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Fernando López Sánchez with the Exce

Fernando López Sánchez with the Exce

PROBI: PAYMENTS FOR THE BATTLE DURING THE RULE OF PROBUS (A.D. 277–278)*

Fernando López Sánchez

With the exception of the military crisis beginning in 406,1 the worst military crisis that the ever suffered was the one that started in 260 with the capture in the East of Valentinian by Shapur. With all the frontiers under threat, the decreasing trust of the army in the ruling dynasty led to a de facto division into three regions: the Gal- lias, the Italian-Danubian axis and the Eastern part of the Empire. The re-uni cation of the Empire from the centre could only be achieved in 274, after many efforts by . Within this context, it is not surprising that, both in the past and present, the main interest of his- torians has focused on understanding the means by which the central Empire that governed from Italy could at the same time cope with external attacks and carry out the re-conquest of the Empire. Within this process of re-uni cation, special attention has been given to the battle cavalry, a special cavalry unit presumably based in Milan and sent to different regions according to the orders given by the different central . And yet the existence of a cavalry stationed in Milan and ready to act under direct order of the does not seem to have been an exclusive prerogatory of the central Empire of Italy. The Gallic emperors, too, in the years 260–274, seem to have had a battle cavalry, similar to that formed in the north of Italy.2 The real agent in the recovery of the Gallias for the central Empire, the emperor Aurelian, had since 274 been very conscious of the need

* I am indebted to Dominique Hollard for his advice and comments and to the research group Urbs of Zaragoza. 1 All dates are ad unless otherwise stated. 2 F. López Sánchez, ‹ La série légionnaire de Victorin et ses emblèmes ad hoc ›, in D. Hollard, ed., L’armée et la monnaie. Actes de la journée d’études du 10 décembre 2005 à la Monnaie de Paris. Recherches et Travaux de la Société d’Études Numismatiques et Archéologiques (= SÉNA) 1 (Paris 2006), 37–49.

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access 564 fernando lópez sánchez to tackle rather than ignore the internal problems of . Although his premature death prevented him from becoming the emperor of the Gallias, the nucleus of the battle cavalry that, without any doubt, was based in Lyon in 274, was used by Probus in the years 277–278. The series Virtus Probi issued in Lyon to commemorate the personal actions of Probus in the area re ects the fact that Probus acted during these years not so much as a commander of the central Empire but equally as an emperor of the Gallic region. In this paper, in four dif- ferent sections, I’ll attempt to demonstrate the way in which Probus, from Lyon, wanted to identify himself with Gallia, even though he was a central emperor. The rst section of this paper, The meaning of the coin legend , aims to show that Equites was not a legend applied to the whole body of the cavalry in the monetary series of the third century. The Roman engravers had various ways of linking a monetary series to a particular cavalry unit and to a speci c event. Equites was a legend only used in the years 268 or 276–277 and was linked to an invading military corps under the ultimate command of a , and not of a . It is therefore unsurprising that Probus used this coin legend only in Italy in 276–277 rather than during his personal leadership in the operations in Gaul in 277–278. The second and third parts of this article, Virtus Postumi and the defence of Gaul by a local emperor and Virtus Probi and the defence of Gaul on behalf of a central emperor, attempt to clarify why Probus decided to strike the 5th monetary series of P. Bastien in Lyon in the years 277–8. In those years, Probus wanted to present himself in Gaul not as merely a central emperor that had arrived in a Gallic frontier territory, but as a sovereign genuinely worried about the region. The nal section of this study, The Gallic battle cavalry of Probus, concludes that Probus inherited from Aurelian a battle cavalry based in Lyon.

The meaning of the coin legend Equites

As L. de Blois has pointed out, the battle cavalry of the central Empire (Italy and the Danube) had its headquarters in Milan between 260 and

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285,3 and so the allusive legends to cavalry are very explicit in the series of coins minted by Aureolus on behalf of in the town in the years 267–268.4 On these coins, Aureolus celebrates a compact cavalry that he shows to be under his control (Fides (A)Equit),5 and which he used in the service of Postumus (Concord. (A) Equit)6 to obtain power in Italy (Virtus (A)Equit).7 Fides or Concordia are represented by their respective divinities, and Virtus is mainly represented by marching with a helmet, spear and shield (Fig. 2), but other examples also show Romulo Conditor8 (Fig. 1) and Hercules in relation to Virtus9 (Fig. 3).

