| Image search results - "Mesopotamia" |
3 Trajan DeciusTrajan Decius
AE20, Edessa, Mesopotamia
O: AVG DEKIC CEB. Radiate bust of Decius, R.
R: KOL EDICCA. Turreted bust of Cybele, l.
Babylon 103, BMC 168
Thanks to Helvetica for translating Babylon, without which I would not have been able to attribute this coin.Sosius
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30 Severus Alexander and Julia MamaeaSEVERUS ALEXANDER & JULIA MAMAEA
AE27, Edessa, Mesopotamia
Confronting portraits of Severus Alexander and Julia Mamaea / City-goddess seated left, holding small temple; River-god swimming beneath her
SGI 3390 Sosius
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(0177) COMMODUS -- MESOPOTAMIA, CARRHAE177 - 192 AD
AE 22 mm 6.64 g
O: AVT K MANTWK[?]OCCEE (legend counterclockwise)
Commodus, Bust R
R: AVPHΛIΩN KAPPHN ΦIΛΩPΩM [AIΩN…]
Crescent, fillets tied in bows below
(no longer in collection)
UNRECORDEDlaney
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(0198) CARACALLAprobably Caracalla, 198-217 AD
AE 15 mm, 3.83 g
O: head right
R: vexillum
Mesopotamia, Rhesaenalaney
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(0198) CARACALLA198 - 217 AD
AE 17 X 19 mm; 5.31 g
O: Bust right, supported by eagle.
Rev: LEG-III; vexillum with star at center;
Mesopotamia, Rhesaenalaney
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(0198) CARACALLA98-217 AD
AE 14.5 mm; 2.90 g
O: Laureate head of Caracalla right
R: Turreted and veiled bust of Tyche right
Mesopotamia, Carrhaelaney
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(0198) CARACALLA198-217 AD
AE 17.5 mm, 8.34 g
O: Laureate head of Caracalla right
R: Turreted and veiled head of Tyche right
Mesopotamia, probably Carrhaelaney
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(0198) CARACALLA (or ELAGABALUS)198 - 217 AD
AE 15 mm; 3.11 g
O: Radiate head right
R: Two Leg III vexilla, with single standard between
Mesopotamia, Rhesaena
(reverse appears to be unpublished)laney
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(0198) CARACALLA AND GETAca. 208 - 211 AD
AE 18.7mm, 4.45 g
O: confronted busts of laureate, draped, cuirassed Caracalla, on left: and bare-headed, draped Geta, on right.
R: star of eight rays within crescent, legend around crescent
Mesopotamia, Carrhae mint; cf. BMC p. 87, 45-8; SNG Cop -; Weber -; McClean -; very rarelaney
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(0217) MACRINUS217 - 218 AD
AE 17 mm 3.54 g
O: Laureate bust of Macrinus right
R: O M EDECCA veiled and turreted bust of Tyche right, within laurel wreath
Edessa in Mesopotamia; SNG Milan 56laney
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(0218) ELAGABALUS218 - 222 AD
AE 17.5 mm; 2.66 g
O: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R: Centaur galloping right, drawing bow
MESOPOTAMIA. Rhesaena; BMC 4 (cf Plate XVIII #4)laney
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(0218) ELAGABALUS218-222 ad
Æ 19 mm., 4.62 g.
o: Radiate bust right
r Turreted head of Tyche left.
Mesopotamia. Edessa.laney
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(0218) ELAGABALUS -- MESOPOTAMIA, EDESSA218 - 222 AD
AE 24.5 mm 9.27 g
O: AVT K M A ANTIWNEINOC CC
RAD DR BUST R, FROM BEHIND
R: MAP AV ANTW[KOEDEC]
TYCHE SEATED L, RIVER GOD BELOW FACING R
MESOPOTAMIA, EDESSA
BMC 59 LINDGREN 2590laney
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(0222) SEVERUS ALEXANDER222 - 235 AD
AE 25 mm 10.30 g
O: Laureate head right
R: Tyche seated, left, on rocks, holding eagle
RHESEANA, MESOPOTAMIA
(cf. Castelin 35-36 for obv)
laney
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(0222) SEVERUS ALEXANDER222 - 235 AD
AE 26 mm 10.21 g
O: RADIATE HEAD OF SEVERUS ALEXANDER, R
R: TURRETED HEAD OF TYCHE, R, RAM LEAPING ABOVE, STAR BEFORE
MESOPOTAMIA, NISIBIS
SNG Cop 235; Mionnet 5, 170v; BMC 4v.
(Mionnet and BMC cite laureate head right)
laney
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(0222) SEVERUS ALEXANDER 222-238 AD
AE 25 mm; 8.61 g
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left, with eagle-tipped scepter
R:Tyche seated left; flaming altar in front; star in l. and r. field.
Edessa in Mesopotamialaney
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(0222) SEVERUS ALEXANDER222-235 AD
AE 17.5 mm; 2.12 g
O: Laureate, cuirassed bust with paludamentum, right
R: Sagittarius, right; Right hand over right shoulder, bow in left hand
Mesopotamia, Rhesaena; cf. Castelin, Prague, 17A (Plate III); BMC Rhesaena, 9, Pl. XVIII, var. (no Vexillum)
laney
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(0238) GORDIAN III238 - 244 AD
AE 27 mm, 14.94 g
O: AYTOK K M ANT GOPDIANOC CEB. Laureate and draped bust, right.
R: MHT KOL KAPPHNWN. Turreted, veiled and draped bust of Tyche, left, with small figure (perhaps Aquarius or Apollo-Nebo) on a base or pedestal before her.
Mesopotamia, Carrhae cf. SNG Hunterian 2499; SNG Cop. 187; BMC 55-6. laney
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(0241) TRANQUILLINA241 - 244 AD
AE 15 mm, 3.29 g
O: Draped diademed bust right (countermark at back of head)
R: Vexillum
Mesopotamia, Singara (possibly unpublished)laney
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026a24. Septemius SeverusMesopotamia, Edessa. AE (13 mm, 1.80 g). Septimius Severus and Abgar VIII. Laureate head of Severus right / Draped and diademed bust right of Abgar VIII, wearing tiara. BMC 35. Agora Auc 2 (2023), Lot 347.lawrence c
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027a09. CaracallaAE16 of Mesopotamia, Rhesaena. 16mm, 3.76 g. Obv: AVT KAI ANTΩNEINOC CEB, laureate head right on eagle standing right, bull in left field facing downward, bull in right field facing upward (latter off flan). Rev: LEG III, vexillum, ribbons on middle of pole, holding banner for Legio III Parthica. Lindgren 2606.lawrence c
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036a12. Gordian IIIAE of Edessa, Mesopotamia. AD 239/42. 23mm, 7.84 g. Obv: ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ; laureate head of Gordian III, r., with drapery on l. shoulder; in front, star. Rev: ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛƐΥϹ; draped bust of Abgar X, r., wearing tiara; behind, star. RPC VII.2 №: — (unassigned; ID 3016)lawrence c
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036b02. TranquillinaAE28 of Mesopotamia, Edessa. 27.7mm, 18.15 g. Obv: Draped bust of Tranquillina right, wearing stephane, hair coiled at neck nape. Rev: Turreted and veiled bust of City-goddess left, with small altar and figure of Aquarius before. SNG Cop 222.lawrence c
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037a01. Philip IMESOPOTAMIA. Nisibis. Obv: AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦΙΛΙΠΠOC CЄB. Radiate and cuirassed bust left. Rev: IOY CЄΠ ΚΟΛΩ ΝЄCIBI MHT. Tyche seated facing; above, ram (Aries) leaping right, head left; all within tetrastyle temple; below, river god swimming right, head facing. 27mm, 9.70 g.
RPC VIII online - (unassigned; ID 2879); SNG Copenhagen 240. Naumann Auc 111, Lot 659.
lawrence c
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037b04. Otacilia SeveraMESOPOTAMIA, Nisibis. Æ 26. MAΡ ΩTAKIΛ CEOYHΡAN CEB, diademed draped bust right on crescent / IOV CEΠ KOΛΩ NECIBI MHT, tetrastyle shrine containing seated facing figure of the city goddess, ram leaping right above, river god swimming right below. BMC 27; Sear SGI 4065. Tiber Auction 4, Lot 234.lawrence c
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074p Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), Mesopotamia, Nisibis, BMC 25 and 23 (obv./rev.), AE-25, -/-//--, Tyche seated facing in tetrastyle temple #01074p Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), Mesopotamia, Nisibis, BMC 25 and 23 (obv./rev.), AE-25, -/-//--, Tyche seated facing in tetrastyle temple #01
avers: AYTOK K M IOYΛ ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB, Radiate and cuirassed bust left, holding spear and decorated shield.
reverse: IOΛ CEΠ KOΛΩ NECIBI MHT, Tyche seated facing, above, ram (Aries) leaping right, head left, below, river-god swimming right, all within tetrastyle temple.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 24,0-25,0mm, weight: 9,45g, axis: 0h,
mint: Mesopotamia, Nisibis, date: 244-249 A.D.,
ref: BMC 25 and 23 (obv./rev.); SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Hunterian -; SNG Righetti 2620 (same dies), Rare bust!
Q-001quadrans
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098-117 AD - TRAJAN AE sestertius - struck 104-110 ADobv: [IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PM TR P COS VI PP] (laureate, draped bust right)
rev: [ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P R REDACTAE] (Trajan standing to the front, head turned right, holding spear and parazonium; on both sides of him and reclining are the three females figures, Armenia, Euphrates, Tigris), S-C in field
ref: RIC II 642 (R), BMC 1039, C.39 (20frcs)
mint: Rome
22.41gms, 33mm
Rare
History: Trajan declared war against the Parthians, after overrunning Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia, he defeated in every encounter, establishing several governments, and thereby gaining from the Roman Senate the title of Parthicus.
This coin is worn enough, even the legends are disappeared, too, but shows the result about one of the most impotant Roman conquest.berserker
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1 Shekel Hematite weight1 Shekel Hematite weight
Sphendonoid Hematite weight
25mm by 10mm by 5 mm
8.15g
Hendin; 23, 24.
Sphendonoid weights have been found in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and Phoenicia as well as ship wrecks from the 14th/13th centuries BC.wileyc
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1/10 Shekel Hematite weightSphendonoid Hematite weight
25mm
.87g
Hendin; 51.
Sphendonoid weights have been found in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and Phoenicia as well as ship wrecks from the 14th/13th centuries BC. wileyc
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102. TrajanTrajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (29mm, 25.58 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 116-117. Laureate and draped bust right / [REX PARTHIS DATVS], Trajan seated left on platform, presenting Parthamaspates to kneeling Parthian; attendant standing behind emperor. RIC II 667; Woytek 594v-2; Banti 96. Fine, green patina.
Parthian interference in Armenia prompted Trajan to declare war against their king Osroes I in AD 114. He quickly reestablished Roman control of Armenia, forced the submission of Osrhoene, and in AD 116 took Mesopotamia by defeating Osroes I. Rather than pursuing the Parthians into Iran, Trajan set up a pro-Roman Parthian "buffer state" in Mesopotamia under a puppet-king Parthamaspates. ecoli
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114 AD: Trajan's comprehensive political settlement in the EastOrichalcum sestertius (25.16g, 34mm, 6h) Rome mint. Struck AD 116.
IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO PM TRP COS VI PP laureate draped bust, rricht
REGNA ADSIGNATA / S C [in ex.] Trajan seated left on platform, prefect and soldier standing; three kings standing before
RIC 666 [R]; Cohen 325; BMC 1043; Foss (Roman Historic Coins) 104/67
Trajan assigns kingdoms to client princes in the East in AD 114. The three kings are presumably of Armenia, Mesopotamia and ParthiaCharles S
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115 AD: Trajan's conquest of Armenia and Mesopotamia Orichalcum sestertius (26.2g, 33mm, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 116-117.
IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO PM TRP COS VI PP laureate and draped bust of Trajan facing right
ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA POTESTATEM PR REDACTAE [around] S C [in field] Trajan standing right, holding spear and parazonium; on the ground, the reclining figures of Armenia, the Euphrates and the Tigris
RIC 642 [R]; Cohen 39; Foss (Roman Historical Coins): 105/71
Coin minted between 116 spring and 117 aug (PARTHICO in legend) on the occasion of the conquest of Mesopotamia in 115. Beginning in 114 AD, Trajan began his campaign against Parthia which had deposed the pro-Roman king of Armenia. By 115 AD Trajan had turned Armenia into a Roman province. He then moved southward through Mesopotamia, capturing the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, in 116 AD.Charles S
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115 AD: Trajan's eighth proclaimation as imperator after his conquest of MesopotamiaSestertius (25.5g, 33mm, 6h) Rome mint. Struck 115-117.
