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Philip II. AD 247-249. AR Antoninianus (22mm, 5.26 g, 12h). Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) issue, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Rome. Rome mint, 3rd officina. 9th emission, AD 248. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Goat walking right; III. RIC IV 224 var. (goat left); RSC 72 var. (same). Toned. Good VF. Extremely rare variety, none in CoinArchives.
paul1888

Philip I AD 244-249 Æ Sestertius (27x31mm, 15.79 g.)
Secular Games issue.
Rome mint, struck AD 249.
Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev. SAECVLARES AVGG, she-wolf standing left, head right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus.
RIC IV 159

Continuing the tradition of Claudius and Antoninus Pius before him, the celebration of the Secular Games at the end of every century since the founding of Rome culminated during the reign of Philip I, as the city celebrated her 1,000th anniversary in AD 248. The legends on these issues almost exclusively read Saeculares Augg, and feature a similar iconography from previous games, such as the she-wolf suckling the twins, the various wild beasts paraded through the amphitheater, and a cippus inscribed for the preservation of the memory of these events.2 commentspaul1888

Philip II (247-249). Æ Sestertius (31mm, 18.68g, 12h). Secular Games issue. Rome, AD 248. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. R/ Low column inscribed COS/II. RIC IV 265a.paul1888

ROMAN EMPIRE. Philip I. 244-249 AD. AR Antoninianus (3.97 gm; 26mm x 23mm). Rome mint. Struck 248 AD. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Antelope advancing left; VI in exergue. RIC IV 21; RSC 189. Secular games issue. paul1888

Otacilia Severa, Augusta, February or March 244 - September or October 249 A.D.
|Otacilia| |Severa|, |Otacilia| |Severa,| |Augusta,| |February| |or| |March| |244| |-| |September| |or| |October| |249| |A.D.|, From the issue celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Celebrations included display of many exotic animals including, it seems, a hippopotamus.
RS76152. Silver antoninianus, RIC IV P116b, RSC IV 63, Hunter III 10, SRCV III 9160, Choice EF, near perfect centering and strike, much luster, excellent portrait, 4th officina, Rome mint, weight 4.040g, maximum diameter 22.6mm, die axis 180o, 248 A.D.; obverse OTACIL SEVERA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, hair in horizontal ridges, plait up the back of head, crescent behind shoulders; reverse SAECVLARES AVGG (Secular games [provided by] the Emperors), hippopotamus standing right, IIII (4th officina) in exergue; Ex Forum Ancient Coinspaul1888

PHILIP II (247-249). Antoninianus. Rome. Saecular Games/1000th Anniversary of Rome issue.

Obv: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG.
Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG / III.
Goat standing left.

RIC 224.paul1888

Philip I. AD 244-249. Æ Sestertius (15.54 g). Secular Games issue. Rome mint, 6th officina. 9th emission, AD 248. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Antelope walking left. RIC IV 161; Banti 50.paul1888

Otacilia Severa (AD 244-249) Æ AS / Column

Title: Otacilia Severa (AD 244-249) Æ AS / Column
Attribution: RIC IV 202b Rome
Date: AD 248-249
Obverse: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed, draped bust right
Reverse: SAECVLARES AVGG, column, S-C across fields
Size: 25.66mm
Weight: 9.53 grams
Description: VF. Part of the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) coinage which commemorated the 1000th anniversary of Rome (April 21, 248).paul1888

Philip I. AD 244-249. Æ Sestertius (28mm, 20.93 g, 12h). Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) issue, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Rome. Rome mint, 5th officina. 9th emission, AD 248. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / SAECVLARES AVGG, stag walking right. RIC IV 160a; Banti 49.

Ex Gorny & Mosch 225 (14 October 2014), lot 2279.
paul1888

Philip II AD 247-249. AE Sestertius Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games)/1000th Anniversary of Rome issue. Rome

IMP M IV[L PHILIPPV]S AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SAEC[VLARES] AVGG, Goat or Elk advancing left; S C in exergue.

RIC 264a.
30 mm, 16,13 g paul1888

Roman Empire. Otacilia Severa 249 AD, wife of Philip I Arab. AE As 248 AD, Rome mint. Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) issue, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Rome. RIC 202b, Bronze 24 mm, weight 8,96 g. Condition Good VF, beautiful green patina with glassy
Obv: Draped bust right, wearing stephane / Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG, S C across field, cippuspaul1888

Philip II, 359 - 336 BC. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing left.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing left, uncertain control mark, often described as the head of a lion, beneath the horse. The control mark looks a bit like the ram on the prow of a galley to me, but that is just my personal opinion.
Diameter: 17.4mm | Weight: 6.9gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 872 - 874

The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates that event.

Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
Only Greeks were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, and Philip was determined to convince his Athenian opposition that he was indeed worthy to be considered Greek. And, after successfully uniting Macedonia and Thessaly, Philip could legitimately participate in the Olympics. In 365 BC Philip entered his horse into the keles, a horseback race in the 106th Olympics, and won. He proceeded to win two more times, winning the four horse chariot race in the 352 BC 107th Olympics and the two horse chariot race in the 348 BC 108th Olympics. These were great victories for Philip because not only had he been admitted officially into the Olympic Games but he had also won, solidifying his standing as a true Greek.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC he sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.5 comments*Alex

Philip II, 359 - 336 BC. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing left.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing right, forepart of bull butting right control mark (helmet?) beneath the horse.
Diameter: 19mm | Weight: 6.95gms | Die Axis: 9
GCV: 6699 | Forrer/Weber: 2068

The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.

Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex

Philip II, 359 - 336. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in Macedonia Obverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing right.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing right, retrograde E control mark beneath the horse.
Diameter: 17.16mm | Weight: 6.09gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 919 - 920

The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.

Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex

Philip II, 359 - 336. AE18. Struck after 356 BC at an uncertain mint in MacedoniaObverse: No legend. Young male head, usually identified as Apollo, with hair bound in a taenia, facing right.
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Naked rider on horse prancing left, spearhead control mark beneath the horse.
Diameter: 18.00mm | Weight: 6.00gms | Die Axis: 12
SNG ANS 850 | Mionnet I: 750

The bronze series of this type is extensive and differentiated principally by the different control marks. These control marks are symbols and letters which generally appear on the reverse, very occasionally the obverse, of the coin, and they were used to identify the officials responsible for a particular issue of coinage.
Philip II won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, and it is thought that the horseman on the reverse of this coin commemorates this event.

Philip II of Macedon was King of Macedon from 359 until his death in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus. In 357 BC, Philip married Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's horse won at the Olympic Games.
The conquest and political consolidation of most of Greece during Philip's reign was achieved in part by the creation of the Macedonian phalanx which gave him an enormous advantage on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Philip II established the League of Corinth, a federation of Greek states, with him at it's head, with the intention of invading the Persian empire. In 336 BC, Philip II sent an army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to make preparations for the invasion by freeing the Greeks living on the western coast and islands from Persian rule. All went well until the news arrived that Philip had been assassinated. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated by Persian forces near Magnesia.
Philip II was murdered in October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom, while he was entering into the town's theatre. He was assassinated by Pausanius, one of his own bodyguards, who was himself slain by three of Philip's other bodyguards. The reasons for Philip's assassination are not now fully known, with many modern historians saying that, on the face of it, none of the ancient accounts which have come down to us appear to be credible.*Alex

2 Philip IPHILIP I
AR Antoninianus, 244-9 AD, 4.2g

O: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG,â€¨Radiate and draped bust right.â€¨

R: SAECVLARES AVGG, Stag walking right. “U“ in exergue.

RIC 19, VF

Coin commemorates the secular games held by Philip to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome

Sosius

2 Philip IPHILIP I
AR Antoninianus, 244-9 AD, 3.7g

O: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate and draped bust right. 

R: AETERNITAS AVGG, Elephant walking left, ridden by mahout who guides it with goad and rod. 

RIC 58, Sear 2552, VF

Coin commemorates the secular games held by Philip to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome

1 commentsSosius

ROME
PB Tessera (19mm, 3.35 g, 12 h)
Helmeted gladiator standing right, holding clipeus and gladius; CVR to left
Helmeted gladiator standing right, holding clipeus and gladius; M to left
Rostovtsev 528, pl. IV, 38; München 97; BM 175, 1040-6, 1050; Milan 81-2

Rostovtsev interprets the legend as curator muneris, possibly an individual related to the managing of the games, though a curator muneris pecuniae, a magistrate in charge of civic revenues, is recorded in some areas. Ardatirion

ROME
PB Tessera (17mm, 3.92 g, 12 h)
C O within wreath
Palm frond; N I flanking
Rostowzew – (but cf. 544 for reverse); Gemini V, lot 843b = Blanton, "A Selection of Lead Tesserae with Games Related Types," in NI Bulletin vol. 45, no. 9/10, p. 146-147Ardatirion

ROME
PB Tessera. (20mm, 4.40 g)
AED
CSC
Rostowzew -

The legend likely refers to the office of aedile, an elected position in the city of Rome. Aediles were responsible for various duties, including managing the grain supply and providing for games and public festivals.1 commentsArdatirion

ROME
PB Tessera. (23mm, 7.78 g)
AED
LOS
Rostowzew -

The legend likely refers to the office of aedile, an elected position in the city of Rome. Aediles were responsible for various duties, including managing the grain supply and providing for games and public festivals.Ardatirion

(0138) ANTONINUS PIUS138 - 161 AD
Struck 148-149 AD
AE As 24 mm 9.24 g
O: LAUR HEAD R
R: ELELPHANT, RIGHT COS IIII IN EXE.
(REV. TYPE REFERS TO GAMES CELEBRATING 900TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROME)
ROMElaney

(0253) VALERIAN I253 - 260 AD
Capitolene games issue
AE 26.5 mm, 19.34 g
O: IMP CAES P LIC VALERIANVS [PF AVG], laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
R: CER SACR CAP OEC ISEL HEL, COL-HEL across fields, male athlete standing facing, head right, holding palm branch, right hand in a selection urn.
Coele Syria, Heliopolis
Cohen 329 laney

(502a) Roman Republic, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, 90 B.C.Silver denarius, S 235, Calpurnia 11, Crawford 340/1, Syd 663a, VF, rainbow toning, Rome mint, 3.772g, 18.5mm, 180o, 90 B.C. obverse: laureate head of Apollo right, scorpion behind; Reverse naked horseman galloping right holding palm, L PISO FRVGI and control number CXI below; ex-CNA XV 6/5/91, #443. Ex FORVM.

A portion of the following text is a passage taken from the excellent article “The Calpurnii and Roman Family History: An Analysis of the Piso Frugi Coin in the Joel Handshu Collection at the College of Charleston,” by Chance W. Cook:

In the Roman world, particularly prior to the inception of the principate, moneyers were allotted a high degree of latitude to mint their coins as they saw fit. The tres viri monetales, the three men in charge of minting coins, who served one-year terms, often emblazoned their coins with an incredible variety of images and inscriptions reflecting the grandeur, history, and religion of Rome. Yet also prominent are references to personal or familial accomplishments; in this manner coins were also a means by which the tres viri monetales could honor their forbearers. Most obvious from an analysis of the Piso Frugi denarius is the respect and admiration that Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who minted the coin, had for his ancestors. For the images he selected for his dies relate directly to the lofty deeds performed by his Calpurnii forbearers in the century prior to his term as moneyer. The Calpurnii were present at many of the watershed events in the late Republic and had long distinguished themselves in serving the state, becoming an influential and well-respected family whose defense of traditional Roman values cannot be doubted.

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who was moneyer in 90 B.C., depicted Apollo on the obverse and the galloping horseman on the reverse, as does his son Gaius. However, all of L. Piso Frugi’s coins have lettering similar to “L-PISO-FRVGI” on the reverse, quite disparate from his son Gaius’ derivations of “C-PISO-L-F-FRV.”

Moreover, C. Piso Frugi coins are noted as possessing “superior workmanship” to those produced by L. Piso Frugi.

The Frugi cognomen, which became hereditary, was first given to L. Calpurnius Piso, consul in 133 B.C., for his integrity and overall moral virtue. Cicero is noted as saying that frugal men possessed the three cardinal Stoic virtues of bravery, justice, and wisdom; indeed in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, a synonym of frugalitas is bonus, generically meaning “good” but also implying virtuous behavior. Gary Forsythe notes that Cicero would sometimes invoke L. Calpurnius Piso’s name at the beginning of speeches as “a paragon of moral rectitude” for his audience.

L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi’s inclusion of the laureled head of Apollo, essentially the same obverse die used by his son Gaius (c. 67 B.C.), was due to his family’s important role in the establishment of the Ludi Apollinares, the Games of Apollo, which were first instituted in 212 B.C. at the height of Hannibal’s invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War. By that time, Hannibal had crushed Roman armies at Cannae, seized Tarentum and was invading Campania.

Games had been used throughout Roman history as a means of allaying the fears
of the populace and distracting them from issues at hand; the Ludi Apollinares were no different. Forsythe follows the traditional interpretation that in 211 B.C., when C. Calpurnius Piso was praetor, he became the chief magistrate in Rome while both consuls were absent and the three other praetors were sent on military expeditions against Hannibal.

At this juncture, he put forth a motion in the Senate to make the Ludi Apollinares a yearly event, which was passed; the Ludi Apollinares did indeed become an important festival, eventually spanning eight days in the later Republic. However, this interpretation is debatable; H.H. Scullard suggests that the games were not made permanent until 208 B.C. after a severe plague prompted the Senate to make them a fixture on the calendar. The Senators believed Apollo would serve as a “healing god” for the people of Rome.

Nonetheless, the Calpurnii obviously believed their ancestor had played an integral role in the establishment of the Ludi Apollinares and thus prominently displayed
the head or bust of Apollo on the obverse of the coins they minted.