Fig. 1. Aureolus, Virtus Aequit., , ad 267, Schulzki, op. cit. (n. 5) pl. 12, n. 108

3 L. de Blois, The Policy of the Emperor (Leiden 1976), 29: “Soldiers in Milan were mainly in the cavalry.” See also 28. 4 De Blois 1976, op. cit. (n. 3) 27 and notes 17–21; A. Alföldi, ,Zur kenntnis der römischen Soldatenkaiser: I. Der usurpator Aureolus un die kavalleriereform des Gallienus,‘ in Studien zur Geschichte der Weltkrise des dritten Jahrhunderts n. Chr. (Darmstadt 1967), 1–16 is still important. 5 H.-J. Schulzki, Die Antoninianprägung der gallischen von Postumus bis Tetricus. Typenka- talog der regulären und nachgeprägten Münzen. Antiquitas 3 (Bonn 1996), 49–51, nn. 15–19a, pl. 2–3. 6 Schulzki 1996, op. cit. (n. 5), 47–48, nn. 4–8, pl. 1. 7 On the coin legends Virtus Aequit of Milan in 267, see Schulzki 1996, op. cit (n. 5), 67–68, nn. 106–114, pl. 12–13. On the issuing see G. Elmer, Die Münzprägung der gallischen Kaiser in Köln, Trier und Mailand, (Berlin 1941), 55–56, nn. 600–617 and 619. N. 620 reads Pax Equitum. 8 N. Méthy, , Conditor : un type monétaire mal connu,‘ Annali 48 (2001), 157–184. Romulus is, in any case, the son of Mars, Ovidius Fasti 3.59; Vergilius, Aeneid 1.276–277; 6.778–779; Servius, Commentaries to Vergil’s Aeneid 6.778. 9 Signi cantly Fides and Virtus, two of Aureolus’ coin legends, are linked with two of the most frequent legends on Gallienus’ coinage. See De Blois 1976, op. cit. (n. 3), 101–102. The third legend on the Milanese series of Aureolus, Concordia, substitutes the third most frequent one on Gallienus’ coins, Victoria, because of the circumstantial alliance between Aureolus himself and Postumus.

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Fig. 2. Aureolus, Virtus Equit., Mediolanum, ad 267, Schulzki, op. cit. (n. 5) pl. 13, n. 110

Fig. 3. Aureolus, Virtus Equitum, Mediolanum, ad 267/268, Schulzki, op. cit. (n. 5) pl. 13, n. 112

The legend Equites does not often appear on the coins of the period, even though considerable cavalry forces were used at the time. Although there is a lack of clear references to Equites, numismatists and histor- ians should consider that legends such as Virtus and others associated with Mars are sometimes related to Imperial cavalry forces. The second series of coins minted by II10 in Milan is a paradigmatic example of this association. The main types,11 Virtus Aug(usti) and Marti Pacifero,12 were in fact minted to commemorate the victory of the Mila- nese cavalry13 over the Alamanni near Lake Garda.14

10 The rst series minted by Claudius II at Milan was a donativum to commemorate the victory at Lake Garda. It was composed exclusively of gold, with legends alluding to the event: Concordia Exercitus, Pax Exerc(itus), Spes Publica and Victoria Aug. A contem- porary issue in relates the victory to the prosperity and eternity of the Urbs and some of its tutelary gods: Salus Aug, Felicitas Aug, Victoria Aug, Adventus Aug, Liberalitas Aug, Concord Exerci(tus) or divinities linked to the Urbs such as Iovi Statori, Aeternitas Aug, Apolli Cons. See H. Huvelin, ‹ L’atelier de Rome sous Claude II le Gothique (aurei, deniers, quinaires et moyens bronzes), › Numismatica ed Antichità Classica 13 (1984), 199–213. 11 Apart from the Victoria with two captives that reappears in Siscia brie y after and one with the legend Fides Militum, Huvelin 1984, op. cit. (n. 10), 206. 12 H. Huvelin, ,La victoire du lac de Garde de Claude II,‘ Numismatica e Antichità Classica 11 (1982), 263–269, esp. 263–265. 13 H. Huvelin, ,L’atelier de Milan sous Claude II. La première émission de monnaies d’or,‘ Numismatica e Antichità Classica 15 (1986), 197–209. On p. 197 he says: « Atelier militaire, il semble avoir joui d’une organisation bien structuré et avoir assez rapide- ment acquis un certain nombre de règles.» 14 According to Huvelin, the Milanese series must have been distributed at the end

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A similar phenomenon occurs in another Milanese example portrayed in a series minted by Aurelian at the beginning of 271, in close associa- tion with Siscia. In that year, both mints show that Aurelian’s rise to the throne was declared via an agreement between commanders of the same rank (Virtus Militum). With the death of Claudius II, power passed to Aurelian, the remaining living commander of the Imperial cavalry (Virtus Aug).15 This is why both gures are depicted with laurels on their heads, the wreaths being an exclusive attribute of emperors.16 Neverthe- less, Milan is not shown in this minted series as the real military and cavalry base of Aurelian’s army; the iconography of the series shows that the city of Siscia was the true cavalry base of the emperor. In Siscia, there was not only—as in Milan—a direct agreement between two emperors, one alive and the other dead17 (Fig. 4). In this series Virtus Militum does not represent Claudius II on the left in all types, but Mars-Virtus is perfectly characterised with his helmet18 (Fig. 5).

