius Otho was born at Ferentium on 28 April 32 A. D. His grandfather, also named Marcus Salvius Otho, was a senator who did not advance beyond the rank of praetor. Lucius Otho, his father, was consul in 33 and a trusted administrator under the emperors Tiberius, Gaius and Claudius. His mother, Albia Terentia, was likely to have been nobly born as well. The cognomen "Otho" was Etruscan in origin, and the fact that it can be traced to three successive generations of this family perhaps reflects a desire to maintain a part of the Etruscan tradition that formed the family's background.
Otho is recorded as being extravagant and wild as a youth - a favorite pastime involved roving about at night to snare drunkards in a blanket. Such behavior earned floggings from his father, whose frequent absences from home on imperial business suggest little in the way of a stabilizing parental influence in Otho's formative years. These traits apparently persisted: Suetonius records that Otho and Nero became close friends because of the similarity of their characters; and Plutarch relates that the young man was so extravagant that he sometimes chided Nero about his meanness, and even outdid the emperor in reckless spending.
Most intriguing in this context is Otho's involvement with Nero's mistress, Poppaea Sabina, the greatest beauty of her day. A relationship between the two is widely cited in the ancient sources, but the story differs in essential details from one account to the next. As a result, it is impossible to establish who seduced whom, whether Otho ever married Poppaea, and whether his posting to Lusitania by Nero should be understood as a "banishment" for his part in this affair. About the only reliable detail to emerge is that Otho did indeed become governor of Lusitania in 59, and that he assumed the post as a quaestor, a rank below that of praetor or consul, the minimum usually required for the office. From here he would launch his initial thrust towards the imperial throne.
Overthrow of Galba
Nero's suicide in June 68 marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and opened up the principate to the prerogatives of the military beyond Rome. First to emerge was Servius Sulpicius Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, who had been encouraged to revolt by the praetorians and especially by Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt and scheming praetorian prefect at Rome. By this time Otho had been in Spain for close to ten years. His record seems to have been a good one, marked by capable administration and an unwillingness to enrich himself at the expense of the province. At the same time, perhaps seeing this as his best chance to improve his own circumstances, he supported the insurrection as vigorously as possible, even sending Galba all of his gold and his best table servants. At the same time, he made it a point to win the favor of every soldier he came in contact with, most notably the members of the praetorian guard who had come to Spain to accompany Galba to Rome. Galba set out from Spain in July, formally assuming the emperorship shortly thereafter. Otho accompanied him on the journey.
Galba had been in Rome little more than two months when on 1 January 69 the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. To show that he was still in charge Galba adopted his own successor, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus, an aristocrat completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate and particularly angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered. On that same evening a powerless senate awarded Otho the imperial titles.
Otho's Principate in Rome
It is not possible to reconstruct a detailed chronology of Otho's brief eight and a half weeks as princeps in Rome (15 January-15 March). Even so, Galba's quick demise had surely impressed upon Otho the need to conciliate various groups. As a result, he continued his indulgence of the praetorian guard but he also tried to win over the senate by following a strict constitutionalist line and by generally keeping the designations for the consulship made by Nero and Galba. In the provinces, despite limited evidence, there are some indications that he tried to compensate for Galba's stinginess by being more generous with grants of citizenship. In short, Otho was eager not to offend anyone.
Problems remained, however. The praetorians had to be continually placated and they were always suspicious of the senate. On the other hand, the senate itself, along with the people, remained deeply disturbed at the manner of Otho's coming to power and his willingness to be associated with Nero. These suspicions and fears were most evident in the praetorian outbreak at Rome. Briefly, Otho had decided to move from Ostia to Rome a cohort of Roman citizens in order to replace some of Rome's garrison, much of which was to be utilized for the showdown with Vitellius. He ordered that weapons be moved from the praetorian camp in Rome by ship to Ostia at night so that the garrison replacements would be properly armed and made to look as soldierly as possible when they marched into the city. Thinking that a senatorial counter-coup against Otho was underway, the praetorians stormed the imperial palace to confirm the emperor's safety, with the result that they terrified Otho and his senatorial dinner guests. Although the praetorians' fears were eventually calmed and they were given a substantial cash payment, the incident dramatically underscored the unease at Rome in the early months of 69.
Otho's Offensive against Vitellius
Meanwhile, in the Rhineland, preparations for a march on Rome by the military legions that had declared for Vitellius were far advanced. Hampered by poor intelligence gathering in Gaul and Germany and having failed to negotiate a settlement with Vitellius in early 69, Otho finally summoned to Italy his forces for a counterattack against the invading Vitellian army. His support consisted of the four legions of Pannonia and Dalmatia, the three legions of Moesia and his own imperial retinue of about 9,000. Vitellius' own troops numbered some 30,000, while those of his two marshals, Aulus Caecina Alienus and Fabius Valens, were between 15,000 and 20,000 each.
Otho's strategy was to make a quick diversionary strike in order to allow time for his own forces to assemble in Italy before engaging the enemy. The strategy worked, as the diversionary army, comprised of urban cohorts, praetorians and marines all from Rome or nearby, was successful in Narbonese Gaul in latter March. An advance guard sent to hold the line on the Po River until the Danubian legions arrived also enjoyed initial success. Otho himself arrived at Bedriacum in northern Italy about 10 April for a strategy session with his commanders. The main concern was that the Vitellians were building a bridge across the Po in order to drive southward towards the Apennines and eventually to Rome. Otho decided to counter by ordering a substantial part of his main force to advance from Bedriacum and establish a new base close enough to the new Vitellian bridge to interrupt its completion. While en route, the Othonian forces, strung out along the via Postumia amid baggage and supply trains, were attacked by Caecina and Valens near Cremona on 14 April. The clash, know as the Battle of Bedriacum, resulted in the defeat of the Othonian forces, their retreat cut off by the river behind them. Otho himself, meanwhile, was not present, but had gone to Brixellum with a considerable force of infantry and cavalry in order to impede any Vitellian units that had managed to cross the Po.
The plan had backfired. Otho's strategy of obtaining victory while avoiding any major battles had proven too risky. Realizing perhaps that a new round of fighting would have involved not only a significant re-grouping of his existing troops but also a potentially bloody civil war at Rome, if Vitellius' troops reached the capital, Otho decided that enough blood had been shed. Two weeks shy of his thirty-seventh birthday, on 16 April 69, he took his own life.
Assessment
To be sure, Otho remains an enigma - part profligate Neronian wastrel and part conscientious military commander willing to give his life for the good of the state. Our sources are at a loss to explain the paradox. Perhaps, like Petronius, he saw it was safer to appear a profligate in Nero's court? In the final analysis, Otho proved to be an organized and efficient military commander, who appealed more to the soldier than to the civilian. He also seems to have been a capable governor, with administrative talents that recalled those of his father. Nevertheless, his violent overthrow of Galba, the lingering doubts that it raised about his character, and his unsuccessful offensive against Vitellius are all vivid reminders of the turbulence that plagued the Roman world between the reigns of Nero and Vespasian. Regrettably, the scenario would play itself out one more time before peace and stability returned to the empire.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue
Edited by J.P.Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

