DOCSLIB.ORG

Coins: Corinth Excavations, 1977, Forum Southwest

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Coins: Corinth Excavations, 1977, Forum Southwest COINS: CORINTH EXCAVATIONS, 1977, FORUM SOUTHWEST (PLATE48) D URING THE 1977 SEASON, excavation took place in the southwest corner of the Forum of Ancient Corinth. Results of that work have been describedas a whole by Charles K. Williams, II, Director of Corinth Excavations, in Hesperia, Volume 47.1 The C. K. Williams, II, "Corinth 1977, Forum Southwest,"Hesperia 47, 1978, pp. 1-39. For previous reports, see idem, "Corinth 1976: Forum Southwest,"Hesperia 46, 1977, pp. 40-81; J. E. Fisher, "Coins:Corinth Excavations, 1976, Forum Southwest,"Hesperia 49, 1980, pp. 1-29; Williams and Fisher, "Corinth,1975: Forum Southwest,"Hesperia 45, 1976, pp. 99-162. The following abbreviationsare used here in addition to those listed in AJA 82, 1978, pp. 3-8: Agora II = M. Thompson, The Athenian Agora, II, Coins from the Roman through the Venetian Period, Princeton 1954 Antioch IV = G. C. Miles, "IslamicCoins," Antioch-on-the-Orontes IV, i, Princeton 1948 Asyut Hoard = M. Price and N. Waggoner, Archaic Greek Coinage, The Asyut Hoard, London 1975 Babelon, Tr. II = E. Babelon, Traite des monnaiesgrecques et romainesII, Bologna 1910 Bibl. Nat. I = C. Morrisson, Cataloguedes monnaies byzantinesde la BibliothequeNationale, I, d'Ana- (Byz.) stase Ier a Justinien II (A.D. 491-71 1), Paris 1970 BMC = A Catalogueof Greek Coins in the British Museum, London 1873- BMCRE = H. Mattingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, London 1923- BMC, Wroth = W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Coins of the Vandals, Ostrogothsand Lombards,and the Empires of Thessalonica,Nicaea and Trebizond,in the British Museum, London 1911 Cohen = H. Cohen, Description historiquedes monnaiesfrappeessous l'empire romaine,commune- ment appellees Medailles Imperiales IV, London 1884 CopSNG = SNG, Copenhagen, 1944 DO = Catalogueof the Byzantine Coins in the DumbartonOaks Collectionand the Whittemore Collection,A. R. Bellinger and P. Grierson, edd., Washington, D.C. 1966- Ed. or Edwards = K. M. Edwards, Corinth,VI, Coins 1896-1929, Cambridge,Mass. 1933 EvelpSNG = SNG Grece:Collection Rena H. Evelpidis II, Louvain 1975 Fox = H. B. E. Fox, "The Duoviri of Corinth,"JIAN 2, 1899, pp. 89-116 Hendy = M. F. Hendy, Coinage and Money in the Byzantine Empire, 1081-1261, Dumbarton Oaks 1969 Hill (LRBC) = R. V. Hill, J. P. C. Kent, R. A. G. Carson, Late Roman Bronze Coinage,A.D. 324-498, London 1960 Hunter. = Catalogueof Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection,Glasgow 1901 JIAN = Journal international d'archeologienumismatique (J. N. Svoronos, ed.), Athens 1898- 1927 Mionnet = T. E. Mionnet, Description de medaillesantiques grecques et romaines,Paris 1807-1813; and Supplement, Paris 1819-1837 MN = Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society), New York NNM = Numismatic Notes and Monographs (American Numismatic Society), New York Reinach, = Recueil gene'raldes monnaiesgrecques d'Asie Mineure I, iii, T. Reinach, E. Babelon, W. Rec. I, iii H. Waddington, edd., Paris 1910 RIC = The Roman Imperial Coinage, H. Mattingly, E. A. Sydenham, C. H. V. Sutherland, R. A. G. Carson, edd., London 1923-1967 SNG = Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum Svor. = J. N. Svoronos,Ta volo-rlara Tro KparovsrcT TIroAep.alwv,v Athens 1904-1905 American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Hesperia ® www.jstor.org 218 JOAN E. FISHER present report deals with the coins found during that season and serves as a supplement to Williams' account.2As in past reports, the appended catalogue recordsall the legible spec- imens, which amounted to a total of 587 coins. Some bulk counts are given, at the end of sections, of coins which were too badly preservedfor detailed