Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
by
,ZANDER H. KLAWANS
SECOND
EDIT~ON
W.HITMAN
P'U.BLIS,HING
RACINE.,W1SCONSIN
COMP'ANY
CONTENTS
olnage Before the Time of the Empire 8
Rom n Coin Denomination I ra nom n-.\"omenThe Xame Informal bverse Inscription of Emperors as They Appear on Coins
1-4
1
ogn men
zz
28 33 )3i S1
1nscri p ti - ns . sketches of Emperors, the Year a. oin 'A'a Pate tate Etc. truck
tMarks
60
101
12U
125
The reprinting of thi book presents me with the unanticipated nppnrt unity of m:'lking certain corrections as well a IJ few additions, :\!llny people had h 'en kind enough 1'0 write to 111(' poirning out errors which. ernehow had found their way in to the text despite my best prno,frCl'ading (Forts. In one instance I had cagcrly bestowed til It's of office to an ornperor who had been di.ldsomc liVl' Dr six yearsl The chapter whirh has 110 do, wid, coin d nominations h<15 been enlarged to include. hdef di: .ussioc of rh rel,1li- nship of the coins to each other as well .LS their relative puri-husi ncr power .. -'\11 ind ex, which should have been includ ·d in !h first edition, also has, been added. Much r what J had to say in the introduction to"lh first (!dillion still hold: U'LLe... reappraisal of the subject still leaves me with the same thoughts: that I claim no more lor it U1U:D that it might serve ;1'- an introduction to a V<I t and sometimes complex division of the field or numismatics, And perIMPS the- readerwill !,!O on to [eam for himself why ·".\JI r Mds, led to Rome." \\:e owe so much to lhe.5el)capl~ < ndt.n be ignorant of what they EL<ll¥C ,r-riven to Uti is not at 11Il different thaet taking the part of tho disinterested spectator, wearilv moving Ihrough lifo in a eli. tressing void. These t aesars, with ,111 the-ir fault. were a Iascinating group and their contemof pnraries tcrtainlywerel10fl .the lc 5 so. teem. Brutus, :\Llrc Anthony: S neen, Horace, \ 'irgil; Pompey and Sulki : Plirry, Ovid. 1iartiat.\Yha[ romance in these names: These were the giants who marched across the R(lmall sc~nc and to know nt1thin~ uf what these men thought and did is 1:0 live in too small a world, inde d. 1 think i~is im portan t to restate I ha t One need not he a tudern vi Latin in order [0 read Roman coins: a Iitrle ·I.:'fforr 61
w-I.I pI! Jill !<l1rl'ri:"in~ r -sults, nne til' 1'1.'.1 k-r llli~hL Illlt! himamnzc.l a his .rhilitv l I cla -ih .rml re,rd Ihe 'Uill" " ith II m inim 111111 i pr.ll'li!.'!:. , II is, .d"u \!nml In know I'!:tal RiJl1Mn coin for till' P1 "t ["I. rt, ITl.1Ly be purchase for \ ry lir t le mOI]'Y unless til or happen lu ILl) claim to mrily or tn x raordiunry condiu n. Two or rhr dollars will purchase nINny in, -, rruin c 11 ctnr m y experience dlsappoinunent rh.it fill pnrticalar ph . or another h.rs ll.oi: heen covered in thi book. r apologize t them at th same tim' I'oiintin' out that un tend d dis 'u_ slen of Ruman coina T has nOL h n th purpo. of this writer, Th billie raphy ineorporated h -rein may uide to th 'who wish to pUr9l1l! 11m suhjl:cl
_·n
.Iiw. ys
Dod ha rome down throu to h
the centuries I(J him. La t, I hurnhly express m~ thanks 10 Dick Yeoman .. _not be ause he prevailed upon hi- c mpany to publi h (hi book in til fir-l" I 1.1 __ .1 U l ecau ' [IIi - Con-to Ill, g ncrou -. !i{on I die and. mu -h more irn] rruntly, lrecnus WI:! h.IV became such goud friends. BlLlt mayb . b uks lmve always don lbi fur In n.
Zd1lcl'r
H .KI,lW;iIl
Oneof the Latin W lTd!> for money is PE NI,' hich originates from the shorter Latin word, PEel·, meaning TTLE. It rna} not at once be recognised that th ere is a
connection b tween cattle and money but a brief analysi will show a definite w dding of the two words. Cattle provide sustenance, in one form or another, for humankind. ornerhing with such a universal appeal and of uch vital necessity to almost all mankind ha positive value. Thus, cattle had value in ancient times. \!\ ith tattle a man could buy th other ne eSsities of life and wealth could be measured by the number of
more flexible system. This first coinage wa erode, 811ape],I!!SS, and heavy In all. attempt to approximate the value of the- coin wjth, It actual weight. The first carnage, a cast coinage, was called AES RUDE (rude, Or crude bronze. The Latin word Ior bronze is AES). These fir t coins probably were struck in the
gr
6th centl:l'lry B .. They ha"?e been found in various shapes. reetangular, flat. square, and in lumps . Later, there came Into existence a means of exchange known
i (signatum, a eal)
hieh \\ as a little
more uniform, but still in various shapes. Inscribed upon these pie e were figures of cattle among other thing,s. This \ as tru pecunia! Inanimate and animate objects were also found upon these pie ies and so' we find birds, tridents, shields, and other 6gur~s. These piece date, probah] , from the 5th cen-
tilly B.. There nex came lntD existence the coinage which wa. to be f rerunner of all coinage to come. It ','as call d AES CR \ 'E (Heavy bronze) and while it was still a cast (min, it was circular in shape, cnolars differ as to the approximate date this coinage came into existence but the year 300 B. . or thereabouts should suffice. The AES GRAVE, as cast in various denominations. We' li t them as the AS, the EM! '. the "RIEN the Q ADRANS, the SEXTAN , and the' N lA.
Each of these coins could be distinguished from the other by
the obverse (front) of the cO,i11. The A' alway had the head of the god janus: the SE 'lIS pictured Jupiter; the TRIEN '.
Minerva; the
Q ADRANS,
Hercules:
the
EXT
.. "
.1er-
cury; bh UNCIA, Roma, Tbe reverses were COO1l'llOn to all of the denominations and they were all the same, the prOt of a ship, This reverse undoubtedly was indicative of Rome's newIocnd respect for the. ea and her turning to the sea and to
new lands. Rome' l1'OW had. to accomplish two things i she had to create a coinage which would be recognized in the land she had conquered or in the land with whicl) she was trading. Thus, it was nece sary to emulate the coinage of these countri s, Se ondly, it was necessary to create a less cumbersome coinage. a coinage whi.th couldeasily be transported both aeross the sea and in 1 taly itself. Both these problems were successfuUy resol ed by the coinage of a. silver piece. long lamiliar to the Greek (and the Roman did Inher] '.. from the Grc eks) known as the Dru HtvlA and the coinage of copper coins as r9
AS
Jau,l1$
!ThUS
J~~p.ite.r
'fRIENS
lrBfleroG
10 I
Q ADRA
T:lIUr.11Ies
SEXTANS
UNCIA Roma
REVERSE TYPE
Prow of Ship
Ll1
10"
Lat r. probably about 10 B ... the Romans i u d coins whi 11were peculiarly their own. These w r call d th DE~ ARlU , the SESTERTHf_. and th Ql IN. RIUS. We happ n onto these coins in the time of (he empire. but ill re is no physical resemblance between, the early coins and the Impera erial coins. The DEI }\RIUS was equivalent to ten asses (t:he A being the ·tanda.rd basis of coinage) the ES. TERTI1J to 231 asse • and the 01 I. RJ to 5 asses. The e c ins \\ ere all quit similar having R -1 the guardian of the city. on the obverse and the I L Rl on the re r·. The Di.o cnri were sacred LO Rome (the name is d riv d from the 7reelt meaning, literally, Boys of Zeus) and th two boys are more commonly known a ast r and Pollux.
I
j
Throu bout this transition cast c ins were still in exi te:nc but th }' were con tantly being lowered in weight essentiallv becau e 01 to ioRatioJ1! which accompanied and followed th Punic Wars, a serie f thre war: against the Carthaginian (26.J...~.jl B .. ; 218-2 1 13. _.; 14- -146 B .. ). The end I these war found Rome on the rge of bankruptcy. a rethat the coinage wa In a constant slate of flux, The \V i hts of the c iru wer r duced and all th e il of
man really knew what his
money wa worth. However, the inal victory of Rome over arthage in 146 B.. led to a gradual but determined reorganization of the coinage arid at thi time all coinag \\I~ s truck; th r were no mor cru;'t coins. The d narius em rged a the common coin of the r rum and it remained virtually unchanged un til the time of . h empire. old was also struck, but thi "as in the nature of an em rgency and it did not at thi time, I rm a regular part of the Roman coinage.
It w not long before th coins started 0 take on a at inter t in many ways. Ther was more of an effort to make them more pleasing from an artistic tandpoiut. Til r erses, in particular, became media for a multitude of obj cts oli a reli ious, p litical. histori al. and arehit ctural nature. D ities
:121
aad persorrificaticn app ar d in great number . The coinage had com into it - own! Th re were variances of rvle and t .cture to th e.xt~.t that later-day numi mati t:s\. ould be able to clas ify the coin both chron lugicalJy and g (1graphically.
I J3
The standard silver coin of the Empire "'<IS th . ilver (loin known a. the DENARI . Th DEN-I\RI S wa first i ued about 1g B. . and remained in existence uo til about 296 .D. During thi peri d of year: til coin wa ,.1 based rn tl. Irorn th time I th Emperor Xero C4-6 ..) onward. By the time of tJJE~ Emperor C racalla (211-217 , .D.) the DE R1 TS wa about 4ll% silver. It was at tbi time (bat the A r., T IN1.. N U appeared. 'he !lTONtNLAI derived it nam fr In the Emperor aracalla 'l. Aurelius ntoninu aracalla, 211-21 ~ .D.) who fir t introduced it. This coin can be di tinguished from th. DE T. RIUS because ill.' 11'ad of the subject on the .TONI 11'\ . is radiale. This coin, too, had an au pi. ciOLIS b ginning only to b debased to th taws of a copper coin with a il er wa h. Frequently, it is possible to find a coin with the : ilver still present, but this is quit uncommon.
ru
L4 J
oJ
TlICil1lS
(27"-276 .0.)
The D :'P 1'\01 1 was coine.d during the Imperatnrial period until the. time of Trajan D tiu (240-251 A.D.). It wa.. truck in bra- and i_ quit f en difficult to distinguiah
[rom the r
DIlPO/lllil1~ IIf A lI~l.ftll$ (29 n.C.-14 .:\.D.)
I Irte mean s IIf d et ermin ing th PO :- IUS and the A.. is b)- th
a raih r yell w color, while th , i more reddish. In he later days of th rnpire it was the practice to strike the DUPO ! DrUS showing the head of th emperor radia e and the
with a bare r laureated had.
was the lar e coin of th empire and i known ,as Large Bronze Or Grand Branz. pon the ~ 'TERTl ~. app ar b most magnif It rnanifestations of the mon yer' art. The largenes of the c in perrnitt d the inclosion of the wonderful detail whieh was, of a necesslry,
The'
TERT[·
lacking on th
of a denarius,
mailer coins. The ESTERTI wa originally a ilver coin of til Roman Republic, worth an quarter
115
Sr:sl'erli.ru
of
d.7#OltilL'IIS:
The
Emperor
\\'<1.5
FOl.LIS, which
F"IIi.f
pi
Cr/lls/{1.IlliU$
(305-JII6 A.D.)
above
CE1\TENWNAU -. brortze coin which had its inception during the reign of Constantine (30o~JJ7 A.D.). It was bronze with .a silver wash, After the time of Arcadius (395· 'lOS .D.) it sunk into obscurity,
fourth part
or the A
silver coin about one-half the weight of the It waaisstred only at intervals.
SEMIS-These coins were mostly of bronze with very little silver. The coin waa Issued in the later days 0.1 the eDlp.ir, and
appeared in various S:iz;esand types., It was also. used for the half aureus (The aureus Was a gold coin). The term. SEM I SIS was used to. designate the EMIS when used as a half of theaureus or solidus.
LIDU -A
gold coin issued by Ceastannlae the Great Jrnmvn of the Romarrgald coins .. Apaesar (45-44- B. ~.). The
(308-.337 A.D.) ..
time of Julius
weight of tbj - com gradually d· dined until Con tarrtin (08-3 7 . ,D.), it wa abolished
by the th
olid u .