The meaning of the galloping horseman found on the reverse of the L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi coin is more complicated. It is possible that this is yet another reference to the Ludi Apollinares. Chariot races in the Circus Maximus were a major component of the games, along with animal hunts and theatrical performances.

A more intriguing possibility is that the horseman is a reference to C. Calpurnius Piso, son of the Calpurnius Piso who is said to have founded the Ludi Apollinares. This C. Calpurnius Piso was given a military command in 186 B.C. to quell a revolt in Spain. He was victorious, restoring order to the province and also gaining significant wealth in the process.

Upon his return to Rome in 184, he was granted a triumph by the Senate and eventually erected an arch on the Capitoline Hill celebrating his victory. Of course
the arch prominently displayed the Calpurnius name. Piso, however, was not an infantry commander; he led the cavalry.

The difficulty in accepting C. Calpurnius Piso’s victory in Spain as the impetus for the galloping horseman image is that not all of C. Piso Frugi’s coins depict the horseman or cavalryman carrying the palm, which is a symbol of victory. One is inclined to believe that the victory palm would be prominent in all of the coins minted by C. Piso Frugi (the son of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi) if it indeed signified the great triumph of C. Calpurnius Piso in 186 B.C. Yet the palm’s appearance is clearly not a direct reference to military feats of C. Piso Frugi’s day. As noted, it is accepted that his coins were minted in 67 B.C.; in that year, the major victory by Roman forces was Pompey’s swift defeat of the pirates throughout the Mediterranean.

Chrestomathy: Annual Review of Undergraduate Research at the College of Charleston. Volume 1, 2002: pp. 1-10© 2002 by the College of Charleston, Charleston SC 29424, USA.All rights to be retained by the author.
http://www.cofc.edu/chrestomathy/vol1/cook.pdf

There are six (debatably seven) prominent Romans who have been known to posterity as Lucius Calpurnius Piso:

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi: (d. 261 A.D.) a Roman usurper, whose existence is
questionable, based on the unreliable Historia Augusta.

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus: deputy Roman Emperor, 10 January 69 to15 January
69, appointed by Galba.

Lucius Calpurnius Piso: Consul in 27 A.D.

Lucius Calpurnius Piso: Consul in 1 B.C., augur

Lucius Calpurnius Piso: Consul in 15 B.C., pontifex

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus: Consul in 58 B.C. (the uncle of Julius Caesar)

Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi: Moneyer in 90 B.C. (our man)

All but one (or two--if you believe in the existence of "Frugi the usurper" ca. 261 A.D.) of these gentlemen lack the Frugi cognomen, indicating they are not from the same direct lineage as our moneyer, though all are Calpurnii.

Calpurnius Piso Frugi's massive issue was intended to support the war against the Marsic Confederation. The type has numerous variations and control marks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Calpurnius_Piso
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/indexfrm.asp?vpar=55&pos=0

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

2 commentsCleisthenes

0009 Thessalos Wrestling Bull Right, Horse Prancing RightThessaly Greece, the City of Larissa

Obv: The hero Thessalos1 to r. naked, except for chlamys around his shoulders and petasos, flying in the air, attached to his neck by a cord, holding with both hands a band that is around the forehead of a bull leaping r. All within a border of dots (not here visible).
Rev: ΛΑΡΙ above, Σ to the r. (not here visible), ΙΑ below (not here visible), bridled horse with trailing rein prancing r., no ground line. All within incuse square.
Denomination: silver drachm; Mint: Larissa; Date: c. 420 - 400 BC2; Weight: 6.06g; Diameter: 18mm: Die axis: 270º; References, for example: Lorber 2008, pl. 43, 59 (same dies); BCD Thessaly II 372.7 (same dies); HGC 4, 423 (same obv.).

Notes:
1Considered the ancestor of all Thessalians. The figure is also sometimes considered to be Jason (of Jason and the Argonauts), who according to one tradition was the father of Thessalos (HGC 4, p. 132).
2This is the date given in HGC 4. According to Lorber 2008 this coin should be placed in the revived bull wrestling drachm coinage, beginning c. 450 - 440 BC.

This type is related to the Thessalian sport of bull wrestling (taurokathapsia) "...regularly showcased at the Taureia games honoring Poseidon Taureios." (HGC 4, p. 132).

Provenance: Ex Shanna Schmidt Numismatics May 28, 2019; from the BCD collection, reportedly found 8 kms west of Pharsalus, May 1997.

Photo credits: Shanna Schmidt Numismatics

CLICK FOR SOURCES7 commentsTracy Aiello

01. Philip I.Antoninianus, 248 AD, Rome mint.
Obverse: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG / Radiate bust of Philip I.
Reverse: SAECVLARES AVGG / Lion facing right. I in exergue.
4.60 gm., 23 mm.
RIC #12; Sear #8956.

During the reign of Philip I, the Empire celebrated the millennium of the founding of the City of Rome. The thousandth year of Rome was calculated as running from April 21, 247 to April 21, 248. During this year, celebrations were held throughout the empire, and in the city of Rome itself. Spectacular games were held for the people and a series of coins was issued depicting the animals which appeared in these games. Other reverse types looked back a 1000 years (wolf & twins) or ahead to the future (SAECVLVM NOVVM / temple) as Rome entered a "new age." The first 8 coins in this album are the coins issued for this occasion.Callimachus

020a, CARIA, Knidos. Circa 465-449 BC. AR Drachm.CARIA, Knidos. Circa 465-449 BC. AR Drachm - 16mm (6.06 g). Obverse: forepart of roaring lion right; Reverse: archaic head of Aphrodite right, hair bound with taenia. Cahn 80 (V38/R53); SNG Helsinki 132 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 232 (same dies). Toned, near VF, good metal. Ex Barry P. Murphy.

While this coin falls within the time frame that numismatists call "Classical" Greek coinage, I have chosen to place it in both the "Archaic" (coin 020a) and "Classical" Greek sections of my collection. This specimen is one of those wonderful examples of transition--it incorporates many elements of the "Archaic" era, although it is struck during the "Classical" Greek period and anticipates characteristics of the later period.

As noted art historian Patricia Lawrence has pointed out, "[this specimen portrays] A noble-headed lion, a lovely Late Archaic Aphrodite, and [is made from]. . . beautiful metal." The Archaic Aphrodite is reminiscent of certain portraits of Arethusa found on tetradrachms produced in Syracuse in the first decade of the 5th century BC.

Knidos was a city of high antiquity and as a Hellenic city probably of Lacedaemonian colonization. Along with Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey) and Kos, and the Rhodian cities of Lindos, Kamiros and Ialyssos it formed the Dorian Hexapolis, which held its confederate assemblies on the Triopian headland, and there celebrated games in honour of Apollo, Poseidon and the nymphs.

The city was at first governed by an oligarchic senate, composed of sixty members, and presided over by a magistrate; but, though it is proved by inscriptions that the old names continued to a very late period, the constitution underwent a popular transformation. The situation of the city was favourable for commerce, and the Knidians acquired considerable wealth, and were able to colonize the island of Lipara, and founded a city on Corcyra Nigra in the Adriatic. They ultimately submitted to Cyrus, and from the battle of Eurymedon to the latter part of the Peloponnesian War they were subject to Athens.

In their expansion into the region, the Romans easily obtained the allegiance of Knidians, and rewarded them for help given against Antiochus by leaving them the freedom of their city.

During the Byzantine period there must still have been a considerable population: for the ruins contain a large number of buildings belonging to the Byzantine style, and Christian sepulchres are common in the neighbourhood.

Eudoxus, the astronomer, Ctesias, the writer on Persian history, and Sostratus, the builder of the celebrated Pharos at Alexandria, are the most remarkable of the Knidians mentioned in history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidus

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.1 commentsCleisthenes

035 - Domitian Ae AS - RIC II 385aObv:- IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII CENS PER P P, Laureate head right
Rev:- COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC - SC, Domitian , togate,standing left, sacrificing from patera over garlanded altar, on the other side of which are two flute players facing the emperor, one of which is partly obscured by the altar, hexastyle temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in background.

This variety, not distinguished in the catalogues, where the second musician's lower body is obscured by the large altar. see BMC pl. 79.3, with obv. portrait left, is from the same rev. die. On other dies, apparently the normal variety, the altar is narrower and you see the second musician's legs descending to the ground.

Celebrates the Secular Games4 commentsmaridvnvm

037a04. Philip IAntoninianus. Rome. Saecular Games issue. Obv: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG / U.
Stag standing right. RIC 19. 23mm, 3.84 g. Naumann Auction 122, lot 833
lawrence c

064 - Septimius Severus Ae As - RIC 764AObv:- SEVERVS PIVS AVG P M TR P XII, Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev:- To left, Bacchus standing right, holding cup and thyrsos, a panther at his feet; to right, Hercules standing left, holding club and lion's skin; on cippus between them, COS / III / LVD / SAEC / FEC , in exergue, S C.
Minted in Rome in A.D. 204 to celebrate the Seacular games with Septimus' hometown gods Liber and Hercules as patrons of his games.
Reference:- RIC IV, Part 1, No. 764A (Rated R2)

A rough example but a rare type.

Curtis Clay's die catalogue includes ten specimens of this coin, all from the same obverse die, nine of them from the same reverse die of this coin, one from a second reverse die.1 commentsmaridvnvm

074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0024c, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, SAECVLARES AVG G, Cippus inscribed COS III, #1074 Philippus I. (244-249 A.D.), RIC IV-III 0024c, Rome, AR-Antoninianus, SAECVLARES AVG G, Cippus inscribed COS III, #1
avers:- IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
revers:- SAECVLARES AVG G, Cippus inscribed COS III,
exergo:-/-//--, diameter: 23,0-23,5mm, weight: 3,12g, axis: 0h,
mint: Rome, date: 248 A.D., ref: RIC-IV-III-24c, P-, RSC 193a, Sear 2573a,
Q-001
This was minted to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome, which was celebrated on April 21st, A.D. 248. This Cippus appears like a small column or stone in which an inscription is placed to preserve the memory of the Secular Games. Cippi differ considerably in appearance. quadrans

0999 Hadrian Quadrans, Roma 128-29 AD Imperial mines coinReference.
RIC 999; Strack 455a; Woytek 2004

Bust A1

Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P
Laureate head

Rev. AELIANA / • / PINCEN / SIA
within wreath

4.17 gr
18 mm
6h

Note.
Translation:
Aeliana Princensia
Games in honour of Aelius Hadrianus (Aeliana) in Pincum.okidoki

0a Abduction of the SabinesL Titurius Sabinus, moneyer
90-85 BC

Head of Tativs, right, SABIN behind
Two Roman soldiers bearing women

Seaby, Tituria 1

When the hour for the games had come, and their eyes and minds were alike riveted on the spectacle before them, the preconcerted signal was given and the Roman youth dashed in all directions to carry off the [Sabine] maidens who were present. The larger part were carried off indiscriminately, but some particularly beautiful girls who had been marked out for the leading patricians were carried to their houses by plebeians told off for the task. One, conspicuous amongst them all for grace and beauty, is reported to have been carried off by a group led by a certain Talassius, and to the many inquiries as to whom she was intended for, the invariable answer was given, "For Talassius." Hence the use of this word in the marriage rites. Alarm and consternation broke up the games, and the parents of the maidens fled, distracted with grief, uttering bitter reproaches on the violators of the laws of hospitality and appealing to the god to whose solemn games they had come, only to be the victims of impious perfidy. The abducted maidens were quite as despondent and indignant. Romulus, however, went round in person, and pointed out to them that it was all owing to the pride of their parents in denying right of intermarriage to their neighbours. They would live in honourable wedlock, and share all their property and civil rights, and - dearest of all to human nature - would be the mothers of freemen. He begged them to lay aside their feelings of resentment and give their affections to those whom fortune had made masters of their persons. An injury had often led to reconciliation and love; they would find their husbands all the more affectionate, because each would do his utmost, so far as in him lay, to make up for the loss of parents and country. These arguments were reinforced by the endearments of their husbands, who excused their conduct by pleading the irresistible force of their passion - a plea effective beyond all others in appealing to a woman's nature.

The feelings of the abducted maidens were now pretty completely appeased, but not so those of their parents.

Livy, History of Rome 1.9-1.101 commentsBlindado

107. PertinaxPertinax

Only a mediocre public speaker, Pertinax was first and foremost a gritty old soldier. He was heavily built, had a pot belly, although it was said, even by his critics, that he possessed the proud air of an emperor.
He possessed some charm, but was generally understood to be a rather sly character. He also acquired a reputation for being mean and greedy. He apparently even went as far as serving half portions of lettuce and artichoke before he became emperor. It was a characteristic which would not serve him well as an emperor.

When he took office, Pertinax quickly realized that the imperial treasury was in trouble. Commodus had wasted vast sums on games and luxuries. If the new emperor thought that changes would need to be made to bring the finances back in order he was no doubt right. But he sought to do too much too quickly. In the process he made himself enemies.

The gravest error, made at the very beginning of his reign, was to decide to cut some of the praetorian's privileges and that he was going to pay them only half the bonus he had promised.
Already on 3 January AD 193 the praetorians tried to set up another emperor who would pay up. But that senator, wise enough to stay out of trouble, merely reported the incident to Pertinax and then left Rome.

The ordinary citizens of Rome however also quickly had enough of their new emperor. Had Commodus spoilt them with lavish games and festivals, then now Pertinax gave them very little.
And a truly powerful enemy should be the praetorian prefect Laetus. The man who had after all put Pertinax on the throne, was to play an important role in the emperor's fate. It isn't absolutely clear if he sought to be an honest advisor of the emperor, but saw his advise ignored, or if he sought to manipulate Pertinax as his puppet emperor. In either case, he was disappointed.