Fig. 4. Aurelianus, Virtus Militum, Mediolanum, ad 271, Göbl, op. cit. (n. 16) Tafelband, pl. 7, n. 51a, 3(2)

Fig. 5. Aurelianus, Virtus Militum, Siscia, ad 271, Göbl, op. cit. (n. 16) Tafelband, pl. 89, n. 186b, 3(1) of the summer. Huvelin 1982, op. cit. (n. 12). See also H. Mattingly, ‘The coins of ,’ in International Numismatic Congress, London June 30–July 3, 1936 (London 1938), 214–218, esp. 217. 15 Virtus Augusti must be associated with battle cavalry, according to P. Bastien, Le buste monétaire des empereurs romains 2. Numismatique Romaine, Essais, Recherches et Documents 19 (Bonn 1996), 482–483. See also 547–549. 16 R. Göbl, Die Münzprägung des Aurelianus (270/275). Veröffentlichungen der numismatischen Kommission 29, Tafelband (Vienna 1993), pl. 7, n. 50, 51. 17 Göbl 1993, op. cit. (n. 16) n. 185, pl. 89. 18 Göbl 1993, op. cit. (n. 16) n. 186, pl. 89.

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Aurelian is therefore particularly considered as Claudius’s successor in Milan, the gateway to Rome,19 whilst in Siscia the new emperor is consid- ered above all to be the representative of the army, due to his link with Mars. At the beginning of 271, this army was mainly composed of cavalrymen. Both Claudius II and Aurelian were emperors who concentrated a signi cant part of their cavalry forces in Milan in the years 268 and 271. These forces were fairly similar to those gathered by Aureolus in 267–268. However, Equiti (or Aequiti ) is only used again as a coin legend in Ticinum20 and in Rome21 in the year 276–277, where it is associated with the rst coins minted by Probus in Italy. From these examples it is clear that Equites was not the only coin legend used by Roman engravers to indicate the presence of a cavalry force in a city at a particular time. Equites is simply an indicator of the gathering of a body of cavalrymen ready to act imminently as an invasion force related to Gaul. The legend Virtus, by contrast, associ- ated with Claudius and Aurelian, is also linked to cavalry action but with an ‘internal’ meaning, Italian in this case. It is therefore possible that when Probus adopted the obverse with a helmet22 and the words Virtus Probi in 277–278—the fth series of P. Bastien—he wanted to portray the action of his army in a more superior manner than if he had used the term Equites. Equites in Ticinum and Rome in 276–277 has connotations related to invasion, whilst Virtus Probi in 277–278 in Lyon has more localised, Gallic features.

19 Milan at this time was not only a frontier town, but also the gateway to Rome. The legend Augusta in pace applied to Salonina by this mint between 262–3 and 267 is very clear in this regard. Related to these topics, F. López Sánchez, ,Du masculin dans le féminin. Séverine (274–275) et l’image monétaire des emperatrices au IIIe siècle a J.-C.,‘ in Y. Perrin and Th. Petit, eds., Iconographie impériale, iconographie royale, iconographie des élites dans le monde gréco-romain (III av. J.-C.–III ap. J.-C.). Travaux du centre de recherche en histoire de l’Université de Saint-Étienne 1 (St. Etienne 2004), 249–265. 20 The location of Ticinum presented obvious advantages from a strategic point of view as noted by M.H. Crawford, ,La Zecca di Ticinum,‘ in Storia di Pavia I (l’éta antica) (Pavia 1984), 249–254, esp. 251. The opening of the mint at Ticinum at the beginning of 274 to substitute that of Milan was clearly closely related to the invasion of Gaul; for more information, see E. Banzi, I miliari come fonte topogra ca e storica. L’esempio della XI regio (transpadana) e delle Alpes Cottiae. Coll. De l’École Française de Rome 254 ( 1999), 14: „il tratto della via ,per le Gallie‘ compreso tra Ticinum ed Augusta Taurinorum è riportato sugli Itineraria.“ 21 K. Pink, ,Der Aufbau der römischen Münzprägung in der Kaiserzeit 6/1 Probus,‘ Numismatische Zeitschrift 73 (1949), 13–74, esp. 71; G. Vitucci, L’imperatore Probo (Roma 1952), 3 and note 1 for the primary bibliographical sources on Aequiti-Equiti in Ticinum and Rome and the movements of cavalry troops. 22 Bastien 1993, op. cit. (n. 15), 206: « Le monnayage de Probus est extrêmement riche en bustes portant le casque impérial. »

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Virtus Postumi and the defence of Gaul by a local emperor

The association of Probus with the coin legend Virtus Probi Aug (Fig. 6) has a direct precedent in Postumus’ emissions carrying the legend Virtus Postumi Aug (mid 260) (Fig. 7).23 Although K. Kraft considers the helmet simply as a mark of the Imperial Virtus,24 it is its adoption by Gallienus and Postumus in the monetary portraits25 that correspond in the words of P. Bastien to “une nouvelle marque de souveraineté”.26 As N. Méthy points out, “Mars apparaît toujours portant un casque, ce qui n’est pas le cas des autres divinités ou héros, même si associés à lui fortement”,27 and there was some intention by those Augustans

Fig. 6. Probus, Virtus Probi Aug./Tempor. Felici, , 5ème émission, ad 277/8 Bastien, 1976, op. cit. (n. 50), pl. 26, n. 210c

Fig. 7. Postumus, Virtus Postumi Aug., Cologne, end ad 260, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 3, n. 9