IMP CAES NER TRAIAno OPTIMO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P laureate draped bust of Trajan right
IMPERATOR VIII / S C [in ex.] Trajan seated right on platform with two officers, a commander, six soldiers and a horse before the platform.
RIC 656 [R]; Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 105/72
Charles S
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115 AD: Trajan's ninth proclaimation as imperator after his conquest of MesopotamiaSestertius (27.3g, 33mm, 6h) Rome mint. Struck 115-117.
IMP CAES NER TRAIAno OPTIMO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P laureate draped bust of Trajan right
IMPERATOR VIIII / S C [in ex.] Trajan seated right on platform with two officers, a commander, six soldiers and a horse before the platform.
RIC 658 [R]; Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 105/73
Charles S
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1407a, Constantius II, 337-361 A.D. (Antioch)AE4, 337-361 A.D. Antioch, aVF/VF,Obv:– DN CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Pearl and rosette diadem, head right/R: Wreath with VOT XX MVLT XXX, SMANB in exe.RIC VIII Antioch 113,Item ref: RI170b.
AE3, 2.80 grams, 330-333, Heraclea, aVF. Obv: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C - Laureate bust right, draped and cuirassed. R: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS - Two soldiers looking in at each other and both holding a spear; between them, two standards Exe: SMHB.
Constantius II was born in Illyricum in August AD 317, the son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, and was proclaimed Caesar in AD 323.
In AD 337, at the death of his father Constantine, he acceded to the throne together with his two brothers Constantine II and Constans. But this accession by the three brothers was tainted by the murder of their cousins Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, whom Constantine had also intended as joint heirs. These murders are believed to have been masterminded by Constantius II.
Eventually, Constantius II was left as the sole emperor of the Roman empire. Constantius elevated his cousin, Julian, to the rank of Caesar (junior emperor) and gave him his sister Helena in marriage. Julian was assigned the task of dealing with the Frankish leader, Silvanus, who had proclaimed himself emepror at Colonia Agrippina. Julian's success led his men to declare him Augustus. Julian, while reluctant to take the throne, accepted.
Constantius II, therefore, left the Mesopotamian frontier and marched his troops west, seeking to deal with the usurper. As he reached Cilicia in the winter of AD 361, he was overcome by a sudden fever and died at Mopsucrene. Julian, the Apostate, succeded him as Emperor.
Our chief source for Constantius' reign is the great historian Ammianus Marcellinus. He presents a mixed view of that emperor. In some ways a sound administrator and competent general, Constantius is also portrayed as easily influenced by those around him such as his wives, courtiers and the eunuchs of the court (Ammianus 21. 16. 16). Ammianus (21.16.18) also attacks Constantius' great interest in Church affairs--alleging that he bankrupted the courier service with calls for Church councils. Of course, imperial interest in Church affairs was a major policy of his father Constantine and it may be that Constantius was trying to emulate his model (if only with mixed success). Indeed, Constantius II (like his brothers Constantine II and Constans) was raised a Christian. Among his many laws is the famous CTh 16.10.2 of 341 which either prohibited or re-issued his father's prohibition of pagan sacrifices. Sympathetic to Arianism, he spent a great deal of his reign calling Church councils. One of the longest-reigned emperors in Roman history, Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to the interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University & Robert Frakes, Clarion University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1407h, Constantius II, 337-361 A.D. (Heraclea)Constantius II 337-361 A.D. AE3, 2.80 grams, 330-333, Heraclea, aVF. Obverse: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C - Laureate bust right, draped and cuirassed; Reverse: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS - Two soldiers looking in at each other and both holding a spear; between them, two standards; SMHB in exergue.
Constantius II was born in Illyricum in August AD 317, the son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, and was proclaimed Caesar in AD 323.
In AD 337, at the death of his father Constantine, he acceded to the throne together with his two brothers Constantine II and Constans. But this accession by the three brothers was tainted by the murder of their cousins Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, whom Constantine had also intended as joint heirs. These murders are believed to have been masterminded by Constantius II.
Eventually, Constantius II was left as the sole emperor of the Roman empire. Constantius elevated his cousin, Julian, to the rank of Caesar (junior emperor) and gave him his sister Helena in marriage. Julian was assigned the task of dealing with the Frankish leader, Silvanus, who had proclaimed himself emepror at Colonia Agrippina. Julian's success led his men to declare him Augustus. Julian, while reluctant to take the throne, accepted.
Constantius II, therefore, left the Mesopotamian frontier and marched his troops west, seeking to deal with the usurper. As he reached Cilicia in the winter of AD 361, he was overcome by a sudden fever and died at Mopsucrene. Julian, the Apostate, succeded him as Emperor.
Our chief source for Constantius' reign is the great historian Ammianus Marcellinus. He presents a mixed view of that emperor. In some ways a sound administrator and competent general, Constantius is also portrayed as easily influenced by those around him such as his wives, courtiers and the eunuchs of the court (Ammianus 21. 16. 16). Ammianus (21.16.18) also attacks Constantius' great interest in Church affairs--alleging that he bankrupted the courier service with calls for Church councils. Of course, imperial interest in Church affairs was a major policy of his father Constantine and it may be that Constantius was trying to emulate his model (if only with mixed success). Indeed, Constantius II (like his brothers Constantine II and Constans) was raised a Christian. Among his many laws is the famous CTh 16.10.2 of 341 which either prohibited or re-issued his father's prohibition of pagan sacrifices. Sympathetic to Arianism, he spent a great deal of his reign calling Church councils. One of the longest-reigned emperors in Roman history, Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to the interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University & Robert Frakes, Clarion University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes
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1407r, Constantius II, 22 May 337 - 3 November 361 A.D.Bronze AE 3, RIC 272, aVF, 2.203g, 18.1mm, 0o, Rome mint, 352 - 355 A.D.; obverse D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier spearing fallen horseman, RT in ex.
Constantius II was born in Illyricum in August AD 317, the son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, and was proclaimed Caesar in AD 323.
In AD 337, at the death of his father Constantine, he acceded to the throne together with his two brothers Constantine II and Constans. But this accession by the three brothers was tainted by the murder of their cousins Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, whom Constantine had also intended as joint heirs. These murders are believed to have been masterminded by Constantius II.
Eventually, Constantius II was left as the sole emperor of the Roman empire. Constantius elevated Julian to the rank of Caesar (junior emperor) and gave him his sister Helena in marriage. Julian was assigned the task of dealing with the Frankish leader, Silvanus, who had proclaimed himself emepror at Colonia Agrippina. Julian's success lead his men to declare him Augustus. Julian, while reluctant to take the throne, accepted.
Constantius II, therefore left the Mesopotamian frontier and marched his troops west, seeking to deal with the usurper. As he reached Cilicia in the winter of AD 361, he was overcome by a sudden fever and died at Mopsucrene. Julian, the Apostate, succeded him as Emperor.
Our chief source for Constantius' reign is the great historian Ammianus Marcellinus. He presents a mixed view of that emperor. In some ways a sound administrator and competent general, Constantius is also portrayed as easily influenced by those around him such as his wives, courtiers and the eunuchs of the court (Ammianus 21. 16. 16). Ammianus (21.16.18) also attacks Constantius' great interest in Church affairs--alleging that he bankrupted the courier service with calls for Church councils. Of course, imperial interest in Church affairs was a major policy of his father Constantine and it may be that Constantius was trying to emulate his model (if only with mixed success). Indeed, Constantius II (like his brothers Constantine II and Constans) was raised a Christian. Among his many laws is the famous CTh 16.10.2 of 341 which either prohibited or re-issued his father's prohibition of pagan sacrifices. Sympathetic to Arianism, he spent a great deal of his reign calling Church councils. One of the longest-reigned emperors in Roman history, Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to the interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.
By Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University & Robert Frakes, Clarion University
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1409a, Julian II "the Philosopher," February 360 - 26 June 363 A.D.Julian II, A.D. 360-363; RIC 167; VF; 2.7g, 20mm; Constantinople mint; Obverse: DN FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG, helmeted & cuirassed bust right, holding spear & shield; Reverse: VOT X MVLT XX in four lines within wreath; CONSPB in exergue; Attractive green patina. Ex Nemesis.
De Imperatoribus Romanis,
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
Julian the Apostate (360-363 A.D.)
Walter E. Roberts, Emory University
Michael DiMaio, Jr., Salve Regina University
Introduction
The emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus reigned from 360 to 26 June 363, when he was killed fighting against the Persians. Despite his short rule, his emperorship was pivotal in the development of the history of the later Roman empire. This essay is not meant to be a comprehensive look at the various issues central to the reign of Julian and the history of the later empire. Rather, this short work is meant to be a brief history and introduction for the general reader. Julian was the last direct descendent of the Constantinian line to ascend to the purple, and it is one of history's great ironies that he was the last non-Christian emperor. As such, he has been vilified by most Christian sources, beginning with John Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzus in the later fourth century. This tradition was picked up by the fifth century Eusebian continuators Sozomen, Socrates Scholasticus, and Theodoret and passed on to scholars down through the 20th century. Most contemporary sources, however, paint a much more balanced picture of Julian and his reign. The adoption of Christianity by emperors and society, while still a vital concern, was but one of several issues that concerned Julian.
It is fortunate that extensive writings from Julian himself exist, which help interpret his reign in the light of contemporary evidence. Still extant are some letters, several panegyrics, and a few satires. Other contemporary sources include the soldier Ammianus Marcellinus' history, correspondence between Julian and Libanius of Antioch, several panegyrics, laws from the Theodosian Code, inscriptions, and coinage. These sources show Julian's emphasis on restoration. He saw himself as the restorer of the traditional values of Roman society. Of course much of this was rhetoric, meant to defend Julian against charges that he was a usurper. At the same time this theme of restoration was central to all emperors of the fourth century. Julian thought that he was the one emperor who could regain what was viewed as the lost glory of the Roman empire. To achieve this goal he courted select groups of social elites to get across his message of restoration. This was the way that emperors functioned in the fourth century. By choosing whom to include in the sharing of power, they sought to shape society.
Early Life
Julian was born at Constantinople in 331. His father was Julius Constantius, half-brother of the emperor Constantine through Constantius Chlorus, and his mother was Basilina, Julius' second wife. Julian had two half-brothers via Julius' first marriage. One of these was Gallus, who played a major role in Julian's life. Julian appeared destined for a bright future via his father's connection to the Constantinian house. After many years of tense relations with his three half-brothers, Constantine seemed to have welcomed them into the fold of the imperial family. From 333 to 335, Constantine conferred a series of honors upon his three half-siblings, including appointing Julius Constantius as one of the consuls for 335. Julian's mother was equally distinguished. Ammianus related that she was from a noble family. This is supported by Libanius, who claimed that she was the daughter of Julius Julianus, a Praetorian Prefect under Licinius, who was such a model of administrative virtue that he was pardoned and honored by Constantine.
Despite the fact that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, Julian experienced an idyllic early childhood. This ended when Constantius II conducted a purge of many of his relatives shortly after Constantine's death in 337, particularly targeting the families of Constantine's half-brothers. ulian and Gallus were spared, probably due to their young age. Julian was put under the care of Mardonius, a Scythian eunuch who had tutored his mother, in 339, and was raised in the Greek philosophical tradition, and probably lived in Nicomedia. Ammianus also supplied the fact that while in Nicomedia, Julian was cared for by the local bishop Eusebius, of whom the future emperor was a distant relation. Julian was educated by some of the most famous names in grammar and rhetoric in the Greek world at that time, including Nicocles and Hecebolius. In 344 Constantius II sent Julian and Gallus to Macellum in Cappadocia, where they remained for six years. In 351, Gallus was made Caesar by Constantius II and Julian was allowed to return to Nicomedia, where he studied under Aedesius, Eusebius, and Chrysanthius, all famed philosophers, and was exposed to the Neo-Platonism that would become such a prominent part of his life. But Julian was most proud of the time he spent studying under Maximus of Ephesus, a noted Neo-Platonic philospher and theurgist. It was Maximus who completed Julian's full-scale conversion to Neo-Platonism. Later, when he was Caesar, Julian told of how he put letters from this philosopher under his pillows so that he would continue to absorb wisdom while he slept, and while campaigning on the Rhine, he sent his speeches to Maximus for approval before letting others hear them. When Gallus was executed in 354 for treason by Constantius II, Julian was summoned to Italy and essentially kept under house arrest at Comum, near Milan, for seven months before Constantius' wife Eusebia convinced the emperor that Julian posed no threat. This allowed Julian to return to Greece and continue his life as a scholar where he studied under the Neo-Platonist Priscus. Julian's life of scholarly pursuit, however, ended abruptly when he was summoned to the imperial court and made Caesar by Constantius II on 6 November 355.
