CARACALLA 198AD Stobi Macedonia Nike Victory Authentic Ancient Roman Coin i51586

Description

Item:
i51586
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Caracalla
-
Roman Emperor
: 198-217 A.D. -
Bronze 24mm (6.65 grams) of
Stobi
in
Macedonia
A C M AVR ANTONINVS, Laureate head right.
MVNICIPI STOBE, Nike (Victory)  standing on globe left, holding wreath and palm branch.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,  provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of  Authenticity.
In
Greek mythology
,
Nike
was a
goddess
who personified
victory
, also known as the Winged Goddess of  Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria
. Depending upon the time of various  myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas
(Titan) and
Styx
(Water) and the sister of
Kratos
(Strength),
Bia
(Force), and
Zelus
(Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close  companions of
Zeus
, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon
. According to classical (later)  myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when
the  god was assembling allies for the
Titan War
against the older deities. Nike  assumed the role of the divine
charioteer
, a role in which she often is  portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the  victors with glory and fame.
Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged  deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is  the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance  of
Athena
, and is thought to have stood in  Athena's outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.  Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.
Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas
, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas,  Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.
Caracalla 198-217 A.D.
Caesar:  195-198 A.D. (under
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Septimius Severus
)
Augustus: 198-217 A.D. (198-209 A.D. with
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Septimius Severus
) (209-211 A.D. with
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Septimius Severus
and
Geta
) (211 A.D. with
Geta
) (211-217 A.D. Sole Reign)
Son of
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Septimius Severus
and
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Julia Domna
| Brother of
Geta
| Husband of
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Plautilla
="">
| Nephew of
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Julia Maesa
="">
| Cousin of
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Julia Soaemias
and
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Julia Mamaea
|
Caracalla
(
Latin
:
Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus
;4  April 188 – 8 April 217) was
Roman emperor
from 198 to 217 The eldest son of
Septimius Severus
, for a short time he ruled  jointly with his younger brother
Geta
until he had him murdered in 211.  Caracalla is remembered as one of the most notorious and unpleasant of emperors  because of the massacres and persecutions he authorized and instigated  throughout the Empire.
Caracalla's reign was also notable for the
Constitutio Antoniniana
(also called the  Edict of Caracalla), granting
Roman citizenship
to all freemen throughout the
Roman Empire
, which according to historian
Cassius Dio
, was done for the purposes of  raising tax revenue. He is also one of the emperors who commissioned a large  public bath-house (
thermae
)  in Rome. The remains of the
Baths of Caracalla
are still one of the major  tourist attractions of the Italian capital.
Early life
Caracalla, of mixed
Punic
–
Roman
and
Syrian
descent, was born Lucius Septimius  Bassianus in
Lugdunum
,
Gaul
(now
Lyon
,
France
), the son of the later Emperor Septimius  Severus and
Julia Domna
. At the age of seven, his name was  changed to Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus to create a connection  to the family of the philosopher emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. He was later given the
Caracalla
nickname
,  which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore and which he made  fashionable.
Reign (211)
Murder of brother  (211)
His father died in 211 at
Eboracum
(now
York
) while on campaign in northern Britain. Caracalla was present  and was then proclaimed emperor by the troops along with his brother
Publius Septimius Antoninus Geta
. Caracalla  suspended the
campaign in Caledonia
and soon ended all  military activity, as both brothers wanted to be sole ruler thus making  relations between them increasingly hostile. When they tried to rule the Empire  jointly they actually considered dividing it in halves, but were persuaded not  to do so by their mother.
Then in December 211 at a reconciliation meeting arranged by their mother  Julia, Caracalla had Geta assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard loyal  to himself, Geta dying in his mother's arms. Caracalla then persecuted and  executed most of Geta's supporters and ordered a
damnatio memoriae
pronounced by the Senate  against his brother's memory.
Geta's image was simply removed from all coinage, paintings and statues,  leaving a blank space next to Caracalla's. Among those executed were his former  cousin-wife
Fulvia Plautilla
, his unnamed daughter with  Plautilla along with her brother and other members of the family of his former  father-in-law
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
. Plautianus had  already been executed for alleged treachery against emperor Severus in 205.
About the time of his accession he ordered the
Roman currency
devalued, the silver purity of  the
denarius
was decreased from 56.5% to 51.5%, the  actual silver weight dropping from 1.81 grams to 1.66 grams – though the overall  weight slightly increased. In 215 he introduced the
antoninianus
, a "double denarius" weighing  5.1 grams and containing 2.6 grams of silver – a purity of 52%.
In the Roman provinces
In 213, Caracalla went north to the German frontier to deal with the
Alamanni
tribesmen who were raiding in the
Agri Decumates
. The Romans did defeat the  Alamanni in battle near the river
Main
, but failed to win a decisive victory over  them. After a peace agreement was brokered and a large bribe payment given to  the invaders, the Senate conferred upon him the empty title of
Germanicus  Maximus
. He also acquired the surname
Alemannicus
at this time. The  following year the tyrant traveled to the East, to Syria and Egypt never to  return to Rome.
Gibbon
in his work describes Caracalla as "the  common enemy of mankind". He left the capital in 213, about a year after the  murder of Geta, and spent the rest of his reign in the provinces, particularly  those of the East. He kept the Senate and other wealthy families in check by  forcing them to construct, at their own expense, palaces, theaters, and places  of entertainment throughout the periphery. New and heavy taxes were levied  against the bulk of the population, with additional fees and confiscations  targeted at the wealthiest families.
