DOCSLIB.ORG

Remarks on Some Coins Discovered Near Warter, and Presented by Lord

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Remarks on Some Coins Discovered Near Warter, and Presented by Lord Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 28, 2021 495 auDitore. BBNJAHIN BIBAM, KSQ. | G. W. CUAMBBRS, ESQ. Uacal Creasorect anir Sc^etartes. Bii. AVif. AT.EXAKDEE, Halifax. I H. C. SORBY, ESQ., Sheffield. HENEY BKioas, ESQ., Wukofield. | E. D. BAXTEK, ESQ., Doncasiter. Mr. Ward, the Honorary Secretary, having read the financial position of the Society, which was as follows :— STATEMENT OF THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE Ol THS GSOLOaiCAL AND PoLTrEOHNIC SOCTBTV OF THE WBST tMCINQ OP YOKKgHIBX, From December 13th, 1855, to January SSnd, 1857. DR. £. e. d. CB. £. s. d. By Balanoe in Mr. Battmso's hands 8 8 e To Collectisf Snbacnptions 1 17 10 „ Balanoe in Tnuurtr's haoda.... 613 8 „ Poatagea 3 0 6 „ Snbscriptiona- „ Rent of Musenm SO 0 0 VromSUemlMntorlSSS 3 6 0 ,, Henra. Baines, on Account .... 20 0 0 „ 8 „ 185* 6 4 0 „ Adrertiain; Meet&>( 1 18 6 „ 86 „ 1836 36 8 0 „ Bxpcnxes of Meetinga 2 0 > „ H „ 1896 16 2 0 „ Bnbioriptlon to Palaeontograjih- ,, Donation from tbe Mayor of icalSociety .., 1 ' 9 Haiilki ; 10 0 „ Lithographing & Printing Plate* S 1 0 „ AB.'i8tant Secretary on Account 3^ 9 9 ..Stationery 0 4 6 „ Sundries, Oarrlage, Ac i 13 1 „ Deficiency in Mr. Battman's Accouutft 8 8 6 „ Balance in Treasurer's hands— 7 16 6 £109 1 i £109 1 2 LIABILirlEa. £. B. d. ASSETS. £. ». d. Memra.Balnes 31 8 8 Oaah in Treasurer's hands 7 16 6 Ftiiiosopbical Hal), for rent 10 0 0 Arrean of Subicriptions to oolloct.. 42 9 0 PBlteantozraitiloiil Booiety 1 } 0 Salary of AMistant Secretary 22 0 3 {664 9 11 £Mi» The Secretary announced that the Rev. John Kenrick, who was unavoidably prevented from being present, had entrusted his paper to him, which he would, therefore, now read:— REMAUKS ON SOME COINS DISCOVERED KEAR WARTEB, AND PRESENTED BY LORD LONDESBOROUGH TO THE MUSEUMS OF THE YORKSHIIIE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETT AND THE LEEDS LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. BY THE REV. JOHN KENRICK, M.A. In the course of last year, a discovery of a large number of Roman coins was made near Methall, between Warter and Nunburnholme, in the East Riding of this county. On Mr. Jjewton's map of the Roman roads in Yorkshire, a road is Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 28, 2021 496 laid down near this spot, passing from Market Weighton, over the Wolds, to Malton, and many antiquities hare been found at Warter, so that it has been suggested, among other places, as the site of the Delgovitia of Antoninus' Itinerary. The number of the coins was very considerable; between 1,200 and 1,300 of them have been presented by Lord Londesborough to the York Museum, and many have passed into other hands. They are all of the size called by numis­ matists, third brass; they begin with the reign of Valerian, and include the reign of his son Gallienus, and his consort, Salo- nina; the Tyrant's, Postumus, the Tetrici and Marius; the Emperor Claudius Gothicus and his brother Quintillus ; and Aurelian, Tacitus, and Probus. The time of the deposit, therefore, is probably that of Probus, who reigned from A.D. 276 to 282. Like many hoards it was contained in an earthen vessel, a mode of preservation which, from the language of the Apostle Paul—" We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Cor. iv. 7,) appears not only to have been used for protection against the damp of the earth, as in Jeremiah xxxii. 14, but as an ordinary custom. When Lord Londesborough presented that part of the hoard which came into his hands to the museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, he requested that any duplicates might be sent to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Leeds. This has accordingly been done by the Rev. Charles Wellbeloved, the curator of antiquities, and 262 coins have been sent. It appears due to the noble donor that they should not be consigned to the society's cabinet without some more detailed notice. It is true that none of them are rare ; they are of minute size, of coarse workmanship and debased metal; but these circumstances, which diminish their value in the eyes of the collector, do not prevent their being of historical interest. They are an index of the times in which they were produced—times of general calamify, of public and private poverty. AH such remains Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 28, 2021 497 of antiquity give definlteness and certainty to our historical conceptions. When we merely read history, its characters pass before us very much as figures in a phantasmagoria; but when