Julian as Caesar
Constantius II realized an essential truth of the empire that had been evident since the time of the Tetrarchy--the empire was too big to be ruled effectively by one man. Julian was pressed into service as Caesar, or subordinate emperor, because an imperial presence was needed in the west, in particular in the Gallic provinces. Julian, due to the emperor's earlier purges, was the only viable candidate of the imperial family left who could act as Caesar. Constantius enjoined Julian with the task of restoring order along the Rhine frontier. A few days after he was made Caesar, Julian was married to Constantius' sister Helena in order to cement the alliance between the two men. On 1 December 355, Julian journeyed north, and in Augusta Taurinorum he learned that Alamannic raiders had destroyed Colonia Agrippina. He then proceeded to Vienne where he spent the winter. At Vienne, he learned that Augustudunum was also under siege, but was being held by a veteran garrison. He made this his first priority, and arrived there on 24 June 356. When he had assured himself that the city was in no immediate danger, he journeyed to Augusta Treverorum via Autessioduram, and from there to Durocortorum where he rendezvoused with his army. Julian had the army stage a series of punitive strikes around the Dieuse region, and then he moved them towards the Argentoratum/Mongontiacum region when word of barbarian incursions reached him.
From there, Julian moved on to Colonia Agrippina, and negotiated a peace with the local barbarian leaders who had assaulted the city. He then wintered at Senonae. He spent the early part of the campaigning season of 357 fighting off besiegers at Senonae, and then conducting operations around Lugdunum and Tres Tabernae. Later that summer, he encountered his watershed moment as a military general. Ammianus went into great detail about Julian's victory over seven rogue Alamannic chieftains near Argentoratum, and Julian himself bragged about it in his later writing. After this battle, the soldiers acclaimed Julian Augustus, but he rejected this title. After mounting a series of follow-up raids into Alamannic territory, he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia, and on the way defeated some Frankish raiders in the Mosa region. Julian considered this campaign one of the major events of his time as Caesar.
Julian began his 358 military campaigns early, hoping to catch the barbarians by surprise. His first target was the Franks in the northern Rhine region. He then proceeded to restore some forts in the Mosa region, but his soldiers threatened to mutiny because they were on short rations and had not been paid their donative since Julian had become Caesar. After he soothed his soldiers, Julian spent the rest of the summer negotiating a peace with various Alamannic leaders in the mid and lower Rhine areas, and retired to winter quarters at Lutetia. In 359, he prepared once again to carry out a series of punitive expeditions against the Alamanni in the Rhine region who were still hostile to the Roman presence. In preparation, the Caesar repopulated seven previously destroyed cities and set them up as supply bases and staging areas. This was done with the help of the people with whom Julian had negotiated a peace the year before. Julian then had a detachment of lightly armed soldiers cross the Rhine near Mogontiacum and conduct a guerilla strike against several chieftains. As a result of these campaigns, Julian was able to negotiate a peace with all but a handful of the Alamannic leaders, and he retired to winter quarters at Lutetia.
Of course, Julian did more than act as a general during his time as Caesar. According to Ammianus, Julian was an able administrator who took steps to correct the injustices of Constantius' appointees. Ammianus related the story of how Julian prevented Florentius, the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, from raising taxes, and also how Julian actually took over as governor for the province of Belgica Secunda. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, supported Ammianus' basic assessment of Julian in this regard when he reported that Julian was an able representative of the emperor to the Gallic provincials. There is also epigraphic evidence to support Julian's popularity amongst the provincial elites. An inscription found near Beneventum in Apulia reads:
"To Flavius Claudius Julianus, most noble and sanctified Caesar, from the caring Tocius Maximus, vir clarissimus, for the care of the res publica from Beneventum".
Tocius Maximus, as a vir clarissimus, was at the highest point in the social spectrum and was a leader in his local community. This inscription shows that Julian was successful in establishing a positive image amongst provincial elites while he was Caesar.
Julian Augustus
In early 360, Constantius, driven by jealousy of Julian's success, stripped Julian of many troops and officers, ostensibly because the emperor needed them for his upcoming campaign against the Persians. One of the legions ordered east, the Petulantes, did not want to leave Gaul because the majority of the soldiers in the unit were from this region. As a result they mutinied and hailed Julian as Augustus at Lutetia. Julian refused this acclamation as he had done at Argentoratum earlier, but the soldiers would have none of his denial. They raised him on a shield and adorned him with a neck chain, which had formerly been the possession of the standard-bearer of the Petulantes and symbolized a royal diadem. Julian appeared reluctantly to acquiesce to their wishes, and promised a generous donative. The exact date of his acclamation is unknown, but most scholars put it in February or March. Julian himself supported Ammianus' picture of a jealous Constantius. In his Letter to the Athenians, a document constructed to answer charges that he was a usurper, Julian stated that from the start he, as Caesar, had been meant as a figurehead to the soldiers and provincials. The real power he claimed lay with the generals and officials already present in Gaul. In fact, according to Julian, the generals were charged with watching him as much as the enemy. His account of the actual acclamation closely followed what Ammianus told us, but he stressed even more his reluctance to take power. Julian claimed that he did so only after praying to Zeus for guidance.
Fearing the reaction of Constantius, Julian sent a letter to his fellow emperor justifying the events at Lutetia and trying to arrange a peaceful solution. This letter berated Constantius for forcing the troops in Gaul into an untenable situation. Ammianus stated that Julian's letter blamed Constantius' decision to transfer Gallic legions east as the reason for the soldiers' rebellion. Julian once again asserted that he was an unwilling participant who was only following the desire of the soldiers. In both of these basic accounts Ammianus and Julian are playing upon the theme of restoration. Implicit in their version of Julian's acclamation is the argument that Constantius was unfit to rule. The soldiers were the vehicle of the gods' will. The Letter to the Athenians is full of references to the fact that Julian was assuming the mantle of Augustus at the instigation of the gods. Ammianus summed up this position nicely when he related the story of how, when Julian was agonizing over whether to accept the soldiers' acclamation, he had a dream in which he was visited by the Genius (guardian spirit) of the Roman state. The Genius told Julian that it had often tried to bestow high honors upon Julian but had been rebuffed. Now, the Genius went on to say, was Julian's final chance to take the power that was rightfully his. If the Caesar refused this chance, the Genius would depart forever, and both Julian and the state would rue Julian's rejection. Julian himself wrote a letter to his friend Maximus of Ephesus in November of 361 detailing his thoughts on his proclamation. In this letter, Julian stated that the soldiers proclaimed him Augustus against his will. Julian, however, defended his accession, saying that the gods willed it and that he had treated his enemies with clemency and justice. He went on to say that he led the troops in propitiating the traditional deities, because the gods commanded him to return to the traditional rites, and would reward him if he fulfilled this duty.
During 360 an uneasy peace simmered between the two emperors. Julian spent the 360 campaigning season continuing his efforts to restore order along the Rhine, while Constantius continued operations against the Persians. Julian wintered in Vienne, and celebrated his Quinquennalia. It was at this time that his wife Helena died, and he sent her remains to Rome for a proper burial at his family villa on the Via Nomentana where the body of her sister was entombed. The uneasy peace held through the summer of 361, but Julian concentrated his military operations around harassing the Alamannic chieftain Vadomarius and his allies, who had concluded a peace treaty with Constantius some years earlier. By the end of the summer, Julian decided to put an end to the waiting and gathered his army to march east against Constantius. The empire teetered on the brink of another civil war. Constantius had spent the summer negotiating with the Persians and making preparations for possible military action against his cousin. When he was assured that the Persians would not attack, he summoned his army and sallied forth to meet Julian. As the armies drew inexorably closer to one another, the empire was saved from another bloody civil war when Constantius died unexpectedly of natural causes on 3 November near the town of Mopsucrenae in Cilicia, naming Julian -- the sources say-- as his legitimate successor.
Julian was in Dacia when he learned of his cousin's death. He made his way through Thrace and came to Constantinople on 11 December 361 where Julian honored the emperor with the funeral rites appropriate for a man of his station. Julian immediately set about putting his supporters in positions of power and trimming the imperial bureaucracy, which had become extremely overstaffed during Constantius' reign. Cooks and barbers had increased during the late emperor's reign and Julian expelled them from his court. Ammianus gave a mixed assessment of how the new emperor handled the followers of Constantius. Traditionally, emperors were supposed to show clemency to the supporters of a defeated enemy. Julian, however, gave some men over to death to appease the army. Ammianus used the case of Ursulus, Constantius' comes sacrum largitionum, to illustrate his point. Ursulus had actually tried to acquire money for the Gallic troops when Julian had first been appointed Caesar, but he had also made a disparaging remark about the ineffectiveness of the army after the battle of Amida. The soldiers remembered this, and when Julian became sole Augustus, they demanded Ursulus' head. Julian obliged, much to the disapproval of Ammianus. This seems to be a case of Julian courting the favor of the military leadership, and is indicative of a pattern in which Julian courted the goodwill of various societal elites to legitimize his position as emperor.
Another case in point is the officials who made up the imperial bureaucracy. Many of them were subjected to trial and punishment. To achieve this goal, during the last weeks of December 361 Julian assembled a military tribunal at Chalcedon, empanelling six judges to try the cases. The president of the tribunal was Salutius, just promoted to the rank of Praetorian Prefect; the five other members were Mamertinus, the orator, and four general officers: Jovinus, Agilo, Nevitta, and Arbetio. Relative to the proceedings of the tribunal, Ammianus noted that the judges, " . . . oversaw the cases more vehemently than was right or fair, with the exception of a few . . .." Ammianus' account of Julian's attempt at reform of the imperial bureaucracy is supported by legal evidence from the Theodosian Code. A series of laws sent to Mamertinus, Julian's appointee as Praetorian Prefect in Italy, Illyricum, and Africa, illustrate this point nicely. On 6 June 362, Mamertinus received a law that prohibited provincial governors from bypassing the Vicars when giving their reports to the Prefect. Traditionally, Vicars were given civil authority over a group of provinces, and were in theory meant to serve as a middle step between governors and Prefects. This law suggests that the Vicars were being left out, at least in Illyricum. Julian issued another edict to Mamertinus on 22 February 362 to stop abuse of the public post by governors. According to this law, only Mamertinus could issue post warrants, but the Vicars were given twelve blank warrants to be used as they saw fit, and each governor was given two. Continuing the trend of bureaucratic reform, Julian also imposed penalties on governors who purposefully delayed appeals in court cases they had heard. The emperor also established a new official to weigh solidi used in official government transactions to combat coin clipping.
For Julian, reigning in the abuses of imperial bureaucrats was one step in restoring the prestige of the office of emperor. Because he could not affect all elements of society personally, Julian, like other Neo-Flavian emperors, decided to concentrate on select groups of societal elites as intercessors between himself and the general populace. One of these groups was the imperial bureaucracy. Julian made it very clear that imperial officials were intercessors in a very real sense in a letter to Alypius, Vicar of Britain. In this letter, sent from Gaul sometime before 361, the emperor praises Alypius for his use of "mildness and moderation with courage and force" in his rule of the provincials. Such virtues were characteristic of the emperors, and it was good that Alypius is representing Julian in this way. Julian courted the army because it put him in power. Another group he sought to include in his rule was the traditional Senatorial aristocracy. One of his first appointments as consul was Claudius Mamertinus, a Gallic Senator and rhetorician. Mamertinus' speech in praise of Julian delivered at Constantinople in January of 362 is preserved. In this speech, Claudius presented his consular selection as inaugurating a new golden age and Julian as the restorer of the empire founded by Augustus. The image Mamertinus gave of his own consulate inaugurating a new golden age is not merely formulaic. The comparison of Julian to Augustus has very real, if implicit, relevance to Claudius' situation. Claudius emphasized the imperial period as the true age of renewal. Augustus ushered in a new era with his formation of a partnership between the emperor and the Senate based upon a series of honors and offices bestowed upon the Senate in return for their role as intercessor between emperor and populace. It was this system that Julian was restoring, and the consulate was one concrete example of this bond. To be chosen as a consul by the emperor, who himself had been divinely mandated, was a divine honor. In addition to being named consul, Mamertinus went on to hold several offices under Julian, including the Prefecture of Italy, Illyricum, and Africa. Similarly, inscriptional evidence illustrates a link between municipal elites and Julian during his time as Caesar, something which continued after he became emperor. One concrete example comes from the municipal senate of Aceruntia in Apulia, which established a monument on which Julian is styled as "Repairer of the World."
