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Maximianus, AD 286-305

Roman Empire MAXIMIANUS I. AD 286-305. AE Follis Heraclea mint, struck 296-297 AD. Obverse Bust of Diocletian right "IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG";Reverse: Genius standing left holding a cornucopiae and patera from which liquer is pouring "GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI" "XX-EI" in fields "ALE" in exergue

History of coin subject "Maximianus": Maximian, Roman emperor, emperor with Diocletian from AD 286 to 305, full namel Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus, born c. ad 250, Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior died 310, Massilia [now Marseille, France] Roman.

Born of humble parents, Maximian rose in the army, on the basis of his military skill, to become a trusted officer and friend of the emperor Diocletian, who made him caesar July 21, 285, and augustus April 1, 286. Maximian thus became in theory the colleague of Diocletian, but his role was always subordinate. Assigned the government of the West, Maximian defeated native revolts and a German invasion in Gaul, but he failed to suppress the revolt of Carausius in Gaul and Britain; after the institution of the tetrarch system (i.e., two augusti, each with one caesar under him), Constantius Chlorus, appointed caesar under Maximian in 293, took charge of these areas while Maximian continued to govern Italy, Spain, and Africa. Although long viewed by Christians as a persecutor of their religion, Maximian seems to have done no more than obediently execute in his part of the empire the first edict of Diocletian, which ordered the burning of the Scriptures and the closing of the churches. On May 1, 305, the same day that Diocletian abdicated at Nicomedia, Maximian abdicated, evidently reluctantly, at Mediolanum (modern Milan). As the new tetrarchy that succeeded them began to break down, Maximian reclaimed the throne to support his son Maxentius (307). Persuaded to abdicate once more by Diocletian in 308, he lived at the court of Constantine, who had recently married his daughter Fausta. Maximian committed suicide shortly after the suppression of a revolt raised by him against Constantine.

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Maximianus, AD 286-305

Roman Empire MAXIMIANUS I. AD 286-305. AE Follis Heraclea mint, struck 296-297 AD. Obverse Bust of Diocletian right "IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG";Reverse: Genius standing left holding a cornucopiae and patera from which liquer is pouring "GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI" "XX-EI" in fields "ALE" in exergue

History of coin subject "Maximianus": Maximian, Roman emperor, emperor with Diocletian from AD 286 to 305, full namel Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus, born c. ad 250, Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior died 310, Massilia [now Marseille, France] Roman.

Born of humble parents, Maximian rose in the army, on the basis of his military skill, to become a trusted officer and friend of the emperor Diocletian, who made him caesar July 21, 285, and augustus April 1, 286. Maximian thus became in theory the colleague of Diocletian, but his role was always subordinate. Assigned the government of the West, Maximian defeated native revolts and a German invasion in Gaul, but he failed to suppress the revolt of Carausius in Gaul and Britain; after the institution of the tetrarch system (i.e., two augusti, each with one caesar under him), Constantius Chlorus, appointed caesar under Maximian in 293, took charge of these areas while Maximian continued to govern Italy, Spain, and Africa. Although long viewed by Christians as a persecutor of their religion, Maximian seems to have done no more than obediently execute in his part of the empire the first edict of Diocletian, which ordered the burning of the Scriptures and the closing of the churches. On May 1, 305, the same day that Diocletian abdicated at Nicomedia, Maximian abdicated, evidently reluctantly, at Mediolanum (modern Milan). As the new tetrarchy that succeeded them began to break down, Maximian reclaimed the throne to support his son Maxentius (307). Persuaded to abdicate once more by Diocletian in 308, he lived at the court of Constantine, who had recently married his daughter Fausta. Maximian committed suicide shortly after the suppression of a revolt raised by him against Constantine.

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Philip II, 359-336 BC

Kingdom of Macedon, Macedonia, Philip II, 359-336 AV Stater (Gold, 8.62 g 11), Miletus, c. 323. Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. Charioteer, holding goad in his right hand and reins in his left, driving biga galloping to right. SNG ANS 317. Thompson 23. M. Thompson, Early Posthumous Issue Philip II Staters of Asia Minor, Studia Paulo Naster Oblata, pp. 58, 1. Rare. Interestingly enough, the obverse die used on this extremely rare issue from Miletus was later transferred and used in Magnesia.

History of coin subject "Philip II": 18th king of Macedonia (359-336 BC), king (basileus) of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. He restored internal peace to his country and then, by 339, had gained domination over all Greece by military and diplomatic means, thus laying the foundations for its expansion under his son Alexander III the Great. A posthumous Philip II Gold Stater. Philip II, King of Macedonia, 359-336 BC. Philip won the horseback race at the 106th Olympics in 356 BC, the quadriga race at the 107th in 352 BC, and the big race at the 108th in 348 BC, and so it may be Philip himself represented on his reverses, as the rider and charioteer.

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Severus Alexander, AD 222-235

SEVERUS ALEXANDER. 222-235 AD. AV Aureus (6.76g). Struck 224 AD. Obverse: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate and draped bust right; Reverse: P M TR P III-I COS P P, Alexander standing left, holding globe and spear.

History of coin subject "Severus Alexander ": Severus Alexander Roman emperor from AD 222 to 235, whose weak rule collapsed in the civil strife that engulfed the empire for the next 50 years. His maternal grandmother, Julia Maesa, was a sister-in-law of the emperor Septimius Severus (reigned 193-211). In 218 the legions in Syria proclaimed as emperor Alexander's 14-year-old cousin, Elagabalus (Heliogabalus), who was persuaded (221) to adopt Alexander as his heir. In March 222 the Praetorian Guard probably prompted by Julia Maesa and Alexander's mother, Julia Mamaea murdered Elagabalus. Alexander succeeded to power without incident. During his reign the real authority was held by his grandmother (until her death in 226) and his mother. The appointment of a regency council of 16 senators provided the Senate with nominal ruling power. Under this regime large sections of the civilian and military populace lost faith in the government at Rome and lapsed into lawlessness. In 224 the Praetorian Guards went so far as to murder their commander, Domitius Ulpianus, the chief minister of state and a distinguished jurist, in the presence of the emperor and his mother. Another member of the council, the historian Cassius Dio, had to open the year of his second consulate (229) outside Rome to avoid being murdered by the guard. But it was his incompetence as a military leader that was Alexander's undoing. In 230 and 231 the Persian king Ardash I invaded the Roman province of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq). Alexander launched a three-pronged counteroffensive (232) and was defeated when the force under his personal command failed to advance. But the heavy losses suffered by the Persians forced them to withdraw from Mesopotamia, thereby giving Alexander because he had maintained control of Mesopotamia an excuse to celebrate a triumph at Rome in 233. Shortly afterward the emperor was called to the Rhine (at Mainz in modern Germany) to fight the invading Germanic tribe of the Alemanni. When, on advice from his mother, he ended these operations by buying peace from the Germans, his army became indignant. Early in 235 the soldiers murdered Alexander and his mother and proclaimed Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus as emperor. Alexander was deified after Maximinus's death in 238.

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