entry, yet were evidence of a certain period. A stratigraphic list is also included. Before cleaning, about 1,210 coinlike items were entered in a field count of finds from the Forum Southwest for the 1977 season. Of that number around 420 appeared to be Roman, with more than 225 each Greek and Byzantine. Twelve coins were clean enough right from the soil to be identified as Ostro- gothic, as were 4 Frankish deniers, 1 Seljuq bronze, and 1 Greek five-lepta coin of 1848. The rest are still uncertain. Unusual coin accumulationsappeared in two areas: one in the overlapping Greek and Roman roads that lie just west of the South Stoa and another in the Byzantine metal-work- ing complex that borderedthis same thoroughfarein later times.3Glimpses of bronze in the hard-packedlevels of the Greek road promised a rich harvest of coins of late Classical and Hellenistic times; unfortunately,nearly all of them were encasedin crushedporos and were severely compressed by long, heavy use of the road. Weeks in the laboratory were spent freeing coins from countless, iron-hard clumps of coarse gravel. Many coins dissolved or fragmented in the process; others stayed fused together in hopeless lumps. Coins in the Roman roadway fared a little better, as many had fallen into cracksbetween the handsome paving slabs and thus were somewhat protected.Seven deposits accumulatedin pits in the road itself. At the Byzantine metal-working area many scoriae, tacks, buttons, and other round objects were found along with coins. Consequently, there were fewer numismatic additions to the collection than had been hoped, but the final count, by and large, kept the proportionsshown in the field tally, with Roman coins a solid majority,Greek and Byzan- tine next, and a few later coins to complete the picture.4 Generally speaking, the finds were all of known types. Minor variations occurredbut nothing significant such as new issues, magistrates, or symbols. In the largest section (Ro- man), the majority of the coins were from the mid-4th to the early 5th centuries. Con- stantius II (A.D. 337-361), Arcadius (A.D. 383-408), and Theodosius I (A.D. 379-395) were, in that order, the emperors most frequently represented. Many more of these coins, how- ever, were road damaged so that counts based on a certain emperor are a matter of chance 2 It is my pleasure and privilege to acknowledgewith gratitudethe unfailing help of the Corinth staff, most particularly that of Charles K. Williams, Director, Nancy Bookidis, Secretaryof the Excavations, and Stella Bouzaki, Conservator.I. Ioannidou and L. Bartzioti, photographers,deserve much recognitionfor their pa- tience and skill, as do members of the laboratoryteam, N. Didaskalou, A. Papaioannou, and G. Arberores. Continuing thanks go to Mando Oeconomides,of the National Museum at Athens, and to Nancy Waggoner and Francis D. Campbell, of the American Numismatic Society at New York City. 3 Jr., Cf. Williams, Hesperia 47, pp. 12-15, for Classical and Hellenistic roads and drains; pp. 24-25, for early Roman road; pp. 27-28, for paved Roman road of later date; pp. 29-33, for metal-working area and Byzantine buildings. 4 1977 final count: Greek Roman Byzantine Frankish Other 243 433 182 4 2 For field tallies and their attrition, see JA.A.Dengate, "Coin Hoards from the Gymnasium at Corinth," Hesperia 50, 1981, p. 155, note 16. COINS: CORINTH EXCAVATIONS, 1977 219 preservation,rather than an accurate picture of mint activity or trade. The same applies to the next strongest Roman group, the 5th-to-6th-centuryminimi. Happily, a concentration of Ostrogothicbronzes (Baduila, A.D. 541-552) survivedamongst a myriad of tiny illegibles. Next largest, the Greek section was similar to those of recent years: the finds were mostly autonomous issues from the Peloponnese. Once again, Corinth and Sikyon were the mints most commonly found. Corinthian Pegasos/Tridents