Julian seems to have given up actual Christian belief before his acclamation as emperor and was a practitioner of more traditional Greco-Roman religious beliefs, in particular, a follower of certain late antique Platonist philosophers who were especially adept at theurgy as was noted earlier. In fact Julian himself spoke of his conversion to Neo-Platonism in a letter to the Alexandrians written in 363. He stated that he had abandoned Christianity when he was twenty years old and been an adherent of the traditional Greco-Roman deities for the twelve years prior to writing this letter.
(For the complete text of this article see: http://www.roman-emperors.org/julian.htm)
Julian’s Persian Campaign
The exact goals Julian had for his ill-fated Persian campaign were never clear. The Sassanid Persians, and before them the Parthians, had been a traditional enemy from the time of the Late Republic, and indeed Constantius had been conducting a war against them before Julian's accession forced the former to forge an uneasy peace. Julian, however, had no concrete reason to reopen hostilities in the east. Socrates Scholasticus attributed Julian's motives to imitation of Alexander the Great, but perhaps the real reason lay in his need to gather the support of the army. Despite his acclamation by the Gallic legions, relations between Julian and the top military officers was uneasy at best. A war against the Persians would have brought prestige and power both to Julian and the army.
Julian set out on his fateful campaign on 5 March 363. Using his trademark strategy of striking quickly and where least expected, he moved his army through Heirapolis and from there speedily across the Euphrates and into the province of Mesopotamia, where he stopped at the town of Batnae. His plan was to eventually return through Armenia and winter in Tarsus. Once in Mesopotamia, Julian was faced with the decision of whether to travel south through the province of Babylonia or cross the Tigris into Assyria, and he eventually decided to move south through Babylonia and turn west into Assyria at a later date. By 27 March, he had the bulk of his army across the Euphrates, and had also arranged a flotilla to guard his supply line along the mighty river. He then left his generals Procopius and Sebastianus to help Arsacius, the king of Armenia and a Roman client, to guard the northern Tigris line. It was also during this time that he received the surrender of many prominent local leaders who had nominally supported the Persians. These men supplied Julian with money and troops for further military action against their former masters. Julian decided to turn south into Babylonia and proceeded along the Euphrates, coming to the fortress of Cercusium at the junction of the Abora and Euphrates Rivers around the first of April, and from there he took his army west to a region called Zaitha near the abandoned town of Dura where they visited the tomb of the emperor Gordian which was in the area. On April 7 he set out from there into the heart of Babylonia and towards Assyria.
Ammianus then stated that Julian and his army crossed into Assyria, which on the face of things appears very confusing. Julian still seems to be operating within the province of Babylonia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The confusion is alleviated when one realizes that,for Ammianus, the region of Assyria encompassed the provinces of Babylonia and Assyria. On their march, Julian's forces took the fortress of Anatha, received the surrender and support of several more local princes, and ravaged the countryside of Assyria between the rivers. As the army continued south, they came across the fortresses Thilutha and Achaiachala, but these places were too well defended and Julian decided to leave them alone. Further south were the cities Diacira and Ozogardana, which the Roman forces sacked and burned. Soon, Julian came to Pirisabora and a brief siege ensued, but the city fell and was also looted and destroyed. It was also at this time that the Roman army met its first systematic resistance from the Persians. As the Romans penetrated further south and west, the local inhabitants began to flood their route. Nevertheless, the Roman forces pressed on and came to Maiozamalcha, a sizable city not far from Ctesiphon. After a short siege, this city too fell to Julian. Inexorably, Julian's forces zeroed in on Ctesiphon, but as they drew closer, the Persian resistance grew fiercer, with guerilla raids whittling at Julian's men and supplies. A sizable force of the army was lost and the emperor himself was almost killed taking a fort a few miles from the target city.
Finally, the army approached Ctesiphon following a canal that linked the Tigris and Euphrates. It soon became apparent after a few preliminary skirmishes that a protracted siege would be necessary to take this important city. Many of his generals, however, thought that pursuing this course of action would be foolish. Julian reluctantly agreed, but became enraged by this failure and ordered his fleet to be burned as he decided to march through the province of Assyria. Julian had planned for his army to live off the land, but the Persians employed a scorched-earth policy. When it became apparent that his army would perish (because his supplies were beginning to dwindle) from starvation and the heat if he continued his campaign, and also in the face of superior numbers of the enemy, Julian ordered a retreat on 16 June. As the Roman army retreated, they were constantly harassed by guerilla strikes. It was during one of these raids that Julian got caught up in the fighting and took a spear to his abdomen. Mortally wounded he was carried to his tent, where, after conferring with some of his officers, he died. The date was 26 June 363.
Conclusion
Thus an ignominious end for a man came about who had hoped to restore the glory of the Roman empire during his reign as emperor. Due to his intense hatred of Christianity, the opinion of posterity has not been kind to Julian. The contemporary opinion, however, was overall positive. The evidence shows that Julian was a complex ruler with a definite agenda to use traditional social institutions in order to revive what he saw as a collapsing empire. In the final assessment, he was not so different from any of the other emperors of the fourth century. He was a man grasping desperately to hang on to a Greco-Roman conception of leadership that was undergoing a subtle yet profound change.
Copyright (C) 2002, Walter E. Roberts and Michael DiMaio, Jr. Used by permission.
In reality, Julian worked to promote culture and philosophy in any manifestation. He tried to reduce taxes and the public debts of municipalities; he augmented administrative decentralisation; he promoted a campaign of austerity to reduce public expenditure (setting himself as the example). He reformed the postal service and eliminated the powerful secret police.
by Federico Morando; JULIAN II, The Apostate, See the Julian II Page on NumisWiki
Flavius Claudius Iulianus was born in 331 or maybe 332 A.D. in Constantinople. He ruled the Western Empire as Caesar from 355 to 360 and was hailed Augustus by his legions in Lutetia (Paris) in 360. Julian was a gifted administrator and military strategist. Famed as the last pagan emperor, his reinstatement of the pagan religion earned him the moniker "the Apostate." As evidenced by his brilliant writing, some of which has survived to the present day, the title "the Philosopher" may have been more appropriate. He died from wounds suffered during the Persian campaign of 363 A.D. Joseph Sermarini, FORVM.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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1701a, Saladin, 1169-1193AYYUBID: Saladin, 1169-1193, AR dirham (2.92g), Halab, AH580, A-788, lovely struck, well-centered & bold, Extremely Fine, Scarce.
His name in Arabic, in full, is SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF IBN AYYUB ("Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job"), also called AL-MALIK AN-NASIR SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF I (b. 1137/38, Tikrit, Mesopotamia--d. March 4, 1193, Damascus), Muslim sultan of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and the most famous of Muslim heroes.
In wars against the Christian crusaders, he achieved final success with the disciplined capture of Jerusalem (Oct. 2, 1187), ending its 88-year occupation by the Franks. The great Christian counterattack of the Third Crusade was then stalemated by Saladin's military genius.
Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family. On the night of his birth, his father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, gathered his family and moved to Aleppo, there entering the service of 'Imad ad-Din Zangi ibn Aq Sonqur, the powerful Turkish governor in northern Syria. Growing up in Ba'lbek and Damascus, Saladin was apparently an undistinguished youth, with a greater taste for religious studies than military training.
His formal career began when he joined the staff of his uncle Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, an important military commander under the amir Nureddin, son and successor of Zangi. During three military expeditions led by Shirkuh into Egypt to prevent its falling to the Latin-Christian (Frankish) rulers of the states established by the First Crusade, a complex, three-way struggle developed between Amalric I, the Latin king of Jerusalem, Shawar, the powerful vizier of the Egyptian Fatimid caliph, and Shirkuh. After Shirkuh's death and after ordering Shawar's assassination, Saladin, in 1169 at the age of 31, was appointed both commander of the Syrian troops and vizier of Egypt.
His relatively quick rise to power must be attributed not only to the clannish nepotism of his Kurdish family but also to his own emerging talents. As vizier of Egypt, he received the title king (malik), although he was generally known as the sultan. Saladin's position was further enhanced when, in 1171, he abolished the Shi'i Fatimid caliphate, proclaimed a return to Sunnah in Egypt, and consequently became its sole ruler.
Although he remained for a time theoretically a vassal of Nureddin, that relationship ended with the Syrian emir's death in 1174. Using his rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base, Saladin soon moved into Syria with a small but strictly disciplined army to claim the regency on behalf of the young son of his former suzerain.
Soon, however, he abandoned this claim, and from 1174 until 1186 he zealously pursued a goal of uniting, under his own standard, all the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt.
This he accomplished by skillful diplomacy backed when necessary by the swift and resolute use of military force. Gradually, his reputation grew as a generous and virtuous but firm ruler, devoid of pretense, licentiousness, and cruelty. In contrast to the bitter dissension and intense rivalry that had up to then hampered the Muslims in their resistance to the crusaders, Saladin's singleness of purpose induced them to rearm both physically and spiritually.
Saladin's every act was inspired by an intense and unwavering devotion to the idea of jihad ("holy war")-the Muslim equivalent of the Christian crusade. It was an essential part of his policy to encourage the growth and spread of Muslim religious institutions.
He courted its scholars and preachers, founded colleges and mosques for their use, and commissioned them to write edifying works especially on the jihad itself. Through moral regeneration, which was a genuine part of his own way of life, he tried to re-create in his own realm some of the same zeal and enthusiasm that had proved so valuable to the first generations of Muslims when, five centuries before, they had conquered half the known world.
Saladin also succeeded in turning the military balance of power in his favour-more by uniting and disciplining a great number of unruly forces than by employing new or improved military techniques. When at last, in 1187, he was able to throw his full strength into the struggle with the Latin crusader kingdoms, his armies were their equals. On July 4, 1187, aided by his own military good sense and by a phenomenal lack of it on the part of his enemy, Saladin trapped and destroyed in one blow an exhausted and thirst-crazed army of crusaders at Hattin, near Tiberias in northern Palestine.
So great were the losses in the ranks of the crusaders in this one battle that the Muslims were quickly able to overrun nearly the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem. Acre, Toron, Beirut, Sidon, Nazareth, Caesarea, Nabulus, Jaffa (Yafo), and Ascalon (Ashqelon) fell within three months.
But Saladin's crowning achievement and the most disastrous blow to the whole crusading movement came on Oct. 2, 1187, when Jerusalem, holy to both Muslim and Christian alike, surrendered to the Sultan's army after 88 years in the hands of the Franks. In stark contrast to the city's conquest by the Christians, when blood flowed freely during the barbaric slaughter of its inhabitants, the Muslim reconquest was marked by the civilized and courteous behaviour of Saladin and his troops. His sudden success, which in 1189 saw the crusaders reduced to the occupation of only three cities, was, however, marred by his failure to capture Tyre, an almost impregnable coastal fortress to which the scattered Christian survivors of the recent battles flocked. It was to be the rallying point of the Latin counterattack.
Most probably, Saladin did not anticipate the European reaction to his capture of Jerusalem, an event that deeply shocked the West and to which it responded with a new call for a crusade. In addition to many great nobles and famous knights, this crusade, the third, brought the kings of three countries into the struggle.
The magnitude of the Christian effort and the lasting impression it made on contemporaries gave the name of Saladin, as their gallant and chivalrous enemy, an added lustre that his military victories alone could never confer on him.
The Crusade itself was long and exhausting, and, despite the obvious, though at times impulsive, military genius of Richard I the Lion-Heart, it achieved almost nothing. Therein lies the greatest-but often unrecognized--achievement of Saladin. With tired and unwilling feudal levies, committed to fight only a limited season each year, his indomitable will enabled him to fight the greatest champions of Christendom to a draw. The crusaders retained little more than a precarious foothold on the Levantine coast, and when King Richard set sail from the Orient in October 1192, the battle was over.
Saladin withdrew to his capital at Damascus. Soon, the long campaigning seasons and the endless hours in the saddle caught up with him, and he died. While his relatives were already scrambling for pieces of the empire, his friends found that the most powerful and most generous ruler in the Muslim world had not left enough money to pay for his own grave.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
H.A.R. Gibb, "The Arabic Sources for the Life of Saladin," Speculum, 25:58-72 (1950). C.W. Wilson's English translation of one of the most important Arabic works, The Life of Saladin (1897), was reprinted in 1971. The best biography to date is Stanley Lane-Poole, Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, new ed. (1926, reprinted 1964), although it does not take account of all the sources.Cleisthenes
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1701b, Saladin, 1169-1193AYYUBID: Saladin, 1169-1193, AR dirham (2.93), al-Qahira, AH586, A-787.2, clear mint & date, double struck, some horn-silvering;VF-EF.