711a, Titus, 24 June 79 - 13 September 81 A.D. TITUS AUGUSTUS AR silver denarius. Struck at Rome, 80 AD. IMP TITVS CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG PM, laureate head right. Reverse - TRP IX IMP XV COS VIII PP, elephant walking left. Fully legible legends, about Very Fine, nice golden toning. Commemmorates the completion and dedication of the Colosseum and the opening of games. SCARCE. RCV 2512, valued at $544 in EF. 17mm, 3.1g. Ex Incitatus.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 79-81)

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Titus Flavius Vespasianus was born on December 30, 39 A.D. He was the oldest of the three children of the founder of the Flavian Dynasty, Vespasian. Beginning in the year 70 Titus was named Cæsar and coregent; he was highly educated and a brilliant poet and orator in both Latin and Greek. He won military fame during the Jewish Revolt of 69-70. In April, 70, he appeared before the walls of Jerusalem, and conquered and destroyed the city after a siege of five months. He wished to preserve the Temple, but in the struggle with the Jews who rushed out of it a soldier threw a brand into the building. The siege and taking of the city were accompanied by barbarous cruelties. The next year Titus celebrated his victory by a triumph; to increase the fame of the Flavian dynasty the inscription on the triumphal arch represented the overthrow of the helpless people as a heroic achievement. Titus succeeded his father as Emperor in 79.