23 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 41, pl. 3; n. 9 and 10 for the reverses, n. 14 for the obverse. 24 K. Kraft, Der Helm des römischen Kaisers, Gesammelte Aufsätz zur antiken Geldgeschichte und Numismatik 1 (Darmstadt 1978), 134–136: Bastien 1993, op. cit. (n. 15), 1, 202. 25 Bastien 1993, op. cit. (n. 15), 1, 201: « Le casque n’apparaît sur le buste monétaire impérial que sous les règnes de Gallien et de Postume. » 26 Ibidem, 203. 27 Méthy 2001, op. cit. (n. 8), 174. Hence, Romulus, the son of Mars always appears with his head uncovered. In the case of Virtus, Honos or Roma, they wear a helmet, but only because they are close to Mars (Méthy 2001, 158). On Virtus and Honos, M. Bieber, Virtus Romana, Studia et Documenta Antiqua 13 (Munich 1973); W. Eisenhut, ‘Honos und Virtus,’ American Journal of Archaeology 49 (1945), 25–34; J. Rufus Fears, ‘The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology,’ Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II 17, 2 (1981), 827–948, esp. 845 and 889.

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access 570 fernando lópez sánchez who wore helmets to identify themselves with a deity, which could be no other than Mars. In ancient Italy, Mars was always the patron of Ver Sacrum, the majority of armed young men that operated far away from their bases. Most mercenaries that operated on a best wage basis outside their own country were devoted to Mars. Thus, the famous Mamertini—Mamers means Mars in the Oscan language—that came to trigger the , represent Mars to a massive degree on their coins.28 To give one more example, the eld of Mars was found signi cantly outside the Roman , and it was here where, during archaic times and during Equus October, a horse was sacri ced to the god to symbolise a military expedition to foreign lands. Some signi cant Roman-Campan- ian coins from the third century bc associate Mars in a very graphic way on the obverse with a horse on the reverse29 (Fig. 8). When they adopted the helmet as a new imperial attribute from 260 onwards, both Gallienus and Postumus could be considered, as in Republican Rome, defenders of the frontier, associated directly with their god, Mars. Moreover, the inscription at Augsburg of the of , M. Simplicinius Genialis, which celebrates the victory over the Alamanni and the Iuthungi, con rms that the invasion of these Barbarians in 260 was used to Postumus’s advantage to take control of Gaul.30 From 260 onwards, Postumus wanted to prove himself a worthy and effective defender of Gaul.

Fig. 8. RRC II, op. cit. (n. 29) Campania, 241–226 bc, pl. 1, g. 12, n. 25/1

28 G. Tagliamonte, I gli di Marte. Mobilità, mercenari e mercenariato italici in Magna Grecia e Sicilia., Tyrrhenica 3 (Roma 1994), 248–254 and pl. 24. 29 M.H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (Cambridge 1974), 141–143 (241–226 bc), nn. 25–27/2 (vol. 1), pl. 1 (vol. 2). 30 L. Bakker, ,Raetien unter Postumus. Das Siegesdenkmal einer Juthungenschlacht im Jahre 260 n. Chr. Aus Augsburg,‘ (1993), 369–386; See also H. Lavagne, « Une nouvelle inscription d’Augusbourg et les causes de l’usurpation de Postume, » Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1994), 431–446; P. Le Roux, « Armées, rhétorique et politique dans l’Empire gallo-romain. À propos de l’inscription d’Augsbourg, » Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 115 (1997), 281–290.

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This association, however, between Postumus and a helmeted Mars does not invalidate Postumus’ special preference for Hercules (Fig. 9), and neither does it belie the frequent association with the god in several military series of his rule.31 Both express two fundamental qualities that a good emperor must have: to be able to govern at home and to undertake military action abroad (domi militiaeque). Postumus, from the beginning, refused to limit himself to being a mere frontier general. On the contrary, during his whole reign, he followed the path of a true emperor, worried about Gaul and about his civil life, in the same way in which a central emperor would behave in Rome and Italy. The unusual presence of Hercules on the coins of Postumus has to be understood in this way, as J. Drinkwater has done: as the expression of his relationship to a founding civil aspect of romanitas. Hercules, although a peripatetic hero, also re-founded Rome when he defeated the monster Cacus. This continued association with Mars on Postumus’ coins was undoubtedly made with the aim of displaying the latter’s total condition as a civil emperor and not a simple general devoted to the frontiers.32 This symbiotic duality, military as well as civil, is present throughout the rule of Postumus, and it is even proclaimed in the series of coins where Hercules does not have any role at all. Hence, the antoniniani Mars 33 (Fig. 10) and Virtuti Augusti 34 of Postumus that at the end

Fig. 9. Postumus, Herculi Deusoniensi, middle ad 262, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 5, n. 4

31 Including that of Aureolus in Milan, where Romulo Conditori could be a more direct reference to the emperor himself as son of Mars. 32 J.F. Drinkwater, The . Separatism and Continuity in the North-Western provinces of the Roman Empire AD 260–274 (Stuttgart 1987), 263: “(. . .) in the magni cent ‘Twelve Labours of Hercules’ series (. . .) seems reasonable to suppose that such a gure (Her- cules as ‘ideal ruler’) would have appealed at least as much to civilians as to soldiers; it may be that Postumus, while continuing to recognise and advertise the importance of military power, was anxious to foster civilian support for his regime. 33 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 50, n. 389, pl. 6.3. 34 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 50, n. 390, pl. 6.6.