•
r coin, fir t i. ued by on-tan tine I' wa equival nt to 1 U olidus,
Q'- • D R _~
as a base, the following relationships prevail: r MBER T THE DEl Rl ' ........................ 4 ........................ 8 16 DE
,tIle
[II
PRAENOMEN
NOMEN
COGNOM"EN
R fore taking up the discus ion of the Db ers (front) of the" RomaJI1 coins it would be best first to mention the prop r . name and the way they ar found upon the coins. If it i possibl€ to remember two "important fact the reading of the prop r names upon the coin should not present a pr blem,
First: Tb
Roman fir _ name (praenomen) was always regularly abbreviated, not f:rom choice but as a d signation of Roman citizen hip, u
eamd : The abbreviation "ThfP" rnperator) wa regularly d, from the earliest time. in the Empire, iii - a praenomen. Perhaps the bes . and imple t way to de cribe th ~ term o IE ,PRAENOMEN and G OMEN is to look to our own usage in pr nt tim s. The Latin word N ~.EN mean "name." Th pr fi., PRt\E, means "1 fore." Thus. PR,,\Er 0 IE meanst'hefore name" or, the first name. COGOMK i the last name or surname. The Roman name wa not a fixed or absolute farm. I varied through ut the history of Rome, . t the fir t a man wa called by one oam only, radually thl was developed into a combination with the genitive case wher in I was then indicated that. that p rson am under the authority of anoth "r.. daughter wa under the authority of her father; a wife, under the authority of her hu. baud; a sla e wa sub ervient to his master. lid SO We would see a name written ill thi manner; Marcu lard f (Maret!,,'>,. the son of Marcus, Thesingle letter "I" designate' filiu ,th atin word lor son. Th ingle 1 er "I," in the case of a woman would Indlcate the Latin w rd filia, daughter. Many times the letter t'f' i u ed in the broader nse upon the coins indicating the SOlI of a noble family, Entering further upon the ubject 1 t us now be more specific and instead of saying that the praenom n, nomen, and 181
wgliu1men are tile first. niiddle and la t name respectively, the praenomen was the giv n name, the individual name: . he nomen is the name 0:[ the g'ens. or the dan. if you will, and the c gnom.en i the name of the ramily which is. a part of that gen .or' l!aJIJ. Thus: L. Cornelius LpIO. "L" i the abhreviati n of the Latin name LLl Ius, and it i the praenemen, thegivt!l1 name, " ornelius" is the nomen, the aame of tbe gelils or the dan to which this person's lantil}' belongs, eipi ... i~ the Iarnily name. h Is also the engnomen. The -dpjo family i a part of the ornelian gem
I
Ii
Praeuomen
The praenemen, as ha heen before mentiened, was the [nelly per: nnal name, I t was conferred b the parent upon lhe'l;)hild pmbably on the 9th day after birt.h,ln th ca e of boys and the ~th day' aite. birth in the' of girls. Tber has been seme wsagreemellt nil this puint because mainy inscriptions on rombstones have indicared that old r boys and girl- Were nameless and the word "Pupi ., appears on many of the stone in the alb ence or 3. pmenomea. (Pupio, child.) As before tated the praenomen was .regularly abbr viated wh.en usedwith tile II. Olen and oognDmen. This was not a. matter oJ choice but Mil - tahlished custom indicating Roman ei tizenship, This is a v ry gnarl point: to remsmb r when reading coin. Ior the praenomina invariably ar abbreviated. The rouO\\;ng Ij t g.ives the more 1;.'lIllilmon praenornina wllh 'their abbreviations:
........
__ P P (rare) P,
[ 19
ERGI SEXT
R[
0 .. """ 0.· •••••• 0
TIBERILT
0 ••••••••
••
••
•••••
or
Tl
Th patrician families usually used the same praenornina for all members of their family ... th .tis, tine same groap of praen mina, lit which might pn V' to I or ~ m help r()l~ lows, showing til better lmown [amilies and the praenomina which th y u d:
Nomen
The nomen is the name which b longed to aU m mh ers of the same family. At first thi nam was identified with a certain 10 lity. ater, it was indicative of members of the same gens, or 'Ian. TIl noms n usually ended in. "iu ," "alu /' "eius," "eus.' Thus, A milius, ornelius, Furius, Manlius, Pompeius,
Cognomen
The cognom n was, at first a personal name. Later it became a Family name, the name of a family within a particular gens, or clan. Thus, of the gen Cornelius there were the' er:.begi, Lentuli, and the cipiones, Perhaps th cleares way to picLurethe entire subject of Latin names is to give a pre n day analogy. The analogy
20 I
given is a rath r "l'ib ,aJ"'~on • but it shall serve our purpose. Many people Cc'lITY. the maiden name of their mother as a second. or "middle" nam . Thus, John cott Pauley, as an example, would, how his first name" Jobn (pra n men), the family name of hi mother,. cott (nomen) and the flam of his own family, Pauley (cognomen). If thi example i k pt in mind th reading of the name on th COiD b uld Dot
prove difficult.
{ 21
ER P
I[
TR PIMP PP
CAESAR
U the reader will remember th very few common abbreviaLions. abbr viation which appeal" time and time again on almos tall th oin of the earli r empire. the inscription hould pr ~ nt DO dlfficulti '5. Augu. tus (or Augu ta, if feminine). Thi was th most distinctive of all of the imperial ti ties. I t, as us ed b no on" but tJU! r ignil1g emperor or member of ills family. It ap ars with rno t frequent regularit; on the coins.
flF!,
PM Another ery common title of the ernPon. 1\11 per' r. Pontifex Maximus was the emperPan da» or's title as supreme head of the Roman P01'tt'ijex Ma'X etc.r Iigion (Literally, Head prie t), The title wa held by the emperor ugustus and all
subsequen emperor. Tribuni ia Pctestas .. The tribunician power. From earliest tim 51 the tribun s were the repres ntati res of the Roman people Tr'ib Patesl and,a' various time. held tremendous Tribufl Poiest, eic. power. TI:lI.l:; the Tribunieian PO\ er represen the emperor's position in that ligh • although more specifically. it showed him to be the supreme civil bead of the state. The Tr P j quite commonly [23
found with Roman numerals following it. This i one ecellent mean of determining the year a particular coin was struck, (A chart Is mrnrporated in thi b ok ~ r the purpose of 0
det rmining uch a da e.) is the abbreviation f r consul, The consul '\":;15 one of two chief magi trate of the Roman state. Th emperor himself quite Irequently was Que of th . consuls: when h W'W not. he usually appointed the p n n to erve ill hi pia e. Th _ 5 a- with the TR P, is quite en rally r 1lowed by Ruman numerals, Inasmuch as 11 con ul hip lasted for but a year, i is here also po sible to determine the elate a particular coin wa truck by reference to the char ineorpor ted in this book.
me
of his country. This inscripcoins ad wa originally a title bestow d upon the ernp ror by th enate. Some emp ron; r [used the 'tide.
PP
PATER
PATRIAE. Father
Ili
[Mp· R}\T R. Emper r, generally, although th title was bestowed UPOIl victoriou general in the field during the Republican period and the period of th vel-yearly mpire, From th tim of the amp ror Tiberius onward, it wa a ti Ie used by no one 01 h r than the rnp ror him elf Or his heirs. l 0\\', in looking once more at the ab ve in cription of T ere, ware able to und erstand the logical r reakd \\'11 and the complete meaning of the inscription. IJIl'
J.
no ... Hi name.
The na:meof the gen to which hi
3, Ca sar ... _The inherited name of the Julian family and adopted by the Claudian family .. Also adopted by ubs quem, emperor, and later u d by h irs to th throne. 4. 24 J 'IugWltliS
...
The
rna
distin
. iv
till
of til
mperor.
8. l.M P ... Iroperator. Thi us of Imp rater is as a ti tle of acclamation such as {; r i -t ries in tie field or the emp ror or hi uberdinates.
o.
country.
Here 'is another coin, a se tertiu nf the Em eror Titu .. Again, Ior tho sake of con enience, we ha e ubdhride.d th title.
~sp
CAES
AU~~
;p---___
COSVIII~
The complete in cription on the coin llvtP T C E..S E. P A G r TRP PP
TRP
O~ VIII
'espasian. The name f rh emp ror Ve pa ian, Iath r of Titus. [to. was a comrn n pra ice for an emperor to take as a part of hi nam the narn of his predec 'or, particularly jf Ilia werle csser had adopted him as his legal heir or if he wa rh natural m ir, as to the case of Titu . 5. Jl!x
6. PM 8. p P..
country,
0"' fJi I ... In hi' ighth consulship. This coin was struck during the i zhth con ul hip of Titus. hecking with the hart in this book it is indicated that tile ighth consul hip of Titus o curred in the year 80 AD. 111us, til coin pictur d here was struck in that year, As a final example we. hall take a c in, an ,' ,of" rni ian, Here again the Din has b n stru k off into Its subdivisions .
..CENS,PER
XU1
PER PP
1. IkIP ... Impsrator. Emperor. Here, however, there is a litt1le d.lflierent use of the title, for it i used as a praenomea,
or a given name,
2. Cr1E
aesar,
Domitianv
J. DOMIT
26j
His name.
4. AUG. ,. ugustu '. GER.lJf. __ ermanicus .. 6. COS XIII. _. [11 his 13th consulship. UtRg the chart in thi book, we ee that the 13t.h con ulship of 0 mitian occurred m the year 7 AD. 7 . D., th n, wa the 'ye r in which thi coin was truck. 7. CE_~S PER ... Censor Perp uus, The cen r was a chi i magistrate 0'1 t11 Roman tate. Th title was quite frequently h ld by the emper r and was grant d for hi- lifetime. (Thus, h ' . Perp tuu .") . P P ... Pater Parria . Father
f hi
courttr r
121
An Alphabetical Check List of the Names, Qf the Emperors as They Frequen:tly Appear on the Coins,
This section offers, In alphabetical sequence" the names of the emperors a they appear upon the coin with considerable frequency, The second column presents the names of the 'emperors as til r are commonly known. For example, a coin with the came C .' t\ESAR upon it can be. located in the first column. Directly eppo ite, in the seeoad column" t\1{! 6nd that emperor's. common name. ALI ~ L. It should be noted that the alphabetical column lists the names exactly as they would appear upon UJ,ecoin. and .. as iii result, are. abbreviated either in patt orin whole. For the inquisitive reader, it might b of interest. to note some of the grammatical case difference in me of tile names, 10. t of th names are ill thenenainative case and yetwe find, a!' ill the
I
case
emperor Trajan, an ending which would not be in case. TRi\JA' U .i the nominative ending, but \\re ficd the inscription to read, TRAIA" O. This is all
of the dative cas. Thus, instead of reading, THE
or the
ElUPEROR TR .JAN A GUSTUS, etc., as we would expect, it reads. TO .. THE E1\iIPEROR TRAJAN AUGUST ~,etc. IVhlllY times i is difficult to identify' the emperor by name alone for some emp rors possessed identical names, The photographs of til emperors in the s ction of this book which
discusses the biographies should be of some assistance. Gor-
dianus rand Gordianua Ll, fath .. and son, bad identical e. names, yet the ccins reveal that the elder Gordian had hair well do\llIn~pall his forehead while the younge.r Gordian is shown with a bald tor head. Most of the coins of Marcus Au,rellus how portraits which are very similar and this should preclude any confusion with ether emperors wbo bore similar tides, Reference to the plates. contained iII. som.e of the fute vcluna swhich may be Jound upen the shelves of the larger lIb:raries\yili suppJ!y invaluable assistanceilil ideutifieation. A
28·1
Ii 1 of ome of the m.orre ~mJlOTtant wflr:ks appear: ography at th nd of this book. Name as JeF'lI'eq!i1entLy A.ppears on the Goins A A" Itelliue .ermaoi us ...•........• Atn Piusug Alltoninu~ Allg Piu • ntoninus Piu F T
B
in thee bibli-
eomm.DD
Name
Vuefli.us
Cararalla j1nJll1tinus Pitts E'lagabfJI1~
i3riflaflic'lJs
Brutus
c
C Caesar , Caligulo. aesar .I\ug. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A U.gUSlllS C Iul Vem ).la.ximLls ..••..•...... Maximus C _if Aur 1\1 rius Marius C" len Hostil 1\rfe Qulntus Hostitifln' Caesar .Jlliius Caesar Caesar Diet .Julius Caesar Constannno13 Ma:.'I<.Aug Crm,rta'ltine t/1e Oreal
n
D Clod pt. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . .Clodi2lS Alb1.fJ14S D N ARciuGOlybrius .......•...... Ot,y,bl'iu5 D Censtantlns Co'Ml'antius II D Decenbus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Df!GenJifls D N Henori us. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .flonor1A.lS D N Iuliu Maioramts .. " .. , MlJ,joria'n B N lovianu .Jooil),l1 lD. .• fag Maximus , .•......... Magnru Maximru D M.artininianus MarPinis1 Theod ius T.hemlosi1ts I (The Gr,ro/) D N Valentil1ian:U8 .........•...... Vale1t!ilzia.1.t I
[29
Gra't.ianu5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gralia",
Common Name
Consta:ntius II
Delmaiius . . . . . . . . . . . ..
_
FIVal FIVal
G
onstantinus. on tantius
ever us
eopUa'f/
COtl slanMtus
I (Clrloms)
Seuerus II
Gennanicu aesar Germasucus Gal Val Ifaximlanu. _..•.......... Galervus Gal Val Maximin u . . . . . . .,. . . . . . . . lit! a:.;i1IZimls
H
[J
(Carra)
Hadrianu
I
Aug
Hadrian
Imp Imp Imp 1 mp Imp Imp lmp Imp Imp Imp mp Imp
30J
ev Alexander Antonirrus , Caes I Aur. riton Cae M Aurel .Antoniuus C L Dom Aur lianus. , M Am e Alexander D ael Balbinus Carausius _ _ .. , ~ .1\11 Aur CarU!L , Iaudius aes I epAlb onstantinus................
I
Cla Ildius 11
Clodi1ts Athinus (lnsUr.11:tbize the
Great
Caes M Did ever Iulian C Dioclerianus aes omit CI Dornitius Domitianus M 1'1 Florianus .. r . Ta.lba, ug ,
Ta[[ienus ,
Galba
Gt.dlic1ttls
Imp C D Lie
Geta
Gordian 1 and II Gord'ianus Pius (iII) Laelianus
Licinius 1
Macrirvnus J1
MClcrirms
M:agnetJti7lS
"Ma:t.811U"lS
Imp Imp
' . . .. ..
.. . ..
Otho Pacatias« ,
Pertino» Pescennius Phil£p J HiKer
Tactitus Tetrictf-S I
131
Imp Traiano Aug Imp Caes [ervae Traiano Imp Traianus Deciu
Imp C.
r bonianu
Trajeu Decius
Trebonmuus Gallus L1U;·i us 1 erus
VespwsiafL
Gallu
iUS ..••.......