And so as Pertinax grew ever more unpopular, the praetorians once more began to look for a new emperor. In early March, When Pertinax was away in Ostia overseeing the arrangements for the grain shipments to Rome, they struck again. This time they tried to set up one of the consuls, Quintus Sosius Falco.

When Pertinax returned to Rome he pardoned Falco who'd been condemned by the senate, but several praetorians were executed. A slave had given them away as being part of the conspiracy.
These executions were the final straw. On 28 March AD 193 the praetorians revolts.
300 hundred of them forced the gates to the palace. None of the guards sought to help their emperor.
Everyone, so it seemed, wanted rid of this emperor. So, too, Laetus would not listen as Pertinax ordered him to do something. The praetorian prefect simply went home, leaving the emperor to his fate.

Pertinax did not seek to flee. He stood his ground and waited, together with his chamberlain Eclectus. As the praetorians found him, they did not discover an emperor quivering with fear, but a man determined on convincing them to put down their weapons. Clearly the soldiers were over-awed by this brave man, for he spoke to them for some time. But eventually their leader found enough courage to step forwards and hurl his spear at the emperor. Pertinax fell with the spear in his chest. Eclectus fought bravely for his life, stabbing two, before he two was slain by the soldiers.
The soldiers then cut off Pertinax' head, stuck it on a spear and paraded through the streets of Rome.

Pertinax had ruled for only 87 days. He was later deified by Septimius Severus.

RI1. Pertinax. A.D. 193. AR denarius (18.0 mm, 2.74 g, 7 h). Rome mint. Rare. IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG, laureate head right / OPI DIVIN TR P COS II, Ops seated left, holding two stalks of grain, resting hand on seat of throne. RIC 8a; RSC 33; BMCRE 19. aVF, flan crack.ecoli

136-138 AD - AELIUS Caesar AR denarius - struck 137 ADobv: L AELIVS CAESAR (bare head right)
rev: TR POT COS II (Concordia seated left, holding patera and leaning on cornucopiae), CONCORD in exergue.
ref: RIC II 436 (Hadrian), RSC 1 (12frcs), BMCRE 981(Hadrian)
Scarce
2.91gms, 18mm

Lucius Ceionius Commodus, a sleek Senator from a distinguished Roman family, was plucked from obscurity by Hadrian in 136 and named as his chosen successor, with the adoptive name Lucius Aelius Caesar. The adoption was marked by the appropriate games and ceremonies, but it soon became evident the young heir was consumptive, leading Hadrian to remark that he'd blown several million sesterces to no purpose. As governor of Pannonia did Aelius no good, the wet, frigid climate worsening his condition. In January 138, Aelius died.berserker

161-169 AD - LUCIUS VERUS AE sestertius - struck 169 ADobv: DIVVS VERVS (bare head of Divus Verus right)
rev: CONSECRATIO (elephant quadriga advancing left, atop car shrine containing statue of Divus Verus seated left, raising hand), S-C in ex.
ref: RIC III 1507 (M.Aurelius), C.53 (30frcs), BMCRE (Marcus) 1369
23.51gms, 30mm, bronze
Very Rare
History: In the end of 168 AD as Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were returning home from the fontier of south Pannonia, Lucius suddenly became ill with symptoms attributed to food poisoning, and was dead at the age of 38 near Altinum (Altino). The older Emperor accompanied the body to Rome, where he offered games to honour his memory. After the funeral, the senate declared Verus divine to be worshipped as Divus Verus.2 commentsberserker

1926B AEOLIS. Aegae. Pseudo-autonomous under Hadrian statue of Apollo ChresteriosReference.
RPC --; RPC III, 1926B/1

Magistrate Oul. Polemôn (agô(nothete) (?))

Obv: IЄPA CVNKΛHTOC.
Laureate and draped youthful bust of the Senate right.

Rev: ЄΠI AΓΩ OVΛ ΠOΛЄMON / AI - ΓA.
Facing statue of Apollo Chresterios, with branch in hand.

3.84 gr
18 mm
12h

Note.
RPC III - (though cf. 1926 for a coin of Sabina from the same magistrate)

Agonothetes was a magistrate whose duty was the superintendence of games.

Aigai was the centre of the worshipping of Apollo Chresterios, meaning the foresayer, the prophet. It is known from an inscription that about 250 BC the inhabitants of Istros have sent a delegation to Aigai asking wether the oracle would tolerate the introducing of Serapis to Istros.okidoki

1al Tiberius14-37

As
Laureate head, left, TI CAESAR AVGVST F IMPERAT V
PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN POTEST XXIII SC

This is one of a series of 12 Caesars pieces that were local finds in Serbia. There are better coins out there, but I'll hang onto these because they really got me into the hobby.

RIC 469

Per Suetonius: Within three years, however, both Lucius Caesar and Gaius Caesar were dead [in AD2 and 4 respectively], and Augustus now adopted both their brother Agrippa Postumus, and Tiberius, who was first required to adopt his nephew Germanicus [in 4 AD]. . . .

From that moment onwards, Augustus did all he could to enhance Tiberius’ prestige, especially after the disowning and banishment of Postumus [ca 6 AD] made it obvious that Tiberius was the sole heir to the succession. . . .

Tiberius acted like a traditional citizen, more modestly almost than the average individual. He accepted only a few of the least distinguished honours offered him; it was only with great reluctance that he consented to his birthday being recognised, falling as it did on the day of the Plebeian Games in the Circus, by the addition of a two-horse chariot to the proceedings; and he refused to have temples, and priests dedicated to him, or even the erection of statues and busts, without his permission; which he only gave if they were part of the temple adornments and not among the divine images. . . .

Moreover, in the face of abuse, libels or slanders against himself and his family, he remained unperturbed and tolerant, often maintaining that a free country required free thought and speech. . . . He even introduced a species of liberty, by maintaining the traditional dignities and powers of the Senate and magistrates. He laid all public and private matters, small or great, before the Senate consulting them over State revenues, monopolies, and the construction and maintenance of public buildings, over the levying and disbanding of troops, the assignment of legions and auxiliaries, the scope of military appointments, and the allocation of campaigns, and even the form and content of his replies to letters from foreign powers. . . .

Returning to Capreae, he abandoned all affairs of state, neither filling vacancies in the Equestrian Order’s jury lists, nor appointing military tribunes, prefects, or even provincial governors. Spain and Syria lacked governors of Consular rank for several years, while he allowed the Parthians to overrun Armenia, Moesia to be ravaged by the Dacians and Sarmatians, and Gaul by the Germans, threatening the Empire’s honour no less than its security. Furthermore, with the freedom afforded by privacy, hidden as it were from public view, he gave free rein to the vices he had concealed for so long. . . . Blindado

1at Galba68-69

Denarius

Laureate head, right, SER GALBA IMP CAESAR AVG P M TR P
Victory standing on globe, VICTORIA PR

RIC 111

Suetonius recorded: Servius Galba, the future emperor was born on the 24th of December, 3BC, in the consulship of Marcus Valerius Messala and Gnaeus Lentulus, at a hillside mansion near Terracina, on the left of the road to Fundi (Fondi). He was formally adopted by his stepmother Livia Ocellina, and took the name Livius and the surname Ocella, also changing his forename to Lucius, until he became Emperor.

It is common knowledge that when calling on Augustus to pay his respects, with other boys of his age, the Emperor pinched his cheek, and said in Greek: ‘You too will have a taste of power, my child.’ And when Tiberius heard the prophecy that Galba would be emperor in old age, he commented: ‘Well let him be, it’s no concern of mine.’

Galba achieved office before the usual age and as praetor (in 20AD), controlling the games at the Floralia, he was the first to introduce a display of tightrope-walking elephants. He next governed Aquitania, for almost a year, and not long afterwards held the consulship for six months (in 33AD). When Caligula was assassinated (in 41AD), Galba chose neutrality though many urged him to seize the opportunity for power. Claudius expressed his gratitude by including him among his intimate friends, and Galba was shown such consideration that the expedition to Britain was delayed to allow him to recover from a sudden but minor indisposition. Later he was proconsul in Africa for two years (44/45AD), being singled out, and so avoiding the usual lottery, to restore order in the province, which was riven by internecine rivalry and an indigenous revolt. He re-established peace, by the exercise of ruthless discipline, and the display of justice even in the most trifling matters. . . .

But when word from the City arrived that Nero was dead and that the people had sworn allegiance to him, he set aside the title of governor and assumed that of Caesar. He then began his march to Rome in a general’s cloak, with a dagger, hanging from his neck, at his chest, and did not resume the toga until his main rivals had been eliminated, namely the commander of the Praetorian Guard in Rome, Nymphidius Sabinus, and the commanders in Germany and Africa, Fonteius Capito and Clodius Macer. . . . His prestige and popularity were greater while winning power than wielding it, though he showed evidence of being a more than capable ruler, loved less, unfortunately, for his good qualities than he was hated for his bad ones.

He was even warned of the danger of imminent assassination, the day before his death, by a soothsayer, as he offered the morning sacrifice. Shortly afterwards he learnt that Otho had secured the Guards camp, and when his staff advised him to carry the day by his presence and prestige, by going there immediately, he opted instead to stay put, but gather a strong bodyguard of legionaries from their billets around the City. He did however don a linen corselet, though saying that frankly it would serve little against so many weapons. False reports, put about by the conspirators to lure him into appearing in public, deceived a few of his close supporters, who rashly told him the rebellion was over, the plotters overthrown, and that the rest of the troops were on their way to congratulate him and carry out his orders. So he went to meet them, with such confidence, that when a soldier boasted of killing Otho, he snapped out: ‘On whose authority?’ before hastening on to the Forum. The cavalrymen who had been ordered to find and kill him, who were spurring through the streets scattering the crowds of civilians, now caught sight of him in the distance and halted an instant before galloping towards him and cutting him down, while his staff ran for their lives.Blindado

1bi FaustinaWife of Antoninus Pius, died 141

Sestertius

Draped bust, right, DIVA FAVSTINA
Vesta stg, AVGVSTA SC

RIC 1178

The Historia Augusta recounts: On the death of his wife Faustina, in the third year of his reign, the senate deified her, and voted her games and a temple and priestesses and statues of silver and of gold. These the Emperor accepted, and furthermore granted permission that her statue be erected in all the circuses ; and when the senate voted her a golden statue, he undertook to erect it himself. Blindado

1cn Philippus244-249

Antoninianus

Radiate draped bust, right, IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG
Liberalitas standing left with abacus & cornucopiae, LIBERALITAS AVGG II

RIC 38b

The Historia Augusta records: Philippus Arabs was made prefect of the guard [in 243]. This Philip was low-born but arrogant, and now could not contain himself in his sudden rise to office and immoderate good fortune, but immediately, through the soldiers, began to plot against Gordian, who had begun to treat him as a father. . . . Timesitheus [Gordian's father-in-law] had stored up such a quantity of supplies everywhere, that the Roman administration could not break down. But now Philip intrigued first to have the grain-ships turned away, and then to have the troops moved to stations where they could not get provisions. In this way he speedily got them exasperated against Gordian, for they did not know that the youth had been betrayed through Philip's intriguing. In addition to this, Philip spread talk among the soldiers to the effect that Gordian was young and could not manage the Empire, and that it were better for someone to rule who could command the army and understood public affairs. Besides this, he won over the leaders, and finally brought it about that they openly called him to the throne. Gordian's friends at first opposed him vigorously, but when the soldiers were at last overcome with hunger Philip was entrusted with the sovereignty, and the soldiers commanded that he and Gordian should rule together with equal rank while Philip acted as a sort of guardian.

Now that he had gained the imperial power Philip began to bear himself very arrogantly towards Gordian ; and he, knowing himself to be an emperor, an emperor's son, and a scion of a most noble family, could not endure this low-born fellow's insolence. And so, mounting the platform, with his kinsman Maecius Gordianus standing by him as his prefect, he complained bitterly to the officers and soldiers in the hope that Philip's office could be taken from him. But by this complaint in which he accused Philip of being unmindful of past favours and too little grateful he accomplished nothing. Next he asked the soldiers to make their choice, after openly canvassing the officers, but as a result of Philip's intriguing he came off second in the general vote. And finally, when he saw that everyone considered him worsted, he asked that their power might at least be equal, but he did not secure this either. After this he asked to be given the position of Caesar, but he did not gain this. He asked also to be Philip's prefect, and this, too, was denied him. His last prayer was that Philip should make him a general and let him live. And to this Philip almost consented not speaking himself, but acting through his friends, as he had done throughout, with nods and advice. But when he reflected that through the love that the Roman people and senate, the whole of Africa and Syria, and indeed the whole Roman world, felt for Gordian, because he was nobly born and the son and grandson of emperors and had delivered the whole state from grievous wars, it was possible, if the soldiers ever changed their minds, that the throne might be given back to Gordian if he asked for it again, and when he reflected also that the violence of the soldiers' anger against Gordian was due to hunger, he had him carried, shouting protests, out of their sight and then despoiled and slain.

Eutropius wrote, "When Gordian was killed, the two PHILIPS, father and son, seized on the government, and, having brought off the army safe, set out from Syria for Italy. In their reign the thousandth year of the city of Rome was celebrated with games and spectacles of vast magnificence. Soon after, both of them were put to death by the soldiery; the elder Philip at Verona, the younger at Rome. They reigned but five years. They were however ranked among the gods."Blindado

1dt Maximianus286-305, 306-308, 310

Quarter Follis

Laureate head, right, IMP C M A MAXIMIANVS P F AVG
Genius standing left, with modius on head, cornucopia & patera, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, SIS in exergue

RIC 146

Eutropius records: [Diocletian] thus became master of the Roman empire; and when the peasants in Gaul made an insurrection, giving their faction the name of Bagaudae, and having for leaders Amandus and Aelianus, he despatched Maximian Herculius, with the authority of Caesar, to suppress them. Maximian, in a few battles of little importance, subdued the rustic multitude, and restored peace to Gaul. . . . While disorder thus prevailed throughout the world, while Carausius was taking arms in Britain and Achilleus in Egypt, while the Quinquegentiani were harassing Africa, and Narseus was making war upon the east, Diocletian promoted MAXIMIAN HERCULIUS from the dignity of Caesar to that "of emperor, and created Constantius and Maximian Galerius Caesars. . . .