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Fig. 10. Postumus, Mars Victor, ad 263/264, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 6, n. 3

Fig. 11. Postumus, Iovi Conservat, ad 263/264, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 6, n. 1 of 263 and beginning of 264 are associated with the campaigns against the and Alamans35 are linked with Iovi Conservatori in the same series36 (Fig. 11). Thus in the same series there is emphasis on both the frontier war and the security of Gaul associated with Jupiter.

Virtus Probi and the defence of Gaul on behalf of a central emperor

The importance given to the Mars-Hercules dichotomy by Postumus is not shared by all emperors of the third century ad. Others emphasise the association of the emperor with Mercury, as was the case in the coming to Italy of Gallienus in 26437 (Fig. 12) or of Aurelian in 271–238 (Fig. 13). The representations of both emperors with spear and shield

35 Drinkwater 1987, op. cit. (n. 32), 30. 36 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 50, n. 388, pl. 6. 1. 37 P. Bastien and C. Arnold-Biucchi, ‘Busto monetale come Mercurio (Gallieno, Aureliano),’ Rivista Italiana di Numismatica 84 (1983), 73–85, on p. 84: “Pensiamo però che in quell’epoca non si può considerare Mercurio unicamente come dio della merx: l’anarchia e la guerra che colpivano una gran parte dell’impero non docevano certo giovare al commercio . . . pensiamo che si debba piuttosto seguire l’interpretazione d’Ovidio che chiama il dio pacifer et arbiter. Si tratta dunque di un messagio di pace rivolto a un ambiente che, come sappiamo, non era devoto all’imperatore.” 38 Ibidem, 85: “In queste brevi emissioni che coincidono forse con il ritorno d’Oriente dell’imperatore . . . il signi cato del busto come Hermes potrebbe essere lo stesso di quello che proponiamo per Gallieno: l’intervento di Hermes come paci catore e mediatore in una situazione politica particolarmente dif cile.”

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Fig. 12. Gallienus, Virtus Gallieni Augusti, ad 264, RIN 84–85, op. cit. (n. 37), pl. 1, g. 1

Fig. 13. Aurelianus, Virtus Militum, Siscia ad 271/2, Göbl, op. cit. (n. 16), pl. 1, g 8 are rare, but even rarer are their busts with a helmet. The relative decreasing role of Hercules can be understood when considering that the hero, when re-founding Rome after destroying the monster Cacus, also indicated the frontiers and the dangerous situation of Rome. Gal- lienus, Aurelian or any other central emperor of the second half of the third century knew that his top priority was the defence of Italy, heart of the Empire, which had to be safe and not in any sense a frontier. Hercules could reconcile himself with a of the frontier such as Gaul, but not with Italy. This same consideration is suf cient to explain the rarity of monetary associations with Mars, essentially the god of frontiers, by the central emperors. Gallienus was an emperor who, though circumstances had turned him into a good general, always aimed to act as a civil, Italian emperor.39 The same can be said about Aurelian, an emperor who always wanted to govern in an Urbs that never completely accepted him. His stay in

39 Even after 260, Gallienus struck many series of coins of a civil character, in Rome as in other mints, and only in a very limited sense can he be considered as a purely military emperor. The global interpretation of J.-P. Bost, L’empereur Gallien et son temps (automne 253–automne 268), Historiens et Géographes 369 (2000), 51–60, is very interesting.

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Rome started badly when he was rebuffed by a Senate involved in the rebellion of workers at the mints.40 It was not until 274, once he had defeated in the East, that Aurelian came to be accepted by the governing circles of the Urbs. This acceptance was compounded by his marriage to Ulpia Severina.41 In accordance with his wish to integrate into the civil circles of Rome, the coins of Aurelian only re ect a few exceptional busts and very few truly military reverses. The predominant motif is a coinage that repeats time after time the scenes of the dextrarum iunctio between Aurelian and Mars or Jupiter. This is a re ection of the wish of Aurelian to be considered as an emperor able to govern in the military as well as in the civil sphere. Claudius II, acting as emperor between Gallienus and Aurelian, did not associate himself with Mars on his coins. He considered that ght- ing was under control on the essential frontiers of the Roman world, that is, Italy and its defensive corridor along the Danube. The battle at Lake Garda in the Po valley or the Gothic wars that followed, were primarily aimed at securing Italy from a direct invasion. In this sense, Claudius did not consider himself a frontier emperor but a defender of Italy. The good relations of the emperor with the Senate,42 evident from the vast amount of Divo Claudio coinage in Rome after his death, are proof of the Italian preferences of this emperor-soldier.43 Only at one speci c moment Gallienus seems to behave differently to how a central emperor would be expected to. This was in the Rhine area between 256 and 259, when Gallienus adopted coin legends that make direct reference to the use of mobile troops inserted in his comita- tus—Gallieno cum exercitu suo.44 The iconography in a number of obverses in these years displays a bust characterised by spear and shield, while