we see the armour in which the men of fifteen centuries ago fought, the household vessels in which they prepared or took their food, and the coins which passed through their hands, we feel that they were realities and of kin to ourselves. The series of these coins begins at a time of deep degra­ dation and misfortune to the Roman empire. Valerian had been made captive by Sapor, King of Persia, who made use of him aa a footstool to mount his horse; and, after death, caused his skin to be stuffed and hung up as a trophy in one of the temples. During the reign of his son Gallienus, the dis­ memberment of the empire seemed imminent j its frontiers suffered from the invasion of the barbarians, several provinces made themselves independent, and the physical calamities of earthquakes, pestilences, and inundations were added to poli­ tical misfortune. But a better time succeeded. Claudius Gothicus repelled the Alemanni from Italy, and the Goths from Greece; Aurelian re-established the Roman power in the east, subdued the factions of Rome, and surrounded the city with a wall of such strength and circuit that she seemed secure from the'attacks of the barbarians. By him and his successors, Tacitus and Probus, the unity of the empire was restored and upheld. The most remarkable result of the state into which the imperial power fell, during the reign of Gallienus, was the springing up in all parts of those whom history calls the Thirty Tyrants, though without any great propriety, since their number did not literally amount to thirty, nor did they deserve the appellation of tyrants, if that name is understood to convey the idea of usurped power, or a cruel and selfish use of it. The talents of Gallienus were by no means con- Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 28, 2021 498 temptible, but they fitted him rather for excelling in dilettante pursuits, than in the administration of affairs. He frequently roused himself from the indolent voluptuousness in which his life was ordinarily spent; on several occasions he vigorously repelled the barbarians,* and he died the death of a soldier in the camp before Milan.t But he was not the man whom the age required, and we cannot wonder that leading men in the provinces endeavoured to set up independent govern­ ments. Gibbon contented himself with saying on their behalf, that they were much oftener driven into rebellion by their fears than urged to it by their ambition. Sir Francis Palgrave, in his English Commonwealth (ch. xi.), advances a higher claim for them. He regards them as the forerunners of the founders of the independent kingdoms of the west, and denies that they were in any sense usurpers. The cen­ tral authority was too weak to afford protection to the pro­ vinces, which were, therefore, fully justified in providing for their own security; and the legions of Gaul had as good a right to choose an emperor as the Praetorians of the capital. Probably it was with the assent of the people that many of them reigned, and there can be no question that there were among them men of superior talent and virtue. But it is equally clear that their attempts were premature. Not one of them succeeded in permanently establishing an independent power—not one of them, according to the remark of Gibbon, enjoyed a life of peace, or died a natural death. Tetricus, however, was an exception. Of the nineteen who really at­ tempted to set up independent sovereignties, or aspired to the empire, some passed so rapidly away that they have left no trace of themselves in the Roman coinage. But the coins of the Gallic aspirants to sovereignty, Victorinus, Postumus, Tetricus and his son, are very abundant, especially in Gaul and Britain. In this age, Gaul, Spain, • Tiebell, c, 4. t Zosim, i. 41. Downloaded from http://pygs.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 28, 2021 499 and Britain were generally united in one hand, whether in case of usurpation, or of a legitimate division of power among the Caesars. Indeed, it was hardly possible that if Gaul, which possessed all the ports opposite to Britain, was hostile, Britain could be retained by a power seated at Borne. Whether any of them ever visited this island is uncertain, but inscriptions to Postumus, Vietorinus, and Tetricus have been found in Britain,* and their presence here is not impro­ bable. The abundance of their coins is a proof of the active intercourse which was carried on between Britain and Gaul. Although, as we have already remarked, the coins of the Nunburnholme find are not very valuable in the estimation of the numismatist, they are not without interest for the historian, as throwing light upon the events and ideas of the age. Several circumstances indicate the increase of solar worship among the Romans.