Imp
Imp
aes L Aur 1V
aes Vesp ,
Imp T
Imp Imp
Titus
Viclorinu,s
Yolasia»
L
L Aelius Cae ar L. ur I Commodus Af![,:ns COJ/'1l1'1odus Uramius A'~lotlitt1~s
Agr,!:pp.a
Nfarc A ntbon Y CaracaUa.
Cari1ZUs , . Man'l81'iatJ, " .. , Commodus Lepid·IH .. DiadUTllImiall< Decf.mti1ts Pompey the Great Ma"~irminus I
M Aur
arinus ntoninu
, Diadumenianu
1 ommodus
1 Lepidns M Opel . ntoninu Mag Dec nti us Magnus, Pius
.ug
Cermanicus
Nero
, ", .. Nero
321
Common Name
p P ~ept Q
eta. ae.s
•••
Geta
Herennius Eiruscus
•••••
•••••
s
. er Calba Imp T ae
_ .. Galba
T Cae Imp
Tj
••••
Titus
Tiber-ius
Cl('1IJd-i-ztS
Ti
__
_.
__
Full Name Adius .... Lucius Aeliu Veru a' ar Aemilian .. .Marcus Aemllius Aernilianus Agrippa ... M.ar ~s _ipsania Agrippa l1ntO'll'inus Pit-lS .. _Titus Aelius Hadriamn Antoninus ..higuSt1JS alus Julius ae ar Octavianu .1llm~l;ian... Lucius Domitins • urelian u
Ccmmon Name
0 • 0
Balo'iml,s .. _Decimus Ca Iius Balbinus Brutus Mar °U I uniu Brutus Brittanic1tS Tjberius laudius Brittanicus
0 •• 0 ••
Caligula
Cains aesar Caracalla ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus aJ·ausiu.s o. Iarcus Aurelius Mausaeu Caransiu
0 •• 0
r 33
Common. Name
Full Name
Cams. .. larcns , ureljus arus ClCM!iJius. , .Tfberhr 'laudius rusu taudius II ... i\IJ arcus Aureliu - Claudius Clodius Albinus., ,0 cimus lodiu ionius __ eptirnius Albinus Constans . ,., Flavius Julius Con tan. C011stlmt.i111t the Great. , , ·lavius Valerius Constantinu C01lstIJ.ntille [J ... Flavin laudiu Iul.ius 011 tantinus elmslan/ills I (Clrlor'lls) . , . Flavius \i aleriu onstantius Constantius II. .. Flavius Iuliu Con tantius
DecenI1:US. "
"FlaviusW ulius Delmatiu Di(uimucuia'il ... , Marcus p lius Antoninu Didius Julian us .. ,M ar us
.Da-lma.t-iu,s
Domitius
Domitianus
Elagabalus. .. Florian: ..
[arcus
ureliu
toninu
ulpicius ' ••ilba ius Maximianus Galliewus ... Puhlius Licinius alerianus Egnati allienus Germanicus . .. ermanicu Geta ... Lucius (or Publiu ) ~ ptirnius G_ ta C01'dial1 1 and III (Pius) ... Marcus Antonius Gordianu
Coiba, ...
Galerims . ..
aleriu Val
ordianus
Hodrien. ... Publius eli us Hadrianus Hasen iballil,tntIS, . ,FI-a vi u Claudi us Hanniball ian LIS Her Imi1Ls Etr'usc.us ... Quinta Herr nius Etrm;cusi'Jle
Htmorius ... Flavius Honerins Hosiilum, .. Caiu ,alens H stilisnus Messius Quintus
J()V'I:a1~.. .Flavius
341
iu Decimu
Iaudius Iovianu
Common Name
Full Name
J7I / iu s Caesar. .. aius Iu ti us a sar Julia» T j\j arcus Aureliu Tulianus Julian II Flavius Claudiu r ulianu Laeiiaen«. .. lpius Corneliu La lianus A alerlus Licinius Licianu Liciniu
Lep·idus ... Marcus . emilius Lepidus L1'dn12{S 1 .... Publiua Fla ius alerius Licinitu II .. .Flavius
Macruuuc: Xlacrianus 'slacrinus
alerius Licinianus
1, .. Marcus Ful -iu 'lacrial1us II ... Titus Fulvia Iuliu Mac:rianus Marcus peliu ev I'll Macrinu Jl[agt1ellt'ius Flavius Iagnu £ nentiu Magnus Maximus ... Magnus lem n Ira.xim~ Mu.7fJrian ... I ulianus Mainrianus Marc ilntllCmy .[arcus Antonius JlJ.(Jrcu$ A nl'eiill.$ ~.. rcusAelius AureliusVerus a Marirls, .. aius Marcus Am Iius Marius Marlil/ian IrarcH ilartlnianus Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Iaxentius Ua.:1;1:m-inuts 1 (Herculius). .. Iarcu til' liu aleriu
Jfax-i1l1iun$ l. .. Caius Iulius '\ rus 1\1 aximinus J\fax'iminus [] (Dw"a). .. aleriu /al rius Iaximinus
Maxi-
\Tepot;.au .... Fla ius opifius Nepotianu onstantin us Sero ... Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Hrittanicus ~"v.'eroGland'ius Drusus ... Nero Iaudius Drusus iVerVlJ ..• Marcus Cocceius Ner a 1 umeriaai ... fare-us. u:r liu Numerianui
Pocatia» Tiberius 'laudius Iarl aca ian Pertina« PubUu Helvius I?elitinax Pescermills iger... aius E escennius Nig r PkilJip 1. .. Marcus I uliue Philippns
[ 35
Iaguus
P turnu
ianus Launu
LlS
1\ Iarcus Aureli
.. Iarcu .Fulviu juliu
Probus
Fttpienus, QJlict1~S.,
Caius luliu
Septi;mins
• t:('t:I'IfS
$(f(ll.lffl.S:
•••
Lucius Septimius S ev
Alesander ., .Mar us Aur lius everu St!.'I.'erusII ... Flavius Valerius • veru Sextus Pompoy ... ' xru .. Pompeius Ia m:l
AI xand
Tacitus ... Marcu Claudius Tacitus Tetricus I. .. aius Piu Esuviu Tetri u Thsedosius 1 (The Gnat) ... Flaviu Theodosius Tiberius.: .Tiberius ~[udiu Nr Titus Titus Flavius abinus V pasianu Trajam Mar u Ulpiu raianus TrajeLrl Derius ... Cain '1 essiu Quintus Traianu Decius Trebanianus Gallus. .. aiu Vibiu Trebonianu Jalluf; Ura'nills Anlonim~s ... Lucius Iulius ureliu ulpicius Uranius
I
Antonlnu
almtinian 1 ... Flavius Valentinianus Ve:spas'iarl, . .Titu Fla. iu abinus \ espa i nus 1;'t()"':m~.s, .. rV[ar 'us Piavvonius ictorinu itallius ... .: ulu Vitelliu ibius elu ianus Trebonianus
-allu
36 J
to
rily r fer
[0,
\\1./
I·
.
", .~.l' \
.(
:1"
,
C·
Deities
.
lip"
--1"
r
CII~
i
::!:';
JI~'
AES U of haling. He is WID b a serp nt twine. m dical and dental corp • rmy.) He i ornetime small Ligur . Telesphoru:
>utl. of Medicine and holding a • taff about The lin ignia of the of the l.'nited _ tate~ Be ornpanied by a , his attendant.
AcsmJapills
t\P1 lLU >--Th Sun God and G d of Music and the Art , He usually has th tit! Consen-at r, r Palatinu (Protector of th imperial residence 01'] the Palatine 1or Mrmerae (deity Lth mint). He i usu Ily holdin a lyre.
CERE- -The
ally holding tor h.
Gackle
ars of corn,
C1: RELE-The
mother of the
ds, U owly by li ns
C'.JI7le{~ 381
I HAKA- The Moon- oddess. _ ornetime has a crescent of the moon ab ve h r head, or bos and rrows, a ompanied by hounds or d er, Occa ionally given the title of torch bearer (Lucif ra) and hold a torch .. ther titles are
L
HERe -LE.<:;,-T{epr nting trength. R cognizable by hi xcellenr phy ique and the dub and Ii n skin.
JANC
A double-headed d ity infrequ ntly appearing on .imp ratorial coins. He wa the God ofthe past and future (10 king b th ways).
J trPITER-
lso Jo e orptimus
Maximus
JalUlS.
(the Best and Highe. t or real) t). Appears nude or semi-nude, and with a full beard.
Holds a thunderbolt In his right hand and a cepter in his left. Be was the Father of the
ods, The titles are different on the coins, On
snm h _i called Conservator (the Conservator of the emp ror Or of the tat), or Tonans (the thunder r), or tater (th sta r of armies
ab ut to Ilee).
J1lpi'6f
39
tera (a small disll [15 a in Roman days for drinking or for the P uring of libation) and a c pter, Many time she is accornpani c1hy a peacock .... Some of her titl s are R 'gina (Qu n), Lucina (a deity f childbirth), on rvatrix and Victrix,
Juno
UBER-Bacchus. Liber is his Italian name. -, ually h Ids a wine cup an a taff surmounted by a pine cone or a bunch of grape (thyrsus) and accompanied by a panther,
MRS-The
God of War.
hown, usually,
the exceptionof a helmet. . lso, sometimes shown with a trophy instead of a hield, OIDe of hi titles are Propugnator (fighter ..•• for Rome), or . ltor (the Ay nger], With the title Paciler (Pacifyer) he bars the oli e branch representing peace ..
401
R 1-'"rb Messenger of til JOds. Usually wears a winged cap (petasus) and carries a. purse and cadu 'eu.. om of his
titles are Pacifer and
COil
MER
ervator.
_ H.,\"""ER\ A-Godd 55 ol Wisdom. Patrone of the .!\rts. AI 0 th light f men in war. She usually\\' ars a hield and sp art and a him L •orne of her title ar Pacif ra and
Victrix,
rEPT a trid
nt
rnetime included and many show him with his foot upon the
N,eptfJ<1I1l
(!Ii
110M. -The Goddess of Rome. Usually helmeted and ill. armor, H elds a small figure of \ Icrory a~ times, or a wreath or a parazonium (a small sword or dagger) .
i
.Rom(J;
SOL-The Sim-Cod. T'aually nude with a radiate head, holdinRlI whip or a globe. ometimes he is sh "til in a chariot T. with the horsescf the sun included, His tirles include Comes, Invictus, or, less frequently;
Oriens (!;be rising, or eastern sun ) ,
'ENrS-Th " Geddes of Love. U wally completely clothed or almost so. ' ome of her equipment includes an apple, orthe helmet ofMars and a scepter, ometimes accompanied by upid, H r tides include. Caelestiefl laavealy), Felix.(H.appy), Genetrix end Victrls ..
VEST A:-GoddeSs
as a matron
of "family life. I, hm vn
~21
V L' A-God
Gods.
THE THREE GRt\CE - Euphrosyae, ;\glaia,. and Thalia. Le s r deities who Iresided UVEI- the banquet, the dance, and all socinlenjoyments and Iegant arts, The three app ar together,
Perso.nifications
AB . :'\ NT] A - ~ bundance, plenty .. H Ids ears of com and cornucopia (Horn
r: Plenty),
Abxwtilmtia
tlequitas
AETER -[TAL-Et rnity, . tability. Holds t rch, globe 01' ept I, or the heads of th lin and the rn on.
NK NA- Corn harve t, Hold ears of corn and cornucopiae and i IJ. ually , h wn with the prot of a gaJley symbolizing the o essi of ha ing corn shipp d into Rome
for its u terrance,
tune,
parera
C LK.\JE.XTV\.-----l\,'lercy, lernen ~.. Holcls Lranch and - pter, und sometirn . leans upon a column.
Clemclllia
L'UNC
sc
r ter,
I IDES--Good f ith, confiden e. Holds patera and ornucopiae, or ears of rn and bask! t of fruit. As Fides Militum, holds two standards or other evidence of a military nature.
Felicuas
145
r· +-Fortune.
Hold
rudd
rand
eornuc piae. _
globe .. 'Iayal
tim
shown re ling on
Fortuna
- Rejoicing, rnirth.H.olds and Ion palm. Sam times two small children are b wn. and frequently one child ..
EHLARITA cornucopia
Oi1(1 ri las
HO~O Honor. A mal culine p J onification. H Ids olive branch or scepter, and corn ucopiae.
Honos
LG E
patera
TI - Indulgen nd cept r,
m r 'y.
] lI:(Jftlgt1lJ.ia
46 J
JUSTITIA-Justice. Hold olive branch, or patera, and epter. Infrequ ntl she
is seen holding scales.
Justitia
Hold. wrath and scepcccasionally a rudder on a globe in pla .e of the pter, he may re t her hand
ter,
OJ:
L"\ETTTL -Joy.
on an aneh r.
LIJc,titia
LrBERALITA
(tessera)
UBERT.S-U
pomted ter,
Libm~ [47
1'1'1NT-Money mint. Holds cales and corn ucopiae .. ometimes three figure appear, - pictur d,
PATIE2\TLA-l epter.
Pax
pIE~r 5- Pi ty,dutifuln . Quite frequently eil d. Holds patera and seep r. ornetim s is shown sa rificing at the altar.
48 ]
PI."DlCITlA--(,hastlt·,
, iled holding scepter.
mode
ty,
sually
Pudicitia
~.-\.L{jS--Healtht w Hare, safety. Holds patera from \ rhich she I ed a serp nt c iled around an altar, ometimes h ts
round h lding t.h
erpent
in her arms
and feeding
it.
SallIS
onfidence,
Holds
( ~9
BERlT piae.