Maximian the emperor, brought the war to an end in Africa, by subduing the Quinquegentiani, and compelling them to make peace. . . .

Herculius was undisguisedly cruel, and of a violent temper, and showed his severity of disposition in the sternness of his looks. Gratifying his own inclination, he joined with Diocletian in even the most cruel of his proceedings. But when Diocletian, as age bore heavily upon him, felt himself unable to sustain the government of the empire, he suggested to Herculius that they should both retire into private life, and commit the duty of upholding the state to more vigorous and youthful hands. With this suggestion his colleague reluctantly complied. Both of them, in the same day, exchanged the robe of empire for an ordinary dress, Diocletian at Nicomedia, Herculius at Milan, soon after a magnificent triumph which they celebrated at Rome over several nations, with a noble succession of pictures, and in which the wives, sisters, and children of Narseus were led before their chariots. The one then retired to Salonae, and the other into Lucania.

But after the death of Constantius, CONSTANTINE, his son by a wife of obscure birth, was made emperor in Britain, and succeeded his father as a most desirable ruler. In the meantime the praetorian guards at Rome, having risen in insurrection, declared MAXENTIUS, the son of Maximian Herculius, who lived in the Villa Publica not far from the city, emperor. At the news of this proceeding, Maximian, filled with hopes of regaining the imperial dignity, which he had not willingly resigned, hurried to Rome from Lucania. . . , and stimulated Diocletian by letters to resume the authority that he had laid down, letters which Diocletian utterly disregarded. Severus Caesar, being despatched to Rome by Galerius to suppress the rising of the guards and Maxentius, arrived there with his army, but, as he was laying siege to the city, was deserted through the treachery of his soldiers.

The power of Maxentius was thus increased, and his government established. Severus, taking to flight, was killed at Ravenna. Maximian Herculius, attempting afterwards, in an assembly of the army, to divest his son Maxentius of his power, met with nothing but mutiny and reproaches from the soldiery. He then set out for Gaul, on a planned stratagem, as if he had been driven away by his son, that he might join his son-in-law Constantine, designing, however, if he could find an opportunity, to cut off Constantine, who was ruling in Gaul with great approbation both of the soldiers and the people of the province, having overthrown the Franks and Alemanni with great slaughter, and captured their kings, whom, on exhibiting a magnificent show of games, he exposed to wild beasts. But the plot being made known by Maximian's daughter Fausta, who communicated the design to her husband, Maximian was cut off at Marseilles, whence he was preparing to sail to join his son, and died a well-deserved death. . . .Blindado

2. Philip I (AD 244-249)Denomination: AR Antoninianus
Date: AD 248. Saecular Games issue.
Obv: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG, she-wolf standing left, head turned back, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; mintmark II in exergue.
Diameter: 23.5mm
Weight: 4.16 g
Mint: Rome mint, 2nd officina.
RIC IV 15.

Ex CGB Numismatics ParisRomancollector

202 AD., Septimius Severus, Rome mint, Denarius, RIC 248.Septimius Severus, Rome mint, 202 AD.,
Denarius (18-19 mm / 3.56 g),
Obv.: SEVERVS - PIVS AVG , laureate head of Septimius Severus right.
Rev.: ADVENT AVGG , Septimius Severus on horseback left, raising right hand and holding spear; before him, soldier (or Virtus?) holding vexillum and leading horse.
RIC 248 ; Hill, Severus 559 ; BMC 304 ; C. 1 .

Like many emperors of the 3rd Century, Septimius Severus often travelled great distances to meet the demands of warfare. This denarius, inscribed ADVENT AVGG, celebrates the return of Severus and his family to Rome after one of his many journeys – in this case a long absence in the East.
His journey was overdue, and it had been delayed only long enough for Severus to defeat Clodius Albinus, his rival Caesar in the West. In the summer of 197 Severus and his family embarked by sea from Italy to Asia Minor and immediately waged war against the Parthians, who had invaded Roman territory while Severus had been fighting Albinus in Gaul. By January, 198 Severus had scored a resounding, vengeful victory. The Romans gathered a great amount of booty, killed all of the men who had remained in the capital Ctesiphon, and took as slaves perhaps 100,000 women and children.
The royal family remained in the East throughout 198 to 201, and on January 1, 202, Severus and Caracalla jointly assumed the consulate in Antioch. It was the first time they had shared the honour, and was also the first time in more than forty years that two emperors had been consuls.
Probably soon after this ceremony the royal family began its arduous journey back to Italy, this time proceeding by land, up through Asia Minor to Bithynia, crossing the Propontis into Thrace, then seemingly tracking the Danube until they descended upon Italy.
Severus’ return was no ordinary event: not only had the royal family been gone for five years, but the yearlong celebration of Severus’ decennalia, his tenth year of power, had begun and the royal wedding of Caracalla was planned. The imperial adventus was celebrated with games, spectacles and donatives to the people and to the praetorian guards, who Dio Cassius tells us each received ten aurei.

my ancient coin database
2 commentsArminius

204 AD - CARACALLA AR denarius obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG (laureate head right)
rev: VICTORIAE / AVGG (Victory in galloping biga right), AVGG in ex
ref: RIC 170, RSC 622 (10fr.), BMC 518
mint: Rome
2.63gms
Scarce
Rome 204 AD. This year was the celebration of the Secular Games, (116 years after the last celebration by Domitian), but this issue is rather commemorated the defeat of the Parthians by Augustorum (Severus & Caracalla).berserker

21-02 - DOMICIANO (81 - 96 D.C.) FALSIFICACIÓN ANCIANA, puede estar acuñado con un anverso anterior, si vemos el espacio entre la terminación de la leyenda visible TR P y el pecho del emperador vemos que no hay espacio para que entre VIII, que sería la leyenda de anverso de las monedas acuñadas en el 88 D.C.
Denario Forrado 18x17 mm 2.7 gr.

Anv: "IMP CAES DOMIT AVG - GERM P M TR P [VIII]" - Cabeza laureada viendo a derecha.
Rev: "COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC" – Heraldo vistiendo gorro emplumado avanzando a izquierda, portando vara en la mano de su brazo derecho extendido y escudo redondo decorado, su centro, con un busto de Minerva.
Para Cohen el Heraldo podría ser un sacerdote Salian (Saltador) de la antigua Roma. Esta moneda es parte de la extensa emisión que se realizó en Roma conmemorando los Juegos Seculares en el otoño del 88 D.C.

Acuñada 3ra. Emisión 88 D.C.
Ceca: No Oficial
Rareza: Rara

Referencias: RIC Vol.II #117 Pag.168 – RIC2 #596 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2723 Pag.494 - BMCRE Vol.2 #131 - Cohen Vol.1 #76 Pag.476 - DVM #19 Pag.110 - CBN #120 - RSC Vol. II #76/77 Pag.64
mdelvalle

21-05 - DOMICIANO (81 - 96 D.C.) FALSIFICACIÓN ANCIANA, puede estar acuñado con un anverso anterior, si vemos el espacio entre la terminación de la leyenda visible TR P y el pecho del emperador vemos que no hay espacio para que entre VIII, que sería la leyenda de anverso de las monedas acuñadas en el 88 D.C.
Denario Forrado 18x17 mm 2.7 gr.

Anv: "IMP CAES DOMIT AVG - GERM P M TR P [VIII]" - Cabeza laureada viendo a derecha.
Rev: "COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC" – Heraldo vistiendo gorro emplumado avanzando a izquierda, portando vara en la mano de su brazo derecho extendido y escudo redondo decorado, su centro, con un busto de Minerva.
Para Cohen el Heraldo podría ser un sacerdote Salian (Saltador) de la antigua Roma. Esta moneda es parte de la extensa emisión que se realizó en Roma conmemorando los Juegos Seculares en el otoño del 88 D.C.

Acuñada 3ra. Emisión 88 D.C.
Ceca: No Oficial
Rareza: Rara

Referencias: RIC Vol.II #117 Pag.168 – RIC2 #596 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2723 Pag.494 - BMCRE Vol.2 #131 - Cohen Vol.1 #76 Pag.476 - DVM #19 Pag.110 - CBN #120 - RSC Vol. II #76/77 Pag.64mdelvalle

261/1. Domitia - denarius (128 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 128 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; corn-ear behind; XVI below chin.
R/ Victory in biga right, holding reins in left hand and whip in right hand; ROMA above; man fighting lion below; CN DOM in exergue.
3.84g; 18mm
Crawford 261/1 (71 obverse dies/89 reverse dies)

* Gnaeus Domitius (Calvinus?):

Our moneyer belonged to the old plebeian gens Domitia, but his identity is unknown. Babelon and ancient numismatists thought he was Ahenobarbus, the Consul of 96 BC, but it is not possible as he was already moneyer in 118 (the Narbo issue). Crawford postulated that he was from a collateral branch of the Ahenobarbi, and therefore a cousin of the Consul of 96, because he considered here that the Senatus Consultum De Agro Pergameno dates from 131 BC, but it is now dated 101, thus the Cn. Domitius Cn. f. mentioned there is doubtless the future Consul of 96*.

Gnaeus Domitius was more likely a Calvinus, from the other main stirps of the Domitii, but none of them is known during the 2nd century.

The figure below the chariot on the reverse is quite mysterious. Earlier numismatists thought it was a reference to the dogs fought by Ahenobarbus, the Consul of 122 who vanquished the Allobroges, but it is impossible as the battle was fought in 121, seven years after the denarius. Crawford considers the beast to be a lion, and therefore a reference to games organised by an Aedile; the corn-ear on the obverse would be a further reference to an aedileship.

* Harold B. Mattingly, "The Date of the Senatus Consultum De Agro Pergameno" in The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 93, n°3, 1972, pp. 412-423.Joss

3855 PHOENICIA Berytus Hadrian 128-138 AD two legionary Aquilae Reference.
RPC III, 3855; Rouvier 532; SNG Cop 101; BMC Phoenicia 99 (p. 66)

Obv. IMP CAES TRAI HADRIANVS AVG P P
Laureate and draped bust right.

Rev. COL / BER
Two legionary aquilae (eagles) flanking inscription in two lines, all within laurel wreath, pellet between eagles.

4.99 gr
20 mm
die axis 0o

Note.
Named for the daughter of Augustus, Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus was founded in 14 B.C. with veterans of the 5th and 8th legions. Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I, and Herod Agrippa II built sumptuous monuments and sponsored gladiatorial combats at Berytos. After the siege of Jerusalem, Titus gave gladiatorial games at Berytos, in which the combatants were Jews.

ex.
FORVMokidoki

421/1. Nonia - denarius (59 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 59 BC)
O/ Head of Saturn right, head of a harpoon and conical stone behind; S C upwards behind; SVFENAS downwards before.
R/ Roma seated left on a pile of trophies, holding sceptre and sword, crowned by Victory standing behind; PR L V P F around; SEX NONI in exergue.
3.90g; 19mm
Crawford 421/1 (56 obverse dies/62 reverse dies)
- Collection of Walter Friedrich Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland, before 1975. W. F. Stoecklin was the second member of a dynasty of coin collectors based in Switzerland.
- Obolos 9, lot 77.

* Marcus Nonius Sex.f. Sufenas:

Sufenas belonged to the plebeian gens Nonia, a relatively new gens at this time. He was the son of son of Sextus Nonius Sufenas, who had played a crucial part in 86 BC by leading the defection to Sulla among Fimbria's troops during the Civil War. Sulla then rewarded him with a praetorship in 81 BC. In turn, Sextus organised the first Victory games celebrating his patron (the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae), as explained on the reverse (Sextus Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit).

Marcus Sufenas' career relied on the patronage of Pompey, whom he devotedly served. In 56 he was Tribune of the Plebs, and with the famous Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Porcius Cato, and Lucius Procilius, they sabotaged the consular elections in order to force the choice of Pompey and Crassus as Consuls for 55 (Cassius Dio, Roman History, xxxix. 27-33). Pompey then used his influence to acquit Sufenas (Cicero, Atticus, iv. 15).

Since he was governor of Macedonia or Cyrenaica in 51 (Cicero, Atticus, vi. 1 & viii. 15), Broughton conjectured that he had been Praetor in 52. He was still in his province by 49, so he probably helped Pompey after his flight from Italy. Plutarch mentions him just before the Battle of Pharsalus (Life of Cicero, 38). As he disappears from ancient sources after this, he might have died during the battle.2 commentsJoss

504. CONSTANTIUS II GLORIA EXERCITVS AntiochAntioch

Under the empire we chiefly hear of the earthquakes which shook Antioch. One, in AD 37, caused the emperor Caligula to send two senators to report on the condition of the city. Another followed in the next reign; and in 115, during Trajan's sojourn in the place with his army of Parthia, the whole site was convulsed, the landscape altered, and the emperor himself forced to take shelter in the circus for several days. He and his successor restored the city; but in 526, after minor shocks, the calamity returned in a terrible form; the octagonal cathedral which had been erected by the emperor Constantius II suffered and thousands of lives were lost, largely those of Christians gathered to a great church assembly. We hear also of especially terrific earthquakes on November 29, 528 and October 31, 588.