His name in Arabic is SALAH AD-DIN YUSUF IBN AYYUB ("Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job"). He was born in 1137/8 A.D. in Tikrit, Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). In wars against the Christian crusaders, he achieved a significant success with the disciplined capture of Jerusalem (Oct. 2, 1187), ending its 88-year occupation by the Franks. Unlike the notorious conquest by the Christians, who slaughtered the inhabitants of the “Holy City,” Saladin’s reconquest of Jerusalem was marked by civilized and courteous behaviour. Saladin was generous to his vanquished foes—by any measure. When he died in 1193, this man who is arguably Islam’s greatest hero was virtually penniless. After a lifetime of giving alms to the poor, his friends found that the most powerful and most generous ruler in the Muslim world had not left enough money to pay for his own grave.Cleisthenes
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1bc Trajan98-117
Sestertius
Laureate head, right, IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V PP
Roma and kneeling Dacian, SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC
RIC 485
Eutropius enthused: To [Nerva] succeeded ULPIUS CRINITUS TRAJANUS, born at Italica in Spain, of a family rather ancient than eminent for his father was the first consul in it. He was chosen emperor at Agrippina, a city of Gaul. He exercised the government in such a manner, that he is deservedly preferred to all the other emperors. He was a man of extraordinary skill in managing affairs of state, and of remarkable courage. The limits of the Roman empire, which, since the reign of Augustus, had been rather defended than honourably enlarged, he extended far and wide. He rebuilt some cities in Germany; he subdued Dacia by the overthrow of Decebalus, and formed a province beyond the Danube, in that territory which the Thaiphali, Victoali, and Theruingi now occupy. This province was a thousand miles in circumference.
He recovered Armenia, which the Parthians had seized, putting to death Parthamasires who held the government of it. He gave a king to the Albani. He received into alliance the king of the Iberians, Sarmatians, Bosporani, Arabians, Osdroeni, and Colchians. He obtained the mastery over the Cordueni and Marcomedi, as well as over Anthemusia, an extensive region of Persia. He conquered and kept possession of Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Babylon, and the country of the Messenii. He advanced as far as the boundaries of India, and the Red Sea, where he formed three provinces, Armenia, Assyria, and Mesopotamia, including the tribes which border on Madena. He afterwards, too, reduced Arabia into the form of a province. He also fitted out a fleet for the Red Sea, that he might use it to lay waste the coasts of India.
Yet he went beyond his glory in war, in ability and judgment as a ruler, conducting himself as an equal towards all, going often to his friends as a visitor, either when they were ill, or when they were celebrating feast days, and entertaining them in his turn at banquets where there was no distinction of rank, and sitting frequently with them in their chariots; doing nothing unjust towards any of the senators, nor being guilty of any dishonesty to fill his treasury; exercising liberality to all, enriching with offices of trust, publicly and privately, every body whom he had known even with the least familiarity; building towns throughout the world, granting many immunities to states, and doing every thing with gentleness and kindness; so that during his whole reign, there was but one senator condemned, and he was sentenced by the senate without Trajan's knowledge. Hence, being regarded throughout the world as next to a god, he deservedly obtained the highest veneration both living and dead. . . .
After having gained the greatest glory both in the field and at home, he was cut off, as he was returning from Persia, by a diarrhoea, at Seleucia in Isauria. He died in the sixty-third year, ninth month, and fourth day of his age, and in the nineteenth year, sixth month, and fifteenth day of his reign. He was enrolled among the gods, and was the only one of all the emperors that was buried within the city. His bones, contained in a golden urn, lie in the forum which he himself built, under a pillar whose height is a hundred and forty-four feet. So much respect has been paid to his memory, that, even to our own times, they shout in acclamations to the emperors, "More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan!" Blindado
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1be Hadrian117-138
Sestertius
Laureate head, right, HADRIANVUS AVG COS III PP
Fortuna standing left with rudder on globe and cornucopia, FORTVNA AVG
RIC 759
According to the Historia Augusta, "Bereft of his father at the age of ten, he became the ward of Ulpius Trajanus, his cousin, then of praetorian rank, but afterwards emperor, and of Caelius Attianus, a knight. He then grew rather deeply devoted to Greek studies, to which his natural tastes inclined so much that some called him 'Greekling. . . .' In the 105-106 second Dacian war, Trajan appointed him to the command of the First Legion, the Minervia, and took him with him to the war; and in this campaign his many remarkable deeds won great renown. . . . On taking possession of the imperial power
Hadrian at once resumed the policy of the early emperors and devoted his attention to maintaining peace throughout the world. . . . [I]n this letter to the Senate he apologized because he had not left it the right to decide regarding his accession, explaining that the unseemly haste of the troops in acclaiming him emperor was due to the belief that the state could not be without an emperor. . . . He was, in the same person, austere and genial, dignified and playful, dilatory and quick to act, niggardly and generous, deceitful and straightforward, cruel and merciful, and always in all things changeable. . . . Hadrian's memory was vast and his ability was unlimited ; for instance, he personally dictated his speeches and gave opinions on all questions. He was also very witty. . . ."
After this Hadrian departed for Baiae, leaving Antoninus at Rome to carry on the government. But he received no benefit there, and he thereupon
sent for Antoninus, and in his presence he died there at Baiae on the sixth day before the Ides of July.
According to Eutropius: After the death of Trajan, AELIUS HADRIAN was made emperor, not from any wish to that effect having been expressed by Trajan himself, but through the influence of Plotina, Trajan's wife; for Trajan in his life-time had refused to adopt him, though he was the son of his cousin. He also was born at Italica in Spain. Envying Trajan's glory, he immediately gave up three of the provinces which Trajan had added to the empire, withdrawing the armies from Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Armenia, and deciding that the Euphrates should be the boundary of the empire. When he was proceeding, to act similarly with regard to Dacia, his friends dissuaded him, lest many Roman citizens should be left in the hands of the barbarians, because Trajan, after he had subdued Dacia, had transplanted thither an infinite number of men from the whole Roman world, to people the country and the cities; as the land had been exhausted of inhabitants in the long war maintained by Decebalus.
He enjoyed peace, however, through the whole course of his reign; the only war that he had, he committed to the conduct of a governor of a province. He went about through the Roman empire, and founded many edifices. He spoke with great eloquence in the Latin language, and was very learned in the Greek. He had no great reputation for clemency, but was very attentive to the state of the treasury and the discipline of the soldiers. He died in Campania, more than sixty years old, in the twenty-first year, tenth month, and twenty-ninth day of his reign. The senate was unwilling to allow him divine honours; but his successor Titus Aurelius Fulvius Antonius, earnestly insisting on it, carried his point, though all the senators were openly opposed to him. Blindado
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1cc Conquests of Trajan: ParthiaTrajan
98-117
Sestertius
Laureate & draped bust right
REX PARTHIS DATVS, Trajan seated left on platform presenting Parthamaspates to kneeling Parthian, SC in ex
Trajan waged the Parthian War from 114 to 117. Roman victory brings Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria as new provinces into the Empire.
RIC 667Blindado
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1cd Conquests of Trajan: Armenia and MesopotamiaTrajan
98-117
Sestertius
Portrait, right, IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTI]MO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO PM [TR P COS VI PP]
Armenia in attitude of mourning at Trajan's feet right, Euphrates and Tigris reclining, SC
RIC 642Blindado
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1ce Severus Alexander222-235
Denarius
Laureate draped bust, right, IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG
Sev. Alex in armor, P M TR P III COS P P
RIC 74
Herodian recorded: [The soldiers] were more favorably disposed toward Alexander, for they expected great things of a lad so properly and modestly reared. They kept continual watch upon the youth when they saw that Elagabalus was plotting against him. His mother Mamaea did not allow her son to touch any food or drink sent by the emperor, nor did Alexander use the cupbearers or cooks employed in the palace or those who happened to be in their mutual service; only those chosen by his mother, those who seemed most trustworthy, were allowed to handle Alexander's food.
Mamaea secretly distributed money to the praetorians to win their good will for her son; it was to gold that the praetorians were particularly devoted. . . . . Maesa, the grandmother of them both, foiled all his schemes; she was astute in every way and had spent much of her life in the imperial palace. As the sister of Severus' wife Julia, Maesa had always lived with the empress at the court. . . .
When Alexander received the empire, the appearance and the title of emperor were allowed him, but the management and control of imperial affairs were in the hands of his women, and they undertook a more moderate and more equitable administration. . . . At any rate, he entered the fourteenth year of his reign without bloodshed, and no one could say that the emperor had been responsible for anyone's murder. Even though men were convicted of serious crimes, he nevertheless granted them pardons to avoid putting them to death, and not readily did any emperor of our time, after the reign of Marcus, act in this way or display so much concern for human life.
In the fourteenth year, however, unexpected dispatches from the governors of Syria and Mesopotamia revealed that Artaxerxes, the Persian king, had conquered the Parthians and seized their Eastern empire, killing Artabanus [IV], who was formerly called the Great King and wore the double diadem. Artaxerxes then subdued all the barbarians on his borders and forced them to pay tribute. He did not remain quiet, however, nor stay on his side of the Tigris River, but, after scaling its banks and crossing the borders of the Roman empire, he overran Mesopotamia and threatened Syria.
Traveling rapidly, he came to Antioch, after visiting the provinces and the garrison camps in Illyricum; from that region he collected a huge force of troops. While in Antioch he continued his preparations for the war, giving the soldiers military training under field conditions. . . . The Romans suffered a staggering disaster; it is not easy to recall another like it, one in which a great army was destroyed, an army inferior in strength and determination to none of the armies of old.
Now unexpected messages and dispatches upset Alexander and caused him even greater anxiety: the governors in Illyria reported that the Germans [the Alamans] had crossed the Rhine and the Danube rivers, were plundering the Roman empire. . . . Although he loathed the idea, Alexander glumly announced his departure for Illyria. . . . Alexander undertook to buy a truce rather than risk the hazards of war. . . .
The soldiers, however, were not pleased by his action, for the time was passing without profit to them, and Alexander was doing nothing courageous or energetic about the war; on the contrary, when it was essential that he march out and punish the Germans for their insults, he spent the time in chariot racing and luxurious living. . . . They plotted now to kill Alexander and proclaim Maximinus emperor and Augustus. . . . Alexander's troops deserted him for Maximinus, who was then proclaimed emperor by all. . . . Maximinus sent a tribune and several centurions to kill Alexander and his mother, together with any of his followers who opposed them.Blindado
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1cu Trebonianus Gallus251-253
AE Viminacium
Laureate, draped bust, right, IMP C GALLVS P FELIX AVG
Moesia standing facing, head left, hands outstretched over a bull and a lion at her sides, PMS COL VIM
Moushmov 56
For Gallus' perfidy against Decius, see the Decius entry. Zosimus reports regarding Gallus' reign: Gallus, who declared his son Volusianus his associate in the empire, published an open declaration, that Decius and his army had perished by his contrivance. The Barbarians now became more prosperous than before. For Callus not only permitted them to return home with the plunder, but promised to pay them annually a sum of money, and allowed them to carry off all the noblest captives; most of whom had been taken at Philippopolis in Thrace.
Gallus, having made these regulations, came to Rome, priding himself on the peace he had made with the Barbarians. And though he at first spoke with approbation of Decius's mode of government, and adopted one of his sons, yet, after some time was elapsed, fearing that some of them who were fond of new projects might recur to a recapitulation of the princely virtues of Decius, and therefore might at some opportunity give the empire to his son, he concerted the young man's destruction, without regard either to his own adoption of him, or to common honour and justice.
Gallus was so supine in the administration of the empire, that the Scythians in the first place terrified all the neighbouring nations, and then laid waste all the countries as far by degrees as the sea coast; not leaving one nation subject to the Romans unpillaged, and taking almost all the unfortified towns, and many that were fortified. Besides the war on every side, which was insupportably burdensome to them, the cities and villages were infested with a pestilence, which swept away the remainder of mankind in those regions; nor was so great a mortality ever known in any former period.