-Fertili
y.
lCTORlA-\ i tory, \,-ingecL Holds wreath and palm. May be bearing a hield or may be writing upon a hi ld or erecting a troph- . (The proces of erecring a trophy was an and nt one and yrnbolized victory 0 er th ' enemy in the field.) VIRTU5-A rna culine per nification for coura e. ually shown in cc rnplate armor, holding ictory and a pear, or a sp ar and
Virtu,s a. shield,
so 1
Vic r ..... , on ervat ri Marti Pacifer." , iVhrti Propugnatrrri Mars ltor ... , ,
i\ Iarti
Iar
,. Mars the \ ictor , (to) Mars h on rvator ,,(t) lIar th f acily r I to) r MS the Def rrd' r .. Mars the Ave1iilg r
nd :0 on, ,[J1 e same adjectives are used to dcscrib other Deities rr person ifications, Thus, for jupit r we find. t name a (ew:
[5l
Invi
on rvatori..
1ovi ~ ta tori _. ~ . _ ~
,~r
Iovi Propugn tori . . .. 1n the lat Among th se of th word sense meaning ymbol D
jupiter th
mpire certain -mbol b cam Qui e common. re the abbreviated C rm. i.ogul:r and plur 1.
001"
rninus N _ter {l ur Lord but in. the Hb ral lord and ruler, of the Roman p ople). Th . therefore. mean IJwnin11S ~oHer, ill· n gramor another. D. N i til plural Ier ),r and rul TS or m r . N ~- would be the plural for the
w rd "aUT."
Thus, Vi ctoria Aeterna
ug );IN
Eternal
1 ry
fOT
Rem)
ron;
n the obverse or th coin < pp arll n th reverse r ". oins, W linn '[ R P, (US, P'lU. PPnJ fJll1 '1"5 appearing ali pa rt of n v -rsc inscription . In many insran CS observe
The sam apply in lh ,. or rulers would lri il1di~a::ted b addtnganolh r jIg" the end fAG. hi w t!ild tb n sho OIl th coin A GG. The same is tnt fur the designati n of Caesar. Two aesars would be shown E -. 1" aaezcellen means of conserving pare on [iii coin. The in criptianswhieb rQIIO\vare exactly as they appear OP certain c in Thi mean tht a11. or part of tb in ripti n i abbreviated. T will be noted thar many words which appear to the eye b the same p different endin . Thi i due to th ract use or the w rd within th inscription itself. The endings are hang d b caus of a. change IOf grammatical a nd so, I om. in Latin, may appear a Rog nitive (p i) case. r as 1 oma, the nominativ case, dependin upon its use. V nus, is th nominative ca whil Veneris, denotes the g nitive (po - . ive) case. Keeping 1.11e exampt . ~in mind hould pre ent a cans iderable asnoun of conf u ion. Finallj man. ( h ins riptions w ar accu [ me I .
I I
ofquiu
521
the ab(,)v€ are carried ever from the obver e in order to compl ' t the inscription. The INSCRIPTIONS Their LIBERAffiANU{C
Inscdption
Advl'ni.
,Liberal Meaning
A Ifg (or A u.gg) ... Arri al of the emperor, or emperors, Ailventlli Aug Fdicisshna .... Ref r to the Jelicitation of til Roman people upon the return of the ernp ror, Aeternac memoriae .. ,(to) Eternal remembrance. Apoltoni sancto ... (to) HoLy, poll . B aula tra,J).(Jltillit4 s. . . Peace and tran quili ty (of the state). 8011,0 Geuia Pid fitI'lPc.l'alo1'is ... The good Genius of th emperor. Bonus Euentns . .. cod events, or happening. Bmtus Imp L. Plaei est ... Brutu impsrator Lucius Plaeterls. Careri FrugiJ ... (to) The fruit-bearing Ceres. elaritas Reipub ... Brightness of the Republic. CI>i!ttle1tliaTemp... lemency of th emperor (at the time). Colowia, Bastra . , .~f>J, colony of Bostra (Arabia). C07~COfd Aeguit. . .Concord of Equity, Concordia A 1,gg. .. oncord of th emperors, 'ollcord l\tI-_ili or oncortUa jtfiHIII'lJ! ... Military co nco rd. Conser» Urb Suae ... -'ons~ver of the city (Rome) ... ·o·l1!·it'i A ugg .. R tinue of the mperors. Dada ... A co un try. Deo V"jllia,/,w (to) The god Vulcan. D'iana Lucifero. Diana the bringer or light. Di« Ge'll'ital·iiJtl.s 1'or having child reno Dtvo l1btJl.··imdano Patri l11a,'umlilJs Aug .. .Divine lVhLximian father of theemp for Maxentius, DN Licini A.ugusl·i... (to) ur lord Liciniu . emperor. Dominor Xosiror Caess . .. aesars. our I rds.
Erc'I(li l'icfod .... '}f th \'i(:'fOl-ie~or rcules, Exsc Db Ciues Semalus , _. Refer- to the good deeds of the itizens, Feauid .i1 ugusia», .. (to) r\,[lgW;jt 'godrl~ " of Iertili: y ..
,.n
Inscription
Libelm Meaning
Res tora tion of the h.appy times, pur emperors. Happiness 01 the RepLlGli.c. FebLt. A.41Jen,t A'~ligg NN; .. Har>PY arrlvul(1)i both our emperODS. INdiis HIxl!rc, or 'F'~fZt«ExertJ.itUm .... Fjdeliq;' of 'the soldiers, or
T(M?lj) R'lixPN!Jtio
Fo{
Happ(nessQf
€mperors.
of Antibdl.
and
Gelll,o A t"g,~I:~lii,,celt-i/o Emf/iCiNJta.'1!is... Cenius of the emperer, Ge11ia Pap Ro'm .... Genius of the Roman people, Qe-n'itflS Se'lllm'u,s., .Oenius of tIl€: senate. Gel~11~(l,11.ia;., . A cQlantry, province, • Glo'ri.a NO'IJ'i SGiCtlt"U '" . 'The ,glory 0f the -new age. Glor,ia RfJ11fanorum ... The gloL}' of Rome, (Ofth~ R.Om.·ULS.) R/:lmrita,s A,ugg, , .1Vlirtb, or joy., of our empg:rofs. Hoc. S~gn(!JVir;':orEri'S. , ,By this sign 5l1alit t!J0U be the Vi.c:t0"f
Jail J],wsn!?,e{/c"... Ji1)·ve GUIDi·tlff) whoexcels in dll things, [otli FNJpn,gr1atori. _. (l'Q) Ji.11J.tt::er the dafeuder. JO'i.'i Skltori, .. ~J.:O) Jup'lter the s,tah.llize;r, [a,ii [at Sus« Pr« Sal' CadS' AI/It SPOIl. .Vews to jU[.lil.er hy
RQIDJti:1iJ 'rll1r>~1I·{)r.
iol ..
j II/I..
,J ullw'i.nr ,T-wHn.
J Lwirw.
Inscription
[mIG Dllcina .... .Coddess
!'1rJW
Liberal Mea.niog
of li:g'llt. R Itgl1ta. . . J LIn 0 the Quee.n" Iunow: Jl"lart'l:ali, .. (to) th~ war-dike juno,
]I(ppitor Custos ...
Illsa 14:a....
J 11 rice.
IU,UM:l.t.MS A ·/.bgust!l£S, .• The. young Augustus, lS'is Fallia ... Isis, protectress of the Island qt Pharos. Lae/·it F1.m.iZata., Laelitia P:lm,d Well founded rejoicing. Leg I, Leg II, Leg III. etc Th . numbers of the legions. Lib A l~g_. etc ... Liberality ef the: emperor, Libera P Cons Aug ... Liberal father, protectthe emperor. lJ1 Pir'ltS ag Great and pious. Mars Ulsor Mars, the avenger. llfafs Triolor Mars, the victor. J}[arl Pac, .Nlq,rlii PaciJ', 01' Pat;1jel'Q ... Mars, the pacifier. lJlfart'ia D;msm'tlO!f,ori ... (to) Mars, the conserver. M·I1rt-i. Ih--otyi/,gt .. .'~t(')) Mars, the defender, l.Ifanretania ... A province. 11(ikiq,I'1,l,m SacC:'ltT,um ... Commencement of the new era, or age. l1il:;l:rtet Fa'utr ... Minerva who gives favors. N["oinet:£J, ..4. l~g.. ,.1\1(;lDey of theemperer. NI16n.ilice:ntia Aug ... M unificence of th€ emperor. lV.F ... Nobilissirna Femina (Most noble woman), Oriens A'u:g ... Rising sun (of the emperor). Pacater 6Jl'bis ... Pacifier .of the earth. Pece f>.r fJib.ri;g Pa,rt.a Ja.I'HW!l CJu:s,it ... Refers to the porta! 0£ Janu. being closed, indi eating peace. Paci 4. u_gusl4,e ... To the peace or the emperor. Par, A r, A.t1 I e/'c ... Parthia, Arabia, diabenius lwuquerecl
najions).
1)(J..');l't;mdatl1 Cum Pel"s,is ... Firm peaee with thE! Persiarrs. P-il'tns Mllt·lll/, hg.. The mutual pi -lly o.f the ~\\'O :\ LJ~W ·ti. Pirt«, Ramen«, .. R ~nml pi ty. l'rl/)/(l iI/S811 ••. Hy order of the Roman pe )pLe.
PrilJli/;}.(tt"lW1,m/C"S .•.
period
tJ[
Inscription
Pln~fedio .(1 ••. The emperor setting out for a vi it or '/.Ig pedition. Prof) Deor, Prot/ill Dear. Pro'ilid"eillia Deorum. .... Providence the g ds,
Pro'lliilimtia,e Caess ... 1'h provirlen t aesars, Rector Orliis Master of the wcrl L Regi Artis (T0 the) King of the Ar s. Rglig Aug Religion of the emp ror, Reliqua tretera. II S Navies 11bolita .. Refers to the liberality of the emperor (Hadrian) in remitting debts. Repc"at'io Rtripub Restoration of the Republic, ResflUu!or lJriaa;'e R tinrtor, or ruler of A.frica.
ua:
Restitutor Restiiutor
Orbi«
Ilrbis Restitutor, Or ruler of the city. ac M07~ Urb .Augg el Co,'S N'N or Sacra, ~-fonel A ugg el Cass
}\ ostr . ,. aered mon Y" of Rome, 01+r emperors and our Caesars. Saec Ful, .. Happy" ge. Saecul« (or eCIIl1) Felieiias ... Happy" ge (al ,r fers to th secular g-ames). Saecul« !'I"'ltgijcJ"Q .. .Ito) The fruitful age.
Sa£li>:lilum. 'o'i!nm, ..
TIl
new age.
eneris
CCU1S .••
Humani
(Lastin
health
t
and
It alth
Pe.o Sol] El(tgaQ(£l. .. (to) H ly _un-Cod Sarmatia Dcciaa ... Viet r. over maria.
iecurii In/pen:-i... ecurirv of the empire, Securi« Pcrp. _ .Eternal curity. 'cfapi ComiJi iug ... (ru S erapis, 'nmpanion and god of the emp I'm. Soli IJlt'idn ('o.lI1ili ... (I:() The L1D onqu rable .'Lln-Go.U. . ·I!11.f/iJusP{}lml'll.~q'lu~ RQtnartum ... Thesenate nnd l.hlt Rornrnt
l'eOI~le.
Illsc:~~pt.ion
Liberal Meaning
nate .1f1d the Roman
penr,le
S/J,~s Romallomm ... Hope of the Roman. 'urmnus Scu;trrlo.s .A ug, . ,H ighe I prince (Ol" priest) .-\ugustus, Tempor Feli«. ' . The happy lim '5. Tlberis, , . The Tiber (.,\, perscnlficatinn). Ubertas . , . Fertility. Urui~l1z,e Victf}rf~$", ictory everywher .
Orbs Roma Fcli:.., .. The happy city. Rome. ~Imer'i Victrid ... fto) \:, nU5 the Vic tress, r!!"UIS ('of'1e:rli8 .•. Heavenly \e:nus. T~lUiS Felix" .iHapp)" Venus.
\ietory for Our empernr. l7cleriae DD Alla 'Q \~N., ,lW) Victory Iur our: lord and
Aelcma Aug
l',ctorill
'!'-or" . Eternal
princes,
tern
I. 'i,lu:> rul11'oit'i. , . Rderring to the courage of the ar-my. VirU,$ Militml1 .. ,\·ktor:t (\'irrue) [!:h,e ,army., 1~[ll
of tl~ _ Romans, acrifice \-0\\., r~fJli$ Dccmmal.iblls, , . Yow's of the tell y ars, er the tenth year. l'Ola P"blica. .. , Pubtie \'OW5.
RorrUHlOl"llfll,.
I 'il'tm;
,"\ "irtue
Suse OT~~Q(a
liSCeplfJ .. "
sr
M.int Marks
Roman coins began to carry min t marks around the middle of the third cen tLtry AD" \i\fit~b:the Lt.e .of tJif£S€ mint marks the emperor had reasonably strict control ,oVcer E1Je actions of
the mint officials. Coins of inadequate weight (indicating' that
a mint effi tal was filling his personal purse) were then easily traced to the guilty person or persons. The mint mark is found on the exengual (bottom) of the reverse. Generally, it consi t of th ree parts: a letter indicating p cunia (p), money. or M (Sacred money), or M ( iJ.Qneta ' The next letter or letters would indieate th~ placewherethe coin was struck, (ROM, Rome: SIR, Sirmium.: etc.) .. Last,
the symbol, either in Greele Qr Latin, indicating t.heWel'ks}Jop II~ that particular place. As all example, if 1i11e Greek system Was used the first Letters of the Creek alphabet (Alpha, Beta" Gamma, etc.) wouLd be found upon the coin, indicating the particular workshop. Worksbop number 1 would be Alpha;
workshop number 2, Beta: and so OD. The Latin system would be used in exa tly the same manner and so Prima would be workshop number 1; secunda, workshop number 2; tertia, workshop number 3. The symbols, in this instance, would be "P'" fr;>r prima, "S'" for se.c.ullqa, and "T" for tertia. l:he f'o1l0wing' llstis a reasonably complete one andincludes most of the more common mints. The names or modern t~JWIl: appear [11 pa re ntheses,
AJ xandria (E€'YPk) .. .Al, Ale, Alex. Arnbianum ,(Amie'llcs, Frt!J.'naJ) ... Arnb, Ambi, Antioch ULlll·£kiya. Syria], .. An, 1J)t. quilcia ( lquil(1jll" lota7.y), ,.Aq, Aqvi, i\relatTlm Vlrle. .... ,.Franr~J ...• \1", ,\d. amulodumrm (Cokhes.lI.'r. Eng,)"., " Carthage (&'ni'l'kS near nil/is, ~'i,:or/'11 .,JJJ'r1;ra.L .. r.;:,
5&
Karl
Kart.