were abundant, her Duoviri less so. Greek Imperials were scarce. No Greek coins were identified as coming from the West; a mere six representedthe East. The Byzantine section was strongestin 1 th-to- 2th-century coins, especially the later Anonymous Issues and, as usual, the strikings of Manuel I (A.D. 1143-1180). Finally, modern surface levels and a disturbed road fill produced the Frankish and Seljuq pieces. Five Greek silvers shown on Plate 48 are well-known fractions:a diobol (No. 1) and a drachm (No. 2) from Corinth, two hemidrachms (Nos. 103, 119) from the Aitolian and Achaian Leagues respectively, a tetrobol (No. 108) from Histiaia. Only the tetrobol is in relatively good condition although all appear for e record. The Achaian League hemi- drachm, similar to no. 555 of the Agrinion Hoard, can be identified as a late striking (160- 150 B.C.) from Patras while the Aitolian League hemidrachm,duplicate of Agrinion 617, is dated ca. 196-146 B.C.5On the other hand, the poor condition of both the drachm and the diobol from Corinth (4th century B.C.)precludes identificationof the die. A more unusual find (No. 114) from under the 5th-century B.C. floor of the Punic Amphora Building is the Turtle/Incuse stater from Aigina. Despite crystallizationof all surfaces and disappearance of some details, such as dots on the shell of the turtle, the obverse still shows a wide-necked turtle with a "thick"collar and the reverse, a defective five-segmentedincuse. This design probably belongs to a design transition between the earlier "Union Jack" reverses and the later "Windmill"or four-segmentedincuses. The worn, defective reverse die with the five segments, together with the "heavy"-collarobverse design argues, in terms of the Asyut Hoard, for placing our specimen late in Group III, dated ca. 500/490-480 B.C. in a fine study of internal and hoard evidence by Drs. Martin J. Price and Nancy M. Waggoner.6 Turning to Greek bronzes, two late Corinthian pieces deserve mention. The first (No. 85), an Octavius-Licinus Duovir struck under Claudius (A.D. 41-54) was known to Fox7 but without the ethnic COR on the reverse;also, on our obversethe Claudius head faces right.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hadrian and the Greek East
    HADRIAN AND THE GREEK EAST: IMPERIAL POLICY AND COMMUNICATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Demetrios Kritsotakis, B.A, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Fritz Graf, Adviser Professor Tom Hawkins ____________________________ Professor Anthony Kaldellis Adviser Greek and Latin Graduate Program Copyright by Demetrios Kritsotakis 2008 ABSTRACT The Roman Emperor Hadrian pursued a policy of unification of the vast Empire. After his accession, he abandoned the expansionist policy of his predecessor Trajan and focused on securing the frontiers of the empire and on maintaining its stability. Of the utmost importance was the further integration and participation in his program of the peoples of the Greek East, especially of the Greek mainland and Asia Minor. Hadrian now invited them to become active members of the empire. By his lengthy travels and benefactions to the people of the region and by the creation of the Panhellenion, Hadrian attempted to create a second center of the Empire. Rome, in the West, was the first center; now a second one, in the East, would draw together the Greek people on both sides of the Aegean Sea. Thus he could accelerate the unification of the empire by focusing on its two most important elements, Romans and Greeks. Hadrian channeled his intentions in a number of ways, including the use of specific iconographical types on the coinage of his reign and religious language and themes in his interactions with the Greeks. In both cases it becomes evident that the Greeks not only understood his messages, but they also reacted in a positive way.
