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The Coinage from Commodus to Constantine : Some Types That Mirror the Transition Form Principate to Absolute Monarchy

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The Coinage from Commodus to Constantine : Some Types That Mirror the Transition Form Principate to Absolute Monarchy The coinage from Commodus to Constantine : some types that mirror the transition form principate to absolute monarchy Autor(en): Storch, Rudolph H. Objekttyp: Article Zeitschrift: Schweizer Münzblätter = Gazette numismatique suisse = Gazzetta numismatica svizzera Band (Jahr): 23-27 (1973-1977) Heft 91 PDF erstellt am: 30.09.2021 Persistenter Link: http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-171024 Nutzungsbedingungen Die ETH-Bibliothek ist Anbieterin der digitalisierten Zeitschriften. Sie besitzt keine Urheberrechte an den Inhalten der Zeitschriften. Die Rechte liegen in der Regel bei den Herausgebern. Die auf der Plattform e-periodica veröffentlichten Dokumente stehen für nicht-kommerzielle Zwecke in Lehre und Forschung sowie für die private Nutzung frei zur Verfügung. 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Ein Dienst der ETH-Bibliothek ETH Zürich, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, Schweiz, www.library.ethz.ch http://www.e-periodica.ch THE COINAGE FROM COMMODUS TO CONSTANTINE: SOME TYPES THAT MIRROR THE TRANSITION FROM PRINCIPATE TO ABSOLUTE MONARCHY Rudolph H. Storch Although the sources for Roman history from Commodus ' to Constantine -' are notoriously inadequate, major historical trends are well-known including (1) an increased attention to the military and (2) the breakdown of traditional narrow formulas of the principate in favor of wider viewpoints inherent in the monarchy of Diocletian and Constantine :i. The imperial coinage most vividly mirrors these changes. Militarism of the age is reflected in developments connected with the legends PIETAS, FELICITAS, SALUS, SECURITAS, and PAX 4. Modification of precise formulas of the principate is indicated by the novel suggestions of «perpetuity» and «eternity» on the coins ¦"'. Moreover, both trends are consummated in two new 1 The reign of Commodus was a watershed (W. Weber in CAH XI, 386-392). This is most obvious in the light of his coins, his titulary, his association with Hercules, and in the forced adulation of Commodus imposed on the Senate (The coins - BMC: Emp. IV, clxxxiii and the catalogue of Commodus' coins. The titulary - Dio LXXI, 15; L. Berlinger, Beiträge zur inoffiziellen Titulatur der röm. Kaiser [Breslau, 1935], 16-17, 21; O. Th. Schulz, Die Rechtstitel und Regierungsprogramme auf röm. Kaisermünzen [Paderborn, 1925], 46, 75-76; Th. Ulrich, Pietas [pius] als politischer Begriff im röm. Staate bis zum Tode des Kaisers Commodus [Breslau, 1930], 74-82. The association of Commodus with Hercules - SHA, Coram., 8, 11, 17; Dio LXXII, 7, 15, 20; Herod. I, 14. J. Babelon, «Commode en Hercule», RN, 15 [1953], 23-36: F.S.Dunn, «The Monetary Crown Titles of the Emperor Commodus», The Numismatist, 32 [1919], 189-196; H.J.Stein, «Herculi Romano Augustus», The Numismatist, 47 [1934], 785-786. M. Rostovtzeff, «Commodus-Hercules in Britain», JRS, 13 [1923], 91-109 including the appendix by Mattingly treating the history of Hercules on the imperial coinage; J. Aymard. «Commode-Hercule Fondateur de Rome», REL, 14[ 1936], 350-364. The forced adulation of the senators - Dio LXXII, 20; M. P. Charlesworth, «The Virtues of a Roman Emperor: Propaganda and the Creation of Belief». ProcBritAc [1937]. 123). The best summary is RE II/2, «Aurelius» (89), 2464-2481. 2 Bruun in RIC VII («The Message of the Reverses», 46-56) argues that Constantinian reverses lay foundations for the Byzantine state. The current essay points to the reverses of Constantine's coins as the culmination of imperial trends since Commodus. For a comparison of Diocletian's and Constantine's reverses with those of the early empire : H. Mattingly, Roman Coins (London, 1960), 229-244. For the reign of Alexander Severus and the transition: E. Görlich, «Alexander Severus und der Ausgang des Prinzipates», Aevum (1937), 197 ff. 3 The end of the principate: O. Th. Schulz, Vom Prinzipate zum Dominât (Paderborn. 