Commodus 187AD Alexandria Egypt Hermanubis Hermes Anubis Roman Coin NGC i61388

Description

Item:
i61388
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Commodus - Roman Emperor: 177-192 A.D.
Billon Tetradrachm 26mm of Alexandria in Egypt
Dated Regnal Year 28 of Marcus Aurelius, struck 187/188 A.D.
Reference:Köln 2229; Dattari (Savio) 3866; K&G 41.91; Emmett 2545.28
Certification:
NGC Ancients
VF  4252908-371
Laureate head right.
Hermanubis standing right, holding palm frond and caduceus; at his feet to left, jackal standing left, head right; LK H (date) across field.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
In
classical mythology
,
Hermanubis
(
Greek
: Ἑρμανοῦβις) was a god who combined
Hermes
(
Greek mythology
) with
Anubis
(
Egyptian mythology
). He is the son of
Set
and
Nephthys
.
Hermes' and Anubis's similar responsibilities (they were both
conductors of souls
) led to the god Hermanubis. He was popular during the period of
Roman domination
over
Egypt
. Depicted as having a human body and jackal head, with the sacred
caduceus
that belonged to the Greek god Hermes, he represented the Egyptian priesthood, engaged in the investigation of truth.
The divine name Ἑρμανοῦβις is known from a handful of epigraphic and literary sources, mostly of the Roman period. Plutarch cites the name as a designation of Anubis in his underworldly aspect, while
Porphyry
refers to Hermanubis as σύνθετος "composite" and μιξέλλην "half-Greek".
Although it was not common in traditional
Greek religion
to combine the names of two gods in this manner, the double determination of Hermanubis has some formal parallels in the earlier period. The most obvious is the god
Hermaphroditus
, attested from the fourth century BC onwards, but his name implies the paradoxical union of two different gods (Hermes and Aphrodite) rather than an assimilation in the manner of Hermanubis.
Commodus - Roman Emperor: 177-192 A.D.
Caesar
: 166-177 A.D. (under Marcus Aurelius) | (166-169/170 A.D. with Annius Verus) | (169/170-177 Alone) |
Augustus
: 177-192 A.D. (177-180 A.D. with Marcus Aurelius) (180-192 A.D. Sole Reign)
Son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior | Husband of Crispina | Brother of Annius Verus, Lucilla and Aurelius Antoninus | Grandson of Antoninus Pius and Faustina Senior |
Commodus
(
Latin
:
Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus
; 31 August, 161 AD – 31 December, 192 AD), was
Roman Emperor
from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father
Marcus Aurelius
from 177 until his father's death in 180.
His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since
Titus
succeeded
Vespasian
in 79. He was also the first Emperor to have both a father and grandfather as the two preceding Emperors. Commodus was the first (and until 337 the only) emperor "
born in the purple
"; i.e. during his father's reign.
Commodus was assassinated in 192.
Marcus Aurelius was the first emperor since
Vespasian
to have a biological son of his own and, though he himself was the fifth in the line of the so-called
Five Good Emperors
, each of whom had adopted his successor, it seems to have been his firm intention that Commodus should be his heir. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius granted Commodus the rank of
Imperator
and, in the middle of 177, the title
Augustus
, giving his son the same status as his own and formally sharing power.
On 23 December of the same year, the two Augusti celebrated a joint
triumph
, and Commodus was given
tribunician
power. On 1 January 177, Commodus became
consul
for the first time, which made him, aged 15, the youngest consul in Roman history up to that time. He subsequently married
Bruttia Crispina
before accompanying his father to the Danubian front once more in 178, where Marcus Aurelius died on 17 March 180, leaving the 18-year-old Commodus sole emperor.
Upon his accession Commodus devalued the
Roman currency
. He reduced the weight of the
denarius
from 96 per
Roman pound
to 105 (3.85 grams to 3.35 grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 79 percent to 76 percent – the silver weight dropping from 2.57 grams to 2.34 grams. In 186 he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74 percent and 2.22 grams respectively, being 108 to the Roman pound. His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since the empire's first devaluation during
Nero
's reign.
Whereas the reign of
Marcus Aurelius
had been marked by almost continuous warfare, that of Commodus was comparatively peaceful in the military sense but was marked by political strife and the increasingly arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself. In the view of
Dio Cassius
, a contemporary observer, his accession marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron" – a famous comment which has led some historians, notably
Edward Gibbon
, to take Commodus's reign as the beginning of the
decline of the Roman Empire
.
Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commodus's years in power are not well chronicled. The principal surviving literary sources are Dio Cassius (a contemporary and sometimes first-hand observer, but for this reign, only transmitted in fragments and abbreviations),
Herodian
and the
Historia Augusta
(untrustworthy for its character as a work of literature rather than history, with elements of fiction embedded within its biographies; in the case of Commodus, it may well be embroidering upon what the author found in reasonably good contemporary sources).