K\, Kvz, Ky-. Hcradea(E-regli, 1'ud·'key}. .. H, Her, Hexad, Bt, Rtf. LprrQi)1irum (London)" .L, Ll, Ln, L.Q,IJ. LugdullUlH (Lyons,. jf,rff!,),It:e? .• La, Lg, Lug, Lug-d. ,feai01ruIuffl (ll1£ilttrJ., I~(!2)1). , .Md, Med. ]N-Ltro'rtl'erilia (Iz~II.'~i;, n4irke::.v) ... N, Nic,. l\![leo, Nile Na:rQo. (Nl11rl1o'i:NMt,Fmnce), .. Nat Ostia (The pe,re of Rani e) ... Osr, Ravenna (RCL1,HYl'li1UL, Ikb(Y)., .Rav. RfllJ11'e, . ,R, RIl1, Re'Ill, Ranta. nd3 Rom. S€'rdica(Soph?ia, Bulgar.ia) ... ~d., 'Ser,. Ser~L Slrmium (R,uins tut!)r Mit1'.Q'(J.i'cfli, Yugo~'J,a!Uia)." Sit, S.frm. iiscia (Si;&ak, J"1I,gas[,lSwi;a) ..• S,Sis, :lise,. ~11. 1'hl5ssaloailZa CG1i'fJece:)., .TE,. Ties.; Th, TS OilS, Tlcinum (Pa/IJtct', I.taly)., ,"L Treve:r1 (J'r1ier, ]i'f;a.~u;e), .. Tr, Trft
i
Constanrincple (Isla.nb7,~J,. 7iwrkry) .., ,.f ,('-€ln, COliS, :I't.mJ, Kons, Kensr. Cyzicus (lea.p:1/. [Jag?l, Tnr'key), , . Cus, Cusic. c:?~. Cyzi.t~, K,
. I. 1J,1:()'?J.it~ir1i11~t.
struck ill!
CO:lI.ltrmltTllJple
perm', wife of an emperor, and 51 ter of an emperor? Her ambition brcught her the ul tirnate in ev ry material phase Lut h r action disg'lIstcd even he!' di solute OLl whom she had made emperor. He ord red h r 0 J e poisoned. (Agrippina,
or an
em-
mother ofh'cr,
emperor Cnligula.) How (0\\' til tid ·'S of goveruJllent had unk when that very uvernruen t had to be auctioned 10 th p-TSQn who was the highest I idder. Didiu julianu achieved thi dul ious ill till ition only to meet a violent death she rtly therearter . .-\nd
(;10
tJ1(~ emperor Marius. Little: is known f him because he ruled for abonr TWO or thre days. Th re, was. a child-emperor, toe. YaletJtiwifu:Iu II was proc'laill;re.Be'J'np@rQr at th'e' aa:e f J, not an age to be able to decide, he:!her such a title Was to his' advantage, He was murd red in his tiventietl1 year. We read about the bey-ruler. Emperor at the age of 14 and 4 years later dragg~d dead, through the treets of Rome to' b . thrown into the 'Tiber. De!:1Plte his e.~t:rem.e YOlTl1b h ' rapidly mature4 in the line art a.fvieiens cruelty. (Elagabalus.) ''file wonder about the man" he thought,enough of the throne to wage battle for it but who uporraehieving his ambition, concerned himself IDQie with the luxuries of his table, His Fate was to be sei~ed in, hi~ 1l!'aJaceand to be lgnomiaiously dragged through the streets of Rome to be killed by tbe mob. (Vitell:ius.) \<\ hat do we say of Commodus? Commodus, the son of the noble and ,good Mareus Aurelius: Cemmodus in whom the sons of Rome had implacable faith that the excellent governmeat of his father would be contitrued. He answered this faith placed in him bya rule of terrc.~r!eyil. Wild corruption, Fate kept an accurate record, however, and his last moments were ruthlessly pressed out of him as he died by trangulation at the hands of an underling. Fratricide was the peculiar taJent possessed. hy Caraealla. I t did not please .hira tQ, hav.e to share theempire with his brother Geta although it was his- fMher's expressed wish than he do so. And 5,0 he had his brother murdered. As if this were not enough he ordered, in addition, that all effigies of his brother ..... {)D monuments and coins be destroyed. That this was IJ0t ea,rried [Jut is rndi-Gated by' the existence of an abundance of colas of Geta, Caracalla was himself, murdered. Yet, there ar softer pages as well. There WM a time, a pitifully hart time, indeed, when the' fortunes q£ .men were ,guid d by the. excellent; and wise hands
t.
{,lfa; erv~r Trajan, Hadrian, .• ntrrnimas Pius, ani! M<J;J'CU5 Aureli'us. Thee few 80' same-odd years.saw peace predominate and Sagacity upon th throne, Veur corns will h ve a greater meaning if you pur. ue tlri rnagnificefi.t stor;: of a people, without whom there would J'_ve been fib eoin: ... , and not much uf anything.
oc
AGRIPPA-lVlarcus Vipsanius Agrlppa, Roman general. -t;,. lose tti nrl of ' ugusrus and
his heir, Predeceased the em perer, in 12 Be at the agrt Dr .51. however,
J r 'LIA-Uaur;b
Fulia
b2 j
tor of Augustus. amm 39 B ~. Her pro:Bi,g'lCiL:::;< fw ed hen father to hWli;:;h her .. She was (,he wirE' or the Inllcwing : )lat"ellus .. _\grirma .. and the ,erttJ~N()r Tiherius. Diecl In I-J, .--\1 at the a e )( 3d.
c r\[ ._ Ai\D L ~ C\ESAI. -. ns of .Agrippa and] ulia. Caiu died 4- AD, Lucius,
2 AD.
TIBERlt.i. =-Tiberius Claudiu J'\ ro. The 2nd Roman emperor, Reign d during th . time
a just and kind ruler at first, (he became emperor at the death of ugu stus who ad pted him after the death of Agrippa) but gradually Lemme base and em 1. Much f thi du t the -il Influence f ejanu. He wa born ill 42 B . became rnp ror in 1-!-AD and di d at apri, where he pent th Las 10 year of hi life, in the year of .n A . of
I
C(le~ars
·lll'ist. \Va
Twcrius
DRC'U~, JR.-Born 14 Or L'" 13', died 23 .-\D. Oil of emperor Tiberius and \ ipsania. His wif Livilla was seduced by ~ ejarru and S janus and Livilla succe ssfully plotted the d a h. by pois ning, of ru "U.
Drusus, Jr.
:\ERO L Tiberiu and father or rnperor Claudiu . Died in 9 B ,.r putedly a a r ult of being thrown
by his horse,
Nero ClU,fldills Drllms
. ~TO:--'·L\-Dal.lghtw· of Mar'. nth ny aud (klayia. ~randl11 l her [ th mpl;'rnr:\ 1"0. [ uisoned IJY .\"ere's urders in 'd .·W . ..,he was OiIHlul 7i ~.'an; of age at her JC~ld1.
;ER.,\L-\i\"I 1---_ n of :'..J ro Claudius Drusus, X ph II,".l)f the emperor Tib riu .
A great popular favorit . Dled n ar Antioch in ll) A0 quite po sibly by puisoning u nrie!'
AGRrpPI~A THE ELDER-Dallglll r of AgriVpu and Julia (daughr r of All U tll ) wif of rmanicus and mather of th rnp ror aligula.. Alter th UI.:;1lh of h r husband shewas banished t( the island of Panda ria where she died in 33.A,. at the probabl
A grippino III EMer
>
aze
or 46.
TD DR' . U. C\E
..•R. -Som::\
Nero died
]i.~ro
a.1I.d;
Drusus Cu.e.J.ors pcror, 37-41 r\[. Youngest son or Gerrrumicus and _ grippina. From hi a OCi.Hti n with the Idler in his youth when he ware th Roman boot called aiigae, he was named Caligula (little bat) .. \ heir to Tiberius, he ruled. with r <150I1ablt:n .5 .at fir. t, I LIt on I ecame excessively deprav rl and ill l. He WG.;' unrlnulneclly ill ane and even t hought to na1111' his horse Consul. HI.: was >l sinutcd In the I 1";1 Lori" n tnrard i nil AD, ,nr I he ~Igl: or 29.
I
ALlGULA-
aiu
it"
6t!
:\E. (~l,\L\-.Fourth wife of Murdered with h r husbarrd. nRC [LL\-Sl ter of aligula, of ;ermanit:us anti .-\ rippina,
alizu]a,
Daugh t r
LAtl1ll'. - ih riu Claudius Drusus, Roman emperor 4.t-':-\I AD. 011 of N ro laudiu: Dru us nd Antonia. Becarn mperor by acclamation of the legion upon the death of aligula , :\Iarri d I ur irnes, the most prominent wives heinz lVI salina, and then the yotruger .\grippi.na, who was tb mother of the futur emperor Xero, 511 bad 'Ie udiu adopt her . n Xer to the di dvarrtage f Iiis own n, Britt nl· cus, He wa til uncle of Agrippina (his father, Xero laudiu Dru u was a br titer (If Cermanicus, the lather [:\ I~ippin<J. I-I r ruelty r a hed th b i~he t xtreme when . he had Claudiu~ poisoned in the year -J AD. He was 64 year of age. .-\GR IPPL -_..\ HE Y ("_'\ TER- he was T the mother of an emper r C'~ero)', til is-
Drusilla
ter oE an imp ror (Caligula), daught r or Jcrrrwnjcus and :\grlppirli.!. XOLl'd fOT her xcessive r-ruel Li s, she wa vicious dHll~hl r of a noble and line moth r. After poisonin] h r hu I < rtd, th etnperor cr \1dlus, he in tum, wa pois Ii d by her son l'\L'nJ in ,59 ~\D 'It the prnhable ;:1 'e or 4-4.
C,awl:ius
tro·
BRlTT.\:\fL'l"S--TiLeriu" .1:rudius Britrunicus, __m nf "Iaudiw; and ;\.lc-" .liJ1~1. Has ing I, '(lL1 et 11 sidf' a' th logi al heir i (J th' throne due [II the in rerression pi .\~I-ip[lin<l j unior on l n-half !If h 'I' ow n son \'vn), III' \\<1.' ulrse-qucntlv rui~ol1t'd I y \'{'r ill ~5 .\ U a ~ till': aze uf U or 1±.
.lgriPPi/1ll
1ft.'
rOTIIIj!t'f
_ ER()-~-ero
-;etmanicU5,
.laudius
Caesar
Drusu
eameeruperur
',,"'as a pupiJof the philosopher . encca whom h subseqnently had commit suicide. The very lirst partof his reign wasuneverrtful, hut he learned b:t crueltie easily and
soon becamea
of
tavia murdered. poisoned his mother Agrippina who was in trurnental, through 11r great capacity for evil, in placing him upon the thron e. He was accused or setting th great fire at Ramee. Needing' scapegoats fer his heinous crimes hie persecuted the Christians_ He was fin.a.ny for ed La ·om.m.i't
R me .. H poisoned Brittanicus,
suicide in 68 AD at the age of :U. POPpAEA-Poppa:ea . abina, ~he was the wife of Crispinus and the mistress of Othu. 'he subsequ [)tly divcre d rispinus to marry 01".0. Upon this, auspicious occasion she became the mistress of the emperor
K ero,
0
Poppoea
he divorced
Otho
and rnarri d
Nero, Her ultimate reward wa a violent kick by ] era which resulted in her death. probably in 65 AD.
CLuDr 5 MA ER-Lucius
lodius 1\Ifa-
cer, He was propraetor in Africa during the: re:ign of Keto .. Refused to reccgnize Calha
as the new emperorafter Xern's daathand, as a result, was captured by alba's troops
and .k.il.l.ed.
c,,-\LB \-Roman
mperur far 7 months 68-59 .~\l). Pn'kinimt'ciempl'rnr by the praetorian guard .JJ-L~- Ken:n's suicide, Hi h.11·Sl! cljsl"ipline '\\ a.. re", n ted h~- h il> • ,I·
uy them. He
~"1.5
11TH ·)-3:1 a reus . alviu Otho, Emperor fnr thr - months in the year 69 . D. En"LOU becau e 11 wa not named Calba' 1reir. h led an insurrection and aha!" the death of -all a was proclaimed emp ror, l le was ·clef ated in haul by \ itellius and committed . uicide at th age of 7, YITELL[ '5-. uilus \ i tellius. Emperor, Jan. t De., 6!U\D. His legions pr laimed folr h imaf ter the d a th of Ga..! a at the b "arne time Otho's lin declared for him. l Ii E r es d feared OU,o in battl and h ~ wa ole emperor for the brief time. tat d al ave. The l llyrian legi n , meanwhile, deelan d for Vespasian. "e-pa ian" forces def ·ated him and he suffer d all. iguorninlou d ath, aft rwards bing dragged through the streets hy th mob. Hi banquets, at which he gor ed himself, w re known far and wide and it wa 'lid that if he had paid more attention taffairsof state than to his exploi ts in ea "ing. he rnigh t have urvived. H was" -1 at his dea th. \ ~ P. IAN-Titus Flavin abinu Vepasianus, The first of theJi1a ian. emper,"T , Ruled 69-79 AD. Held vari LIS 1£ and becarn procon iii I in Africa under K ro, His legions declar d lor him while other I-gion d dared for )tho or Vitelliu . _ Iter tho' death Vit lIiu wa dispos d of and \-e,;pasiaI1 assumed tb complete power. II was a competen I emp r r. He died in ill AaL the ag of iO. 1)( I},fl ,1LLA-f7ir r wif or Vc pasian, I )ic-d IwFprc' he became empr-rnr. ':--h was II~ moth 'r the future rnperors irus 110..1 Uumi tiuu.