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]
  • Exiling Bishops: the Policy of Constantius II
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Classical Studies Faculty Publications Classical Studies 2014 Exiling Bishops: The olicP y of Constantius II Walter Stevenson University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/classicalstudies-faculty- publications Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Stevenson, Walt. "Exiling Bishops: The oP licy of Canstantius II." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 68 (2014): 7-27. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exiling Bishops: The Policy of Constantius II Walt Stevenson onstantius II was forced by circumstances to all instances in which Constantius II exiled bishops Cmake innovations in the policy that his father and focus on a sympathetic reading of his strategy.2 Constantine had followed in exiling bishops. While Though the sources for this period are muddled and ancient tradition has made the father into a sagacious require extensive sorting, a panoramic view of exile saint and the son into a fanatical demon, recent schol- incidents reveals a pattern in which Constantius moved arship has tended to stress continuity between the two past his father’s precedents to mold a new, intelligent regimes.1 This article will attempt to gather
    [Show full text]
  • The Gallic Empire (260-274): Rome Breaks Apart
    The Gallic Empire (260-274): Rome Breaks Apart Six Silver Coins Collection An empire fractures Roman chariots All coins in each set are protected in an archival capsule and beautifully displayed in a mahogany-like box. The box set is accompanied with a story card, certificate of authenticity, and a black gift box. By the middle of the third century, the Roman Empire began to show signs of collapse. A parade of emperors took the throne, mostly from the ranks of the military. Years of civil war and open revolt led to an erosion of territory. In the year 260, in a battle on the Eastern front, the emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by the hated Persians. He died in captivity, and his corpse was stuffed and hung on the wall of the palace of the Persian king. Valerian’s capture threw the already-fractured empire into complete disarray. His son and co-emperor, Gallienus, was unable to quell the unrest. Charismatic generals sought to consolidate their own power, but none was as powerful, or as ambitious, as Postumus. Born in an outpost of the Empire, of common stock, Postumus rose swiftly through the ranks, eventually commanding Roman forces “among the Celts”—a territory that included modern-day France, Belgium, Holland, and England. In the aftermath of Valerian’s abduction in 260, his soldiers proclaimed Postumus emperor. Thus was born the so-called Gallic Empire. After nine years of relative peace and prosperity, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, and the Gallic Empire, which had depended on the force of his personality, began to crumble.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Historical References on Coins of the Roman
    Register Free To Download Files | File Name : Historical References On Coins Of The Roman Empire From Augustus To Gallienus PDF HISTORICAL REFERENCES ON COINS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM AUGUSTUS TO GALLIENUS Tapa blanda 6 febrero 2020 Author : Historical references on coins of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Gallienus Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. Share to Twitter. ... Historical references on coins of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Gallienus by Sydenham, Edward Allen, 1873- 1948. Publication date 1917 Topics Coins, Roman Publisher Historical references on coins of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Gallienus by A. Sydenham, Edward The importance of the scientific study of ancient coins relative to that of history has long been recognised. In their historical aspect the coins of the Roman Empire present three phases of interest: 1.) As contemporary monuments the coins supply corroborative evidence of facts which are recorded by historians. 2.) In a number of instances the coins fill up gaps in the narrative and supply ... Historical references on coins of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Gallienus by Edward Allen Sydenham, 1968, Spink, Pegasus edition, in English - [1st ed. reprinted]. CONTENTS. Introduction. TheImperialCoinage. TheGrowthandDeclineofArt. TheBeginningoftheEmpire. B.C. 29 TheTriumphofOctavian. 28.OctavianandAgrippa. 27.Augustus . 27-24 ... Historical References on Coins of the Roman Empire: From Augustus to Gallienus (Classic Reprint) by Sydenham, Edward Allen Excerpt from Historical References on Coins of the Roman Empire: From Augustus to Gallienus The purpose of the following notes is obviously not new. But the writer ventures to state his experience as a collector and student of Roman coins to the effect that the interest which he derived from amassing varieties of types was as nothing compared with the reve lation of new interest which resulted ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great
    Graeco-Latina Brunensia 24 / 2019 / 2 https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2019-2-2 The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great Stanislav Doležal (University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice) Abstract The article argues that Constantine the Great, until he was recognized by Galerius, the senior ČLÁNKY / ARTICLES Emperor of the Tetrarchy, was an usurper with no right to the imperial power, nothwithstand- ing his claim that his father, the Emperor Constantius I, conferred upon him the imperial title before he died. Tetrarchic principles, envisaged by Diocletian, were specifically put in place to supersede and override blood kinship. Constantine’s accession to power started as a military coup in which a military unit composed of barbarian soldiers seems to have played an impor- tant role. Keywords Constantine the Great; Roman emperor; usurpation; tetrarchy 19 Stanislav Doležal The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great On 25 July 306 at York, the Roman Emperor Constantius I died peacefully in his bed. On the same day, a new Emperor was made – his eldest son Constantine who had been present at his father’s deathbed. What exactly happened on that day? Britain, a remote province (actually several provinces)1 on the edge of the Roman Empire, had a tendency to defect from the central government. It produced several usurpers in the past.2 Was Constantine one of them? What gave him the right to be an Emperor in the first place? It can be argued that the political system that was still valid in 306, today known as the Tetrarchy, made any such seizure of power illegal.
