Roman Empire, Julia Soaemias, +222, AR Denarius

Obv.Drap. bust r.

Rev.Venus Caelestis with apple and sceptre, besides star

Historical
Julia Soaemias Bassiana († 11 March 222 in Rome).
She was the mother of the Roman Emperor Elagabal (204-222).

Julia Soaemias came from a very influential Syrian family. This family was probably closely connected with the local religious cult of the god Elagabal. Her son, whose real name was Varius Avitus Bassianus, was given the name Elagabal, but only long after his death.  

During Elagabal's four-year reign (218-222), Julia Soaemias initially played a key role in guiding and influencing her son.
However, they both made themselves extremely unpopular with the Roman people. The introduced oriental customs and the arbitrary religious policy met with lively rejection and unacceptance. Both were murdered together in Rome in 222.

Please note: You buy a coin of the respective ruler in the specified condition, not the piece shown in each case.

Roman Empire, Gordian III, 238-244, AR Antoninianus, 241-243, Rom, EF-UNC

Radiated bust r.

Rv.Hercules with club leans on boulder

Historical

Marcus Antonius Gordianus (*225; † 244), also known as Gordian III.
He was Roman emperor from 238 to 244.

Marcus Antonius Gordianus was born in Rome on 20 January 225. The names of his parents in the late antique Historia Augusta are fictitious. It is very likely that his mother Antonia Gordiana was a daughter of Gordian I and thus a sister of Gordian II.

Probably in May 241 he married Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, daughter of his later praetorian prefect Gaius Furius Sabinus Aquila Timesitheus. Denarii with Diana Lucifera on the reverse were minted on the occasion of this marriage.
The marriage remained childless.

After the death of the two Gordians in January 238, the senate of necessity took over the opposition to the incumbent emperor Maximinus Thrax, whom they had previously declared an enemy of the state, and appointed two Augusti of equal rank from their own ranks, Balbinus and Pupienus.

With the help of the praetorians, who felt ignored by the senate's action in the election of the emperor, the city Roman population pushed through the appointment of the 13-year-old Gordian (III) as Caesar and princeps iuventutis.

Roman Empire, Gratian, 367-383, AR Siliqua

Bust with diadem r.

Enthroned Roma with little Victory on globe

Historical

Gratian (* Sirmium; † 383 in Lugdunum), with full name Flavius Gratianus.

He was emperor in the west of the Roman Empire from 375 to 383, but was appointed co-emperor by his father Valentinian I as early as 367.

Together with Theodosius I, he raised Christianity to the status of state religion in the Roman Empire.

Gratian's reign can be seen as a transitional period in the Empire from paganism to Christianity and coincides with the end of the Arian controversy.
Under the influence of Ambrose of Milan, Gratian rejected (probably in 382 or 383) the insignia of the Pontifex Maximus, which Constantine and his successors had continued to accept. It is generally assumed that Gratian, on the advice of his advisor Ambrosius of Milan, took tougher action against paganism. In any case, he abolished all privileges of the pagan priests and vestal virgins, including the special rights of their cults, and thus also deprived them of financial means.

In 381 he had the altar of Victoria removed from the Senate's meeting hall (see Dispute over the Altar of Victoria). Without state support, paganism subsequently lost more and more influence. In 383, Gratian also declared apostasy (apostasy from the faith) by law to be a crime to be prosecuted by the state.

Gratian's reign contrasted on the one hand with his father's rule (as far as the good relationship with the Senate was concerned), but on the other hand it also showed continuity (as far as military and border policies were concerned). According to the sources, Gratian was pious and very educated.

Of importance, apart from his religious policy, is his appointment of the capable Theodosius as well as his overall successful border defence, even if the emperor as a person was relatively insignificant. However, his character and private life seem to have differed positively from some of his predecessors. 

Designation Siliqua

Siliqua is the name given to small, thin silver coins of Roman currency that replaced the argenteus from about 320 AD.
The term siliqua (Latin for pod) comes from siliqua graeca, the seed or pod of the carob tree.

Roman Empire, Hostilian Caesar, 251, AE Sestertius

Bust r.
Rs.Apollon sitting l., with branch, ellbow on lyra.