40 Some senators were executed, Eutrop. 9.14 and SHA, Vita Aureliani 21.5–6; for their involvement in the rebellion, 1.49.2; See also V. Cubelli, Aureliano imperatore: la rivolta dei monetieri e la cosidetta riforma monetaria (Florence 1992), 47: « La rivolte stessa, ideata o strumentalizzata dal Senato, appare cosí piú comprensibile, » and 49: « La rivolta dei monetieri rappresenta a mio avviso il più concreto tentativo di opposizione del Senato. » 41 López Sánchez 2004, op. cit. (n. 19), 254. 42 Cubelli 1992, op. cit. (n. 40), 48, note 101: « I rapporti tra il Senato e Claudio II dovevano essere stratti. » In this sense also 7.23.1: (scil. Claudius) voluntate senatus sumpsit . His gure is viewed with sympathy in the , as observed by M.A. Levi et al., Storia romana dalle origini al 476 d. C, (Milan 1986), 404. 43 Cubelli 1992, op. cit. (n. 40), 48. 44 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 18, n. 1, rst series for with Gallienus on the reverse and the legend Gallieno cum exer(citus) suo; The same is true for Gallienus’ rst emission, with the shorter legend Imp/C(um) E(xercitu) S(uo).

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access VIRTUS PROBI: payments for the battle cavalry 575 on the reverse there is an emphasis on Virtus and Mars. However, the most complete of all the emissions of the period, Virtus Gallieni45 (Figs. 14, 15), summarises perfectly the different vision that a central emperor could possess of his mission in the Rhine area, in relation to Italy or to the Danube. Although these coins directly precede the series Virtus Postumi or Virtus Probi, their reverses depict an emperor displaced towards the frontier of civilization, rather than within it. On the basis of this evidence, it can be said that the biggest differ- ence between Gallienus and a Gallic emperor such as Postumus is that the former considered Gaul a distant frontier territory, while the latter emphasized his determination to defend Gaul as a central territory. Protective equipment belonging to cavalry of the third century ad found at the limes often showed a relationship between Mars, characterised as Mars Ultor, and Hercules in complementary roles46 (Figs. 20, 21). It is for this reason that Postumus linked Hercules with Mars, a symbiosis to represent the danger that the Roman state was experiencing in its Gallic region, which does not occur on the coins of Gallienus.

Fig. 14. Gallien, Virtus Gallieni Aug, ad 257–258, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 2, n. 2

Fig. 15. Gallien, Virtus Gallieni Aug, ad 259–260, Elmer, op. cit. (n. 7) pl. 2, n. 6

45 Elmer 1941, op. cit. (n. 7), 23–25; pl. 2, n. 2, 6, but see also n. 4, 5, 8. 46 See M. Junkelman, Reiter wie Statuen aus Erz (Mainz am Rhein 1996), 15, 68–9 ( gs. 136, 137, 140), 70–71 ( gs. 141–145), 73 ( gs. 149, 150), 74–75 ( gs. 151–154), 76–77 (155–159, 78 ( gs. 161–2), 80–1 ( gs. 168, 169), 82–3 ( gs. 170–1769).

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It is in this context that the series Virtus Probi in 277–278 has to be understood. During that year Probus celebrated in Lyon those cam- paigns far beyond the Rhine, understanding the need to adopt Gallic traits in order to triumph in the region. After the terrible bloody battles that the Rhenish legions suffered at Chalons-sur-Marne in 274, strongly remembered even a generation later,47 Aurelian replaced the Gallic emperors in taking over the defence of Gaul. Aurelian had well understood the need to identify the central Empire with Gaul and his benevolent treatment of the defeated Tetricus is a magni cent example of this,48 and the invasions of Gaul by the Bar- barians after the death of Aurelian con rmed once more the need for an emperor in the region.49 The confusing news regarding the uprising of or Saturninus should be interpreted as an attempt by the defeated Rhenish legions to structure the defence of the North.50 The importance of Probus’s stay in Gaul and the adoption of certain typi- cally Gallic traits on the obverses of the Virtus Probi series prove that this emperor wanted to behave also like a Gallic emperor.

The Gallic battle cavalry of Probus

The obverse Virtus Probi of the year 277–278 has to be regarded as that of a central emperor who acted effectively as equally a Gallic

47 On the massacre of Rhenish troops, Panegirici Latini 8 (5) 4.3; , De caesaribus 35.3. 48 Tetricus was named by Aurelian corrector Lucaniae, , 9.13.2; Aurelius Victor, De caesaribus 35.5; Epitome de caesaribus 35.7; SHA, Vita Aureliani 39.1. See A. Watson, Aurelian and the Third Century (London/ New York 1999), 96: “The inscriptions of Tetricus’ reign, and indeed of his predecessors, were not systematically defaced. The numismatic evidence supports the inference that there was no of cial damnation memoriae . . . Aurelian did not de-monetize and recall the coinage of Tericus . . . Avoiding a condemnation of the regime as such . . . (Aurelian) ensured the maximum of continuity and the minimum of disruption.” See also p. 95. 49 The death of Victorinus produced the same effect in ad 271; see Drinkwater 1987, op. cit. (n. 32), 40: “The killing of Victorinus seems to have encouraged the barbarians to attack.” 50 The association between Proculus and the Franks seems to demonstrate that the centre of the rebellion of this ‘usurper’ was the Rhine rather than Lyon, as some authors have suggested. See Watson 1999, op. cit (n. 48), 97. Proculus rebelled in Cologne, Eutropius 9.17.1; Epitome de caesaribus 37.2; SHA, Vita Probi 18.5. See P. Bastien, Le monnayage de l’atelier de Lyon. De la réouverture de l’atelier par Aurélien à la mort de Carin ( n 274–mi-285), Numismatique Romaine 9 (Wetteren 1976), 18; For Saturninus see S. Estiot, ‹ Le tyran Saturninus: le dossier numismatique, › HA Colloquium Perusinum VIII (Bari 2002), 219–241.