When the inhabitants of
Alexandria
heard Caracalla's claims that he had  killed Geta in self-defense, they produced a satire mocking this as well as  Caracalla's other pretensions. In 215, Caracalla savagely responded to this  insult by slaughtering the deputation of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly  assembled before the city to greet his arrival, and then unleashed his troops  for several days of looting and plunder in Alexandria. According to historian  Cassius Dio, over 20,000 people were killed.
[
citation  needed
]
Domestic Roman policy
Affiliation with  the army
During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the annual pay of an average  legionary to 675
denarii
and lavished many benefits on the  army which he both feared and admired, as instructed by his father Septimius  Severus who had told him on his deathbed to always mind the soldiers and ignore  everyone else. Caracalla did manage to win the trust of the military with  generous pay rises and popular gestures, like marching on foot among the  ordinary soldiers, eating the same food, and even grinding his own flour with  them.
With the soldiers, "He forgot even the proper dignity of his rank,  encouraging their insolent familiarity," according to Gibbon. "The vigour of the  army, instead of being confirmed by the severe discipline of the camps, melted  away in the luxury of the cities."
His official portraiture marks a break with the detached images of the  philosopher–emperors who preceded him: his close-cropped haircut is that of a  soldier, his pugnacious scowl a realistic and threatening presence. This rugged  soldier–emperor iconic archetype was adopted by most of the following emperors  who depended on the support of the troops to rule, like his eventual successor
Maximinus Thrax
.
Seeking to secure his own legacy, Caracalla also commissioned one of Rome's  last major architectural achievements, the
Baths of Caracalla
, the 2nd largest public  baths ever built in ancient Rome. The main room of the baths was larger than
St. Peter's Basilica
, and could easily  accommodate over 2,000 Roman citizens at one time. The bath house opened in 216,  complete with libraries, private rooms and outdoor tracks. Internally it was  lavishly decorated with gold-trimmed marble floors, columns, mosaics and  colossal statuary.
Edict of  Caracalla (212)
The
Constitutio Antoniniana
(Latin: "Constitution  [or Edict] of Antoninus") (also called
Edict of Caracalla
) was an edict  issued in 212 by Caracalla which declared that all free men in the Roman Empire  were to be given full Roman citizenship and all free women in the Empire were  given the same rights as Roman women.
Before 212, for the most part only inhabitants of Italia held full Roman  citizenship. Colonies of Romans established in other provinces, Romans (or their  descendants) living in provinces, the inhabitants of various cities throughout  the Empire, and small numbers of local nobles (such as kings of client  countries) held full citizenship also. Provincials, on the other hand, were  usually non-citizens, although many held the
Latin Right
.
The Roman Historian
Cassius Dio
contended that the sole motivation  for the edict was a desire to increase state revenue.At the time aliens did not  have to pay most taxes that were required of citizens, so although nominally  Caracalla was elevating their legal status, he was more importantly expanding  the Roman tax base. The effect of this was to remove the distinction that  citizenship had held since the foundation of Rome and as such the act had a  profound effect upon the fabric of Roman society.
War with Parthia
According to the historian Herodian, in 216, Caracalla tricked the Parthians  into believing that he accepted a marriage and peace proposal, but then had the  bride and guests slaughtered after the wedding celebrations. The thereafter  ongoing conflict and skirmishes became known as the
Parthian war of Caracalla
.
Assassination (217)
The Roman Empire during the reign of Caracalla.
While travelling from
Edessa
to continue the war with
Parthia
, he was assassinated while urinating at  a roadside near
Carrhae
on 8 April 217 (4 days after his 29th  birthday), by Julius Martialis, an officer of his personal bodyguard.
Herodian
says that Martialis' brother had been  executed a few days earlier by Caracalla on an unproven charge; Cassius Dio, on  the other hand, says that Martialis was resentful at not being promoted to the  rank of centurion. The escort of the emperor gave him privacy to relieve  himself, and Martialis then ran forward and killed Caracalla with a single sword  stroke. While attempting to flee, the bold assassin was then quickly dispatched  by a Scythian archer of the Imperial Guard.
Caracalla was succeeded by his
Praetorian Guard Prefect
,
Macrinus
, who (according to Herodian) was most  probably responsible for having the emperor assassinated.
His nickname
According to
Aurelius Victor
in his
Epitome de Caesaribus
,  the
agnomen
"Caracalla" refers to a Gallic
cloak
that Caracalla adopted as a personal  fashion, which spread to his army and his court. Cassius Dio and the
Historia Augusta
agree that his nickname  was derived from his cloak, but do not mention its country of origin.
Legendary king of  Britain
Geoffrey of Monmouth
's legendary
History of the Kings of Britain
makes  Caracalla a king of Britain, referring to him by his actual name "Bassianus",  rather than the nickname Caracalla. In the story, after Severus's death the  Romans wanted to make Geta king of Britain, but the Britons preferred Bassianus  because he had a British mother. The two brothers fought a battle in which Geta  was killed and Bassianus succeeded to the throne. He ruled until he was betrayed  by his
Pictish
allies and overthrown by
Carausius
, who, according to Geoffrey, was a  Briton, rather than the historically much later
Menapian
Gaul that he actually was.
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