Before becoming emperor, tradition records that Titus was feared as the next Nero, a perception that may have developed from his association with Berenice, his alleged heavy-handedness as praetorian prefect, and tales of sexual debauchery. Once in office, however, both emperor and his reign were portrayed in universally positive terms. The suddenness of this transformation raises immediate suspicions, yet it is difficult to know whether the historical tradition is suspect or if Titus was in fact adept at taking off one mask for another. What is clear, however, is that Titus sought to present the Flavians as the legitimate successors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Proof came through the issuing of a series of restoration coins of previous emperors, the most popular being Augustus and Claudius. In A.D. 80 Titus also set out to establish an imperial cult in honor of Vespasian. The temple, in which cult (the first that was not connected with the Julio-Claudians) was housed, was completed by Domitian and was known as the Temple of Vespasian and Domitian.
Legitimacy was also sought through various economic measures, which Titus enthusiastically funded. Vast amounts of capital poured into extensive building schemes in Rome, especially the Flavian Amphitheater, popularly known as the Colosseum. In celebration of additions made to the structure, Titus provided a grand 100-day festival, with sea fights staged on an artificial lake, infantry battles, wild beast hunts, and similar activities. He also constructed new imperial baths to the south-east of the Amphitheater and began work on the celebrated Arch of Titus, a memorial to his Jewish victories. Large sums were directed to Italy and the provinces as well, especially for road building. In response to the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, Titus spent large sums to relieve distress in that area; likewise, the imperial purse contributed heavily to rebuilding Rome after a devastating fire destroyed large sections of the city in A.D. 80. As a result of these actions, Titus earned a reputation for generosity and geniality. For these reasons he gained the honourable title of "amor et deliciæ generis humani" (the darling and admiration of the human race). Even so, his financial acumen must not be under-estimated. He left the treasury with a surplus, as he had found it, and dealt promptly and efficiently with costly natural disasters. The Greek historian of the third-century A.D., Cassius Dio, perhaps offered the most accurate and succinct assessment of Titus' economic policy: "In money matters, Titus was frugal and made no unnecessary expenditure." In other areas, the brevity of Titus' reign limits our ability to detect major emphases or trends in policy. As far as can be discerned from the limited evidence, senior officials and amici were well chosen, and his legislative activity tended to focus on popular social measures, with the army as a particular beneficiary in the areas of land ownership, marriage, and testamentary freedom. In the provinces, Titus continued his father's policies by strengthening roads and forts in the East and along the Danube.

Titus died in September, A.D. 81 after only 26 months in office. Suetonius recorded that Titus died on his way to the Sabine country of his ancestors in the same villa as his father. A competing tradition persistently implicated his brother and successor, Domitian, as having had a hand in the emperor's demise, but the evidence is highly contradictory and any wrongdoing is difficult to prove. Domitian himself delivered the funeral eulogy and had Titus deified. He also built several monuments in honor of Titus and completed the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, changing the name of the structure to include his brother's and setting up his cult statue in the Temple itself.

Titus was the beneficiary of considerable intelligence and talent, endowments that were carefully cultivated at every step of his career, from his early education to his role under his father's principate. Cassius Dio suggested that Titus' reputation was enhanced by his early death. It is true that the ancient sources tend to heroicize Titus, yet based upon the evidence, his reign must be considered a positive one. He capably continued the work of his father in establishing the Flavian Dynasty and he maintained a high degree of economic and administrative competence in Italy and beyond. In so doing, he solidified the role of the emperor as paternalistic autocrat, a model that would serve Trajan and his successors well. Titus was used as a model by later emperors, especially those known as the Five Good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius).

Copyright (C) 1997, John Donahue.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14746b.htm

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

711a, Titus, 24 June 79 - 13 September 81 A.D.Titus, 24 June 79 - 13 September 81 A.D. AR denarius, RCV 2512, aVF, struck at Rome, 80 A.D., 17.5mm, 3.4g. Obverse: IMP TITVS CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG PM, laureate head right; Reverse: TRP IX IMP XV COS VIII PP, elephant walking left. Fully legible legends; nice golden toning. This coin was struck in order to commemorate the completion and dedication of the Flavian Amphitheatre (the Colosseum) and its opening games. Very scarce. Ex Incitatus; photo courtesy Incitatus.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 79-81)

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Titus Flavius Vespasianus was born on December 30, 39 A.D. He was the oldest of the three children of the founder of the Flavian Dynasty, Vespasian. Beginning in the year 70 Titus was named Cæsar and coregent; he was highly educated and a brilliant poet and orator in both Latin and Greek. He won military fame during the Jewish Revolt of 69-70. In April, 70, he appeared before the walls of Jerusalem, and conquered and destroyed the city after a siege of five months. He wished to preserve the Temple, but in the struggle with the Jews who rushed out of it a soldier threw a brand into the building. The siege and taking of the city were accompanied by barbarous cruelties. The next year Titus celebrated his victory by a triumph; to increase the fame of the Flavian dynasty the inscription on the triumphal arch represented the overthrow of the helpless people as a heroic achievement. Titus succeeded his father as Emperor in 79.