Commodus remained with the Danube armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. Unlike the preceding Emperors
Trajan
,
Hadrian
,
Antoninus Pius
and Marcus Aurelius, he seems to have had little interest in the business of administration and tended throughout his reign to leave the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning with
Saoterus
, a freedman from
Nicomedia
who had become his
chamberlain
.
Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs would lead to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. Nevertheless, though the
senatorial order
came to hate and fear him, the evidence suggests that he remained popular with the army and the common people for much of his reign, not least because of his lavish shows of largesse (recorded on his coinage) and because he staged and took part in spectacular
gladiatorial
combats.
One of the ways he paid for his donatives and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (
Senatus Populusque Romanus
) is provocatively reversed (
Populus Senatusque...
).
At the outset of his reign, Commodus, age 18, inherited many of his father's senior advisers, notably
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus
(the second husband of Commodus's sister
Lucilla
), his father-in-law
Gaius Bruttius Praesens
, Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio, and
Aufidius Victorinus
, who was
Prefect of the City of Rome
. He also had five surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. Four of his sisters were considerably older than he; the eldest, Lucilla, held the rank of
Augusta
as the widow of her first husband,
Lucius Verus
.
The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. Her motive is alleged to have been envy of the
Empress
Crispina. Her husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers,
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
(the consul of 167, who was also her first cousin) and
Appius Claudius Quintianus
, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered the theatre. They bungled the job and were seized by the emperor's bodyguard.
Quadratus and Quintianus were executed. Lucilla was exiled to
Capri
and later killed. Pompeianus retired from public life. One of the two
praetorian prefects
,
Tarrutenius Paternus
, had actually been involved in the conspiracy but was not detected at this time, and in the aftermath, he and his colleague
Sextus Tigidius Perennis
were able to arrange for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain.
Commodus took the loss of Saoterus badly, and Perennis now seized the chance to advance himself by implicating Paternus in a second conspiracy, one apparently led by
Publius Salvius Julianus
, who was the son of the jurist
Salvius Julianus
and was betrothed to Paternus's daughter. Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators.
Didius Julianus
, the future emperor, a relative of Salvius Julianus, was dismissed from the governorship of
Germania Inferior
.
Cleander
Perennis took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite in
Cleander
, a
Phrygian
freedman
who had married one of the emperor's mistresses, Demostratia. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. After those attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. Being physically strong, his chief interest was in sport: taking part in
horse racing
,
chariot racing
, and combats with beasts and men, mostly in private but also on occasion in public.
Dacia and Britain
Commodus was inaugurated in 183 as consul with Aufidius Victorinus for a colleague and assumed the title
Pius
. War broke out in
Dacia
: few details are available, but it appears two future contenders for the throne,
Clodius Albinus
and
Pescennius Niger
, both distinguished themselves in the campaign. Also, in
Britain
in 184, the governor
Ulpius Marcellus
re-advanced the Roman frontier northward to the
Antonine Wall
, but the
legionaries
revolted against his harsh discipline and acclaimed another legate, Priscus, as emperor.
Priscus refused to accept their acclamations, but Perennis had all the legionary
legates
in Britain
cashiered
. On 15 October 184 at the
Capitoline Games
, a
Cynic
philosopher publicly denounced Perennis before Commodus, who was watching, but was immediately put to death. According to Dio Cassius, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and generally administered the state well.
However, the following year, a detachment of soldiers from Britain (they had been drafted to
Italy
to suppress brigands) also denounced Perennis to the emperor as plotting to make his own son emperor (they had been enabled to do so by Cleander, who was seeking to dispose of his rival), and Commodus gave them permission to execute him as well as his wife and sons. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced as
governor of Britain
by
Pertinax
; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death.
Cleander's zenith and fall (185–190)
Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by becoming responsible for all public offices: he sold and bestowed entry to the Senate, army commands,
governorships
and, increasingly, even the
suffect consulships
to the highest bidder. Unrest around the empire increased, with large numbers of army deserters causing trouble in
Gaul
and
Germany
. Pescennius Niger mopped up the deserters in Gaul in a military campaign, and a revolt in
Brittany
was put down by two
legions
brought over from Britain.
In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, Maternus, came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March, but he was betrayed and executed. In the same year,
Pertinax
unmasked a conspiracy by two enemies of Cleander – Antistius Burrus (one of Commodus's brothers-in-law) and Arrius Antoninus. As a result, Commodus appeared even more rarely in public, preferring to live on his estates.
Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect,
Atilius Aebutianus
, and himself took over supreme command of the Praetorians at the new rank of
a pugione
("dagger-bearer") with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls – a record in the 1000-year history of the Roman consulship—all appointed by Cleander (they included the future Emperor
Septimius Severus
).