    [Show full text]
  • The Satrap of Western Anatolia and the Greeks
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2017 The aS trap Of Western Anatolia And The Greeks Eyal Meyer University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons Recommended Citation Meyer, Eyal, "The aS trap Of Western Anatolia And The Greeks" (2017). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2473. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2473 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2473 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The aS trap Of Western Anatolia And The Greeks Abstract This dissertation explores the extent to which Persian policies in the western satrapies originated from the provincial capitals in the Anatolian periphery rather than from the royal centers in the Persian heartland in the fifth ec ntury BC. I begin by establishing that the Persian administrative apparatus was a product of a grand reform initiated by Darius I, which was aimed at producing a more uniform and centralized administrative infrastructure. In the following chapter I show that the provincial administration was embedded with chancellors, scribes, secretaries and military personnel of royal status and that the satrapies were periodically inspected by the Persian King or his loyal agents, which allowed to central authorities to monitory the provinces. In chapter three I delineate the extent of satrapal authority, responsibility and resources, and conclude that the satraps were supplied with considerable resources which enabled to fulfill the duties of their office. After the power dynamic between the Great Persian King and his provincial governors and the nature of the office of satrap has been analyzed, I begin a diachronic scrutiny of Greco-Persian interactions in the fifth century BC.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunnic Warfare in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries C.E.: Archery and the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire
    HUNNIC WARFARE IN THE FOURTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES C.E.: ARCHERY AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science. TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Copyright by Laura E. Fyfe 2016 Anthropology M.A. Graduate Program January 2017 ABSTRACT Hunnic Warfare in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries C.E.: Archery and the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire Laura E. Fyfe The Huns are one of the most misunderstood and mythologized barbarian invaders encountered by the Roman Empire. They were described by their contemporaries as savage nomadic warriors with superior archery skills, and it is this image that has been written into the history of the fall of the Western Roman Empire and influenced studies of Late Antiquity through countless generations of scholarship. This study examines evidence of Hunnic archery, questions the acceptance and significance of the “Hunnic archer” image, and situates Hunnic archery within the context of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. To achieve a more accurate picture of the importance of archery in Hunnic warfare and society, this study undertakes a mortuary analysis of burial sites associated with the Huns in Europe, a tactical and logistical study of mounted archery and Late Roman and Hunnic military engagements, and an analysis of the primary and secondary literature. Keywords: Archer, Archery, Army, Arrow, Barbarian, Bow, Burial Assemblages, Byzantine, Collapse, Composite Bow, Frontier, Hun, Logistics, Migration Period, Roman, Roman Empire, Tactics, Weapons Graves ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Palladas and the Age of Constantine Author(S): KEVIN W
    Palladas and the Age of Constantine Author(s): KEVIN W. WILKINSON Source: The Journal of Roman Studies , 2009, Vol. 99 (2009), pp. 36-60 Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies constantinethegreatcoins.com Palladas and the Age of Constantine* KEVIN W. WILKINSON The poet and grammarian Palladas of Alexandria, author of more than 150 epigrams in the Greek Anthology, has remained a somewhat elusive figure. Though no epigrammatist is better represented in our two major sources for the Anthology, scarcely a trace of his exist- ence survives outside of his corpus of poems. His identity was so shadowy in the Byzantine period that he did not even warrant a mention in the Suda. By the tenth century, therefore, and presumably long before that time, 'Palladas' was merely the name of a man who had written some decent epigrams. Several clues remain, however, that allow us to locate him in a particular historical context. The history of scholarship on this problem is long and complex, but two rough timelines for his life have been proposed. The traditional estimate of his dates was c. A.D. 360-450. This was revised in the middle of the twentieth century to c. A.D. 319-400. It is my contention that the first of these is about a century too late and the second approximately sixty years too late. Such challenges to long-held opinion do not always enjoy a happy fate. Nevertheless, there are those cases in which the weight of scholarly tradition rests on surprisingly shaky foundations and in which a careful review of the evidence can result in significant improvements.1 The following argument proceeds in six stages: summary of the foundations for the traditional dates (1) and the current consensus (11); discussion of two external clues (in); challenge to the prevailing views (iv); construction of a new timeline (v); conclusions (vi).