At this crisis, observing that the emperors were unable to defend the state, but neglected all without the walls of Rome, the Goths, the Borani, the Urugundi, and the Carpi once more plundered the cities of Europe of all that had been left in them; while in another quarter, the Persians invaded Asia, in which they acquired possession of Mesopotamia, and proceeded even as far as Antioch in Syria, took that city, which is the metropolis of all the east, destroyed many of the inhabitants, and carried the remainder into captivity, returning home with immense plunder, after they had destroyed all the buildings in the city, both public and private, without meeting with the least resistance. And indeed the Persians had a fair opportunity to have made themselves masters of all Asia, had they not been so overjoyed at their excessive spoils, as to be contented with keeping and carrying home what they had acquired.
Meantime the Scythians of Europe were in perfect security and went over into Asia, spoiling all the country as far as Cappodocia, Pesinus, and Ephesus, until Aemilianus, commander of the Pannonian legions, endeavouring as much as possible to encourage his troops, whom the prosperity of the Barbarians had so disheartened that they durst not face them, and reminding them of the renown of Roman courage, surprised the Barbarians that were in that neighbourhood. Having destroyed great numbers of them, and led his forces into their country, removing every obstruction to his progress, and at length freeing the subjects of the Roman empire from their ferocity, he was appointed emperor by his army. On this he collected all the forces of that country, who were become more bold since his successes against the Barbarians, and directed his march towards Italy, with the design of fighting Gallus, who was as yet. unprepared to contend with him. For Gallus had never heard of what had occurred in the east, and therefore made only what accidental preparations were in his reach, while Valerianus went to bring the Celtic and German legions. But Aemilianus advanced with great speed into Italy, and the armies were very near to each other, when the soldiers of Gallus, reflecting that his force was much inferior to the enemy both in number and strength, and likewise that he was a negligent indolent man, put him and his son to death, and going over to the party of Aemilianus, appeared to establish his authority.Blindado
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1cy Gallienus253-268
Bronze antoninianus
Radiate, draped bust, right, GALLINVS AVG
Mars standing left, holding globe in right hand and spear in left hand, P in right field, VIRTVS AVG
RIC 317
Gallienus oversaw a period of disintegration of the empire and lost control over the East, Gaul, Spain, and Britain.
Zosimus observed: [When Valerian left for the East] As the Germans were the most troublesome enemies, and harrassed the Gauls in the vicinity of the Rhine, Gallienus marched against them in person, leaving his officers to repel with the forces under their command any others that should enter Italy, Illyricum, and Greece. With these designs, he possessed himself of and defended the passages of the Rhine, at one time preventing their crossing, and at another engaging them as soon as they had crossed it. But having only a small force to resist an immense number, he was at a loss how to act, and thought to secure himself by a league with one of the German princes. He thus not only prevented the other Barbarians from so frequently passing the Rhine, but obstructed the access of auxiliaries.
Eutropius recorded: Gallienus, who was made emperor when quite a young man, exercised his power at first happily, afterwards fairly, and at last mischievously. In his youth he performed many gallant acts in Gaul and Illyricum, killing Ingenuus, who had assumed the purple, at Mursa, and Regalianus. He was then for a long time quiet and gentle; afterwards, abandoning himself to all manner of licentiousness, he relaxed the reins of government with disgraceful inactivity and carelesness. The Alemanni, having laid waste Gaul, penetrated into Italy. Dacia, which had been added to the empire beyond the Danube, was lost. Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia, were devastated by the Goths. Pannonia was depopulated by the Sarmatians and Quadi. The Germans made their way as far as Spain, and took the noble city of Tarraco. The Parthians, after taking possession of Mesopotamia, began to bring Syria under their power.
Zosimus resumes: Gallienus in the mean time still continued beyond the Alps, intent on the German war, while the Senate, seeing Rome in such imminent danger, armed all the soldiers that were in the city, and the strongest of the common people, and formed an army, which exceeded the Barbarians in number. This so alarmed the Barbarians, that they left Rome, but ravaged all the rest of Italy. At this period, when Illyricum groaned under the oppression of the Barbarians, and the whole Roman empire was in such a helpless state as to be on the very verge of ruin, a plague happened to break out in several of the towns, more dreadful than any that had preceded it. The miseries inflicted on them by the Barbarians were thus alleviated, even the sick esteeming themselves fortunate. The cities that had been taken by the Scythians were thus deserted.
Gallienus, being disturbed by these occurrences, was returning to Rome to relieve Italy from the war which the Scythians were thus carrying on. It was at this time, that Cecrops, a Moor, Aureolus and Antoninus, with many others, conspired against him, of whom the greater part were punished and submitted. Aureolus alone retained his animosity against the emperor.
The Scythians, who had dreadfully afflicted the whole of Greece, had now taken Athens, when Gallienus advanced against those who were already in possession of Thrace, and ordered Odonathus of Palmyra, a person whose ancestors had always been highly respected by the emperors, to assist the eastern nations which were then in a very distressed condition. . . .
While affairs were thus situated in the east, intelligence was brought to Gallienus, who was then occupied in the Scythian war, that Aurelianus, or Aureolus, who was commander of the cavalry posted in the neighbourhood of Milan to watch the motions of Posthumus, had formed some new design, and was ambitious to be emperor. Being alarmed at this he went immediately to Italy, leaving the command against the Scythians with Marcianus, a person of great experience in military affairs. . . . Gallienus, in his journey towards Italy, had a plot formed against him by Heraclianus, prefect of the court, who communicated his design to Claudius, in whom the chief management of affairs was vested. The design was to murder Gallienus. Having found a man very ready for such an undertaking, who commanded a troop of Dalmatians, he entrusted the action to him. To effect it, the party stood by Gallienus at supper and informed him that some of the spies had brought intelligence, that Aureolus and his army were close at hand. By this they considerably alarmed him. Calling immediately for his horse and arms, he mounted, ordering his men to follow him in their armour, and rode away without any attendance. Thus the captain finding him alone killed him.Blindado
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1dp Carus282-283
AE antoninianus
Radiate draped bust, right, IMP C M AVR CARVS P F AVG
Emperor standing right, receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter standing left, G between, XXI in ex, CLEMENTIA TEMP
RIC 118
The Historia Augusta recorded: Let us, rather, pass on to Carus, a mediocre man, so to speak, but one to be ranked with the good rather than the evil princes, yet a better ruler by far, had he not left Carinus to be his heir. . . . In regard to Cams' birthplace there is such divergence of statement among the various writers that by reason of the very great difference among them I am unable to tell what it really was. . . . He, then, after rising through the various civil and military grades, as the inscriptions on his statues show, was made prefect of the guard by Probus, and he won such affection among the soldiers that when Probus, that great emperor, was slain, he alone seemed wholly worthy of the imperial power. I am not unaware that many have suspected and, in fact, have put it into the records that Probus was slain by the treachery of Carus. This, however, neither the kindness of Probus toward Carus nor Carus' own character will permit us to believe, and there is the further reason that he avenged the death of Probus with the utmost severity and steadfastness. . . .
[Zonaras adds: Another war against Galienus was incited by Macrinus, who, having two sons, Macrianus and Quintus, attempted a usurpation. Because he was lame in one leg, he did not don the imperial mantle, but clad his sons in it.]
And so. . . , as soon as he received the imperial power, by the unanimous wish of all the soldiers he took up the war against the Persians for which Probus had been preparing. He gave to his sons the name of Caesar, planning to despatch Carinus, with some carefully selected men, to govern the provinces of Gaul, and to take along with himself Numerian, a most excellent and eloquent young man. . . . [H]e conquered Mesopotamia and advanced as far as Ctesiphon; and while the Persians were busied with internal strife he won the name of Conqueror of Persia. But when he advanced still further, desirous himself of glory and urged on most of all by his prefect, who in his wish to rule was seeking the destruction of both Carus and his sons as well, he met his death, according to some, by disease, according to others, through a stroke of lightning.
Zonaras wrote: He was a Gaul by ancestry, but brave and accomplished in matters of warfare. The account of his death has been variously composed by those who have done historical research. Some say that, having campaigned against the Huns, he was killed there. Others say that he was encamped by the River Tigris and that there, in the place where his army had thrown up a palisade, his tent was struck by lightning, and they record that, along with it, he too was destroyed.Blindado
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1dv Galerius305-311
Quarter Follis
Laureate head, right, MAXIMIANVS AVG
Genius standing left, modius on head, holding cornucopia & patera, SIS in ex., GENIO POPVLI ROMANI
RIC 169b
Eutropius tells us: Diocletian promoted MAXIMIAN HERCULIUS from the dignity of Caesar to that of emperor, and created Constantius and Maximian Galerius Caesars, of whom Constantius is said to have been the grand-nephew of Claudius by a daughter, and Maximian Galerius to have been born in Dacia not far from Sardica. . . . Galerius married Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian. . . .
Galerius Maximian, in acting against Narseus, fought, on the first occasion, a battle far from successful, meeting him between Callinicus and Carrae, and engaging in the combat rather with rashness than want of courage; for he contended with a small army against a very numerous enemy. Being in consequence defeated, and going to join Diocletian, he was received by him, when he met him on the road, with such extreme haughtiness, that he is said to have run by his chariot for several miles in his scarlet robes.
But having soon after collected forces in Illyricum and Moesia, he fought a second time with Narseus (the grandfather of Hormisdas and Sapor), in Greater Armenia, with extraordinary success, and with no less caution and spirit, for he undertook, with one or two of the cavalry, the office of a speculator. After putting Narseus to flight, he captured his wives, sisters, and children, with a vast number of the Persian nobility besides, and a great quantity of treasure; the king himself he forced to take refuge in the remotest deserts in his dominions. Returning therefore in triumph to Diocletian, who was then encamped with some troops in Mesopotamia, he was welcomed by him with great honour. Subsequently, they conducted several wars both in conjunction and separately, subduing the Carpi and Bastarnae, and defeating the Sarmatians, from which nations he settled a great number of captives in the Roman territories. . . .
Galerius, a man of excellent moral character, and skilful in military affairs, finding that Italy, by Constantius's permission, was put under his government, created two Caesars, MAXIMIN, whom he appointed over the east, and SEVERUS, to whom he committed Italy. He himself resided in Illyricum. Blindado
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1ec_2 Constantine the Great307-337
Follis
Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG
Sol standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, raising right hand and holding globe in left hand, captive to left. Mintmark RQ.
RIC VII 52
According to Zonaras: Constans, in the eleventh year of his reign since he had been proclaimed Caesar, having ruled gently and mildly, came to the end of his life while residing in Britain, having, because of his goodness, bequeathed grief for himself among those he ruled, first having appointed successor the elder of his own sons, namely Constantine the Great, whom he begat by his first wife. He also had by his second wife, Herculius’ daughter Theodora, other sons, Constantinus, Hannibalianus, and Constantius. Constantine the Great was preferred over them, since they were judged by their father to be unsuited for sovereignty. . . . Constantine, when he was still a lad, was actually given by his father as a hostage to Gallerius, in order that, serving as a hostage, at the same time he be trained in the exercise of the soldierly art.
Eutropius summarizes: CONSTANTINE, being a man of great energy, bent upon effecting whatever he had settled in his mind, and aspiring to the sovereignty of the whole world, proceeded to make war on Licinius, although he had formed a connexion with him by marriage,5 for his sister Constantia was married to Licinius. And first of all be overthrew him, by a sudden attack, at Cibalae in Pannonia, where he was making vast preparations for war; and after becoming master of Dardania, Maesia, and Macedonia, took possession also of several other provinces.
There were then various contests between them, and peace made and broken. At last Licinius, defeated in a battle at Nicomedia by sea and land, surrendered himself, and, in violation of an oath taken by Constantine, was put to death, after being divested of the purple, at Thessalonica.
At this time the Roman empire fell under the sway of one emperor and three Caesars, a state of things which had never existed before; the sons of Constantine ruling over Gaul, the east, and Italy. But the pride of prosperity caused Constantine greatly to depart from his former agreeable mildness of temper. Falling first upon his own relatives, he put to death his son, an excellent man; his sister's son, a youth of amiable disposition; soon afterwards his wife, and subsequently many of his friends.
He was a man, who, in the beginning of his reign, might have been compared to the best princes; in the latter part of it, only to those of a middling character. Innumerable good qualities of mind and body were apparent in him; he was exceedingly ambitious of military glory, and had great success in his wars; a success, however, not more than proportioned to his exertions. After he had terminated the Civil war, he also overthrew the Goths on various occasions, granting them at last peace, and leaving on the minds of the barbarians a strong remembrance of his kindness. He was attached to the arts of peace and to liberal studies, and was ambitious of honourable popularity, which he, indeed, sought by every kind of liberality and obligingness. Though he was slow, from suspicion, to serve some of his friends,6 yet he was exceedingly generous towards others, neglecting no opportunity to add to their riches and honours.