1919 - this discussion begins with Septimius Severus, not Commodus. See esp. 247-257 for changes in titulary) : W. Ensslin in CAH XII, 352-382 (356-361 for a discussion, based primarily on the coins, of the divinity of the imperial office) ; G. C. Picard, Les Trophées Romains (Paris, 1957 - 451 ff.: the development of an «absolutist» theology of victory beginning with Commodus). For the breakdown of the traditional formulas of the principate seen in the light of the imperial title invictus, and in the coin legends CONSERVATOR and RESTITUTOR see my article soon to appear in CIMed («The .Absolutist' Theology of Victory: Its Place in the Late Empire») and M. Imhof, «Invictus». Mus Helv, 14 (1957), 208 ff. 4 Cicero argued that worship of the virtues had an uplifting effect on the worshipper (De legibus IL 11, 28) while Pliny saw no value (N. H. II, 14). G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer (Berlin, 1912), 52 ff. for the origins of the virtues among the Romans. More general discussions of the virtues of the emperor: Mattingly, Roman Coins, 159-164, 241-242. and The Man in the Roman Street (New York, 1947), 75-81 and «The Roman Virtues», HarvTheol- Rev, 30 (1937), 103-117; M. P. Charlesworth, «The Virtues of a Roman Emperor», ProcBritAc. 15 (1937), 105-133. The virtues as imperial propaganda: Schulz, Rechtstitel und Regierungsprogramme, 51-81. The virtues are often discussed in P. L. Strack, Untersuchungen zur röm. Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, I—III (Stuttgart, 1931-1937. See below for specific citations). 5 Ensslin in CAH XII, 358. "5 legends dramatically appearing for the first time under Constantine: GLORIA and GAUDIUM. Indicative of the endless stream of virtues on the imperial coinage were piety, felicity, health, security, and peace. These suggestions appeared in connection with a variety of types but most frequently with a personification of the virtue in the form of a goddess who usually had a characteristic attribute (there were variations but, for example, Pietas was pictured at an altar or with little children, Securitas leaned on a column, Félicitas held a caduceus, Salus a snake, and Pax an olive branch). It is well-known that types and attributes were carefully chosen to present the goddess and the positive contribution made by the government to the citizens of the empire. Any alterations were the result of a deliberate decision which modified the message of the coin. Before the third century these virtues were, wilh few exceptions, not connected with military types and attributes. However, there was a general pattern of change during the period from Commodus through Constantine when the influence of the military became paramount. Piety was a persistent theme on the coinage of the empire ". Often the virtue is celebrated in the abstract, i.e., the legend PIETAS. Although this legend bore various types such as an altar or temple or a bust of the empress 7, most frequently pietas was personified. As piety in a religious sense she often appeared at an altar dropping incense, praying, or raising her hand sometimes holding a sacrificial box or sceptre. A piety in a familial sense she was shown touching the head of a little girl while holding a child, or, in a variation, while holding a flower bud and cornuco- piae to suggest the additional benefit of abundance. There were other pietas legends. The «Piety of the Augustus» was a favorite message of imperial propaganda. PIETAS AUGUSTI was connected with the type of a temple or priestly implements to denote the emperor's religious devotion to the gods or with the type of Mercury perhaps to suggest that through the ruler's piety commercewas flourishing (RIC IV/3,149, no.213). Occasionally the emperor himself was pictured. Titus and Domitian appeared holding a sceptre in clasped hands which were held, in turn, by a female (BMC II, 258, no. 177). Septimius Severus, in an act of piety, was veiled, holding a roll while sacrificing (RIC IV/1, 146, no.413). Aurelian, performing the same ceremony was accompanied by a priest (RIC V/l. 280, no. 138). Generally, however, the «piety of the Augustus» was represented by Pietas herself in her traditional activities 8. 6 Pietas often appears in the XII Panegyrici Latini as a virtue most desirable in a ruling prince (Pan. II, 14; III, 6, 13; IV, 3; VI, 7; VII, 7, 22; X, 6, 7, 12, 16: XI, 3; et. al.). Pietas from Trajan to Antoninus Pius in Strack, Untersuchungen, I, 75-76; II, 51-57, 169-171; III, 107. For piety and military success: M. P. Charlesworth, «Pietas and Victoria: the Emperor and the Citizen», JRS, 33 (1943) pp. 1-10; and Ulrich, Pietas als pol. Begriff, 41-49. C. H. Dodd discusses Pius on the coins of Antoninus: «The Cognomen of the Emperor Antoninus Pius», NC, 11 (1911), at 14-33. J. Liegle, «Pietas», ZfN, 42 (1935), 60-71 discusses Pietas as a personification of cult devoutness and the propaganda use made of this concept by Augustus in his wars (86 ff.). Also Koch, «Pietas». RE XX/1, 1221-1232. 7 E.g. BMC I, 133, no. 98; II, 287, no. 291; IV, 47, no. 319, 236, no. 1468, 310. no. 1869; RIC V/l, 217, no. 83. 8 Other pietas legends appeared, however rarely: PIETATI AUGUSTAE (Iulia Domna placing her hands on Caracalla and Geta) ; PIETAS PUBLICA (Pietas at an altar) ; PIET(as) SENAT(ws) (Commodus clasping hands with the Genius Senatus) ; PIETAS SAECULI (on an obverse, a draped bust of Valerian II).
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