OthfJ
or
D,nll;/i!fj,
r oi
TITl-S--Emp-rar,
pasian and Demitilla,
[ection judaea in the year '70. He led a rather proiligare liE bel re becoming emperor, but uprm asoending thedtron(lbf'l-
or
came an
TiuIS
JULIA. TITI-Daugh(er
of Titus.
DOlVl]TIAN- Titus FI.<IIlVlU5 omitianus, S cond son of Vespasian. Emperor' 81-96 1\D. The early pad of his r igu was UDeven tful. the latter I art found him to be insatiably cllJelaucl tyrannical. If was finally murdered, to the obviom relief of
all ooncerned. His wife Dornitia
WaS
was one
of the eonspiraters, He
45 at his death,
KERV.-!i.-l'vlurcu. Care ius r erva. Em6-98 AD. Held responsible ailE es under Yespasian, 1 h.1J5. and Demitian, \YascI'l115L:il with Domitian in the year 90 LUl. He \\':1S the first of I he f'J';.l'f!nen1 emperor pernrs wh •• were W rule for the 11l! l~ighty .. xt serne odell years. He dled ill yg _AD at the ag If on.
68 I
TR.\.JAK-).rl.arcu.: L'lpius Trajanus. Ernper-or 9 -117. Adopt d a 1\ erva's heir in lj/, L-I1J;ler him the Roman Empir reach d its great text n t. He wa an xc lien t mperor, H wa6S at 11i d a th in 111.
Trlljall,
PL TI:'\f\-\Hfe
of Trajan.
Plotina.
\1_\RC'l.-\SA.-
ister of Trajan.
\L-\TIDIA-D<
I-L\DRl.-'\I\-Pulliuf
.A Iius Hadrianus.
Lmp('rm' II - -l.l '. 1\ nil \\' of Trajr n and Ids h if. Ere ted many fine lniildin . in l'om and elsewhere. He ('(lntinLl,d the fine ~I\\"l'nunellt 111' hi. t wu preclecess 1':5. I iL'lI
II }3,
at
the
iJLT
of ~J'.
I b'l
.-\BIX}\-\:ViJe
him In Uf.
of Hadrian.
Predeceased
Sabina
AELIU5----LuciU$ Aelius "\ erus Cae ar, Adopted by Hadrian as his .hei.r, but he died In 138..
1:8-161. Enreiga,
prosperous
Because of this, history has little to record of his rule. Be adopted his nephew JVJ arous _ll.lI.reJiu whom hi' dal1~hcer Faustina had married. 7.:;years of a, e at death. F.. ·TI::\.\ TH E ELDER~\Yii' of .\11-\F
tonlnus Pius, Her full name w.ts Anniu Gill .rin Faustina. Sh ... ;mtl her dtllJgllll!!r were both noted fc'r their luck of morals, uh hough l he (:i<Wg;IHN , wife of ~ r,LlT'U" .\LIrl·liLl'. bel Lefi.'d hl't moLiH'rin thl resper-t .. ."1 He' tlilC I in 141 .n 1111: .1 ~c ur 3;.
~L\'R AU~ LIV i\larcu>, _\ lius Aurelius \" rus, Emr eror, 161-.1O. Had I een adopted hv ;\1]tOlliIJU~ Pius as hi h if. atong"'jth Lu iu Verus. "eru wa his coli ague in g vern men t. He was a phiI sopher and wa a step towards th Plat nic concept of the phil soph ~r king, Hi, "Meditations" ari stU! extant .. He wa: 69 at hi death in t. O.
rs
A_ TI S 'VE RUS-Son
lius,
of Marcus _ ure-
FA
TfN
THE YO NGER-\I
ile of
:\farcus. ur [ill. noted for h r prom acy. Her irregularitieswere said to have been known hy verybody except Marcu him:;~1I. he died in 175 at the probable age of -0.
~Luciu Aur Iius . ert! . riginally u iu eionius C mm lus. -, 1league of 1\1 reus Aureljus.Had bn adopted by ~ .ntoninu Pius as had heen Mar u Aurelius, Died in 1 9 at the age of 39.
U'
ILL-\-Wiie
oi Luciu. Verus,
Di d III 18.3,
I iI
.....,..;..-
__
.\ liu Aurelius hart to a J) ppy era. The dissolute son 01: zr noble father, he was emperor from l80-1CJo2.Hi r ign wa a r trogre ion to all of the vii which exi t d before. Nerva, ruel, intemp rat. and prodi al, he was finally tran I d to L..CJII'I'IIIG,atl.sdath while ina drunken tupnr, He was 1 y aI's of age at his d ath.
· l\r:\wlJ
.~.-
Lu iu
RT PIN.-\-\rife
of
omrnodus,
1ERTr '~-\x-Pu liu Helvius Pertinax. Emp rOI- in year 1 3. H \1;i1!!eho en emper r agains hi will after the death of C rnmodu . Certain reforms ill tituted by him met with di favor and th . rea tionary
I -m III of tb praetoriai L zuard rnurd red him in 193. He was 67 at Jli death. Dl Dll Jl-LL XL' -l\lan.:us Didiu Salvius j nlianu (or:; I:UI' julianus). Ruled about zhr month in tb yes r 193. The 1]1J lllCltalJI€ thin .... bout this mpcror was ih fact tha t h purcha: ed the thrnn at Didius Jurilwrrs auction all indication uf how low th tid of empire bad fallen. H was almost imrnedi tely unpopuls r <111<1 was slain. Hit \HI."
i
o y rs fir aze
<It
his death.
7_
J ulianu
DTOL\
of
Didius
PE CE;'\!KIV Pe cennius 2\ig r. Pr claimed empen r b the .. yrian legion . The annie. r _'everu d Ieated him nd h ned only [0 be sub UD tly captured and. put to death along with all th m mber of hi Iarnily, in 1CJ.,l·. CLODI
Didia Clara.
onius
under
Xiger
I til lie
LBI" C5-Dec:.imus lodiu Ceiptimius Albinus, Elevated to Caesar .; everu but after everus d feared h had the enate declare Albinu a nemy. _ fter a battle near Lyons,
I
Albinu
W:a5
defeated
. EPTIl\IlC E\ Eln'~-Ludu. ptimiu . evorus, Emperor. 11)3-211. H ld important pos ts un dar Iarcu . urelius, Declared azainst
L
julianus
il. sumed
and "iger, as well a \Ibiml and th upreme COil LroLHe \'"1I'S 65 at his death ill 111.
of the emperor ·YC'"ar,'U'1111j '<Inc! c ~,·t,1. \\";.J:" n IWD- n of C nsid 'r, I I~ intellect. SIlL'rnmmir.red uic kl~' after 'I he ut:>.lth oj' antII'UA DO}'I.KA~\\,ii
I"US,
all.r, ln 217 .• he
\I'lL
out 5U
:11
'I"
rlcaih.
Jul'ill f)"rlllr,t
I ;-~
Aurelius Arrtoninus. Bassianus, Emperor 2(1-217, on of the emperor. everus, Caracalla was a nickname ghren to him because of the Iong coat known by that name which he introduced to Rome Prom Gaul. He was, at fir t, joint emperor with his brother Cera, but he con:. vinced the prae orian guard [0 eame him sole emperor. He had his brother murdered and, according to some sources, some twenty thousand others as, well. He was a treacherous, worthless pmEl:igate who was finallymurdered by Ma·cdnlJs. He was 29 years o.f age at his
riginal name, death in 11 t.
CAR
rALLA-1\Jarus
Pla,!lltUtl
PL,j\UTJLLA-Wife
of
araoalla,
GETA-Lucill>s·eptimIu5 eta. Younger on .of Severns, Joint ruler W.itJl his brother Caracalla. (209-212'). However, the desire on the
I.
ole power
caused him to have Geta murd red, and. all effigies, coins, and other permanent works with th image DC Geta destroyed. G ta was 23 years of age when he was murdered.
ThL\' RI::\ft·~~l\larcu'S Op6'lius S~V rus ).l'acrinus, E:mperor 217-2.1', l nsrrurnental in the
death of
defeated
with the
army and
subsequently
slain in 2'IH at
7-11
I A·I U rE~ LA -~lUQrtJ aT eliu Antoninus Diadunrenjauu . 'Son of Macrinus, Killed in th rev It which res ulted in his father' death,
HL
riginally,
-.
IarDiadu,me7tian
\ ariu
Avitus Bassianus. Emperor 218-222. He wa a priest in the temple of the. sun-god at Emesa, and thus his nam , Deieated Ma rinus in battle and th n went on to practice e.x rtrerne debaucheries and cruelties. He was slain by
the praetorian guard at th age of 1
l
dragged
Elagabalus
OT
along the streets with his mother who also had been slain, and thr wn uncerem niously into the Tiber.
IlelillgabcJlus
. unLl. Eo Efu -Second wile of Elagabalus, He divorced h r. but returned t her after d.ivardngbis third wife. ania Faustina.
0
FAUSTI \lA-ThinJ \\ iJe of Elaher and returned u his ,;('l'l.nd wile, .-\quillu. Scv ra,
':'\[\1\L-\
Jttfia. Soaemia«
of
Elaga-
ALEXANDER-M arcus Aurelius S verus ' 1 xander. Adopted by his cousin Elagabalus as his heir, Ruleclfrorn 22~-235. He was a just and wi e ruler, but was slain by orne mutinous oldler on his way to Germany to subdue. a revolt. Hi moth r was slain with him, He wa prcbably 27 years of age at hi d ath.
RB1. :\.-\-Third
wif
fSe\"(\'rll.
Alexand r.
()r/)'i,J 1/,1
JULIA l\L ~"lAEA-)"1 ther of everus . I xander. Murdered by -roll tinous aoltliers along
with her son in 235.
fRI\)fI
,NT
IIAXIMIN S I---Caius Julius Verus ' Iaximinus. Had the surname, The Thracian, Emp ror 2J--238. Was supposed to. have be n of great siz and strength. \' as d lared emperor
b_ the legions of the Rhine after the death of verus AI exander , 1'T e was cruel and tyran-
PAULINA-\iVif
of Maximinus L
ORDI:AN ,AFRICAN'. I-Mat:cus Antonius Gordianu L Ruled 36 days in the year 23 . '~'as pr con ul in Africa ulldel· e crus Alexander. \Vas proclaimed emperor b) hls followers in Air; a and was c nfirmed by the senati\'lte,[q[\,[~u.:iminuswas declared to be a publi enemy by that arne body. H commi ted. uicide when he I arned of the death f hi!" son in battle with one of th of 1\1 aximinus, He \ratO'l) y at' at hi death .. G~lrdt(llmJ;
Afp·U:ll.lllf.1
I tt
G)1t 1.\)\[1 .\FRI ::\U Il-M~cu • ntonianus .ordianu n.. n O( Gordianus 1. As ociared with his Icther a co-emperor. Kill d in battJ at artha e L r apellianus, the go\' rnor of urnidia,
CfJrdro.nm 1frimtl1JS Il
B.I\LBI T 5-0ecimus' 'aelius Balbintrs ... rnperor Ior abou two month in ·he year 23 . He was reclaimed joint emp roc b the senate alon,7 with Pupienu Iaxirnus, 'Sse:lltially to oppose Maximinu who was threat 11ing Rom, .i\i:.a;dminu wa lain, however, and Balbinus was murd red by Pra torian uard,
too
B'a/oi lifts
P' PIE1\ S-- ;fa-reu Cledius lupienu ,I(aximus Appointed joint mperor with Balbmu to oppo.c;:e Masiminus \ no threat ned Rome. Pupienus was ] in b the Pta t rian guard,
along with Balbirnn two meno.IS. after a reign of about
L-\X'
-MarCil
Antonius
ordia:nu s, Hie w randson of -;nrdianu L Proclaim d Ca sar during the reign of Balbinus and Pupienus, At their c:l aLl')"pr claimed -rnp ror by the Pra torian guard at th ,a~ uf 14 r 1.-" He ruled for six y ars tl.i'-2-!-l) and thruu"h th manipulations {J Philippu, all alti!: r of the gu rd, he wa murde-red at th ;l:!J> of _ 1. I hilippus succ Irtl
",',I,did/l1U
I TI (Pili.)
1,
TR.:\.:\W
~n..LIXA -
Wife
of
;ordlallUs
III.
r - larcus Julius Philippu . officer of U]· Pra torian gu rd during the r: ign of Gordiaau Pill' As are. tdt of his madUnati ns, . rdianus was lain. Phillp \\"<LS him If killed banlill the Ie ion f Trajan D ciu . He \\<5 ernp r r from
PHILIP
• 11
2·14-2-1:9.
PllilifJ I
s yera.\I\·i,(e
Ti\.
n.r,
E', ER
of Phil'ip 1.
OIDciJia Sccua
PHILIP ippus.
OIl
aher hi rather.
PAC.1Th\::,\-.
little i known
:PMN" II
1\
about
JUIIIflill11
I ,"
TR. j.xx
tus
UECll-~-Ctliu_
Decius, reign
Traianus the
"-as
during
omrnander of the tr
ps rtf Danul e
. f I hilip 1. His oldiers hilip and he was .for d hy them against his will. in hattl and Philip was lain ill Thrace I attling
I\"<L
53 year. of ag_
at
hi
ETRL'
Elru.>eilla
lLL\-\\'iitt
of Trujnn
LlU.