He enacted many laws, some good and equitable, but most of them superfluous, and some severe. He was the first that endeavoured to raise the city named after him to such a height as to make it a rival to Rome. As he was preparing for war against the Parthians, who were then disturbing Mesopotamia, he died in the Villa Publica, at Nicomedia, in the thirty-first year of his reign, and the sixty-sixth of his age.
Zosimus described Constantine's conversion to Christianity: For he put to death his son Crispus, stiled (as I mentioned) Caesar, on suspicion of debauching his mother-in-law Fausta, without any regard to the ties of nature. And when his own mother Helena expressed much sorrow for this atrocity, lamenting the young man's death with great bitterness, Constantine under pretence of comforting her, applied a remedy worse than the disease. For causing a bath to be heated to an extraordinary degree, he shut up Fausta in it, and a short time after took her out dead. Of which his conscience accusing him, as also of violating his oath, he went to the priests to be purified from his crimes. But they told him, that there was no kind of lustration that was sufficient to clear him of such enormities. A Spaniard, named Aegyptius, very familiar with the court-ladies, being at Rome, happened to fall into converse with Constantine, and assured him, that the Christian doctrine would teach him how to cleanse himself from all his offences, and that they who received it were immediately absolved from all their sins. Constantine had no sooner heard this than he easily believed what was told him, and forsaking the rites of his country, received those which Aegyptius offered him ; and for the first instance of his impiety, suspected the truth of divination.Blindado
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1eg2 HannibalianusKing of Mesopotamia
335-337
AE 4
Diademed portrait right, FL HANNIBALLIANO REGI
Euphratus SE-CVRITAS PVBLICA
RIC 147
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1ek Magnentius350-353
Centenionalis
Bare-headed, draped & cuirassed bust, right, D N MAGNEN-TIVS P F AVG
Two victories, VICTORIAE DD NN AVG ET CAES
RIC 173
Zosimus recorded: Magnentius thus gained the empire, and possessed himself all the nations beyond the Alps, and the whole of Italy. Vetranio, general of the Pannonian army, upon hearing of the good fortune of Magnentius, was himself inflamed with the same desire, and was declared emperor by the legions that were with him, at Mursa, a city of Pannonia. While affairs were thus situated, the Persians plundered the eastern countries, particularly Mesopotamia. But Constantine, though he was defeated by the Persians, yet resolved to subdue the factions of Magnentius and Vetranio. . . . Constantius advanced from the east against Magnentius, but deemed it best first to win over Vetranio to his interest, as it was difficult to oppose two rebels at once. On the other hand, Magnentius used great endeavours to make Vetranio his friend, and thus to put an end to the war against Constantius. Both therefore sent agents to Vetranio, who chose to adopt the friendship of Constantius rather than that of Magnentius. The ambassadors of Magnentius returned without effecting their purpose. Constantius desired that both armies might join, to undertake the war against Magnentius. To which proposal Vetranio readily assented. . . . When the soldiers heard this, having been previously corrupted by valuable presents, they cried out, that they would have no mock emperors, and immediately began to strip the purple from Vetranio, and pulled him from the throne with the determination to reduce him to a private station. . . . Constantius, having so well succeeded in his design against Vetranio, marched against Magnentius, having first conferred the title of Caesar on Gallus, the son of his uncle, and brother to Julian who was afterwards emperor, and given him in marriage his sister Constantia. . . .
Constantius now gaining the victory, by the army of Magnentius taking to flight, a terrible slaughter ensued. Magnentius, therefore being deprived ofall hope, and apprehensive lest the remnant of his army should deliver him to Constantius, deemed it best to retire from Pannonia, and to enter Italy, in order to raise an army there for another attempt. But when he heard that the people of Rome were in favour of Constantius, either from hatred to himself, or because they had heard of the event of the battle, he resolved to cross the Alps, and .seek for himself a refuge among the nations on that side. Hearing however that Constantius had likewise engaged the Barbarians near the Rhine against him, and that |65 he could not enter Gaul, as some officers had obstructed his passage thither in order to make their court to Constantius, nor through Spain into Mauritania, on account of the Roman allies there who studied to please Constantius. In these circumstances he preferred a voluntary death to a dishonourable life, and chose rather to die by his own hand than by that of his enemy.
Thus died Magnentius, having been emperor three years and six months. He was of Barbarian extraction, but lived among the Leti, a people of Gaul. He understood Latin, was bold when favoured by fortune, but cowardly in adversity, ingenious in concealing his natural evil disposition, and deemed by those who did not know him to be a man of candour and goodness. I have thought it just to make these observations concerning Magnentius, that the world may be acquainted With his true character, since it has been the opinion of some that he performed much good, who never in his life did any thing with a good intention.Blindado
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2/5 Shekel Hematite weight
Sphendonoid Hematite weight
12mm tall by 9mm base
3.4g
Hendin; 38, 39
Sphendonoid weights have been found in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and Phoenicia as well as ship wrecks from the 14th/13th centuries BC.wileyc
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202. Caracalla; Carrhae, MesopotamiaCaracalla AE18 of Carrhae, Mesopotamia, M AVR ANTONINVS P F AVG, laureate head right / COL MET ANTO NINIANA AVR ALEX, veiled and turretted bust of city goddess right. BMC16.
ecoli
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222Severus Alexander 222-38 AD
AE 26 mm
Edessa in Mesopotamia
Godess seated left between two altars, river god swimming at feet
mauseus
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283-285 AD - CARUS AE antoninianusobv: DIVO CARO (radiate head right)
rev: CONSECRATIO (eagle standing facing, head left), KAA in ex.
ref: RIC Vii 47, C 15 (1fr)
mint: Rome, struck under Numerian and Carinus
3.23gms, 22mm
Having defeated the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube, Carus proceeded through Thrace and Asia Minor, annexed Mesopotamia, pressed on to Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and carried his arms beyond the Tigris. His death was variously attributed to disease, the effects of lightning, or a wound received in a campaign against the Persians. The facts that he was leading a victorious campaign, and that his son Numerian succeeded him without opposition, suggest that his death may have been due to natural causes.berserker
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3/4 Shekel Hematite weightSphendonoid Hematite weight
20mm by 10mm by 6mm at end
5.88g
Hendin; 29.
Sphendonoid weights have been found in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and Phoenicia as well as ship wrecks from the 14th/13th centuries BC.wileyc
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320. CarusMarcus Aurelius Carus (c. 230 - late July/early August, 283), Roman emperor (282-283), was born probably at Narbona (more correctly, Narona -- now the ruins at Vid, Croatia) in Illyria, but was educated at Rome. He was a senator, and had filled various civil and military posts before he was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard by the emperor Probus. After the murder of Probus at Sirmium, Carus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers.
Although Carus severely avenged the death of Probus, he was himself suspected of having been an accessory to the deed. He does not seem to have returned to Rome after his accession, but contented himself with an announcement of the fact to the Senate.
Bestowing the title of Caesar upon his sons Carinus and Numerian, he left Carinus in charge of the western portion of the empire, and took Numerian with him on the expedition against the Persians which had been contemplated by Probus. Having defeated the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube, Carus proceeded through Thrace and Asia Minor, conquered Mesopotamia, pressed on to Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and carried his arms beyond the Tigris.
His hopes of further conquest were cut short by his death. One day, after a violent storm, it was announced that he was dead. His death was variously attributed to disease, the effects of lightning, or a wound received in a campaign against the Huns. However it seems more probable that he was murdered by the soldiers, who were averse to further campaigns against Persia, at the instigation of Arrius Aper, prefect of the Praetorian Guard.
VF/VF Carus AE Antoninianus / Virtus
Attribution: VM 16
Date: 282-283 AD
Obverse: IMP C M AVR CARVS P F AVG, radiate bust r.
Reverse: VIRTVS AVGGG, Carus receiving globe from Jupiter
Size: 20.32 mm
Weight: 2.7 grams
Description: An attractive Carus ant
ecoli
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322. NumerianMarcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus was the younger son of the later emperor Carus, born in about AD 253.
Numerian and his elder brother Carinus were raised to the rank of Caesar in AD 282, soon after their father became emperor.
In AD 282 Numerian accompanied his father to the Danube to defeat the Sarmatians and the Quadi.
Then in December AD 282 or January AD 283 Carus took Numerian with him on his expedition against the Persians to re-conquer Mesopotamia. Meanwhile Carinus stayed in Rome to rule the west.
When Carus died, Numerian succeeded him, thereby becoming joint emperor with his brother Carinus who had been granted the rank of Augustus shortly before Carus' death.
At first, immediately after his father's death, Numerian sought to continue the Persian campaign.
Apparently this was much favoured by Arrius Aper, the prefect of the praetorians and suspect in Carus' death. Conditions for war were favourable. The Persian side was still thought to be weak. But Numerian's initial efforts were not followed by success.
Numerian was to all effect appeared more of an intellectual than a man of war. He wrote poetry, some of which won him critical acclaim in his day.
This lack of ruthless military talent might well have been the reason why Carinus alone had been promoted Augustus, while Numerian remained Caeasar (junior emperor).
And so, after these initial setbacks, Numerian decided it unwise to continue the war.
He sought instead to return back to Rome and the army was not displeased to pull back into Syria were it spent the winter of AD 283.
Thereafter the army set out on its march back west through Asia Minor (Turkey).
Numerian fell ill near Nicomedia, suffering from an eye disease, which he might have caught while still on campaign in Mesopotamia with his father. The illness was explained with severe exhaustion (Today it is believed this was a serious eye infection. This left him partly blind and he had to be carried in a litter.
Somewhere at this time it is believed Arrius Aper, Numerian's own father in-law, had him killed. It;s widely believed that Aper hoped that it would be assumed that Numerian had simply succumbed to his illness and that he, the praetorian prefect, would succeed to the throne in his place.
But why he should have kept up the charade that Numerian was still alive remains a mystery. Perhaps he was waiting for he right moment.
For several days the death went unnoticed, the litter being carried along as usual. Soldiers inquired about their emperor's health and were reassured by Aper, that all was well and that Numerian simply was too ill to appear in public.
Eventually though the stench of the corpse became too much. Numerian's death was revealed and the soldiers realized that Rome had lost yet another emperor (AD 284).
Had it been Aper who hoped to fill the vacancy, then it was Diocletian (still known as Diocles at the time), commander of the imperial bodyguard, who emerged the victor. It was Diocletian who was made emperor by the troops after Numerian's death. It was he who sentenced Aper to death and even executed the sentence himself. Therefore it was he who, benefited most from the deaths of Carus and Numerian. And in his role as body guard he held a key position, enabling him to prevent or enable any action against the emperor. Hence it is unlikely that Diocletian did not have anything to do with the murder of Numerian.
Numerian Antoninianus / Numerian with globe and spear
Attribution: RIC 361
Date: 282-283 AD
Obverse: M AVR NVMERIANVS NOB C, radiate bust r.
Reverse: PRINCIPI IVVENTVT, Numerian l. holding globe and spear
Size: 22.39 mm
Weight: 3.5 grams
Description: A nice ant of a scarcer emperor while serving as Caesarecoli
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509. Jovian09. Jovian39 viewsJovian was born at Singidunum in A.D. 330, the son of the commander of Constantius II's imperial bodyguards. He also joined the guards and by A.D. 363 had risen to the post that his father had once held. He accompanied the Roman Emperor Julian on the disastrous Mesopotamian campain of the same year against Shapur II, the Sassanid king. After a small but decisive engagement the Roman army was forced to retreat from the numerically superior Persian force. Julian had been mortally wounded during the retreat and Jovian seized his chance. Some accounts have it that on Julian's death Jovian's soldiers called out "Jovianus!" The cry was mistaken for "Julianus", and the army cheered Jovian, briefly under the illusion that the slain Emperor had recovered from his wound.
Shapur pressed his advantage and Jovian, deep inside Sassanid territory, was forced to sue for peace on very unfavourable terms. In exchange for safety he agreed to withdraw from the provinces east of the Tigris that Diocletian had annexed and allow the Persians to occupy the fortresses of Nisbis, Castra Maurorum and Singara. the King of Armenia, Arsaces, was to stay neutral in future conflicts between the two empires, and was forced to cede some of his kingdom to Shapur. The treaty was seen as a disgrace and Jovian rapidly lost popularity.
After arriving at Antioch Jovian decided to hurry to Constantinople to consolidate his position.