Historical

Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus (* 235; † 251 in Viminatium).
He was Roman Emperor from June to November of the year 251.

Hostilian was the son of the Emperor Decius and his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla and the younger brother of the co-emperor Herennius Etruscus.

After his father's assumption of power in the summer of 249, Hostilian received the title Caesar together with his brother in 250.

However, he was overshadowed by his older brother, who was entrusted with his own military command soon after Decius came to power. At the beginning of 251, Decius made Herennius nominally co-emperor (Augustus) with equal rights. At that time he was preparing a campaign against the Goth king Kniva, who had crossed the Danube border and plundered on Roman territory.

Decius and Herennius went to war, Hostilian, who had now also been elevated to Augustus, initially stayed in Rome with his mother.

The campaign turned into a disaster. Decius and Herennius died in the battle of Abrittus in the first half of June 251. They were the first emperors to fall in battle against foreign enemies.

Hostilian last stayed with his court in the frontier town of Viminatium, the headquarters of the 7th Legion, in the eastern part of present-day Serbia, and also had coins with his portrait minted there. To what extent he was personally involved as a commander in military conflicts with the Goths is not known.

According to Aurelius Victor, Hostilian died in November 251 from the plague introduced into the empire during the Gothic war. Zosimos reports of a murder plot by Trebonianus Gallus. 

Roman Empire, Caracalla, 198-217, AE 17, undated, Seleucis and Pieria, city Laodikeia

Obv.: Laur. bust r.

Rev.: Head of Tyche in archway r.

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Stop the bus stop! His official emperor name was - in connection with the popular emperor Mark Aurelius - Marcus Aurel(l)ius Severus Antoninus.

Caracalla's father Septimius Severus, the founder of the Severan dynasty, elevated him to co-ruler in 197. After his father's death on February 4, 211, he succeeded him together with his younger brother Geta. The company offers a wide range of products in the market. The importance of quality and practicality is high. FUJITSU FUJITSU FUJITSU FUJITSU FUJITSU FUJITSU FUJITSU

Caracalla was mainly concerned with military matters and favored the soldiers. In this way he continued a course already taken by his father, which pointed ahead to the era of the soldier emperors. Because of the murder of Geta and his partisans, as well as the general brutality of his actions against any real or supposed opposition, he was judged very negatively by contemporary senatorial historiography. Among the soldiers, on the other hand, he apparently enjoyed great popularity, which lasted beyond his death and contributed to the failure of his successor.

While preparing a campaign against the Parthians, Caracalla was murdered by a small group of conspirators. Since he was childless, the male descendants of the dynasty's founder Septimius Severus died out with him. Later, however, the emperors Elagabal and Severus Alexander were counterfactually passed off as illegitimate sons of Caracalla.

The measures by which Caracalla was primarily remembered by posterity were the construction of the Baths of Caracalla and the Constitutio Antoniniana, a 212 decree by which he granted Roman citizenship to almost all free inhabitants of the empire. Modern research largely follows the unfavorable assessment of his reign by the ancient sources, but reckons with exaggerations in the statements of historians hostile to him.

Roman Empire, Severus Alexander, 222-235, AE Sestertius, undated, Rome

Laur. bust r.

Rv.Victoria standing to the right, writing on shield

Roman Empire, Elagabalus, 218-222, AR Denarius, undated, barbarian imitation

Laur. bust r

Rv.Pietas

Historical

Elagabal (* 204; † 222 in Rome)

He was Roman Emperor from 16 May 218 until his assassination.
His original name was Varius Avitus Bassianus. As emperor he called himself Marcus Aurel(l)ius Antoninus, to tie in with the Antonines like his alleged father Caracalla.

The name Elagabal, which was borne by the god he worshipped, was not attached to the emperor until long after his death.

Elagabal came to power through a military revolt against his predecessor Macrinus, posing as the illegitimate son of Emperor Caracalla, who had been assassinated in 217.

During his reign of around four years, he made himself unpopular in wide circles. Eventually he was politically isolated and murdered by mutinous soldiers. He had no descendants.