At Antioch Germanicus died in AD 19, and his body was burnt in the forum. Titus set up the Cherubim, captured from the Jewish temple, over one of the gates. Commodus had Olympic games celebrated at Antioch, and in 266 the town was suddenly raided by the Persians, who slew many in the theatre. In 387 there was a great sedition caused by a new tax levied by order of Theodosius, and the city was punished by the loss of its metropolitan status. Zeno, who renamed it Theopolis, restored many of its public buildings just before the great earthquake of 526, whose destructive work was completed by the Persian Chosroes twelve years later. Justinian I made an effort to revive it, and Procopius describes his repairing of the walls; but its glory was past.

The chief interest of Antioch under the empire lies in its relation to Christianity. Evangelized perhaps by Peter, according to the tradition upon which the Antiochene patriarchate still rests its claim for primacy (cf. Acts xi.), and certainly by Barnabas and Paul, who here preached his first Christian sermon in a synagogue, its converts were the first to be called Christians

004. CONSTANTIUS II Antioch

RIC VII Antioch 88 C3

From Uncleaned Lot

ecoli

705a, Claudius, 25 January 41 - 13 October 54 A.D.Claudius. 42-43 AD. AE As.
Claudius. 42-43 AD. AE As (29 mm, 10.87 g). Obverse: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P, bare head right; Reverse: CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI / S - C, Constantiae in military dress standing left, holding spear; RIC I, 111; aVF. Ex Imperial Coins.

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

CLAUDIUS (41-54 A.D.)

Garrett G. Fagan
Pennsylvania State University

Ti. Claudius Nero Germanicus (b. 10 BC, d. 54 A.D.; emperor, 41-54 A.D.) was the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. His reign represents a turning point in the history of the Principate for a number of reasons, not the least for the manner of his accession and the implications it carried for the nature of the office. During his reign he promoted administrators who did not belong to the senatorial or equestrian classes, and was later vilified by authors who did. He followed Caesar in carrying Roman arms across the English Channel into Britain but, unlike his predecessor, he initiated the full-scale annexation of Britain as a province, which remains today the most closely studied corner of the Roman Empire. His relationships with his wives and children provide detailed insights into the perennial difficulties of the succession problem faced by all Roman Emperors. His final settlement in this regard was not lucky: he adopted his fourth wife's son, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was to reign catastrophically as Nero and bring the dynasty to an end. Claudius's reign, therefore, was a mixture of successes and failures that leads into the last phase of the Julio-Claudian line.

Robert Graves' fictional characterization of Claudius as an essentially benign man with a keen intelligence has tended to dominate the wider public's view of this emperor. Close study of the sources, however, reveals a somewhat different kind of man. In addition to his scholarly and cautious nature, he had a cruel streak, as suggested by his addiction to gladiatorial games and his fondness for watching his defeated opponents executed. He conducted closed-door (in camera ) trials of leading citizens that frequently resulted in their ruin or deaths -- an unprecedented and tyrannical pattern of behavior. He had his wife Messalina executed, and he personally presided over a kangaroo court in the Praetorian Camp in which many of her hangers-on lost their lives. He abandoned his own son Britannicus to his fate and favored the advancement of Nero as his successor. While he cannot be blamed for the disastrous way Nero's rule turned out, he must take some responsibility for putting that most unsuitable youth on the throne. At the same time, his reign was marked by some notable successes: the invasion of Britain, stability and good government in the provinces, and successful management of client kingdoms. Claudius, then, is a more enigmatic figure than the other Julio-Claudian emperors: at once careful, intelligent, aware and respectful of tradition, but given to bouts of rage and cruelty, willing to sacrifice precedent to expediency, and utterly ruthless in his treatment of those who crossed him. Augustus's suspicion that there was more to the timid Claudius than met the eye was more than fully borne out by the events of his unexpected reign.

The possibility has to be entertained that Claudius was a far more active participant in his own elevation than traditional accounts let on. There is just reason to suspect that he may even have been involved in planning the murder of Gaius (Caligula). Merely minutes before the assassination of Gaius, Claudius had departed for lunch; this appears altogether too fortuitous. This possibility, however, must remain pure speculation, since the ancient evidence offers nothing explicit in the way of support. On the other hand, we can hardly expect them to, given the later pattern of events. The whole issue of Claudius's possible involvement in the death of Gaius and his own subsequent acclamation by the Praetorian Guard must, therefore, remain moot . . . yet intriguing

Copyright 1998, Garrett G. Fagan.
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

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

NERO (54-68 A.D.)

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

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

Herbert W. Benario
Emory University

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

. . . .

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

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

Copyright (C) 2006, Herbert W. Benario.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

1 commentsCleisthenes

710a, Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.Silver denarius, RIC II, 10, aVF, 3.5 g, 18mm, Rome mint, 69-71 AD; Obverse: IMP CAESA[R] VESPASIANV[S AV]G - Laureate head right; Reverse: COS ITER [T]R POT - Pax seated left holding branch and caduceus. Ex Imperial Coins.

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

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 69-79)

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Introduction

Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. A.D. 9, d. A.D. 79, emperor A.D. 69-79) restored peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the Imperial throne. Although we lack many details about the events and chronology of his reign, Vespasian provided practical leadership and a return to stable government - accomplishments which, when combined with his other achievements, make his emperorship particularly notable within the history of the Principate.

Early Life and Career

Vespasian was born at Falacrina near Sabine Reate on 17 November, A.D. 9, the son of T. Flavius Sabinus, a successful tax collector and banker, and Vespasia Polla. Both parents were of equestrian status. Few details of his first fifteen years survive, yet it appears that his father and mother were often away from home on business for long periods. As a result, Vespasian's early education became the responsibility of his paternal grandmother, Tertulla. [[1]] In about A.D. 25 Vespasian assumed the toga virilis and later accepted the wearing of the latus clavus, and with it the senatorial path that his older brother, T. Flavius Sabinus, had already chosen. [[2]] Although many of the particulars are lacking, the posts typically occupied by one intent upon a senatorial career soon followed: a military tribunate in Thrace, perhaps for three or four years; a quaestorship in Crete-Cyrene; and the offices of aedile and praetor, successively, under the emperor Gaius. [[3]]

It was during this period that Vespasian married Flavia Domitilla. Daughter of a treasury clerk and former mistress of an African knight, Flavia lacked the social standing and family connections that the politically ambitious usually sought through marriage. In any case, the couple produced three children, a daughter, also named Flavia Domitilla, and two sons, the future emperors Titus and Domitian . Flavia did not live to witness her husband's emperorship and after her death Vespasian returned to his former mistress Caenis, who had been secretary to Antonia (daughter of Marc Antony and mother of Claudius). Caenis apparently exerted considerable influence over Vespasian, prompting Suetonius to assert that she remained his wife in all but name, even after he became emperor. [[4]]

Following the assassination of Gaius on 24 January, A.D. 41, Vespasian advanced rapidly, thanks in large part to the new princeps Claudius, whose favor the Flavians had wisely secured with that of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, and of Claudius' freedmen, especially Narcissus. [[5]] The emperor soon dispatched Vespasian to Argentoratum (Strasbourg) as legatus legionis II Augustae, apparently to prepare the legion for the invasion of Britain. Vespasian first appeared at the battle of Medway in A.D. 43, and soon thereafter led his legion across the south of England, where he engaged the enemy thirty times in battle, subdued two tribes, and conquered the Isle of Wight. According to Suetonius, these operations were conducted partly under Claudius and partly under Vespasian's commander, Aulus Plautius. Vespasian's contributions, however, did not go unnoticed; he received the ornamenta triumphalia and two priesthoods from Claudius for his exploits in Britain. [[6]]

By the end of A.D. 51 Vespasian had reached the consulship, the pinnacle of a political career at Rome. For reasons that remain obscure he withdrew from political life at this point, only to return when chosen proconsul of Africa about A.D. 63-64. His subsequent administration of the province was marked by severity and parsimony, earning him a reputation for being scrupulous but unpopular. [[7]] Upon completion of his term, Vespasian returned to Rome where, as a senior senator, he became a man of influence in the emperor Nero's court. [[8]] Important enough to be included on Nero's tour of Greece in A.D. 66-67, Vespasian soon found himself in the vicinity of increasing political turbulence in the East. The situation would prove pivotal in advancing his career.

Judaea and the Accession to Power

In response to rioting in Caesarea and Jerusalem that had led to the slaughter in the latter city of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, Nero granted to Vespasian in A.D. 66 a special command in the East with the objective of settling the revolt in Judaea. By spring A.D. 67, with 60,000 legionaries, auxiliaries, and allies under his control, Vespasian set out to subdue Galilee and then to cut off Jerusalem. Success was quick and decisive. By October all of Galilee had been pacified and plans for the strategic encirclement of Jerusalem were soon formed. [[9]] Meanwhile, at the other end of the empire, the revolts of Gaius Iulius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, had brought Nero's reign to the brink of collapse. The emperor committed suicide in June, A.D. 68, thereby ensuring chaos for the next eighteen months, as first Galba and then Marcus Salvius Otho and Aulus Vitellius acceded to power. Each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support; each would be violently deposed in turn. [[10]]

Still occupied with plans against Jerusalem, Vespasian swore allegiance to each emperor. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt. [[11]] On July 1, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judaea two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. [[12]] The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.

Meanwhile, the Danubian legions, unwilling to wait for Mucianus' arrival, began their march against Vitellius ' forces. The latter army, suffering from a lack of discipline and training, and unaccustomed to the heat of Rome, was defeated at Cremona in late October. [[13]] By mid-December the Flavian forces had reached Carsulae, 95 kilometers north of Rome on the Flaminian Road, where the Vitellians, with no further hope of reinforcements, soon surrendered. At Rome, unable to persuade his followers to accept terms for his abdication, Vitellius was in peril. On the morning of December 20 the Flavian army entered Rome. By that afternoon, the emperor was dead. [[14]]

Tacitus records that by December 22, A.D. 69, Vespasian had been given all the honors and privileges usually granted to emperors. Even so, the issue remains unclear, owing largely to a surviving fragment of an enabling law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which conferred powers, privileges, and exemptions, most with Julio-Claudian precedents, on the new emperor. Whether the fragment represents a typical granting of imperial powers that has uniquely survived in Vespasian's case, or is an attempt to limit or expand such powers, remains difficult to know. In any case, the lex sanctioned all that Vespasian had done up to its passing and gave him authority to act as he saw fit on behalf of the Roman people. [[15]]

What does seem clear is that Vespasian felt the need to legitimize his new reign with vigor. He zealously publicized the number of divine omens that predicted his accession and at every opportunity he accumulated multiple consulships and imperial salutations. He also actively promoted the principle of dynastic succession, insisting that the emperorship would fall to his son. The initiative was fulfilled when Titus succeeded his father in A.D. 79.[[16]]

Emperorship

Upon his arrival in Rome in late summer, A.D. 70, Vespasian faced the daunting task of restoring a city and a government ravaged by the recent civil wars. Although many particulars are missing, a portrait nevertheles emerges of a ruler conscientiously committed to the methodical renewal of both city and empire. Concerning Rome itself, the emperor encouraged rebuilding on vacated lots, restored the Capitol (burned in A.D. 69), and also began work on several new buildings: a temple to the deified Claudius on the Caelian Hill, a project designed to identify Vespasian as a legitimate heir to the Julio-Claudians, while distancing himself from Nero ; a temple of Peace near the Forum; and the magnificent Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), located on the site of the lake of Nero 's Golden House. [[17]]

Claiming that he needed forty thousand million sesterces for these projects and for others aimed at putting the state on more secure footing, Vespasian is said to have revoked various imperial immunities, manipulated the supply of certain commodities to inflate their price, and increased provincial taxation. [[18]] The measures are consistent with his characterization in the sources as both obdurate and avaricious. There were occasional political problems as well: Helvidius Priscus, an advocate of senatorial independence and a critic of the Flavian regime from the start, was exiled after A.D. 75 and later executed; Marcellus Eprius and A. Alienus Caecina were condemned by Titus for conspiracy, the former committing suicide, the latter executed in A.D. 79.
As Suetonius claims, however, in financial matters Vespasian always put revenues to the best possible advantage, regardless of their source. Tacitus, too, offers a generally favorable assessment, citing Vespasian as the first man to improve after becoming emperor. [[19]] Thus do we find the princeps offering subventions to senators not possessing the property qualifications of their rank, restoring many cities throughout the empire, and granting state salaries for the first time to teachers of Latin and Greek rhetoric. To enhance Roman economic and social life even further, he encouraged theatrical productions by building a new stage for the Theatre of Marcellus, and he also put on lavish state dinners to assist the food trades. [[20]]

In other matters the emperor displayed similar concern. He restored the depleted ranks of the senatorial and equestrian orders with eligible Italian and provincial candidates and reduced the backlog of pending court cases at Rome. Vespasian also re-established discipline in the army, while punishing or dismissing large numbers of Vitellius ' men. [[21]]
Beyond Rome, the emperor increased the number of legions in the East and continued the process of imperial expansion by the annexation of northern England, the pacification of Wales, and by advances into Scotland and southwest Germany between the Rhine and the Danube. Vespasian also conferred rights on communities abroad, especially in Spain, where the granting of Latin rights to all native communities contributed to the rapid Romanization of that province during the Imperial period. [[22]]

Death and Assessment

In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!" [[23]] In fact, public deification did follow his death, as did his internment in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside the Julio-Claudians.

A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century.

Bibliography

Since the scholarship on Vespasian is more comprehensive than can be treated here, the works listed below are main accounts or bear directly upon issues discussed in the entry above. A comprehensive modern anglophone study of this emperor is yet to be produced.

Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.

Atti congresso internazionale di studi Vespasianei, 2 vols. Rieti, 1981.