    [Show full text]
  • Joint Parishes Event Annointing of the Sick 16Th February 3 P.M
    Bulletin 1st March 2020 Bulletin 1st March 2019 Bulletin 23rd February 2020 Bulletin 23rd February 2020 …… Ash Wednesday Marks the beginning of Lent…It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent,[2] the six weeks of penitence fasting and prayer before Easter. Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed by many Christians. It is observed by Anglicans, most Latin Rite Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Nazarenes, Indepe ndent Catholics, as well many from the Reformed faith.[3] As it is the first day of Lent, many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Eastertide.[4][5] Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to either the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”[6] The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations….(source= Wikipedia) Bulletin 16th February 2020 Bulletin 16th February 2020 Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with “courtly love.”One common story about St. Valentine is that in one point of his life, as the former Bishop of Terni, Narnia and Amelia, he was on house arrest with Judge Asterius. While discussing religion and faith with the Judge, Valentine pledged the validity of Jesus.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambridge Companion to Age of Constantine.Pdf
    The Cambridge Companion to THE AGE OF CONSTANTINE S The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a com- prehensive one-volume introduction to this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by the experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, reli- gion, social and economic history, art, and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, a ruler who gains in importance because he steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal develop- ment. Each chapter examines the intimate interplay between emperor and empire and between a powerful personality and his world. Collec- tively, the chapters show how both were mutually affected in ways that shaped the world of late antiquity and even affect our own world today. Noel Lenski is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A specialist in the history of late antiquity, he is the author of numerous articles on military, political, cultural, and social history and the monograph Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century ad. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 The Cambridge Companion to THE AGE OF CONSTANTINE S Edited by Noel Lenski University of Colorado Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo Cambridge University Press 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521818384 c Cambridge University Press 2006 This publication is in copyright.
    [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]
  • A Tale of Two Periods
    A tale of two periods Change and continuity in the Roman Empire between 249 and 324 Pictured left: a section of the Naqš-i Rustam, the victory monument of Shapur I of Persia, showing the captured Roman emperor Valerian kneeling before the victorious Sassanid monarch (source: www.bbc.co.uk). Pictured right: a group of statues found on St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, depicting the members of the first tetrarchy – Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius and Galerius – holding each other and with their hands on their swords, ready to act if necessary (source: www.wikipedia.org). The former image depicts the biggest shame suffered by the empire during the third-century ‘crisis’, while the latter is the most prominent surviving symbol of tetrar- chic ideology. S. L. Vennik Kluut 14 1991 VB Velserbroek S0930156 RMA-thesis Ancient History Supervisor: Dr. F. G. Naerebout Faculty of Humanities University of Leiden Date: 30-05-2014 2 Table of contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Sources ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Historiography ............................................................................................................................... 10 1. Narrative ............................................................................................................................................ 14 From
    [Show full text]
  • The Epitome De Caesaribus and the Thirty Tyrants