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access VIRTUS PROBI: payments for the battle cavalry 577 emperor. The reverse of this series, in accordance with the norm in the series of Postumus, or indeed of Aureolus, presents a variety of types perfectly calculated. For Probus, as for Postumus, it is the defence of Gaul along with prosperity that are the two aspects emphasized in this monetary series. The third series of Probus in Lyon, classi ed as such by P. Bastien, shows four different coin legends. Two of them express peaceful legends, while the remaining two tend towards a clearly military theme. Four workshops share the workload, with a notable balance in the propor- tion of specimens studied for three of them.51 The rst workshop only produced the legend Temporum Felicitas, which are the 31 coins catalogued by P. Bastien, while Laetitia Augusti was issued only by the fourth, with 29 specimens in the sample. The second and third of cinae concentrated on military themes, Fides Militum and Mars Victor being minted indiscriminately, with seven and 35 specimens respectively for those two coin legends. The proportion of military coin legends in comparison to more peaceful ones is constantly maintained in the fourth, fth and sixth series of P. Bastien, in spite of the doubling of the number of legends (eight in the fourth series, seven in the fth and sixth). The military legends praise either the delity of the army (Fides Militum, with a dramatically increased proportion) (Fig. 16) or its aggressiveness (Mars Victor) (18). Most peaceful legends revolve around Tempor(um) Felicitas (Fig. 17), (Fig. 19), and other minor themes linked with the arrival of Probus. This distribution of coin legends and types, divided around two clear themes and subdivided into four smaller ones, starts at Lyon with and Florian and continues after the death of and Cari- nus.52 It does not seem that the military movements in the region or the presence or absence of the emperor were of great consequence to the regularity of these proportions. One possible hypothesis to explain this rigorous structure of types and production according to the differ- ent workshops, points to a re-distribution of each type according to the sections of different armies. Thus, Abundantia Aug could be conceived as devoted to administrative or logistical tasks, while Mars Victor could be

51 Everything seems very structured and rational, as Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50) points out. The workshops produce the same number of coins consistently in all the series. 52 Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50), Tacitus in 46–47, Florian in 50; Probus in 62–64; Carus and his family in 78–80.

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Fig. 16. Probus, Fides Militum, Lugdunum, Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50), ad 277, 4ème émission pl. 23, n. 193a

Fig. 17. Probus, Tempor. Felici, Lugdunum, Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50) 4ème émission, pl. 23, n. 188k

Fig. 18. Probus, Mars Victor, Lugdunum, Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50) 4ème émission, pl. 23, n. 190c

Fig. 19. Probus, Abundantia Aug, Lugdunum, Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50) 4ème émission, pl. 24, 195a

Fig. 20. Carus, Virtus Cari Aug/Victoria Augg, Lugdunum, Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50), ad 282, 3ème émission, pl. 49, n. 475c

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Fig. 21. Horse armour, 2nd–3rd century ad, Gäuboden Museum, Junkelmann, op. cit. (n. 46), 80, g. 168

Fig. 22. Horse armour, 2nd–3rd century ad, Munchen Prähistorische Staatssammlung, Junkelmann, op. cit. (n. 46), 81, g. 169

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access 580 fernando lópez sánchez related to groups more involved in combat. However, Abundantia Aug is not particularly linked to rearguard locations in the known sites; on the contrary, there is a marked mix of types in the monetary discoveries that have been catalogued.53 The conclusion that this points to is that the different coin legends form a whole, as in the case of the mintage of Postumus in Gaul and Aureolus in Milan. Virtus and Fides refer to the direct military activity of the army in Gaul, and Laetitia Aug, Temporum Felicitas, or Abundantia Aug to the new era of prosperity that the presence of the central army secures.54 An Italian battle cavalry did not come to Gaul for the rst time with Probus from Ticinum or Rome, as these were simply bases where cavalry forces about to intervene in Gaul in 276–277 were gathered. Another cavalry force, however, was based at Lyon from 274. The opening of the mint at Lyon in 274 was a consequence of the installation of this permanent cavalry body by Aurelian. The reason for this was to avoid the unreliable55 Trier or Cologne,56 as well as to connect Italy with southern Gaul more easily.57 Hence, from 274 onwards, the city of Lyon with its mint was transformed into a kind of Gallic Milan. By adopting distinguishing traits on his coinage, the helmet and the formula Virtus Probi Aug, Probus was indicating that his battle cavalry was not located in a place where it was ready to intervene (Equites) and neither did he establish a temporary peripatetic court in the inte- rior of the Empire. On the contrary, Probus’ army in 277–278 was