Before becoming emperor, tradition records that Titus was feared as the next Nero, a perception that may have developed from his association with Berenice, his alleged heavy-handedness as praetorian prefect, and tales of sexual debauchery. Once in office, however, both emperor and his reign were portrayed in universally positive terms. The suddenness of this transformation raises immediate suspicions, yet it is difficult to know whether the historical tradition is suspect or if Titus was in fact adept at taking off one mask for another. What is clear, however, is that Titus sought to present the Flavians as the legitimate successors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Proof came through the issuing of a series of restoration coins of previous emperors, the most popular being Augustus and Claudius. In A.D. 80 Titus also set out to establish an imperial cult in honor of Vespasian. The temple, in which cult (the first that was not connected with the Julio-Claudians) was housed, was completed by Domitian and was known as the Temple of Vespasian and Domitian.
Legitimacy was also sought through various economic measures, which Titus enthusiastically funded. Vast amounts of capital poured into extensive building schemes in Rome, especially the Flavian Amphitheater, popularly known as the Colosseum. In celebration of additions made to the structure, Titus provided a grand 100-day festival, with sea fights staged on an artificial lake, infantry battles, wild beast hunts, and similar activities. He also constructed new imperial baths to the south-east of the Amphitheater and began work on the celebrated Arch of Titus, a memorial to his Jewish victories. Large sums were directed to Italy and the provinces as well, especially for road building. In response to the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, Titus spent large sums to relieve distress in that area; likewise, the imperial purse contributed heavily to rebuilding Rome after a devastating fire destroyed large sections of the city in A.D. 80. As a result of these actions, Titus earned a reputation for generosity and geniality. For these reasons he gained the honourable title of "amor et deliciæ generis humani" (the darling and admiration of the human race). Even so, his financial acumen must not be under-estimated. He left the treasury with a surplus, as he had found it, and dealt promptly and efficiently with costly natural disasters. The Greek historian of the third-century A.D., Cassius Dio, perhaps offered the most accurate and succinct assessment of Titus' economic policy: "In money matters, Titus was frugal and made no unnecessary expenditure." In other areas, the brevity of Titus' reign limits our ability to detect major emphases or trends in policy. As far as can be discerned from the limited evidence, senior officials and amici were well chosen, and his legislative activity tended to focus on popular social measures, with the army as a particular beneficiary in the areas of land ownership, marriage, and testamentary freedom. In the provinces, Titus continued his father's policies by strengthening roads and forts in the East and along the Danube.

Titus died in September, A.D. 81 after only 26 months in office. Suetonius recorded that Titus died on his way to the Sabine country of his ancestors in the same villa as his father. A competing tradition persistently implicated his brother and successor, Domitian, as having had a hand in the emperor's demise, but the evidence is highly contradictory and any wrongdoing is difficult to prove. Domitian himself delivered the funeral eulogy and had Titus deified. He also built several monuments in honor of Titus and completed the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, changing the name of the structure to include his brother's and setting up his cult statue in the Temple itself.

Titus was the beneficiary of considerable intelligence and talent, endowments that were carefully cultivated at every step of his career, from his early education to his role under his father's principate. Cassius Dio suggested that Titus' reputation was enhanced by his early death. It is true that the ancient sources tend to heroicize Titus, yet based upon the evidence, his reign must be considered a positive one. He capably continued the work of his father in establishing the Flavian Dynasty and he maintained a high degree of economic and administrative competence in Italy and beyond. In so doing, he solidified the role of the emperor as paternalistic autocrat, a model that would serve Trajan and his successors well. Titus was used as a model by later emperors, especially those known as the Five Good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius).

Copyright (C) 1997, John Donahue.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14746b.htm

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.3 commentsCleisthenes

Abbasid Provincial Coinage of Tabaristan: Sulayman (787-789) AR ½ Dirham, Tabaristan, PYE137 (Album-65)Obv: Bust right, breast ornament: type 'A' with 3 pellets.'Bakh' (good) in diamond superimposed over bust with winged headdress.
Rev: Fire altar with 2 attendants; stars to right and left of flames.Quant.Geek

Abbasids, Tabaristan, Anonymous First Series 781ADObverse: Sasanian style bust right wearing mural crown, three pellets on breast, 'GDH PZWT' on left, 'NYWK' in outer left margin and 'PD' in outer right, star within crescent left, right and below in margin.
Reverse: Fire altar set on three steps and flanked by two attendants standing facing wearing mural crowns and holding scepters with ribbons, star either side of the flames, date on left and mint on right, alternating triple pellets and star within crescents in outer margin.
Silver Hemidrachm Dated PYE130Skyler

Abbasids, Tabaristan, Anonymous First Series, 781 ADObverse: Sasanian style bust right wearing mural crown, three pellets on breast, 'GDH PZWT' on left, 'NYWK' in outer left margin and 'PD' in outer right, star within crescent left, right and below in margin.
Reverse: Fire altar set on three steps and flanked by two attendants standing facing wearing mural crowns and holding scepters with ribbons, star either side of the flames, date on left and mint on right, alternating triple pellets and star within crescents in outer margin.
Silver Hemidrachm Dated PYE130Skyler

Abraham Lincoln Centennial MedalObv: CENTENNIAL OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, bust of Lincoln facing right, MCMIX below.

Rev: "GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH," Eagle above, fasces below.

Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt

This medal was issued on February 12, 1909 by the City of New York under the authority of Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. (the son of Union General McClellan who was twice fired by Lincoln, and who ran against him in the Presidential Election of 1864). Unsold medals were repackaged in a decorative case and made available to collectors in the late 1940's.Matt Inglima

AE 14. Head of Kybele r. / ΖΜΥΡ / ΛΛΑΡΙΣ Krater surmounted by vessel containing fireSmyrna, Ionia. Ca. 245 - 240 B.C. AE 14. Head of Kybele r. / ΖΜΥΡ / ΛΛΑΡΙΣ Krater surmounted by vessel containing fire. BMC 239, 14 var. Ex Gerhard RohdePodiceps

Antoninus PiusTitus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Arrius Antoninus was born around 86 A.D. to a distinguished family. After a typical senatorial career he made a name for himself as proconsul of Asia. He was adopted as Emperor Hadrian`s heir in February 138 A.D. and succeeded soon after. His reign was long and peaceful, a Golden Age of tranquility and prosperity. He died in 161 A.D., leaving Marcus Aurelius as his successor.

Silver denarius, RIC 175, RSC 284, BMC 657, F, Rome mint, 2.669g, 17.7mm, 0o, 148 - 149 A.D.; obverse ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head right; reverse COS IIII, Annona standing left holding corn-ears over modius left and anchor; fire damaged, slightly wavy flan;
Dumanyu2

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius Sestertius temple of Augustus and Livia
Catalog: Temple of Divus Augustus
weight 28,6gr. | bronze Ø 32mm.
obv. Laureate head right ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XXII
rev. Octastyle temple of Divus Augustus, containing cult-statues of Augustus
and Livia TEMPLVM DIVI AVG REST COS IIII S C

The Temple of Divus Augustus was a major temple originally built to commemorate the deified first Roman emperor, Augustus. It was built between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, behind the Basilica Julia, on the site of the house that Augustus had inhabited before he entered public life in the mid-1st century BC. The templeâ€²s construction took place during the 1st century AD, having been vowed by the Roman Senate shortly after the death of the emperor in AD 14. It is known from Roman coinage that the temple was originally built to an Ionic hexastyle design. However, its size, physical proportions and exact site are unknown. During the reign of Domitian the Temple of Divus Augustus was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt and rededicated in 89/90 with a shrine to his favourite deity, Minerva. The temple was redesigned as a memorial to four deified emperors, including Vespasian and Titus. It was restored again in the mid 150s by Antonius Pius, and that was the reason for this coinage. The last known reference to the temple was on 27 May 218 | at some point thereafter it was completely destroyed and its stones were presumably quarried for later buildings. Its remains are not visible and the area in which it lay has never been excavated.

Cohen 805 | RIC 1004 | BMC 2063 | Sear 4235 R
vf1 commentsAncient Aussie

Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 25.3g, 10h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 141-143. Laureate head right / Decastyle temple, with statues on roof and in pediment. RIC II 622. Good Fine.

The great temple of Venus and Roma was actually composed of two temples back to back. The temple of Venus faced the Flavian ampitheatre and that of Rome overlooked the Forum - both were designed by Hadrian himself. Construction began in 121 AD and and remained unfinished on the emperor’s death in 138 AD. Work was at last completed in 141 AD under Antoninus Pius, the event commemorated on this coin. The temple would be destroyed by fire in 307 and later rebuilt by Maxentius, the remains of which can still be seen in Rome today.Ancient Aussie

Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Dupondius (27mm, 10.58 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 159. Radiate head right / TEMPLVM DIV AVG REST, octastyle temple within which are the seated figures of Divus Augustus and Livia. RIC III 1017. VF, dark brown surfaces with touches of green, some pitting and minor smoothing.

The second Temple of Divus Augustus, commenced under Tiberius and dedicated by Caligula in August AD 37, suffered during the great fire of 80, which began on the Capitoline Hill and spread into the Forum and onto the Palatine. It was possibly restored or rebuilt under Domitian, although it is not mentioned in the Chronographia. It received further restoration under Antoninus Pius in 158. The temple under Antoninus was Corinthian octastyle and contained the seated figures of Divus Augustus and Livia within, generally drawn on the coinage at an elevated level to suggest perspective.Ancient Aussie

Antoninus Pius - AE sestertiusRome
147 AD
laureate and draped bust right seen from behind
ANTONINVS__AVG PIVS P P TR P
Pax holding cornucopia set weapons on fire
COS__II_II
PAX_AVG / S C
RIC 777; Cohen 594
26,33g 31,5mmJ. B.