    [Show full text]
  • Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Lombards the Ostrogoths, Visigo
    Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Lombards 149 CHAPTER THREE THE SUccEssOR STATES IN THE WEST: OsTROGOTHS, VISIGOTHS, AND LOMBARDS The Ostrogoths, Visigoths and Lombards all took shape as peoples in the Roman frontier region of the middle and lower Danube. In their early years, they might also be described as Roman client or even field armies, since they were often in Roman service, large segments of these people stayed loyal to the East Roman Empire, and there was at times little to distinguish them from other field armies in the Balkans that took to arms against the central government during the 5th and 6th centuries. They should there- fore be treated together as products of the Balkans military culture, but due to their inability to find satisfactory settlement in the East, they mi- grated into the chaotic West where they finally established the indepen- dent kingdoms with which we are familiar. The survey of East Roman developments in the previous chapter will show that there was more to unite the Mediterranean than to divide it, and that patterns of military organization could change at a similar pace throughout the former Roman world. 3.1 The Ostrogoths, 493-554 Theoderic’s Ostrogothic kingdom lasted only two generations, from 493 to 554, but during its heyday, it was the most successful and thoroughly Ro- manized of all the successor states. There is a general consensus that an- cient social structures, such as a high degree of urbanization and a complex economic system, survived very well during this period. The Ostrogoths absorbed surviving Roman administrative structures and collaborated closely with the Roman senatorial class.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of Achaemenid Persia on Fourth-Century and Early Hellenistic Greek Tyranny
    THE INFLUENCE OF ACHAEMENID PERSIA ON FOURTH-CENTURY AND EARLY HELLENISTIC GREEK TYRANNY Miles Lester-Pearson A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11826 This item is protected by original copyright The influence of Achaemenid Persia on fourth-century and early Hellenistic Greek tyranny Miles Lester-Pearson This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews Submitted February 2015 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Miles Lester-Pearson, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 88,000 words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2010 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2011; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2010 and 2015. Date: Signature of Candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree.
    [Show full text]
  • The Developmentof Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrachs to The
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. The Development of Early Imperial Dress from the Tetrarchs to the Herakleian Dynasty General Introduction The emperor, as head of state, was the most important and powerful individual in the land; his official portraits and to a lesser extent those of the empress were depicted throughout the realm. His image occurred most frequently on small items issued by government officials such as coins, market weights, seals, imperial standards, medallions displayed beside new consuls, and even on the inkwells of public officials. As a sign of their loyalty, his portrait sometimes appeared on the patches sown on his supporters’ garments, embossed on their shields and armour or even embellishing their jewelry. Among more expensive forms of art, the emperor’s portrait appeared in illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and wall paintings such as murals and donor portraits. Several types of statues bore his likeness, including those worshiped as part of the imperial cult, examples erected by public 1 officials, and individual or family groupings placed in buildings, gardens and even harbours at the emperor’s personal expense.
    [Show full text]
  • 300: Greco-Persian Wars 300: the Persian Wars — Rule Book
    300: Greco-Persian Wars 300: The Persian Wars — Rule book 1.0 Introduction Illustration p. 2 City "300" has as its theme the war between Persia and Name Greece which lasted for 50 years from the Ionian Food Supply Revolt in 499 BC to the Peace of Callias in 449 BC Road One player plays the Greek army, based around Blue Ear of Wheat = Supply city for the Greek Athens and Sparta, and the other the Persian army. Army During these fifty years launched three expeditions ■ Red = Important city for the Persian army to Greece but in the game they may launch up to Athens is a port five. Corinth is not a port Place name (does not affect the game) 2.0 Components 2.1.4 Accumulated Score Track: At the end of The game is played using the following elements. each expedition, note the difference in score between the two sides. At the end of the game, the 2.1 Map player who leads on accumulated score even by one point, wins the game. If the score is 0, the result is a The map covers Greece and a portion of Asia Minor draw. in the period of the Persian Wars. 2.1.5 Circles of Death/Ostracism: These contain 2.1.1 City: Each box on the map is a city, the images of individuals who died or were containing the following information: ostracised in the course of the game. When this • Name: the name of the city. occurs, place an army or fleet piece in the indicated • Important City: the red cities are important for the circle.