53 D. Hollard, ‹ Le trésor de Rouilly–Sacey (Aube), › Trésors monétaires 9 (Paris 1987), 53–91, esp. 60, with a map depicting how the monetary treasures that were hidden during the reign of Probus were concentrated around the Rhône valley and north of the Loire. See also Idem, ‹ La pénurie de l’argent monnayé au IIIe s. après J.-C.: l’apport des monnaies des sites, › Cahiers Numismatiques 124 (1995), 23–31. 54 Pax in the Roman world had a far more positive connotation than our equivalent. To the Romans, peace meant “world empire with security from outside interference, law and order within”, F.J. Biermann, “ and the Pax Augusta”, Transactions of the American Philological Association 72 (1941), 28–29, cited by Ch.G. Starr, The Roman Empire 27 BC –AD 476. A study in survival (Oxford 1982), 16. 55 As J.F. White, Restorer of the World. The Roman Emperor Aurelian (Staplehurst, Kent 2005) rightly points out, “the reason that Tetricus did not change sides earlier was that he wanted to undermine the resistance of the Rhine legions” (114). 56 Watson 1999, op. cit. (n. 48), 96, 135 and note 39. 57 S. Estiot, Monnaies de l’empire romain. D’Aurelien à Florien (270–276 après J.-C.) XII.1, 1 (Paris/Strasbourg 2004), 67. Rome and Lyon are two mints that are closely con- nected, adopting the same traits (avoiding, for example, the sign XXI in the exergus of the aureliani ); See also Watson 1999, op. cit. (n. 48), 93; Drinkwater 1987, op. cit. (n. 32), 36 and 120.

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access VIRTUS PROBI: payments for the battle cavalry 581 involved in a battle outside the Roman world (helmet and appeal to bravery—Virtus—of the emperor). It must therefore be understood that the antoniniani (or aureliani ) of Lyon in 277–278 constitute the continu- ation of the cavalry series Equites of Rome and Ticinum; they are the payback to a true battle cavalry based at Lyon and reinforced on this occasion with contingents from Italy.58 Probus was not, however, the last of the central emperors to adopt Gallic traits and to order the battle cavalry into action in Gaul. The third issue of Carus at Lyon from November –December 282 is very similar to the fth one of Probus in 277–278, with a very signi cant presence of legends such as Virtus Cari, and the emperor wearing a crowned helmet59 (Fig. 20). As Bastien points out, this series was partially a donativum in character, since it commemorated the rise to Caesarship of in October 282.60 The fundamental meaning of the third issue of Carus in Lyon has to be considered, however, a re ection of the mobilization from Lyon and against the Barbarians of the battle cavalry billeted in the town since 274 and active with Probus in 277–278. The naming of Carinus as on behalf of Carus can only be seen as the recognition of Gaul’s need to have an emperor in its territory, and with him its own battle cavalry.

Conclusion

The experience of the ‘Gallic empire’ did not end in 274 with the depo- sition of the last of its emperors. After the re-conquest of the Gallias, Aurelian knew perfectly well that the region had to be defended with great care in the future. Tacitus and , Aurelian’s successors, were too busy in the East in 275 to worry about the West. However, the rst task of the emperor Probus was precisely to consolidate the Gallias and to ght against the Franks and the Alamans in the Rhine region in 277–278. The extraordinary 5th monetary series of Bastien in Lyon

58 A sign that the antoniniani issued at Lyon were meant for troops is that their discovery in Gaul is extremely limited; S. Estiot, ‹ Le troisième siècle et la monnaie: crise et mutations, › in J.-L. Fiches, ed., Le IIIe siècle en Gaule Narbonnaise. Données régionales sur la crise de l’Empire, Aix-en-Provence, La Baume 15–16 September 1995 (Sophia-Antipolis 1996), 3–70, esp. 59 and note 57, « l’approvisionnement en aureliani frais (fut) strictement limité par le pouvoir central » (61). 59 Bastien 1976, op. cit. (n. 50), 66–68, pl. 49. 60 Ibidem, 66.

Fernando López Sánchez - 9789047430391 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 12:31:52PM via free access 582 fernando lópez sánchez therefore con rms that Probus took the defence of Gaul very seriously, and that a very careful iconography was adopted to commemorate the personal actions of the emperor beyond the Rhine. As opposed to the Equites coins, which were dependent on an impor- tant but secondary commander (a magister equitum), the battle depended directly on the emperor. The central emperors starting with Gallienus had a battle cavalry in the north of Italy, but the Gallic emperors also had these forces. With the aim of not losing the Gallic region at the same time as he controlled Italy, Aurelian stationed a battle cavalry at Lyon in the year 274. The 5th series of Bastien is a good source of evidence of the existence of such a force at Lyon and of its effective use by a central emperor in the year 277–278. Other monetary series such as that of Carus in the year 282 seem to prove that other emperors alien to Gaul used it, with the same enthusiasm, when it was necessary.

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