Antoninus Pius - RIC 777Antoninus Pius
AE Sestertius. 147 AD.
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P, laureate head right /
COS IIII around, PAX-AVG and S-C across fields, Pax standing left,
setting fire to heap of arms with torch, and holding cornucopiae.xokleng

Antoninus Pius Pax RIC 777Antoninus Pius, AE Sestertius, Rome, 145 - 161 AD, RIC 777, Cohen 594, 30mm, 26.6g
OBV: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P, laureate head right
REV: COS IIII SC, Pax standing left, setting fire to a heap of arms and holding cornucopiae, PAX - AVG in field
SRukke

Antoninus Pius Winged Thunderbolt RIC 80aAntoninus Pius, Denarius, Rome, 138 - 161 AD, 2.3g, 17.44mm, RIC III, 80a, p. 35; RSC 681; Van Meter 37
OBV: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TRP COS III, Laureate head right
Rev: PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM, Winged thunderbolt

Not a fouree, possibly in a fire. SRukke

Antoninus Pius, RIC 622, Sestertius of AD 141-144 (Temple of Venus and Roma)Æ Sestertius (25.5g, Ø 33mm, 12h), Rome mint, struck AD 141-143.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laurate and draped bust of Antoninus Pius facing right
Rev.: ROMAE AETERNAE (around) S C (in field below) Decastyle temple with statues on roof and pediment.
RIC 622 (S); BMCRE 1279-82; Cohen 700 (Fr.12); Strack 848; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 333 var. (bust not draped); Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 125:24a; Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values II) 4212.
ex Mike R. Vosper (UK, 2000)

Coin issued on the occasion of the completion of the temple of Venus and Rome, begun by Hadrian in AD 121. The temple was be destroyed by fire in 307 and later rebuilt by Maxentius. Remains of the temple can still be seen today.Charles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 777, Sestertius of AD 145-161 (Pax) Æ Sestertius (27.6g, Ø30mm, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 145-161.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P, laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Rev.: COS III (around) PAX AVG / S C (in two lines in field), Pax standing left, holding a cornucopiae and a torch, setting fire to a pile of arms.
RIC 777; BMC 1698; Cohen 594; Strack 985; Banti 263 (23 spec.).
Charles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 822 , As of AD 145-147 (Pax)Æ As (8.6g, Ø 25mm, 12h), minted AD 145-147, Rome
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS IIII, laurate head right
Rev.: PAX AVG around S C in field, Pax, draped, standing left, setting fire to pile of arms with torch and holding cornucopiae.
RIC 822 (scarce); Cohen 593; Strack 996; BMC 1752

ex Mediterranean coins (eBay, 2001)Charles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 1004, Sestertius of AD 159 (Temple of Divus Augustus)Æ Sestertius (22.23g, Ø30mm, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 159.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXII laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Rev.: TEMPLVM DIV AVG REST (around) COS IIII (in ex.) S C (in field), Octastyle temple of Divus Augustus with statues of Augustus and Livia. The temple stands on a podium of three steps. Both statues in the centre, standing on a base, have the right arms raised. There are statues to the left near the foot of the steps and other statues of soldiers on pedestals at each side of the top step. The statuary on the roof can be identified as Augustus in quadriga flanked by Romulus on the right and Aeneas carrying Anchises on the left. Unidentified statuary in the pediment.

RIC 1004 (S); BMCRE 2063; Cohen 805; Strack 1167; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 406; Sear (Roman Coins and their Values II) 4235.
ex Triton VI (2003)

The second Temple of Divus Augustus, commenced under Tiberius and dedicated by Caligula in August AD 37, suffered during the great fire of 80 which began on the Capitoline Hill and spread into the Forum and onto the Palatine. It was possibly restored or rebuilt under Domitian, although it is not mentioned in the Chronographia, and it certainly received further restoration under Antoninus Pius in 158. The temple under Antoninus was Corinthian octastyle and contained the seated figures of Divus Augustus and Livia within, generally drawn on the coinage at an elevated level to suggest perspective. Charles S

Anushirwan (Khusru I) (531-579AD)Sasanian Empire
AR Drachm
O: Crowned bust right.
R: Fire altar flanked by attendants; star and crescent flanking flames.
4.04g
30mm
BYSh mint(Bishapur in Iran), dated year 42 (572 A.D.)
Gobl SN II/21 commentsMat

Apameia, Phrygia3rd Century AD
Pseudo-autonomous
AE15 (15mm, 2.27g)
O: Draped and turreted bust of Tyche right; AΠA-MEIA.
R: Hekate Triformis standing facing, wearing polos and double chiton, and holding 4 torches and 2 patera; CΩTEI-PA.
SNG von Aulock 3475; SNG Cop 195-96; BMC 110-13
ex Gert Boersema

"O Nox, Mother of Mysteries, and all ye golden Astra who with Luna succeed the fires of day, and thou, divine three-formed Hecate, who knowest all my enterprises and dost fortify the arts of magic."
~ Ovid, The Metamorphoses
Enodia

Apollonia Pontica Topalov 55 - Silver Obol410/404 – 341/323 B.C.
0.57 gm, 8.5 mm
Obv.: Laureate head of Apollo ¾ left with short hair
Rev.: Anchor; crayfish to left, A to right
Topalov Apollonia p.596, 55; p.395, 1-3; p.774;
HGC 3, 1317;
SNG Bulgaria (Ruse) II, 296/297

Is this coin a fouree (ancient imitation – silver coating a base metal core) or a heavily damaged silver coin – fire, electrolyses?