Bosworth, A.B. "Vespasian and the Provinces: Some Problems of the Early 70s A.D." Athenaeum 51 (1973): 49-78.

Brunt, P. A. "Lex de imperio Vespasiani." JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.

D'Espèrey, S. Franchet. "Vespasien, Titus et la littérature." ANRW II.32.5: 3048-3086.

Dudley, D. and Webster, G. The Roman Conquest of Britain. London, 1965.

Gonzalez, J. "The Lex Irnitana: A New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.

Grant, M. The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476. New York, 1985.

Homo, L. Vespasien, l'Empereur du bons sens (69-79 ap. J.-C.). Paris, 1949.

Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.

McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors Including the Year of the Revolution. Cambridge, 1966.

Nicols, John. Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae. Wiesbaden, 1978.

Scarre, C. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London, 1995.

Suddington, D. B. The Development of the Roman Auxiliary Forces from Caesar to Vespasian, 49 B.C. - A.D. 79. Harare: U. of Zimbabwe, 1982.

Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.

Wardel, David. "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol." Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.

Wellesley, K. The Long Year: A.D. 69. Bristol, 1989, 2nd ed.

Notes

[[1]] Suet. Vesp. 2.1. Suetonius remains the major source but see also Tac. Hist. 2-5; Cass. Dio 65; Joseph. BJ 3-4.

[[2]] Suetonius (Vesp. 2.1) claims that Vespasian did not accept the latus clavus, the broad striped toga worn by one aspiring to a senatorial career, immediately. The delay, however, was perhaps no more than three years. See J. Nicols, Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae (Wiesbaden, 1978), 2.

[[3]] Military tribunate and quaestorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3; aedileship: ibid., 5.3, in which Gaius, furious that Vespasian had not kept the streets clean, as was his duty, ordered some soldiers to load him with filth;,they complied by stuffing his toga with as much as it could hold. See also Dio 59.12.2-3; praetorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3, in which Vespasian is depicted as one of Gaius' leading adulators, an account consistent with Tacitus' portrayal (Hist 1.50.4; 2.5.1) of his early career. For a more complete discussion of these posts and attendant problems of dating, see Nicols, Vespasian, 2-7.

[[4]] Marriage and Caenis: Suet. Vesp. 3; Cass. Dio 65.14.

[[5]] Nicols, Vespasian, 12-39.

[[6]] Suet. Vesp. 4.1 For additional details on Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see D. Dudley and G. Webster, The Roman Conquest of Britain (London, 1965), 55 ff., 98.

[[7]] Concerning Vespasian's years between his consulship and proconsulship, see Suet. Vesp. 4.2 and Nicols, Vespasian, 9. On his unpopularity in Africa, see Suet. Vesp. 4.3, an account of a riot at Hadrumentum, where he was once pelted with turnips. In recording that Africa supported Vitellius in A.D. 69, Tacitus too suggests popular dissatisfaction with Vespasian's proconsulship. See Hist. 2.97.2.

[[8]] This despite the fact that the sources record two rebukes of Vespasian, one for extorting money from a young man seeking career advancement (Suet. Vesp. 4.3), the other for either leaving the room or dozing off during one of the emperor's recitals (Suet. Vesp. 4.4 and 14, which places the transgression in Greece; Tac. (Ann. 16.5.3), who makes Rome and the Quinquennial Games of A.D. 65 the setting; A. Braithwaite, C. Suetoni Tranquilli Divus Vespasianus, Oxford, 1927, 30, who argues for both Greece and Rome).

[[9]] Subjugation of Galilee: Joseph. BJ 3.65-4.106; siege of Jerusalem: ibid., 4.366-376, 414.

[[10]] Revolt of Vindex: Suet. Nero 40; Tac. Ann. 14.4; revolt of Galba: Suet. Galba 10; Plut. Galba, 4-5; suicide of Nero: Suet. Nero 49; Cass. Dio 63.29.2. For the most complete account of the period between Nero's death and the accession of Vespasian, see K. Wellesley, The Long Year: A.D. 69, 2nd. ed. (Bristol, 1989).

[[11]] Tac. Hist. 2.76.

[[12]] Troops in support of Vespasian: Suet. Vit. 15; Mucianus and his forces: Tac. Hist. 2.83; Vespasian and grain shipments: Joseph. BJ 4.605 ff.; see also Tac. Hist. 3.48, on Vespasian's possible plan to shut off grain shipments to Italy from Carthage as well.

[[13]] On Vitellius' army and its lack of discipline, see Tac. Hist. 2.93-94; illness of army: ibid., 2.99.1; Cremona: ibid., 3.32-33.

[[14]] On Vitellius' last days, see Tac. Hist. 3.68-81. On the complicated issue of Vitellius' death date, see L. Holzapfel, "Römische Kaiserdaten," Klio 13 (1913): 301.

[[15]] Honors, etc. Tac. Hist. 4.3. For more on the lex de imperio Vespasiani, see P. A. Brunt, "Lex de imperio Vespasiani," JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.

[[16]] Omens: Suet. Vesp. 5; consulships and honors: ibid., 8; succession of sons: ibid., 25.

[[17]] On Vespasian's restoration of Rome, see Suet. Vesp. 9; Cass. Dio 65.10; D. Wardel, "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol," Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.

[[18]] Suet. Vesp. 16.

[[19]] Ibid.; Tac. Hist. 1.50.

[[20]] Suet. Vesp. 17-19.

[[21]] Ibid., 8-10.

[[22]] On Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see esp. Tac., Agricola, eds. R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond (1967), and W. S. Hanson, Agricola and the Conquest of the North (1987); on the granting of Latin rights in Spain, see, e.g., J. Gonzalez, "The Lex Irnitana: a New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.

[[23]] For this witticism and other anecdotes concerning Vespasian's sense of humor, see Suet. Vesp. 23.

Copyright (C) 1998, John Donahue. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, an Online Encyplopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm
Used by permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

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

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

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

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

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

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

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

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

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

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

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

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

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

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

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

712a, Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D.Domitian, as Caesar, AR Denarius. 77-78 AD; RIC 242, VF, 18mm, 3.18grams. Obverse: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIA[NVS], laureate head right ; Reverse: COS V below man with hand raised out behind him on horse prancing right. RSC 49a. Scarce. Ex Zuzim Judaea.

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

Titus Flavius Domitianus(A.D. 81-96)

John Donahue
College of William and Mary

Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October A.D. 51, the youngest son of Vespasian, Roman emperor (A.D. 69-79) and Domitilla I, a treasury clerk's daughter. Little is known about Domitian in the turbulent 18 months of the four (five?) emperors, but in the aftermath of the downfall of Vitellius in A.D. 69 he presented himself to the invading Flavian forces, was hailed as Caesar, and moved into the imperial residence.

As emperor, Domitian was to become one of Rome's foremost micromanagers, especially concerning the economy. Shortly after taking office, he raised the silver content of the denarius by about 12% (to the earlier level of Augustus), only to devaluate it in A.D. 85, when the imperial income must have proved insufficient to meet military and public expenses.

Domitian's reach extended well beyond the economy. Late in A.D. 85 he made himself censor perpetuus, censor for life, with a general supervision of conduct and morals. The move was without precedent and, although largely symbolic, it nevertheless revealed Domitian's obsessive interest in all aspects of Roman life. An ardent supporter of traditional Roman religion, he also closely identified himself with Minerva and Jupiter, publicly linking the latter divinity to his regime through the Ludi Capitolini, the Capitoline Games, begun in A.D.86. Held every four years in the early summer, the Games consisted of chariot races, athletics and gymnastics, and music, oratory and poetry.

Beyond Rome, Domitian taxed provincials rigorously and was not afraid to impose his will on officials of every rank. Consistent with his concern for the details of administration, he also made essential changes in the organization of several provinces and established the office of curator to investigate financial mismanagement in the cities. Other evidence points to a concern with civic improvements of all kinds, from road building in Asia Minor, Sardinia and near the Danube to building and defensive improvements in North Africa.

While the military abilities of Vespasian and Titus were genuine, those of Domitian were not. Partly as an attempt to remedy this deficiency, Domitian frequently became involved in his own military exploits outside of Rome. He claimed a triumph in A.D. 83 for subduing the Chatti in Gaul, but the conquest was illusory. Final victory did not really come until A.D. 89. In Britain, similar propaganda masked the withdrawal of Roman forces from the northern borders to positions farther south, a clear sign of Domitian's rejection of expansionist warfare in the province.

Domitian's autocratic tendencies meant that the real seat of power during his reign resided with his court. The features typically associated with later courts - a small band of favored courtiers, a keen interest in the bizarre and the unusual (e.g., wrestlers, jesters, and dwarves), and a highly mannered, if somewhat artificial atmosphere, characterized Domitian's palace too, whether at Rome or at his Alban villa, some 20 kilometers outside of the capital.

On 18 September, A.D. 96, Domitian was assassinated and was succeeded on the very same day by M. Cocceius Nerva, a senator and one of his amici. The sources are unanimous in stressing that this was a palace plot, yet it is difficult to determine the level of culpability among the various potential conspirators.
In many ways, Domitian is still a mystery - a lazy and licentious ruler by some accounts, an ambitious administrator and keeper of traditional Roman religion by others. As many of his economic, provincial, and military policies reveal, he was efficient and practical in much that he undertook, yet he also did nothing to hide the harsher despotic realities of his rule. This fact, combined with his solitary personality and frequent absences from Rome, guaranteed a harsh portrayal of his rule. The ultimate truths of his reign remain difficult to know.

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

Perhaps the reverse of this Domitian/Horseman specimen depicts Domitian as he rode a white horse behind his father, Vespasian, and his brother, Titus, during their joint triumph celebrating their victory over Judaea (see: Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Penguin, 2003. 304).

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes

8. Janus, first king of Italy, and inventor of civilisationSestertius minted AD 140, Rome. 24.70g, Ø 32mm, 12h. RIC 644, Cohen 881, Foss 55
Obv.: ANTONINVS - AVG PIVS PP, laurate head right.
Rev.: TR POT COS III round edge SC in field, Janus standing facing, holding sceptre.
ex CNG eAuction 233 lot 335 (June 2010); ex the John Bitner Collection of Secular Games Coinage; ex Astarte XV (27 November 2004), lot 234.

Sestertius issued in preparation of the 900th anniversary of Rome, celebrated on 21 April 147.
Janus was believed to be first king of Italy, serving as both leader and teacher to all within his lands. In honor of his deeds, he was elevated to the status of a deity by the Romans, with Romulus himself, one of the mythical founders of Rome, building and dedicating the Temple of Janus.2 commentsCharles S

81-96 AD - DOMITIAN AR denarius - struck 88 ADobv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII (laureate head right)
rev: COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC (herald with feather in cap walking left, holding round shield and wand)
ref: RIC Vol 2.1 (2008) 596 (old RIC 117); RSC 76/77
mint: Rome
3.21gms, 18.5mm
Rare (by RIC)

This coin struck after the Saeculares Games in 88 AD.2 commentsberserker

81-96 AD - DOMITIAN AR denarius - struck 88-89 ADobv: IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG GERMANICVS (laureate head right)
rev: Minerva advancing right, aiming javelin and holding shield, COSX IIII across fields
ref: RIC II 121 (S), BMC 141, C.67 (6frcs)
3.17gms, 19mm
mint: Rome
Scarce

This coin struck after the Saeculares Games in 88-89 AD. berserker

A. Centering Dimple: Philip II AE26 of Thessalonica, 2nd Pythian Games Issue, c. 246 CEPhoto Credit: CNG [LINK]
Roman Provincial / Greek Imperial. Philip II (Caesar), under Philip I (Augustus). Macedon, Thessalonica AE Tetrassarion (26.5mm, 11.23g, 7h), Second Pythian Games issue, struck circa 246 CE.
Obv: · ΜΑΡ · ΙΟΥΛΙΟϹ · ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ · ΚƐ (·) – Mar(cus) Julius Philippus Ca(esar). Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Philip II facing right, seen from rear.
Rev: ΘƐϹϹΑΛΟΝΙΚƐΩΝ ΝƐΩ / ·ΠΥΘΙΑΔΙ· / ·Β· – Of the Thessalonians, Neo(korate) / Pythian Games / #2. Temple (of Kabeiros?) with four side columns, on podium, seen in 3/4 perspective to right.
Ref: RPC VIII (Temp.) 69113, ex. 6 (this coin) [LINK]; Touratsoglou (Thessaloniki, 1988) 62 (Philip II); Varbanov (vol III, 2007) 4740; Moushmov –. See also: Jean Hourmouziadis “Virtual Collection” SHH v3964 (this coin) [LINK].
Provenance: Ex-Dix, Noonan, Webb A7 (17 Mar 2009), Lot 1235; Pegasi MBS 22 (20 Apr 2010), Lot 383 (unsold, and numerous later Pegasi/VAuctions sales through 2020); CNG e-Auction 489 (7 Apr 2021), Lot 272 [LINK]

Notes: Historical issue celebrating the local Pythian Games in honor of Kabeiros at Thessalonica (not the Pythian Games at Delphi). But for this album I am sharing it for the extra-large incuse circular formation on the reverse.

While opinions long differed over the function of these "centration dimples" (or "centering divots" or "flan preparation marks") -- found on bronze coins of many Roman Provincial mints, some Ptolemaic bronzes, and a few other Greek types -- they are now generally accepted as having been using in the lathing of the flans prior to striking. The rotational marks sometimes seen inside the divots indicate they were used to center to the coin or apparatus while mechanically smoothing the flan. Whether any progress has been made in determining exactly what these apparatus looked like or how exactly they worked, I am unsure.