HEkE -XIr- ETR(rSCL-:-Qu.intu 1-11:'renniu Etru ell - Messius De ius. on 01 Trajan Decius and killed at the arne time a hi fa ther,
&,e,millS Etrusrus HO.-TIL1A ... \-aiu Val n Hostilianu IVle. iLLS Quintu . ~-\.younger on of Trajan ciu about whom little is known,
Ilosti!
ill II
Caiu: Vibius Tr 1)011 ianus .a.llu., ..mperor 15.[~15J._.\ p p lin t d to rvc as H ostilian's associate. [l elrected a peace with tln- Gr'rhs whi ·b was rolt In lu= degrading lry tilt' Ronw.115. IT\· was subs -'qLI!:'11 tly rnurd red lJY hi" 11\\ 11 !' 1'ldi~'IT"_
TREROKL\Sl-
,I)
\ ( U-'-IA. ~ ail! \ ibius Volusianu Trehonian u- • siniu ' .. Son of Tr bonianu allu . Killed at th same rime hi father.
wa hail damp for by his troop" and d of ated th for s of allu in battle. He wa murdered by his wn soldier.
l;;m·iUaJl,
COR).!El.L\·
PERA-Wife of A milian,
Cornelia !'hlp fa
\. LERI:\~Puliu Liciniu: Val rianu . Emp rer r.~-160.Of noble birth, be was loyal to Callus but could giv him un help in Jill battle with Aemilian, arriving too lute. ~\t the death f ; all u wa proclaimed rnperor and < "ociatl' I hi5, 'on ~al1i0nu5
wuh him. Trouble
0
(111
him into
m:l11Y
battles.
GALLIE::\T
..~PubHus
Licinius
Valerian
U'"
Egnatius GalJienllS. Son DEValerian. Emperor 253-268. Became sole ernperer aft r the capture I?Jf his father by the Persians. He. was obliged to deal with disintegration from within the empireand from without, 1 t proved to be tong-mat a task. He was killed by his ewn oldi rs at the age of 50.
·ALOKIN.-\"A"i.Ee
of Gal,'liel1U'.
\,"ALERL\~ 11-
OIl
I'll II
rilw f1
~_I
1\1 R L\;\T' 1- Marcus Fulvius i\u crianus. [200-261.) Ir was due tc.> hi" incompetcnc that the Roman army of Valerian wa defeated, re ulting in. the capture of th mperor. Xeverthel ss, Ma rianus was declared emp eror I y his troops. On his \ aj back to Italy 11 wa m t in I attle I y on f Valerian's general and was defeated and slain,
Macriml:/l$ I
RL'V rl-'ituFL1LviusJuliu:5 I).[acriavu •.. (260-261.). ·11 of Macriarrus. 'lain at tb same time as his father. M
llacriamls
Q IEl'l -Fulviu Julius Quietus. (16 ~261.) Younge ton of Macrianus 1. 'Wh n hi . Iather left lor Rome after ill Ea tern campaign, he wa left to administer affairs. He was attack d by the Icing of the alrnyrans, d feared, captured, and killed.
l! y\'L S-Publiu aiu Regalianus, (260general under Valerian, At \ aterian' death, d the. power in Pannonia but was killed ther after,
-\Yif of R galianus,
l1RA~TTLL
Tl :\11 5---: 1arcus [ ~1,si nus Latin us Emperor 2.-1)-167. .over1l1 r o'l Caul under Valerian. AIL r d clarin him'It'Ll' emperor during the l'e.ig'n ,of \ "alorian , IIf" nil J in 136t a in <111d ;11(;~lltl. He was a wise rLI11'f hut \\"a,.,killecl ill [,,:lull' 1.1';; a result ,r hi" usurputiuns .. P
I osturnus,
Pt,." u /U us
L\.ELL
)., (_.
t
Upilll'
. rnelius
Led a revol
ngain
Po
TU11111"
VI TORL:\U ,..-l\'larcu. Pia vveni u Victorinus, (2(1:-liO!) • nl ruler of aut aft r having be 11 rnp I' r with P tumu... Assa sinat d by hi own
oldi rs,
:;,\L\RIC aius Marcus .\ure.liu' l\larius (268). Proclaimed him If m ror at the d ath of P [Um.U5, ut was killedalrrrost immediately, probably
within a ~ \\
J/UrfUS
ays,
i Piu, li!'u\"ius Tetri u. (267273.) Declar d bim eU emper rand a. ociat d hi n with him. He finnll}' abdicated and. it rn. , was .aJJQ\' d t Iiv rr It hi - day Teirian L TETRI (_i2-27 T' II~ <lIUS I ius E uvitrs Tctrieus, ,) n f Teiricu The Eld 1'<1[1 1associat d
wml
T1:.
nr
-c
T(I'I",
rr
d -ath upon lit, bdi arion oi hi (.uhe r and him. .llrer hein dch:at('d bv _\urdian al lHtlU115,
:::j}nr d It
CUmli1l' 11
I,mllln!."
'-,
(,,() Ill·[ .... -)l1alf'lI" Aureliu mp r r 16;,-!-2TIl, [In:E'1 -;;: d ~111 excelk-nt military record under I )t!cllI", Valerian lInd C<llIiIlU~, FH(]' III t \0 cre.n h .•trk-s: H LLinsl 111(' Alarnnnni in nnrrhern hrll~ and rho (;nth,. in i\.lu -sia ir"l11 ,hidl 111' '["aim d lin' ti t h- " ,or[hiru,.," TIl.: eli. I lurine a pl,uwl' in IIw~' xu: 170 ;11 ~I", ,1:0.' orr -(I.
t
, L\l IHL': II
'Jaml
ill,
'
aiU5 laudius Quintillus. .mp TOr ~1Il•. UppUI" d 3_' mperor at th death f Iaudiu .• but th L-gion d dar d for Aurelian. He ultimate] uicid .
QuintilirlS
~ ( ·ELL-\I'\-Luciuf' Dornitiu Aur Iianu . Em.. p rur 170-.21,5. Knowu a R., titutor rhi (I·. torer of th Empire), upled high military po itions und r \ al ian and laudiu J L Pu h -oths an- . th Danube: d feat rl almyra and hrnught the queen, Z n ia, back to R m ,r onq d E~Yj1t; f rtified Rome, He was murdered as a resu]] fa J1 pira l' at rhe e f (',
A nrelitlll
~ YERL'\.\-\i\lfe
of J\UIl lian,
Swnimt
that
"
1 rWlliaJh
III
/'[\:U13L-\-)u n nf Palmyra. CO.[HLIrl·d IJ~AuI' . n an I brought to Rome. S~I WH. ventually rrdnn d ami allnw Ii to liv in I I" Iy.
I
2"11111';£1
i .!j
TA -JTCS--?lIar'us Claudius Tacitu. Emperor ~75-21(i_ Elect d by the enate aft r the d ath r AU[ lian. laim d d cent from 111 [am u historian, RUled for al out six nl.OI!llhs.\-\ as kiIled by 11i5 soldi rs at the age of 76.
FJmia1l1t:s
FL RIA -US~Marcus ~ rmiu Florianus, Emp ror for a fe, weeks in 276. Seized power at the d ath of hi half brother Tacitu . pp sed by Pn bus and killed in l atrle,
PROS ~Marcu AUI-e1iu Probus. Emp ror 276-2 2. Wa governor f th ast under Tacitus aft r rving in a distinguished manner in the armies of Valerian, laudius and" urelian. Initialed many benial impr vemenrs in go ernrrten t, but he was killed by mutinous soldiers.
en
Probus
ARt'S-}\Jarru Aurelius aru. Emj C[! r 2~2-2 '3. Prefect of til I fa t rian uard und .r I rnbu . At the dea th of Pmbus cho. n emperur by the soldier .. Appoint d his sons, Cc rinu and Numerian, as aesars, '~'hile Aghting: the Persians he was killed. either in bat rle, or. ac 'ordin to, slime ver-
. ion',
." I
uru k
CARIX(-S-l\larclls Aurelius Carinus. Emperor 18.3-2 S. Ride t SOil0' arus. Appoinu d governor
of the western
fatlilEF
and
brother Nt!1'11I'Tia'l1 proceeded Defeated Diocletian in battle, on- of his own officers.
1\lAGNTA RBI:CI\-\~'[fe of
arimis.
lIGRINIAN-Possibly
a son of Carina.
NUVIERL
peror 283-!8-h, jo~ntly with hi. brother He died shor ly after his father, Caruso
Numerian.
n-LIAX-I\larru
Aurelius
III/I<w
L'~I
LETL --CaiU5 Aurelius V~tle.rilt Diacler::niptJr~[284-30:S. Born at Dioclca In 0:;1[1rnutia fram whence his name was derived, Held commands under Probus, Aurelian, and Carus,
D I,
tianus,
W~lS[1'0 lairned emperor ar the-death of !'\ umeriaa. ,ras a soeiaterl with . Iaximianus I, and Iter also Galer-ius art I Constnntius Clrrlorw5. Viciously persecured the Christians, but 00 tJH~other hand. he did much to reform the internal affairs of the 'IT1pire. He abdi ated in 05 and lived out .his lae in retiremnnt. He was 68 at his death,
.1laxilllian1l-S
(Jl1mmli
liS
J (HERe LI' . )-l\.faJ·CUS Aureliu 'ale rius Maxirnianus. Emperor 2 6- 0:- .. Born in Paanonia of humble oda:in, Was associated wi th the €lmperor Diocletian. He abdicated, with Dio-
l\IIA... "",\_lHAI\
advantage of his position. he crrmmai plunder and fell into Britain and proclaim d himself d Ieated by the fleet of Maxirnian his chiE"E minister Allectus. He
AR.r~ \H. ~~Marm5 Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius, Tsurper in Britain (287-293). Was in 1>0111mand of the Be t in northernaul, bU1:, taking
turned to indis-
disfavor. Fled to
emperor. He was and was slain by was prolJahly -1:8
year
oldat
h.i ·death .
• 111, rtu«
Caius .JJt'(;t.u-,,·n,e chief minister of CarauSiius. he \\·~b the CalISI:' (J[ the latter's de.Hh. fJl.:dar d himself emperor after this andl;'H a1.1i.;lh ..rl u rule lIf t'"tn:llll' cruel (y l][)J-_!l'tJ(j), The legions ~,f Cnn,.lI1.JltiLl;;' killed him in a battle in Britain .
• U.E. 'TL
C< .xs TA)'TI T I (CHlORL' ~)-FlavLu \ alerins OIl tan ti us, Ca~.sa[ 29'5-302i __ URU ru
JOZ-J06. , on-in-law of Maxirnian, father of J1..taurine th reat. Adopted as aesar by Maximian, Upon abdication of Diocl tian and Maximian a umed full p wer .. H ~ di d in 306, at the age of 56,
e'JII,.'all/i'II'
\ ClLlortls>
IIELE~. -"
ife f nstanriu
DS
ntiu
J.[\
roth r of
the ~r at.
Cr.-\LEl{ U 'S-Caiu~ 'aled us Valerius _ daximianu - ._ae ar 29J- '0 -; A ugus tu • ,30- -311. reared aesar by Di [ 'an, 'Was beaten by Lh Persian. htrt subsequen tly inflict d a gr at deleat upon them. Extremely inimical to the .hristians and 1 robably had much t do with per. uading t iocl dan to p rse ure them. emperor he elevated Liciniu to the rank of a sar, FIe died in ~11.
I
Calerius
o:f Diocletian:
Gukriu I'u!eriu
E\'ERL,_ l.l-e-Flnvius Valeriu, ,ePfUS, 'a ·-ar. 30,~-30n: Augusrus .. 3n-307. .reated Caesar by Galerius wh J als named him .-\UI!U_'tllS, He "'::IS lIlbIIC('c;",,41Ii in lmtr I wi tiT :\ I axentius and rlln 'ed ttl ('IIJllItli t sulrirle.
w. '"
I
'0
l\L-l.J(ESTI-Man:iJs Aurelius Yalerius Xla.:!:endus, _ ern of Maximian. Emperor Jt)()-3T 1. Not being a parnicularly admirabl person he was passed over when his father and Diculetiauappointed the new .aesars, Led an upri.sin,g and was proclaimed aesar by the praeteriaa guard. He ov rthrew Severns and drove Galerius from Italy, Attacked Constantine and suffered a COJiTIpl te delieat. He drowned while fleeing across
I
the Tiber.
-San
of i\ Iaxen bus.
1?OTIIlllllS
A.LEX.l\.NDER-· -f\ usurper in, Africa. Governor of that province under Ma:."'e.ntius. Proelasmed himself rnperor, but was crushed almest irnmediately.
ucrxu:
Licianus
rank
f Au uscus by
al(~rius.He
married a.
half-sist r of Constantine the. Great and with him i ued theedict of Milan recogniaing Clui,;rianity. He and Maximinus Da21a agreed to rule joimly .. 1\ Iaximiuus, hnwever, artacleed him and
not
tween Licinius and Constantine artd in [11< king wur uprur l-nruhlntinE. I.ic;l1iu:'< \\'<1" ~e;zed OI1U sluin. FIt: wa~ probably 35 Yt'ors "f ,fl.A"l' at his
dpufil.