Topalov Type 55: "Apollo's Head Turned Aside to 3/4 - Upright Anchor" Silver Obol (410/404 – 341/323 B.C.)
Obv.: Laureate Apollo ¾ left (rarely right) with short hair.
Rev.: Upright anchor with thick flukes and a rectangular stock. The letter A on one side and the additional symbol of a crab viewed from above on the other side between flukes and the stock.Jaimelai

Aquilia Severa RIC V, 226Aquilia Severa, reg. AD 220, 2. and 4. wife of Elagabal
AR - Denar, 3.23g, 19.4mm
Rome AD 220 -221
obv. IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG
draped bust, bare head r., hair waved, fixed in plait;
later coiffure without 'visor' (C.Clay)
rev. CONCORDIA
Concordia standing l., holding patera r.and double cornucopiae l.; lightened
altar l. before her
star in r. field
RIC V/2, 226; C.2; BMCR.184
Rare; EF, virtually mintstate

VESTAL VIRGINS. Aquilia Severa was one of the six Vestal Virgins who carried out the maintenance of the sacred fire and other cult ceremonies connected to the goddess Vesta. Therefore her marriage with Elagabal leads to disturbances in the priestership and the people of Rome.6 commentsJochen

AR Drachm of Khusro II, 618 ADOBVERSE: Right facing crowned bust of Khusro II whose name appears in Pahlavi script to his right and honorifics to the left. Astral symbols (star and crescent at 3,6 and 9 o'clock. Two rings surrounding.
REVERSE: Fire Altar with two attendants with hands resting on swords. To the right is mintmark SW (Khuzistan) and to the left is the regnal year 28 which dates the coin to 618 AD. Three rings surrounding

Weight 3.0 grams. The coin has been severely clipped since these usually weigh about 4 grams.
The Sassanid were succesors to the Parthian (Arsacid) dynasty which they conquered in the third century AD. The Sassanids were Zoroastrians who followed the teachings of their prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) and their God was Ahura-Mazda - the God of light (or fire) and hence the reverse theme on Sassanid coins. Their rule was centered in what is Iraq and Iran and extended eastward. It lasted until the coming of Islam in the later 7th century. The ancient cultural heritage of Persia is quite distinct from that of their Semitic neighbors to the west and has repercussions in the religous and political conflicts of today.

daverino

AR Drachm of the Rajput Dynasties, Chaulukya SeriesAnonymous Ruler; ca. 950-1050 AD
OBV Stylized Sassanian Bust
REV Stylized Zoroastrian Fire Altar

The design originated in the Sassanian era 6 centuries earlier and celebrated the Zoroastrian religion of the Sassanid rulers. It has become abstracted and almost unidentifiable in these coins1 commentsdaverino

Arab governors of Tabaristan (ca. 775 CE) half dirham (AR)Obv.: Arabic-Kufic legend (Crowned bust of Khosrau II right) Rev.: Fire altar flanked by attendants, date and mint Weight: 1.97 g. Diameter: 24.12 mm.Nick.vdw

Arab-Sasanian, Abbassid Governors of Tabaristan, AR Hemidrachm, 136 PYE (Post Yazdgard Era = AH 170 = 786/787 AD)Islamic, Arab-Sasanian, Abbassid Governors of Tabaristan, AR Hemidrachm, 136 PYE (Post Yazdgard Era = AH 170 = 786/787 AD)

Obverse: APZ-WT, APD, BAHB, Right facing bust imitating Khusru II, wearing winged crown surmounted by star and crescent, inside single-dotted border, crescents with stars at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock.

Reverse: TPWLSTAN, Sasanian style fire altar with two attendants standing facing, crescents on their heads, both hands on sword hilt, inside triple dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, three pellets at the diagonals. Pahlavi date and mintmark in lower left and right margins.

Reference: Album 73, Malek 175

Ex: Kayser-i Rum Numismatics +photo

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Obverse Legend: Segoe UI Historic, etc.

𐭠𐭯𐭦𐭥𐭲 ← APZ-WT

𐭠𐭯𐭣 ← APD

𐭡𐭠𐭧𐭡 ← BAHB

Reverse Legend:

𐭲𐭯𐭥𐭫𐭱𐭲𐭠𐭭 ← TPWLSTAN

Gil-galad

Artaxerxes II drachmSilver drachm issued by Artaxerxes II. Obverse shows Artaxerxes in profile facing left with decorated tunic, torque and crown. Geometric mark behind bust. Reverse shows a standing figure facing left holding a staff up to a fire altar. Aramaic text above the image reads "Araxsir, king, son [of] Darev, king." Issued 405/4–359/8 BCE. Received October 1, 2022. Purchased from FORVM.Adrian H

Athena ParthenosAttica, Athens, ca. 264-267 AD, Æ 21
Helmeted head of Athena right. / AÎ˜HN-AIÎ©N Athena Parthenos standing left holding Nike, shield and spear.
Kroll, Agora, 284; Sv-pl 82, 5ff; SNG Copenhagen 384.
(21 mm, 4.98 g, 6h)

The statue of Athena depicted on the reverse of this coin is a representation of Phidias cult statue of Athena in the Parthenon on the acropolis of Athens. The statue is stood in the Parthenon until the Fifth century AD, when it was destroyed by fire.