See Nurpetlian (NC 2018, p. 241, "central holes," & pl. 20, 17-19 [LINK]). One popular source discussing the topic is Doug Smith's 1999 webpage: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/pit.html, reproduced in Numiswiki: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Centration%20Dimples. For a dissenting view, see Marvin Tameanko's controversial article in The Celator, Oct 1992 (vol 6, No 10): https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/65-vol-06-no-10-october-1992/
2 commentsCurtis JJ

Abduction of the Sabine women.AR denarius. 89 BC. 3,65 grs. Bare-headed, bearded head of King Tatius righ. TA (ligate) below chin. SABIN behind / Two Roman soldiers, each carrying off a sabine woman in his arms. L TITVRI in exergue.
Crawford 344/1a. RSC Tituria 1.

Livy. History of Rome. 1.9.
The Roman state had become strong enough to hold its own in war with all the peoples along its borders, but a shortage of women meant that its greatness was fated to last for a single generation, since there was no prospect of offspring at home nor any prospect of marriage with their neighbours. Then, in accordance with the decision of the senate, Romulus sent messengers to the neighbouring peoples to ask for alliance and the right of marriage for the new people: cities, like everything else, start small but later if their own excellence and the gods assist them, they grow in strength and in fame. It was certain that at the beginning of Rome the gods had been propitiated and that it would not lack in valour. Therefore, men should not disdain to join blood and family ties with other men.
But nowhere were the emissaries given a fair hearing. Some scorned, others feared the great power growing in their midst, both for themselves and for their descendants. In more than one place the emissaries were asked, even as they were being sent packing, why they hadn't offered asylum to women (criminals) too: that way they'd have had their marriage and with others of their own rank! The youth of Rome took this insult badly and began to think seriously about the use of force. Romulus, to gain time till he found the right occasion, hid his concern and prepared to celebrate the Consualia, the solemn games in honour of equestrian Neptune. He then ordered that the spectacle be announced to the neighbouring peoples. He gave the event great publicity by the most lavish means possible in those days. Many people came, some simply out of curiosity to see the new city, and especially the nearest neighbours, from Caenina, Crustuminum and Antemnae; the entire Sabine population came, wives and children included. Received with hospitality in the houses, after having seen the position of the city, its walls, and the large number of buildings, they marvelled that Rome had grown so fast. When it was time for the show, and everybody was concentrating on this, a prearranged signal was given and all the Roman youths began to grab the women. Many just snatched the nearest woman to hand, but the most beautiful had already been reserved for the senators and these were escorted to the senators' houses by plebeians who had been given this assignment. The story goes that one woman, far and away the most beautiful, was carried off by the gang of a certain Thalassius, and because many wanted to know where they were taking her, they repeatedly shouted that they were taking her to Thalassius, and that it how the nuptial cry came to be.

The party was over, and the grieving parents of the girls ran away, accusing the Romans of having violated the laws of hospitality and invoking the god who was supposed to have been honoured at that day's festival. Nor did the girls themselves hold much hope. But Romulus went among them in person to assure them that none of this would have happened if their fathers hadn't been so inflexible in not letting them marry their neighbours. But now they would have the status of wives with all the material rewards and civil rights of citizenship and they would have children, than which nothing is dearer. They should cool their anger and give their hearts to the men who had already taken their bodies. A good relationship often begins with an offence, he said. And their husbands would treat them with extra kindness in hope of making up for the parents and country they so missed. The men added their blandishments, saying that they'd been motivated by love and passion, entreaties which are very effective with women.

benito

Achaea. Corinthia, Corinth. Lucius Verus AE26 Melikertes-PalaimonPeloponnesus. Corinthia, Corinth. Obv. bare-headed bust of Lucius Verus wearing cuirass, r. [IMP L AVR VERVS AVG] Rev. Melikertes-Palaimon riding on dolphin, l.; in pine wreath C L I COR.

A fragmentary Isthmian ode of Pindar portrays the founding of the Isthmian Games as a funerary celebration for Melikertes. Examination of the language in which Pindar speaks of the cults of other heroes at places where athletic contests were celebrated in their honour leads to the conclusion that Melikertes was worshipped as a hero at the Isthmian Sanctuary, at least by the time of Pindar, although no remains of a shrine to him before the Roman period have been found.3 commentsancientone

AE 12; Zeus/ HibiscusRhodos, Caria, c. 225 B.C. Bronze AE 12, SNG Cop 797, nice F, Rhodos mint, 1.967g, 11.7mm, 0o, c. 225 BC; obverse laureate head of Zeus right; reverse PO, rose, sun-disk behind; rare. Based on the unusual Zeus obverse, this small bronze could be connected to Ptolemy III of Egypt. A devastating earthquake struck Rhodes in 226 B.C. It knocked down the Colossus of Rhodes and destroyed the city. Polybius records that Ptolemy III promised the Rhodians '300 talents of silver, a million artabae of corn, ship-timber for 10 quinqueremes and 10 triremes, consisting of 40,000 cubits of squared pine planking, 1000 talents of bronze coinage, 180,000 pounds of tow (for ropes), 3000 pieces of sailcloth, 3000 talents (of copper?) for the repair of the Colossus, 100 master-builders with 350 workmen, and 14 talents yearly to pay their wages. Beside this, he gave 12,000 artabae of corn for their public games and sacrifices, and 20,000 artabae for victualling 10 triremes. The greater part of these goods were delivered at once, as well as one-third of the money named.' This issue shows perceived harmony with, or thanks to Ptolemaic Egypt. -- J. Ashton, Rhodian Bronze Coinage and the Earthquake of 229. Ex FORVMPodiceps

Aegeae (Cilicia) - ValerianusAV. KAI. ΠOV. ΛIKI. OVAΛEPIANOC CEB. , laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, caduceus in field to the right.
IEPOIKOVMENIKOC ACKΛHΠIOC / AIΓAIωN , 2 corn-ears in a prize urn resting on agonistic table seen in perspective, vase beneath.Ginolerhino

Aiolis, Aigai, pseudo-autonomous, unpublishedAE 19, 3.02g, 18.71mm, 345°
struck under the Agonothetes Ovl. Polemon
obv. IERA - CVNKLHTOC
Bust of the Senate, draped, laureate, r.
rev. EPI.AGW.OVL - [POLEMON]
Cult-statue of Apollo Chresterios, stg. frontal, both hands outstretched, holding branch(?) in l. hand and unknown small object(?) in r. hand
in l. and r. field AI - GA[I]
ref. SNG von Aulock 7674 (rev. legend only!); probably unpublished
very rare, about VF

There is a type for Sabina with the rev. legend EPI AGW OVL POLE, SNG von Aulock 7674, found by Archivum by ISEGRIM, thanks!

Agonothetes was a magistrate whose duty was the superintendence of games.Jochen

Anchialus, Happy wedding & agonistic urnsCaracalla Æ27 of Anchialus, Thrace. 202 AD. AVT M AVRÊLI ANTÔNEINOS, laureate head right / OVLPIANÔN AGSIA-LEÔN, table with two prize urns, SEBERA NYMFIA below. SNGCop 439, Moushmov 2856. Varbanov II 404). Issued for the Wedding (Nympheum) games honoring the marriage of Caracalla and Plautilla in 202 AD. ex areich, photo credit areichPodiceps

Antelope, Philip I Antoninianus. A.D.248.Obverse: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip I facing right, seen from behind.
Reverse: SAECVLARES AVGG. Antelope walking left; in exergue, VI (officina 6).
RIC IV iii : 21 | RSC IV : 189 | SRCV III : 8959

This coin is one of a series of coins struck by Philip I and Philip II in A.D.248 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of Rome. Many of these coins depict the various animals, brought from all over the Empire, which were displayed in the arena during the games celebrating this event.*Alex

Antoninus Pius - AsANTONINVS AVG. PIVS P.P. TR.P. XII, laureate bust right
MVNIFICENTIA AVG. / COS IIII / S C, Personification of the Munificence of the Emperor, stanfing left, holding sceptre and patera, a lion at her feet.

This coin is dated 148-9. On this year, the Emperor Antoninus celebrated lavish games in Rome to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the city.Ginolerhino

ANTONINUS PIUS / ELEPHANT148 - 149 AD
AE As 24 mm 9.24 g
O: Laur head R
R: Elephant walking R
COS IIII in ex.
Rome
(reverse type refers to games celebrating 900th anniversary of Rome)
laney

Antoninus Pius As (MVNIFICENTIA AVG/elephant, RIC III 863)ANTONINUS PIUS, AD 138-161
AE As (28.12mm, 13.73g, 11h)
Struck AD 148/9. Rome mint
Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right
Reverse: MVNIFICENTIA AVG, African elephant walking left, COS IIII S C in exergue
References: RIC III 863, RCV 4308 var.

Well-struck on a heavy flan. Masterfully engraved elephant. This type commemorates the public games held in celebration of the 900th anniversary of the founding of Rome.8 commentsCPK

Antoninus Pius, RIC 644, Sestertius of AD 140-144 (Janus) Æ Sestertius (24.70g, Ø32mm, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 140-144.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right
Rev.: TR POT COS III (around) S C (in field) Janus standing facing, holding a long sceptre.
RIC 644 (S), Cohen 881, BMC 1317, Strack 886; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali II-3) 435 (3 spec.); Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values II) 4240.
ex CNG eAuction 233, 2010; ex the John Bitner Collection of Secular Games Coinage; ex Astarte XV, 2004

This issue is part of a series of coins struck in preparation of the 900th anniversary of Rome, figuring scenes from Ancient Roman legends. Janus was believed to have been the first king of Italy. He was elevated to the status of a deity and a temple was dedicated to him.Charles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 862a, As of AD 148-149 (elephant) Æ As (12.16g, 27mm, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 148-149.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head right.
Rev.: MVNIFICENTIA AVG around, COS IIII / [S C] in two lines in ex., Elephant walking right.
RIC 862a (C); Cohen 565
Ex Old Roman Coins , 2001; ex Bullowa, 8/49.

MVNIFICENTIA AVG = "The generosity of the Emperor"; struck when games and donative were held in conjunction with the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the founding of Rome on April 21st, AD.147.1 commentsCharles S

Antoninus Pius, RIC 862a, As of AD 148-149 (Munificentia)Æ As (8.57g, Ø26mm, 11h). Rome mint. Struck 148-149 AD.
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG - PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head right.
Rev.: MVNIFICENTIA AVG around edge COS IIII / S C in ex., elephant walking right.
RIC 862a; Cohen 565'Foss (RHC) 128:51

This coin was struck in conjunction with very impressive games and displays (for which many elephants were imported from Africa) for the 900th anniversary of the founding of Rome celebrated on April 21st, 147 AD.Charles S

Antony and Octavian Antony and Octavian

Α Γ Ω N Ο Θ Ε Σ Ι Α
Bust of Agonotheseia right

ANT KAI within wreath

Æ 22 mm.
11.07g
RPC I, 1552. SNG ANS 819. SNG Copenhagen 375. BMC 64.

Ex-Aegean

Refers to the establishment of Games to commemorate Antony & Octavian's victory over Cassius & Brutus at Philipi in 42 B.C. The cheif organizers of these games were known as Agonothetes; Agonotheseia, who appears on the obverse, was the personification of the Games.

Rare, historical 1 commentsJay GT4

Asia Minor, PisidiaObv: No legend, Gorgoneion facing with long hair, resembling Apollo or Helios, no tongue protruding.

Rev: Head of Athena facing right, wearing a crested helmet, an astragalos* behind.

Note: An astragalos was a gaming piece made from the knuckle bone of a sheep or a goat. It was used in antiquity for divination and games in a manner similar to dice.

Silver Trihemiobol, Selge mint, 3rd Century BC

0.89 grams, 10.5 mm, 45°

GCV 54781 commentsMatt Inglima

Aspendos, Pamphylia, 333 - 250 B.C.With the influence of the Olympics games.

Silver stater, Tekin Series 5, SNGvA 4578, SNG BnF 122, SNG Cop -, Arslan-Lightfoot -, gF, weight 9.107g, maximum diameter 24.8mm, die axis 0o, Aspendos mint, 330 - 250 B.C.; obverse two wrestlers, on left holds the right wrist of his opponent with his right hand and right forearm with his left hand, E between their legs, rounded edge; reverse EΣTΦE∆IY, slinger, wearing short chiton, discharging sling to right, O between legs, triskeles above club on right, round border of dots; scarce;

EX FORVM ANCIENT COIN SHOP

After Alexander took Perga peacefully, Aspendos sent envoys to offer surrender if he would not take the taxes and horses formerly paid as tribute to the Persian king. Agreeing, Alexander went on to Side, leaving a garrison behind. When he learned they had failed to ratify the agreement their own evnvoys had proposed, Alexander marched to the city. The Aspendians retreated to their acropolis and again sent envoys to sue for peace. This time, however, they had to agree to harsh terms - they would host a Macedonian garrison and pay 100 gold talents and 4.000 horses annually.

This type is a late example and likely among the last of the wrestler and slinger staters. Struck during economic crisis, perhaps resulting from the harsh terms set by Alexander after their treachery, the flans are underweight, crudely cast and appear to be of debased silver. The wrestlers and slinger are carelessly depicted. It is not as attractive as earlier examples but it is certainly much scarcer.

From The Sam Mansourati Collection.

*With my sincere thank , Photo and Description courtesy of FORVM Ancient Coins Staff.2 commentsSam

Aspendos, Pamphylia, 333 - 250 B.C.Aspendos, Pamphylia, 333 - 250 B.C.
With the influence of the Olympics games.

Silver stater, Tekin Series 5, SNGvA 4578, SNG BnF 122, SNG Cop -, Arslan-Lightfoot -, VF, weight 8.97 gr., maximum diameter 24.8mm, die axis 0o.
Aspendos mint . Struck between 330 - 250 B.C.
Obverse ; two wrestlers, on left holds the right wrist of his opponent with his right hand and right forearm with his left hand, E between their legs, rounded edge.
Reverse ; EΣTΦE∆IY, slinger, wearing short chiton, discharging sling to right, O between legs, triskeles above club on right, round border of dots; very rare.