    [Show full text]
  • Determining the Significance of Alliance Athologiesp in Bipolar Systems: a Case of the Peloponnesian War from 431-421 BCE
    Wright State University CORE Scholar Browse all Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2016 Determining the Significance of Alliance athologiesP in Bipolar Systems: A Case of the Peloponnesian War from 431-421 BCE Anthony Lee Meyer Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all Part of the International Relations Commons Repository Citation Meyer, Anthony Lee, "Determining the Significance of Alliance Pathologies in Bipolar Systems: A Case of the Peloponnesian War from 431-421 BCE" (2016). Browse all Theses and Dissertations. 1509. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all/1509 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Browse all Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DETERMINING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ALLIANCE PATHOLOGIES IN BIPOLAR SYSTEMS: A CASE OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR FROM 431-421 BCE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By ANTHONY LEE ISAAC MEYER Dual B.A., Russian Language & Literature, International Studies, Ohio State University, 2007 2016 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES ___April 29, 2016_________ I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Anthony Meyer ENTITLED Determining the Significance of Alliance Pathologies in Bipolar Systems: A Case of the Peloponnesian War from 431-421 BCE BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts. ____________________________ Liam Anderson, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]
  • Collector's Checklist for Roman Imperial Coinage
    Liberty Coin Service Collector’s Checklist for Roman Imperial Coinage (49 BC - AD 518) The Twelve Caesars - The Julio-Claudians and the Flavians (49 BC - AD 96) Purchase Emperor Denomination Grade Date Price Julius Caesar (49-44 BC) Augustus (31 BC-AD 14) Tiberius (AD 14 - AD 37) Caligula (AD 37 - AD 41) Claudius (AD 41 - AD 54) Tiberius Nero (AD 54 - AD 68) Galba (AD 68 - AD 69) Otho (AD 69) Nero Vitellius (AD 69) Vespasian (AD 69 - AD 79) Otho Titus (AD 79 - AD 81) Domitian (AD 81 - AD 96) The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty (AD 96 - AD 192) Nerva (AD 96-AD 98) Trajan (AD 98-AD 117) Hadrian (AD 117 - AD 138) Antoninus Pius (AD 138 - AD 161) Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 - AD 180) Hadrian Lucius Verus (AD 161 - AD 169) Commodus (AD 177 - AD 192) Marcus Aurelius Years of Transition (AD 193 - AD 195) Pertinax (AD 193) Didius Julianus (AD 193) Pescennius Niger (AD 193) Clodius Albinus (AD 193- AD 195) The Severans (AD 193 - AD 235) Clodius Albinus Septimus Severus (AD 193 - AD 211) Caracalla (AD 198 - AD 217) Purchase Emperor Denomination Grade Date Price Geta (AD 209 - AD 212) Macrinus (AD 217 - AD 218) Diadumedian as Caesar (AD 217 - AD 218) Elagabalus (AD 218 - AD 222) Severus Alexander (AD 222 - AD 235) Severus The Military Emperors (AD 235 - AD 284) Alexander Maximinus (AD 235 - AD 238) Maximus Caesar (AD 235 - AD 238) Balbinus (AD 238) Maximinus Pupienus (AD 238) Gordian I (AD 238) Gordian II (AD 238) Gordian III (AD 238 - AD 244) Philip I (AD 244 - AD 249) Philip II (AD 247 - AD 249) Gordian III Trajan Decius (AD 249 - AD 251) Herennius Etruscus
    [Show full text]
  • Calendar of Roman Events
    Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
    [Show full text]