Jovian was a Christian, in contrast to his predecessor Julian the Apostate, who had attempted a revival of paganism. He died on February 17, 364 after a reign of eight months.
Jovian AE3. D N IOVIA NVS P F AVG, diademed, draped & cuirassed bust right / VOT V MVLT X inside wreathecoli
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60. Severus Alexander.Denarius, ca 231 AD, Rome mint.
Obverse: IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG / Laureate bust of Severus Alexander.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVG / Victoria standing, holding wreath and palm branch.
2.91 gm., 20 mm.
RIC #212; Sear #7928.
In 229, the Persians invaded and occupied the Roman province of Mesopotamia. Severus Alexander and his mother left Rome for the East in the spring of 231 to take charge of the campaign against the Persians. This coin, with its reverse legend of VICTORIA AVG, anticipates a Roman victory over the Persians. Callimachus
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A Parliament of Athens OwlsOld-style; Old-style with numerous bankers marks;
Pi-style, folded flan; Mesopotamia, Levant, Arabia, or Egypt Imitative;
Contemporary forgery with bankers mark and copper core showing.Nemonater
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Abbasid Governors, Mesopotamia: al-‘Abbas b. Muhammad (750-760 AD) AE Fals, al-Jazira (Album-304; Lavoix-1568)Obv: Within circle, لا إله إلا الله وحده (There is no God but Allah alone); in margin, أمر الأمير ألعباس بن محمد اعز الله نصره (Ordered by the amir al-‘Abbas bin Muhammad, may his victories be the glory of Allah)
Rev: Within circle, محمد رسول الله (Muhammad is the apostle of Allah); pellet above first line; in margin, بسم الله ضرب هذا الفلس بالجزيرة (In the name of Allah was struck this fals of al-Jazira)Quant.Geek
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AE Spearhead #26Mesopotamia
Late third millennium BC
31.6 cm (12.4”)
Cf. Guillaume Gernez ("Histoire des lances tripartites à soie au Proche-Orient" from "HIMA, Revue internationale d'Histoire Militaire Ancienne"), 2016, Fig. 9, Type C. The form of the bottom left spearhead illustrated for Type C's (Fig. 9) is a very close match to "Spearhead #26," above. The illustration is cited in HIMA as being from Müller-Karpe 2004, pl. 102.1525 and 46.779.
According to Gernez, this type is “…known throughout Mesopotamia from the beginning of DA III to Ur (grave PG 580)…and seems to have been adopted during the second half the third millennium in northern Syria at Tell Brak, Tell Chuera, Til Barsip, Ebla and as far as Cilicia (Soli).” The entire text from pp. 159-160 in HIMA, in French, is presented below:
"Cette variante aurait pu appartenir à la catégorie des piques, étant donnée la forme très pointue de la lame, mais elles sont conceptuellement et morphologiquement apparentées aux lances tripartites. Les lames sont en moyenne 10 fois plus longues que larges. Leur section est rhomboïdale, et celle de la tige est octogonale, hexagonale ou circulaire. Certaines comportent de légers décors : une lance d’Ur a par exemple une tige parcourue de 8 fins reliefs longitudinaux.
"Ces lances sont connues à travers la Mésopotamie dès le début du DA III à Ur (tombe PG 580), Fara, Kirkuk et semblent adoptées au cours de la seconde moitié du IIIe mill. en Syrie du nord à Tell Brak, Tell Chuera, Til Barsip, Ebla et jusqu’en Cilicie (Soli)."
Gernez's reference in the first paragraph to the "légers décors" is intriguing. That sentence translates as "Some have light decorations: a spear of Ur, for example, has a stem traversed by 8 fine longitudinal reliefs." My example, above, has eight incised longitudinal lines on the stem, creating corresponding raised bars between them. Gernez's description seems to match.
Description:
Elongated blade with rhomboidal cross-section, circular cross-section through stem, square through tang, incised decoration on stem and shoulders.Kamnaskires
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Alexander III Posthumous Tetradrachm -- Amphipolis -- ~323 BC16.80 g, 25 mm, 270°
Amphipolis Mint
Silver Tetradrachm
Minted during reign of Alexander III; Posthumous
Price 104
Obverse: Head of Herakles Wearing Nemean Skin Headdress Right.
Reverse: AΛEΞAN∆POY (Of Alexander), Zeus Aëtophoros Enthroned Left Holding Eagle and Staff.
Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He became king upon his father’s death in 336 BCE and went on to conquer most of the known world of his day. He is known as 'the great' both for his military genius and his diplomatic skills in handling the various populaces of the regions he conquered. He is further recognized for spreading Greek culture, language, and thought from Greece throughout Asia Minor, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to India and thus initiating the era of the Hellenistic World.
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What a nose.Hydro
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Alexander III Posthumous Tetradrachm -- Arados -- 328-323 BC16.03 g, 26 mm, 90°
Arados Mint
Silver Tetradrachm
Minted during reign of Alexander III; Posthumous
Price 3325
Obverse: Head of Herakles Wearing Nemean Skin Headdress Right.
Reverse: AΛEΞAN∆POY (Of Alexander), Zeus Aëtophoros Enthroned Left Holding Eagle and Staff.
Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He became king upon his father’s death in 336 BCE and went on to conquer most of the known world of his day. He is known as 'the great' both for his military genius and his diplomatic skills in handling the various populaces of the regions he conquered. He is further recognized for spreading Greek culture, language, and thought from Greece throughout Asia Minor, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to India and thus initiating the era of the Hellenistic World.Hydro
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Alexander III Posthumous Tetradrachm -- Phocis -- ~323 BC16.95 g, 30 mm, 100°
Phocis Mint
Silver Tetradrachm
Minted during reign of Alexander III; Posthumous
Price 834; Muller 750
Obverse: Head of Herakles Wearing Nemean Skin Headdress Right.
Reverse: AΛEΞAN∆POY (Of Alexander), Zeus Aëtophoros Enthroned Left Holding Eagle and Staff.
Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He became king upon his father’s death in 336 BCE and went on to conquer most of the known world of his day. He is known as 'the great' both for his military genius and his diplomatic skills in handling the various populaces of the regions he conquered. He is further recognized for spreading Greek culture, language, and thought from Greece throughout Asia Minor, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to India and thus initiating the era of the Hellenistic World.
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A nice coin, but a past owner was way too harsh in chemically cleaning this. On the obverse, the lower jaw of the lion and Herakle's cheek contains a thin line of what I believe to be black chemical burn.Hydro
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Antiochos I, Macedonian shield/ Elephant; AE 18Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochos I, 280 - 261 B.C. Mesopotamia, Carrhae mint, 18mm, 4.08g. Obverse: Macedonian shield decorated with gorgon's head. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOΥ in ex, elephant walking right. Attribution: cf. SNG Spaer 257. Ex areich; photo credit areich
Podiceps
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bmc---1Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: (…) ANTWNεINOC, laureate cuirassed bust left, wearing paludamentum, shield on left shoulder.
Rev: (…)KOΛ(…)PεΔεC(…), City goddess seated left on rock, holding fruit in right hand. Small Nike flying right to crown her. Below, river god swimming left.
27mm, 12.87 gms
BMC---, Babelon/Kurth---; BMC 66 (for reverse type)Charles M
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bmc---12Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: ..MA ANTWNƐINOC CƐ, laureate draped cuirassed bust left, shield on left shoulder.
Rev: ...PAVAN-KƐΔƐCCA, City goddess seated left on rock, holding fruit in right hand. Small Nike flying right to crown her. Below, river god swimming right.
23 mm, 10.97 gms
BMC---, Babelon/Kurth---; BMC 66 (for reverse type)Charles M
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bmc---2Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: AV KAIC MAP AVP ANT..., laureate head left.
Rev: εΔεCCA KOΛ, turreted, veiled and draped bust of Tyche left.
17 mm, 2.80 gms
BMC---, SNG Hunterian 2545 variant (bust type), Babelon/Kurth, page 33, Savoca Numismatik , 1st Blue Auction, Lot 925 variant (reverse legend)Charles M
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bmc---3xbmc69Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: AVT KAIC ANTW, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left.
Rev: Confronted busts of two Tyches; square baetyl within shrine, between the busts.
18 mm, 4.63 gms
BMC---, Babelon/Kurth ---Charles M
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bmc---4Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: AVT K MA ANTⲰNЄI..., laureate head right.
Rev: AVP ANTΩ..., Tyche seated left on rock, holding ears; to left, small column with statue of Marsyas standing right, whine-skin over shoulder; below, river god swimming right.
26 mm, 12.83 gms
BMC---; Babelon/Kurth---; Mionnet---(see Mionnet Supp. 8, p. 403, 26, for reverse type).
From Zeus Numismatics Budget Auction 4, lot 656.Charles M
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bmc---5Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: ... ANTWNƐINOC CƐ, laureate draped cuirassed bust left, shield on left shoulder.
Rev: City goddess seated left on rock, cornucopia behind, statue of Marsyas on column to left. Below, river god swimming right.
27 mm, 15.17 gms
BMC---, Babelon/Kurth 54var; Mionnet S8, 26.
From Ares Numismatics Web Auction 11, lot 431.Charles M
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bmc03Elagabalus or Caracalla
Rhesaena, Mesopotamia
Obv: Inscription illegible, laureate head right, supported on back of eagle with wings spread
Rev: Vexillum, in left field, C/S, in right field, III/P.
17mm, 2.27 gms
Castelin 1, BMC 3Charles M
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bmc03_2Elagabalus or Caracalla
Rhesaena, Mesopotamia
Obv: Inscription illegible, laureate head right, supported on back of eagle with wings spread
Rev: Vexillum, in left field, C/S, in right field, III/P.
15 mm, 3.00 gms
Castelin 1, BMC 3Charles M
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bmc055Elagabalus
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Obv: AVTKAICMAPAVPANTωNЄI, laureate draped cuirassed bust left, seen from rear.
Rev: KoΛωMA PεΔεCCA, City goddess seated left on rock, holding branch. Below, river god swimming right.
29 mm, 12.49 gms
BMC 55Charles M
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bmc09Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: Radiate cuirassed bust right.
Rev: …ΛIC, crescent, horns upwards, placed on base; between horns star of 8 points.
15 mm, 3.94 gms
BMC 10 variant (bust type)Charles M
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bmc09_2Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...NINOC. (legend begins upper right). Radiate head right.
Rev: KAP..., crescent on globe, horns upwards, placed on base with 2 lines; between horns star of 8 points.
17 mm, 4.01 gms
BMC 10 variant (bust type, globe and 2 lines on base)Charles M
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bmc10Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: Radiate head right.
Rev: KAP..., crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets; between horns, star of six points.
15 mm, 2.69 gms
Lindgren II 2560Charles M
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bmc10_2Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...TⲰNƐI..., Radiate head right.
Rev: KAPKM..., crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets; between horns, star of six points.
17 mm, 2.93 gms
Lindgren II 2560Charles M
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bmc11Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...AVPH ANTâ²°..., laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: …PHΛIKAPЄ.., crescent, horns upwards, placed on base; between horns star of 8 points.
21 mm, 4.42 gms
BMC 11
From Ares Numismatics Web Auction 9, lot 459.Charles M
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bmc14Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...ANTWNεI…, radiate head right.
Rev: KAP...OM..., crescent, hrons upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet..
15 mm, 2.69 gms
BMC 14bCharles M
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bmc14_2Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...ANTWNε…, radiate head right.
Rev: Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet..
16 mm, 3.55 gms
BMC 14bCharles M
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bmc14_3Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: AVT...NεI, radiate head right.
Rev: KAPK...OΠ, Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet..
16 mm, 2.23 gms
BMC 14bCharles M
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bmc14_4Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...ANT..., radiate head right.
Rev: KAP..., Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet..
14 mm, 3.23 gms
BMC 14bCharles M
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bmc14_varElagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...WN..., laureate head right.
Rev: KAPK-O..., Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet, palm branch (?) above pellets.
16 mm, 3.10 gms
BMC 14a variant (bust type); Lindgren 2563 variant (same)Charles M
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bmc14_var1Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: AV...NƐ..., radiate head right.
Rev: ...Λ...OⲰΠ..., Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet, palm branch (?) above pellets.
15 mm, 2.51 gms
BMC 14a; Lindgren 2563 Charles M
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bmc14_var2Elagabalus or Caracalla
Carrhae, Mesopotamia
Obv: ...ANTWN..., laureate head right.
Rev: KA..., Crescent, horns upwards, with pendent fillets and small globe below; between horns six pellets surrounding central pellet.
15 mm, 2.12 gms
BMC 14b variant (bust type)Charles M
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