From The Sam Mansourati Collection. NO. AGAP 3324
After Alexander the great took Perga peacefully, Aspendos sent envoys to offer surrender if he would not take the taxes and horses formerly paid as tribute to the Persian king. Agreeing, Alexander went on to Side, leaving a garrison behind. When he learned they had failed to ratify the agreement their own evnvoys had proposed, Alexander marched to the city. The Aspendians retreated to their acropolis and again sent envoys to sue for peace. This time, however, they had to agree to harsh terms - they would host a Macedonian garrison and pay 100 gold talents and 4.000 horses annually.

This type is a late example and likely among the last of the wrestler and slinger staters. Struck during economic crisis, perhaps resulting from the harsh terms set by Alexander after their treachery, the flans are underweight, crudely cast and appear to be of debased silver. The wrestlers and slinger are carelessly depicted. It is not as attractive as earlier examples but it is certainly much scarcer.

1 commentsSam

Aspendos, Pamphylia, 370 - 333 B.C.With the influence of the Olympics games.

Obverse : two wrestlers, the left one holds the wrist of his opponent with his right and right forearm with his left hand, KI between their legs.

Reverse : EÎ£TÎ¦Eâˆ†IIYÎ£ on left, slinger, wearing short chiton, discharging sling to right, triskeles on right with feet clockwise,

Extremely fine Silver Stater . Weight: 10.62 g. Max Diameter: 23 mm. Mint : Aspendos (in our days , Antalya province of Turkey)
SNG France 104. Struck from fresh , artistic and well executed dies.

Historical and Numismatic Note:

Pamphylia (/pæmËˆfÉªliÉ™/) was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (modern-day Antalya province, Turkey).

Aspendos or Aspendus (Greek: á¼ŒÏƒÏ€ÎµÎ½Î´Î¿Ï‚) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. Aspendos is about 40 km east of Antalya, Turkey about 16 km inland on the Eurymedon River. In 546 B.C. it fell to Persia. After a Persian defeat in 467, the city joined the Attic-Delos Maritime League. Persia took it again in 411 B.C., Alexander in 333 B.C., and Rome in 190 B.C. Although often subject to powerful empires, the city usually retained substantial autonomy.

The Sam Mansourati Collection. NO. AGAP 3121.

2 commentsSam

Aspendos, Pamphylia.Circa 380/75-330/25 BC.
With the influence of the Olympics games , Silver Stater.
Obverse : Two wrestlers grappling; LÎ¦ between, below.
Reverse : Slinger in throwing stance right; EÎ£TFEÎ”IIYÎ£ to left, counterclockwise triskeles of legs to right , Small eagle's head banker mark.
Mint : Aspendos (in our days , Antalya province of Turkey).
Ref ; Tekin Series 4; Arslan & Lightfoot 61–72 (same dies); Izmir 413 (same dies); SNG von Aulock 4565; SNG France 105 (same obv. die); SNG Copenhagen 227.
Extremely fine . 10.86 Gr . Max Dia 23 mm . Struck from fresh , artistic and well executed dies.

The Sam Mansourati Collection.
3 commentsSam

Athena and her owl In Greek mythology, a Little Owl baby (Athene noctua) traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, or Minerva, her syncretic incarnation in Roman mythology. Because of such association, the bird often referred to as the "owl of Athena" or the "owl of Minerva" has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western world.
The reasons behind the association of Athena and the owl are lost in time. Some mythographers, such as David Kinsley and Martin P. Nilsson suggest that she may descend from a Minoan palace goddess associated with birds and Marija Gimbutas claim to trace Athena's origins as an Old European bird and snake goddess.
On the other hand, Cynthia Berger theorizes about the appeal of some characteristics of owls such as their ability to see in the dark to be used as symbol of wisdom while others, such as William Geoffrey Arnott, propose a simple association between founding myths of Athens and the significant number of Little Owls in the region (a fact noted since antiquity by Aristophanes in The Birds and Lysistrata).
In any case, the city of Athens seems to have adopted the owl as proof of allegiance to its patron virgin goddess, which according to a popular etiological myth reproduced on the West pediment of the Parthenon, secured the favor of its citizens by providing them with a more enticing gift than Poséidon.
Owls were commonly reproduced by Athenians in vases, weights and prize amphoras for the Panathenaic Games. The owl of Athena even became the common obverse of the Athenian tetradrachms after 510 BC and according to Philochorus, the Athenian tetradrachm was known as glaux throughout the ancient world and "owl" in present day numismatics. They were not, however, used exclusively by them to represent Athena and were even used for motivation during battles by other Greek cities, such as in the victory of Agathocles of Syracuse over the Carthaginians in 310 B.C. in which owls flying through the ranks were interpreted as Athena’s blessing or in the Battle of Salamis, chronicled in Plutarch's biography of Themistocles.
(Source: Wikipédia)
1 comments

Augustus, 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D. Silver denarius, RIC I 340 (R2), RSC I Julius Caesar 6, BnF I 273, BMCRE I 70, SRCV I 1622, VF, scratch on cheek, pitting, 3.572g, 19.8mm, 180o, Rome mint, moneyer M. Sanquinius, 17 B.C.; obverse AVGVST DIVI F LVDOS SAE (Augustus son of the divine [Julius Caesar], [has made the] secular games), Herald standing left, wearing helmet with two feathers and long robe, winged caduceus in right hand, round shield decorated with six-pointed star on his left arm; reverse M SANQVINIVS III VIR, youthful laureate head (the deified Julius Caesar or Genius Saeculari Novi?) right, above, four-rayed comet (sidus Iulium) with tail; ex CNG auction 145 (9 Aug 2006), lot 254. Very rare.

This type was struck to commemorate the Ludi Saeculares, the Secular Games held by Augustus in 17 B.C. to mark the commencement of a new age inaugurated by the divine Julius Caesar and led by his heir Augustus. The reverse portrait is traditionally identified as the head of a youthful divine Julius Caesar, however, it actually resembles Augustus and may be Genius Saeculari Novi, the personification of the new age.

EX; FORVM Ancient Coins.

*With my sincere thank and appreciation , Photo and Description courtesy of FORVM Ancient Coins Staff.
Per FORVM ; an EF example of this type recently sold on 26 May 2014 for 20,000 CHF (approximately $25,575) plus fees.

From The Sam Mansourati Collection.4 commentsSam

Augustus, 27 BC - 14 ADObv: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, oak-wreathed head of Augustus facing right.

Rev: (D)IVVS - IVLIVS across field, a comet of eight rays with upward tail.

Note: "Sidus Iulium" or the Julian Star was a fiery comet that appeared in the heavens in May of 44 BC. On the opening day of the funeral games for Julius Caesar the comet's brightness dramatically intensified so that it was visible even in daylight. The timely appearance of the comet was taken as a sign of Caesar's apotheosis.

Silver Denarius, Caesaraugusta mint, 19 - 18 BC

3.7 grams, 19.5 mm, 180°

RIC I 37a, RSC 98, S1607 (var.), VM 573 commentsMatt Inglima

Baduila - Rome - 2 or 2 1/2 nummiBaduila (-552), Ostrogothic king (541-552). Æ 2 or 2½ Nummi (10 mm, 0.82 g), minted in Rome 550-552. Obverse: frontal bust with helmet, DN BA-DVIL. Reverse: lion advancing right within wreath. Metlich 99.

The type with a lion on the reverse copies the preceeding denarius (MIBE 232) from the Rome mint, which may have been introduced by the Roman general Belisarius in connection with the ludi saeculares of the city in 547; the 1300th anniversary of Rome's foundation. The type was continued to be used after Baduila captured Rome in January 550 and it may be related to the circus games that he is known to have presented in the city.Jan

BITHYNIA, Nicaea. Valerian I, with Gallienus and Valerian II
BITHYNIA, Nicaea. Valerian I, with Gallienus and Valerian II Caesar. AD 253-260. Æ Tetrassarion (24mm, 7.35 g, 7h). Games issue. Radiate, draped, and cuirassed busts of Valerian I and Valerian II left and Gallienus right / Agonistic urn, containing two palm fronds, between two agonistic urns, each containing palm frond. Weiser 262; RG 823. Near VF, encrusted red and green patina. Rare.1 commentsecoli

Bithynia, Nikaia, Caracalla, cf. Mionnet suppl. V, 601Caracalla, AD 197-218
AE 15, 2.09g, 15.47mm, 0°
obv. ANTWNINOC AVGOVC (NINO between rays of crown)
Bust, draped and cuirassed, radiate, r.
rev. CEOVHREIA - NIKAIEWN (HR ligate)
Prize basket with palm branch
ref. cf. Mionnet Suppl. V, 601 (for Severus); not in Mionnet, Rec. Gen., Weiser, SNG von Aulock, SNG Copenhagen, BMC, Imhoof, Jürgling
very rare, about SS, nice green patina

The Severeia were games in honour of Severus and his sons, frequently testified by incscriptions and coins in the entire eastern half of the empire, especially in Athens and Asia minor, but in Mauretania too, often together with other deities (Pauly)
2 commentsJochen

Bruttium, Kroton (Circa 425-350 BC)AR Stater

7.73 g

Obverse: Eagle standing left, head right, on stag’s head

Reverse: Tripod; ivy leaf to left, QPO to right.

HN Italy 2146; SNG ANS 351-2

Obeying a directive of the oracle of Delphi, A group of Achaean settlers founded Kroton around 710 BC. Like its neighbor to the north, Sybaris, it soon became a city of power and wealth. Kroton was especially celebrated for its successes in the Olympic Games from 588 BC onward (Milo of Kroton being the most famous of its athletes).

The philosopher Pythagoras established himself there about 530 BC and formed a society of 300 disciples who were sympathetic toward aristocratic government. In 510 BC Kroton was strong enough to defeat the Sybarites and raze their city to the ground. However, shortly after the sack of Sybaris the disciples of Pythagoras were driven out, and a democracy established.

The obverse was comparable with similar types on probably contemporary coins from Elis (which put on the Olympic games at the nearby sanctuary of Olympia) The coins of both cities were thus likely issued for athletic festivals in honor of Zeus. In Kroton’s case the coins probably commemorated its citizens’ Olympic victories with the eagle representing Zeus who presided over Olympia and the games themselves. The tripod (reverse) represented the divine sanction for the town's founding from the Oracle of Delphi (who sat on a three legged stool when producing her oracles).
2 commentsNathan P

C. Coelius Caldus - AR denariusRome
¹²51 BC
head of Coelius Caldus (moneyer's grandfather) right; standard inscribed HIS (Hispania) behind, standard in the form of a boar (emblem of of Clunia, Hispania) before
C·COEL·CALDVS
COS
statue of god seated left between two trophies of arms, all on a high lectisternium with front inscribed L·CALDVS / VII·(VIR)·EP(VL) (Lucius Caldus Septemvir Epulo)
C/·/C/A/L/D/V/S on left
I/MP/·/(AV)/·/X (Imperator, Augur, Decemvir) on right
C(ALD)VS III VIR below
¹Crawford 437/2a, Sydenham 894, RSC I Coelia 7, BMCRR II 3837, SRCV I 404
²Mark Passehl - Roman moneyer & coin type chronology, 150 – 50 BC
3,9g 17mm
ex Aurea

scarce

Coin commemorates three moneyer's ancestors.

The first, moneyer's grandfather C. Coelius Caldus, was consul in 94 BC. In 107 BC, he was elected tribune of the plebs and passed a lex tabellaria, requiring a secret ballot to determine the verdict in cases of high treason. He was a praetor in 100 or 99 BC, and proconsul of Hispania Citerior the following year. This is represented by standard on the obverse along with emblem of the conquered town Clunia. He was also moneyer in 104 BC.

The second, L. Coelius Caldus, was member of septemviri epulones who prepared lectisternium - propitiatory ceremony, consisting of a meal offered to gods and goddesses (depicted on the reverse). He was responsible for sacrificial feast (epulare sacrificium) during Plebeian games (Ludi Plebeii) in Rome.

The third, C. Coelius Caldus, was augur, member of decemviri sacris faciundis, and governor who gained the title Imperator. The trophies on the reverse commemorates his military campains.
J. B.

CALABRIA. Taras. 425-380 BC. AR nomos6.26 gm
Nude ephebe cantering left, holding bridle with both hands, Î›Î• (retrograde) beneath horse / TARAS, dolphin rider right, wielding trident and pointing with left hand.
HN Italy 850. Vlasto 319 (same dies).
Porous. Edge bump (8:00 obverse) and reverse scratches. Good very fine.

The aristocratic Tarentines were especially proud of their reputation as first-rate horsemen, and the coinage of Tarentum mirrors this pride by displaying all manner of equestrian showmanship. Some of the riders appear in full armor, and those must be cavalrymen in battle, but most appear nude: those riders are surely taking part in the various races and games that the aristocrats loved so much. One of the more dangerous, and most prestigious, of the races was the kalpé. In this form of race the rider would, at a certain stage, slide off his horse and, while holding the reins, run along side. The Tarentine staters show several stages in the process. On this coin we see the very beginning: the rider places his left hand on the horse’s rump and has moved his right hand from the right to the left side of the his horse’s head. On the next lot we see him moving his right leg up over the horse’s back; on other coins (not here) we see both legs stretched out on the left side of the horse just before the rider leaps to the ground. For a short discussion of this event see Sport, p. 79. The actual process of getting off the horse was termed apobates. There are many examples of the initial stages of the apobates to be found in this rich collection.2 commentsLeo

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