This is amongst the last of the “Roman series” of coins issued from the mint in Athens. In 267 AD Germanic raiders sacked the city bringing to an end the operations of the Athenian mint.

Baktria, Telephos Telephos Euergetes. 80-70 BC. Square Æ Quadruple Unit (7.72 gm, 26mm, 12h) of W. Gandhara. Zeus enthroned slightly l., holding sceptre & extending arm. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΕΡΕΓΤΟΥ ΤΗΛΕΦΟΥ. / Bearded man seated r., warming hands over small fire, cradling branch in l. arm; container at feet. Karaosthi legend Maharajasa kalanakramasa Teliphasa (of Great King Telephos the Benefactor). Monogram Δ Ͳ to l. VF. CNG EA 367 #291. Four examples known to Bopearachichi (1991). Bopearachchi Série 3A #F; MIG 3 Type 453; HGC 12 #411; SNG ANS - ; SNG Cop - . Anaximander

Bardas Parsakoutenos, magistros and doux of Anatolikon. Lead seal c. AD 970-990 10291|Bardas Parsakoutenos, magistros and doux of Anatolikon. Lead seal c. AD 970-990
Star with six rays ending in something resembling arrows; circular invocational legend + KE ROHÎ˜EI TW CW Î”UÎ›W
+RAPÎ”|MAÎ“ICTP,|S Î”UÎž TWN| ANATOÎ›’K|TWN OÎ AT|O Î APCK’ in six lines
30mm; 16.24gram.

Before turning to the identification of the seal’s owner, there are a number of issues to be addressed about the reverse legend. Up to the fourth line, all is clear. A nominative legend listing Bardas’ dignity of magistros and his office of doux ton Anatolikon. The last line has his family name Pars(a)k(outenos). The fifth line, however, does not make sense. It might be an engraver’s error, repeating TWN of the third line and O Î AP of the last line. This explanation, even though unelegant, has to do for now, unless an otherwise unknown office or command is meant.
The seal’s owner is probably the person named in Leon Diakonos (VII.1) as one of three brothers Parsakoutenos, who backed Bardas Phokas the younger during his rebellion of AD 970 against John I Tzimiskes. These brothers, Theodore, Bardas and Nikephoros took their name, according to Leon, “after the city of their birth, Parsakouta”, which is a village on the road between Nymphaion and Sardis in the Thrakesian theme (p. 162, n.4 of the English edition). Leon adds that the Parsakoutenoi were cousins of Bardas Phokas and that they held the rank of patrikios and adds that they ‘mustered troops with great zeal’. Skylitzes (291.13-14) adds that Theodore and Nikephoros were the sons of the patrikios Theodoulos Parsakoutenos, and were exarchs in Cappadocia (p. 162, n.3). The rebellion, however, was extinguished by the skilled general Bardas Skleros, and Bardas Phokas was temporarily imprisoned.
Leon Diakonos once again mentions Bardas Parsakoutenos in book X, chapter 7, during the revolt of Bardas Skleros. He is now called magistros, a higher rank than patrikios, which implies that his earlier allegience to a usurper had not frustrated his political career. In the late 970’s, Skleros conquered large parts of Asia and was threatening to blockade the Dardanelles, hindering merchants and grain transports to the capital. In the end, he was defeated by Bardas Phokas on 24th of March 979 and fled to Muslim territory. But before his final defeat on the battleground, according to Leon Diakonos, his fortress at Abydos was seized, his army destroyed, and fire was set to his fleet of triremes by an imperial fleet of fireships dispatched from the capital under the command of Bardas Parsakoutenos. The seal, listing Bardas’ dignity as magistros, not patrikios as attested in AD 970, might well be from this period.
1 commentsGert

Billon drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa Billon drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa - 4.3 gr - 15/12 mm.
Obverse: Degenerated Indo-Sasanian style bust, Staff between eye and nose, Brahmi letter "ja" in left field.
Reverse: Crude fire altar with legend 'Sri Omkara' on shaft
Deyell #172...MNI 436-440.Paul R3

Billon drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa (Omkara)Billon drachm of the Paramaras of Malwa - 4.35 gr - 14 mm.
Obverse: Degenerated Indo-Sasanian style bust, Triangle with chandrabindu above between eye and nose, Brahmi letter "ja" in left field.
Reverse: Crude fire altar with legend 'Sri Omkara' on shaft
Deyell #172...MNI 436-440Paul R3

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