For ancient and modern posterity, the name Elagabal came to symbolise the depravity and decadence of the Roman imperial period as well as pernicious Oriental cultural influences. A serious conflict between conservative Romanism and the Syrian religious tradition that the youthful emperor wanted to introduce into Rome overshadowed his short reign. 

Roman Empire, Philip I. Arabs, 246, AR Antoninianus

Radiated Bust r.

Rs.Felicitas with caduceus and cornucopia

Historical

Marcus Iulius Philippus (known as Philippus Arabs "Philip the Arab") c. *204 in Shahba; † 249 near Verona).
 

He was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249 and is considered the first Roman Emperor to come from Arabia.

Philip was born in the city of Shahba, which he later refounded as Philippopolis (province of Arabia), in the countryside of Trachonitis in present-day Syria. He probably came from a family with Arab roots. Despite his relatively humble origins, he rose quickly in the Roman professional army and made it to praetorian prefect under Gordian III.

He married Marcia Otacilia Severa while he was still an officer in the cavalry under Gordian.

After the death of Gordian III, Philip had himself proclaimed emperor by the army in 244. The Roman Senate of necessity confirmed the decision of the troops and formally granted Philippus the powers of a princeps.

Immediately after taking office, he concluded or "bought" peace with the Sassanids.
Shapur I, however, clearly saw himself as the victor. In fact, the peace was clearly more advantageous for the Sassanids than for Rome. However, this did not stop Philip from being celebrated on coins as the Persian victor.

Even though he is traditionally counted among the soldier emperors, Philip was clearly in the tradition of the Severans and could certainly give the empire a certain stability:

At least for his time, it is not yet possible to speak of a general crisis of the empire. In 248, the thousandth anniversary of the city of Rome was celebrated under his reign. For this occasion, coins were minted with the portrait of Philippus Arabs or that of his wife or son Philippus Caesar on the obverse and various motifs and the circumscription SAECVLARES AVGG (secular celebration means a celebration marking the end of an old age and the beginning of a new one). on the reverse. The letters AVGG with two Gs indicate that these coins were minted in the name of both emperors, i.e. Philippus Arabs and his son.

The religious celebrations lasted for days and were accompanied by extremely elaborate gladiator fights, chariot races and animal fights. In order to be able to celebrate the great event in a fitting manner, the people of Rome received generous gifts of money from the emperor. The beginning of a new age was propagated, with a dynasty founded by Philip at its head.

During a very bloody decisive battle near Verona between the still senator Decius and Philippus Arabs, the latter died on the battlefield in 249.  

Roman Empire, Philip II, 247-249, AE 29

Head wit laurel-wreath r.

Rs.Head of Tyche r. between 'D-E' a. 'S-C', above ram

Roman Empire, Hadrian, 134-138, AR Denarius

Obv.Laur. bust right.

Rs.: Salus seated left

Historical
 

Publius Aelius Hadrianus (* 24 January 76 in Italica ; † 10 July 138 in Baiae) was the fourteenth Roman emperor.
He ruled from 117 until his death.

Hadrian, like his great uncle and imperial predecessor Trajan, was based in Hispania. As a ruler, he strove intensively to consolidate the unity of the Roman Empire, which he travelled extensively in many parts. Through grants and administrative measures at the level of the Roman provinces and cities, he promoted prosperity and strengthened the infrastructure. By fixing the edictum perpetuum, he gave an important impulse to the judicial system.

Since he fought only a few wars, especially against the rebellious Jews, his reign was an era of peace for the vast majority of the empire. He renounced conquests and relinquished the territories occupied by Trajan in the Parthian War, thus making a sharp and controversial change of course that strained his relationship with the Senate but prevented an overstretching of Rome's forces. Thereafter, Hadrian concentrated his military efforts on an efficient organisation of the empire's defence. This purpose was served in particular by border fortifications, including Hadrian's Wall, named after him.

Hadrian had a wide range of interests and was ambitious in testing his talents.

He had a special appreciation for Greek culture, especially for Athens, which was famous as the classical centre of Greek education and which he promoted, along with many other cities, through intensive building activity. During his reign, important buildings such as the library in Athens, the Pantheon and Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome as well as Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli were erected.

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