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ELTE Digital Institutional Repository (EDIT) THE EPITOME DE CAESARIBUS AND THE THIRTY TYRANTS MÁRK SÓLYOM The Epitome de Caesaribus is a short, summarizing Latin historical work known as a breviarium or epitomé. This brief summary was written in the late 4th or early 5th century and summarizes the history of the Roman Empire from the time of Augustus to the time of Theodosius the Great in 48 chapters. Between chapters 32 and 35, the Epitome tells the story of the Empire under Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, and Aurelian. This was the most anarchic time of the soldier-emperor era; the imperatores had to face not only the German and Sassanid attacks, but also the economic crisis, the plague and the counter-emperors, as well. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae calls these counter-emperors the “thirty tyrants” and lists 32 usurpers, although there are some fictive imperatores in that list too. The Epitome knows only 9 tyrants, mostly the Gallic and Western usurpers. The goal of my paper is to analyse the Epitome’s chapters about Gallienus’, Claudius Gothicus’ and Aurelian’s counter-emperors with the help of the ancient sources and modern works. The Epitome de Caesaribus is a short, summarizing Latin historical work known as a breviarium or epitomé (ἐπιτομή). During the late Roman Empire, long historical works (for example the books of Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio etc.) fell out of favour, as the imperial court preferred to read shorter summaries. Consequently, the genre of abbreviated history became well-recognised.1 The word epitomé comes from the Greek word epitemnein (ἐπιτέμνειν), which means “to cut short”.2 The most famous late antique abbreviated histories are Aurelius Victor’s Liber de Caesaribus (written in the 360s),3 Eutropius’ Breviarium ab Urbe condita4 and Festus’ Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani.5 Both Eutropius’ and Festus’ works were created during the reign of Emperor Valens between 364 and 378.
    [Show full text]
  • THE FRACTURE of IMPERIAL ROME the Rise and Fall of the Gallic Empire 260-274 CE a Set of Eight Bronze Coins
    THE FRACTURE OF IMPERIAL ROME The Rise and Fall of the Gallic Empire 260-274 CE A Set of Eight Bronze Coins Coin type and grade may vary Order code: 8GALLICEMPBOX somewhat from image Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, the Roman Empire enjoyed two full centuries of peace and prosperity. The Pax Romana was unprecedented in both duration and territory—at its height, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean region: most of Europe, including Britannia; all of North Africa from Gibraltar to Egypt; and a vast swath of the Middle East stretching into Mesopotamia and the Caucasus. Governing that many diverse populations so effectively, and for so long, is a feat unrivaled in the annals of history. To do so, the Romans established the most efficient system of administration the world had ever known. Career bureaucrats—prefects, politicians, tax collectors—maintained the system regardless of who was seated on the throne. During the Pax Romana, Rome also boasted a series of strong, stable emperors. Although there were periods of unrest, these tended to be short. After the death of Nero, three family dynasties provided the Empire with a consistent succession of emperors. By the third century CE, the empire began to show signs of collapse. A parade of emperors took the throne, mostly from the ranks of the military. Years of civil war and open revolt led to an erosion of territory. In the year 260, in a battle on the Eastern front, the Emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by the hated Persians. He died in captivity, and his corpse was stuffed and hung on the wall of the palace of the Persian king.
    [Show full text]
  • Two of Constantine's “Official Lies”
    Graeco-Latina Brunensia 25 / 2020 / 2 https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2020-2-5 Two of Constantine’s “Official Lies” Stanislav Doležal (University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice) Abstract The article deals with the twin lie, devised by the Emperor Constantine the Great in 310: his fake ancestry (his relationship to the Emperor Claudius Gothicus) and his alleged “pagan vision” of Apollo (which was either a lie or, perhaps less probably, a product of hallucination). Both lies / ARTICLES ČLÁNKY served to buttress his shaken political position in that year and to provide him with a hereditary claim to rule. This claim was presented as superior to the tetrarchic principles of succession which were already flouted by Constantine in 306 by his usurpation, and to his elevation to the position of augustus by Maximian in 307. In contrast, the story of the famous “Christian vision” was most probably fabricated by Eusebius after Constantine’s death and bears no relation (not even a resemblance) to the “pagan vision” of Constantine. Keywords Constantine the Great; Claudius Gothicus; Apollo; vision 61 Stanislav Doležal Two of Constantine’s “Official Lies” In the preceding volume of Graeco-Latina Brunensia,1 this author dealt with the un- verifiable claim of Constantine the Great that his father, the Emperor Constantius I, conferred upon him the imperial title before he died. This claim cannot be proved now (and it could not be proved in 306) and it appears to be suspect. It rested solely on Constantine’s assertion, and it is found in some, but not all of our sources.2 However, it did have its intended political impact.
    [Show full text]