U Il\Il[l-FJaYIU5 Valerius Licinius Licirrius, on of Licinius L He was pu l to d eath, hortly aft r hi Iather, at th age or Q,
\ ALEN5-_
ureliu
Valerius Valens,
but murdered
teared
sh rtly
Mr\.RTINI :'{-I"r arcus Martinian us, reated ugustus b Lieinius (323). ieized and put to
d ath with the latter,
VaJl:lU
\ al .riu ureliu Constantinus, .aesar, 06-.0 ; ugustus, 30 -337. on of Con tanrius ChI rus, At the' [me he wa proclaime I Caesar by his fath r there wer five claimants to U] throne, D efeated IIax ntius and h n Lieinius to secure authority, Devoted rnuen time to inr mal administration. s rengthening f th b rd r . elimination of abuses, By the Edict of Milnn he re ognizcd Chri tianity, Called th . aea (.'L5) wb ere the J\ icene C r ed was i adopted. ( host" Byzantium a th new apical f III ernpir and ren rned it (I1:LilI1Linop[C'. l le \H1S pmlJnlJ!Y 57 YIWJ'S of age at Jti~ death.
T1IEunUR.-\-Flm·i, :\[';l,jLU.1 Theodora. ,mel wife rtf (', mstanl ius { lib 'nl:'.
- '("-
Constantin» 1
(fill (;"ill)
I (II
Eo\, -. T.'\.--Fla.,·ia :\!a...;ima Fi1usra.\Yife of 'onstantineThe (~I"eat and daughter of 1\[ax.imia.l!1u· Hereul iu .
CRT P ~.FI.n'iU5 ]Lllli.us rISPU5. SOil of onstantine The 'Great. He Was a grsat popular favorite and t:h:is undoubtedly wa.... in part, the cause of his death, by hi.s fatH r' orders, He was Caesar from Sl r":H6.
Cris,/n.r$_
DELMATIlTS-Fla\iius
Jt!lius Delmatius,
eph-
~\V of Constantine The Great. Caesar ,U5-337. Murdered alter the deathnf on 'tan tine.
D~tfl1l1rius
HA).JNIB..\LU
ballianus,
hi brother C onstanfine.
l1w!ln.iilallj,mw·
aesar,
Taudius Hanni~~5-33,7. Iurdered along with Delmntius. They were nephews of Nl, -Flavill~
COt\~T_\:'\TI:\:J[ [[~Fla\'iu'lau [ill [ullus onstan tlnu '. Son of' on .. tantine The C,rf!lI't. Ems pt'rnr .t'!;-.'.,I:!'l. [oirrt. emperor with !tis lJ!'·otlwr.. 'onstanflus ;Llld. Con stuns ar his Iarhers death, In warriJ.lg with t"{lll~!all:" ht' \\,;'19 killl"ll.
333-33; .• mpir a.
onsisted Qf J taly, Africa. and Illyri urn. In war with hi brother he defeated and kin d Con stantine JI. Lat r, iVlagnentius attack d him and -onstans wa overtaken while Heeing and was killed. ITI _ lI-Flaviu Iuliu onstantius, a ar.r--"37: Augu tUS, 137- 61. Son I 'onstan tine and Fausta. Defeat d ?'JagnentiD~ after
ha in becorn sol rul r a th d ath of onstans, The empir enj yed a few rear of [lea during his reign. How Vet, he learned that hi cousin ] lilian had proclaimed him elf emp rot: and in moving to crush this nsurpation he died at the a;gc IQf .J,4.
~FlavillS tan Lin I'll
t,
011
-reat,
1-1 i rule
Canstuntius Gallus
~EPOTIA~-FtaviU5
tantiu . Emperor
"01
Popilius Nepctiauus
f<)r a brief timc
ConJn 3.50.
it
nephew of
stan tine Th
thrnn uf nstan " but wa killed almo atuly in a b ttl with i\·I. gnentiu •
NepolhJII
<
\ '£T R_\:-- r Prnclaimed emp -rur by his troops L th death )I C nstans, :\ft r a re i~n (1[ I > s than a y 'elr (.l~{l-.;:lJ he re ired and lived nut his)' ars in PCdt:L'.
1,/1"111':"
1L\ J~EKTn-':--J71, viu- Popiliu:Iazrrentius. Emp rnr ,~50-353. L1f barburian birth, h wa in c mrnand of th troop of tb Rh ine, <lUF!:'U the death 01 on tan" and wa: pr claim d ern -rnr. H wa d eared hy '. nsiaruiu - IT and tie I tl (~aul where he eurnrnitted suicide,
-l\la nus I ntiu. Broth r \Jf lagnerrtiu . Upon hearing of the suicide of his broth r he. too, nnrnl tt rI . uicid (.r:;
DECENTIl-
n.
Decentius
Julian (1
Il-Flayius Iaudius [ulianu , Emp rnr .~Ol-3GJ. l<.nOWTI a Julian The .po [in 1 caus of his pag-anism and (.IV rsion to Christianity. \\' .11 educated. He wa: lh broth r of Julius Constantiu: who wa a half-brother of on atantin Tile t ~rf'at. Proclaim d emperor by his troops in a revolt again t til latter. A the datil f 11tantius h be me le ruler. I> was killed durin one of his battles with th Persians. H was 31 ye r I ace at hi' d -ath. I-IEL!oj -.A-I iauzluer of
'OJ!l
.rn-1AK
and wifr
Julia.n 1.1.
JiIl'I,w
JOVU\\f-Fh:rviu. Claudius j nvianLIS. EnW I'm 30.I-JO·t, Cell ral r army und r Julian. Proclalmed emp rnr try hi- soldier Iter lilt death of the lat ter. ~ I. de ,111 un he I PY pta re \\ it h the Persians lJY ivi n t up I he pruvinres beyond the T] ri-, ">uJ1(1l1rtvd 1 he ~jLI'n' Cn'I..:,J: r stllr" I privilege-s tu the l'111'i"'li<III~, I )il·d [Ill ()h"{'~l1 !It·atll ill r ~alutiiL, Ill' 11':1" lW'11 I,lhl,l. .t{ r .. Ilf ,Igl' ,II hi,; rbLlh. tr=
"~
\ ..\LEl\"TI:X-I:\::,\ [-F'la\-ju V<.leutinianus, Em· pcrur .1(i-t-.~fS. ( f poor parentage, he enr red the army and moved .swiftly thruugh th ranks, Held in disfavor I ' hoth t n rarniu and Julian (th ratter bani led him), At th death 01' J "ian cho u urnp -ror; ap pf'lin red YalerT t his brother, as • ('I teo His reign kn w the. .ncroach men ts of mao)' harbariau tril es, Died in 'li5 at the-age of --1.
rluilfllliJI,lcUI
Younger I rother of Valentini n 1. Made 1:111[l ror f the ea t I y his brother. Waged war unsucc s f Lllly against the (~Odl ,1\,1 ade a diszracef ul
treaty with
dcf ated and . lain by th G th , Was emp ror (.-om 36+-3i . He was ab out 50 y ars uf a e ar hi death.
PRO
PI 'S-;
Valen . He wa
rebel] d
against
Pracopius
GR.\TL t\-Fhwiu ratianus, Emperor 37;\-3 .3• .... n uf Val ntini n 1. He and a I r h r. \ len inian It. w rc join t . \u usti of the we t, Ar th defeat of Valens also beam cmp nIT in th E, st, with Theodosius as hi olleague. Killed in battle with \laLTnu !\[a,'I::imus at the aze of 2·t
Gra(l<1t1
II-:on of Valentinlan I and of (~ra'i ian. Emperor, joinlly with 11i:: IlrOU1"1·(.)7:~38.l)" Emp ror unt il 31,11. IJ \\lL '~f'~1 [If llg'v \ 'h"n proclaimed .mperor. under Ill" guar lian=hip of llll;' Ernpr ,_ j ustinu. J h· \\<1 murd-red [,) Imp of his g nerals Arbogasr, a r die
\'[11111
\'_\L£:\ Tl
x r.vx
brother
I.!t"
iJi zo,
[-"II'II/II,m I '1.)
II
J1
THE D su: r (THE GREAT)-Flaviu. Theodosius, . rnp ror 3- - !r. ·'umm.oD d to erve as a iate by Cratian, at th death of V 1 n..• cruel rill r, h di I at Milan, aft . ha ing made hi. son. Honorius and rcadius, a sar . He was about :;0 at hi death.
AELIA FLA
lLU\-1'\'ire of Tlreodosiu
1.
A. eli« Pta;(i~ilta
M ' •.K
Cratian
Mllgll'lts
with
FLAVI VI T R-~u of Magnus Maximu . He wa defeat d fighting the Franks in .1.11"aken t pri. on r and executed,
F1rJuills
Victor
El
E:,\1'
Pr
ptured
arul slain
by
9(, I
RIL'5--Flav;l.l5. Honoriu . Emperorof th u f Theodosius the Crea . Hi reign was one of com t nt [Urman due to attaoks by the Visigoth under Alaric. Roman power uff r d a severe d dill" under this inept. rule, He wa .39 at hi death,
J!,\,'
AR' I,\Dru~Em.peror (39-·408.) Son o:f TllCOdo ius I. Aff irs of tate did n [ int re t him and the government w s ruled by others. laric,." he Goth, ruled at this time in what i n w th Balkan r ion. He died in 40 at the age ofSt.,
A.rcadiu5
TANTI S rII-Eimpernr 421. Roman genera! raised to rank of r.\ugu tus by Honorius. Reigned only seven month ..
C01l.JtaPLtifl$
III
GALLA PLACIDA-Daug'bter
G.r at,
of Theodo
illS
the
co~
TA1\T1XE
TlI-l'sLlrp
llillSlrllt/
JII,'
III
I r}j
MA..t",(Il\~r by Honorius,
Ma«i1Pltls
JOVIN
(411-413.)
S-
,0ths.
Jouinus
EB~ TI NU -Brother
him.
of Jovin
. Killed with
PRJ
U ATTALU-L'su1"per-
in Gaul. (409·-410.)
HA,:,'N~.
Pro I irned
himself
ernp ror
The do ius.
rut
of
on tantlu
IlL
ETROXIC' &fAXL\ilrs----.-Xam d rrrperor after the d nth of Valencinian [l I. 'lurder d within a f \V munth . (4 -:.)
of Theodosius
Petmniu«
Ma,:'lOiIllIlS
.\ \ IT 'S-Emp ror aft r 01 dea h I P rronius, ·1----F6. D posed in a little OYer a. year.
AuilliS
]\1 J RIAN-Emperor
(4-7-461) ..
. £\'ERl
IU-Emp
Majoria'j
IU IlVIERgeneral iu the R man army who made and deposed (or xecuted) emperor .. H~ was til . real head of h governmcn ,but ruled it through 0111 . J-Ie di d in 472. B cau 'I" r his Su dan birth he himself had 11 de ire n rule.
AXTIl
E !ll ::;-A
genera]
in 1b
tiN
E PHEMIA-Wjfe
of Anthernius,
OL YBRI S- on-in-law of Valentinian II L ent to Italy to kill Richner hut Ricimer made him emperor. He died shortly thereafter .. (412..)
.L _CERI S-Emperor at Ravenna (473-474). D thron d by J ulius epos, Died a few years later.
JUl.Y
posrng Glyc:eriLls.
A 11.gllst'tll'lts
lu,nll'l,],m
RO 11: LUS UGUSTULUS-La t emperor of the west (4750-476). on of reste but ruled in name only. Deposed by Od acer, king of the Herculi, Retired and died at arnpania,
I
100
mo
It must be remembered. a explained els wher in this book, that the tribunician power was grant d t til mperor I r hi lifetime, but that it was r nev ed annually. When it was so renewed each r, n wal would be indicated by the placing of a numeral after the TR P. Thus, TR P III would lndlcate that the coin wa struck during the third year the emperor It Id such a title, sing a more pecific example, a coin of the emperor Nerva upon which R P II was in cribed would first indicate that the coin wa struck during th second year h beld (he tide. iflg the chart which follows, it would be indicated that his second TR P wa in the ear 97'. As Iurth r confirmation and in order to deal with excep ions to thi proc dur
I
we would al
th dates, or y ars, in which h re -eived the title Imp rater by acclamation .. :. is tbabbreyiadon of on ul. The rnp ror, rna, t normally, serv d as one of th two COD ul of the R man ta t , Frequ ntly, how v r, he de ignated another to ., rve jJl his tad. J nasmurh as any and ull consul 'hlp' were for 1)11 ~"ar only, and, Fur-ther, inasmuch th Romans used th
Ill"
1101
same syt m of u ing numerals after the CU,~ a they did with the TR P, it is ohell possible te dererminetbe date of a coin by the 0, The outstanding difficulty ill using' the COS, by itself, ho);\', ver, lies in the alorementioned rut that
'quite frequently a period of years passedbefore anemperor would pick up the consulship again, A gccdexarnple would be' indicated in examining th consulships of the mperor Augustus, The chart shows us that he served his XI in
the year 23 Be and his COS XII in 5 B· . As, Further demon-tration, a coin of the emperor - espasian bearing the title ,0 nII ( TE: Roman coins show the numeral four wcitten a above, not as r ) could have been struck either in the y ar 72 or the year 73, for his CO~ V was l1Qt served until lei-and his CO nr was erved in the year 71. On the other hand, a ooin of the emperor Demitian bearing C ,~.X upon it WOUld, have bad to have' been struck in the year 84 because his COS VII II was served in the year 83 and his 0 Xl was served in the ear 8S, And yet a th:ird means 'Of Eindll1,gthe date of your' coin may be found ill the J:MP part of the ins "ription. The IMP here referred to [s that titlewhich we have called the 1M::?byaclamatirai, It should be recalled that the emperor added numbers after this' title, also, to designate extraordinary events, or victories i.n the field by ills commanders, Thus, in examining' a particular coin of the emperor Mar us Aur Iius we find, as part of the inscription, the Iollowing: TR P XXIX, IMP ; H, COS TlI. StUdying the chartswe lind this information:
1. If his TR P II was in the year 147, his TR P XXIX DC urred '1.7. years Iater, or: ill the year n,~,
cos
trill