In the spring of 190, Rome was afflicted by a food shortage, for which the
praefectus annonae
Papirius Dionysius
, the official actually in charge of the
grain supply
, contrived to lay the blame on Cleander. At the end of June, a mob demonstrated against Cleander during a horse race in the
Circus Maximus
: he sent the praetorian guard to put down the disturbances, but Pertinax, who was now City Prefect of Rome, dispatched the
Vigiles Urbani
to oppose them. Cleander fled to Commodus, who was at
Laurentum
in the house of the
Quinctilii
, for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head.
At the urging of his mistress
Marcia
, Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. Other victims at this time were the praetorian prefect Julius Julianus, Commodus's cousin
Annia Fundania Faustina
, and his brother-in-law Mamertinus. Papirius Dionysius was executed too.
The emperor now changed his name to Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At 29, he took over more of the reins of power, though he continued to rule through a cabal consisting of Marcia, his new chamberlain Eclectus, and the new praetorian prefect
Quintus Aemilius Laetus
, who about this time also had many Christians freed from working in the mines in
Sardinia
. Marcia, the widow of Quadratus, who had been executed in 182, is alleged to have been a Christian.
Megalomania (190–192)
In opposition to the Senate, in his pronouncements and
iconography
, Commodus had always laid stress on his unique status as a source of god-like power, liberality and physical prowess. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of
Hercules
, reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector and a battler against beasts and men (see "Commodus and Hercules" and "Commodus the Gladiator" below). Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son of
Jupiter
, the representative of the supreme god of the Roman
pantheon
. These tendencies now increased to
megalomaniac
proportions. Far from celebrating his descent from Marcus Aurelius, the actual source of his power, he stressed his own personal uniqueness as the bringer of a new order, seeking to re-cast the empire in his own image.
During 191, the city of Rome was extensively damaged by a fire that raged for several days, during which many public buildings including the
Temple of Pax
, the
Temple of Vesta
and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed.
Perhaps seeing this as an opportunity, early in 192 Commodus, declaring himself the new
Romulus
, ritually re-founded Rome, renaming the city
Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana
. All the months of the year were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names:
Lucius
,
Aelius
,
Aurelius
,
Commodus
,
Augustus
,
Herculeus
,
Romanus
,
Exsuperatorius
,
Amazonius
,
Invictus
,
Felix
,
Pius
. The legions were renamed
Commodianae
, the fleet which imported grain from
Africa
was termed
Alexandria Commodiana Togata
, the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name
Commodianus
, and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called
Dies Commodianus
.
Thus he presented himself as the fountainhead of the Empire and Roman life and religion. He also had the head of the
Colossus of Nero
adjacent to the
Colosseum
replaced with his own portrait, gave it a club and placed a
bronze
lion
at its feet to make it look like Hercules, and added an inscription boasting of being "the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times one thousand men".
Character and physical prowess
Character and motivations
Dio Cassius, a first-hand witness, describes him as "not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature."
His recorded actions do tend to show a rejection of his father’s policies, his father’s advisers, and especially his father’s austere lifestyle, and an alienation from the surviving members of his family. It seems likely that he was brought up in an atmosphere of
Stoic
asceticism
, which he rejected entirely upon his accession to sole rule. After repeated attempts on Commodus' life,
Roman citizens
were often killed for raising his ire. One such notable event was the attempted extermination of the house of the Quinctilii. Condianus and Maximus were executed on the pretext that, while they were not implicated in any plots, their wealth and talent would make them unhappy with the current state of affairs.
Changes of name
On his accession as sole ruler, Commodus added the name Antoninus to his official nomenclature. In October 180 he changed his
praenomen
from Lucius to Marcus, presumably in honour of his father. He later took the title of
Felix
in 185. In 191 he restored his
praenomen
to Lucius and added the family name Aelius, apparently linking himself to Hadrian and Hadrian's adopted son
Lucius Aelius Caesar
, whose original name was also Commodus.
Later that year he dropped Antoninus and adopted as his full style Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Herculeus Romanus Exsuperatorius Amazonius Invictus Felix Pius (the order of some of these titles varies in the sources). "Exsuperatorius" (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and "Amazonius" identified him again with Hercules.
An inscribed altar from
Dura-Europos
on the Euphrates shows that Commodus's titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the furthest reaches of the Empire; moreover, that even auxiliary military units received the title Commodiana, and that Commodus claimed two additional titles:
Pacator Orbis
(pacifier of the world) and
Dominus Noster
(Our Lord). The latter eventually would be used as a conventional title by Roman emperors, starting about a century later, but Commodus seems to have been the first to assume it.
Commodus and Hercules
Disdaining the more philosophic inclinations of his father, Commodus was extremely proud of his physical prowess. He was generally acknowledged to be extremely handsome. As mentioned above, he ordered many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lion's hide and a club. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, frequently emulating the legendary hero's feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals. He was left-handed, and very proud of the fact. Cassius Dio and the writers of the
Augustan History
say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads off
ostriches
in full gallop, and kill a
panther
as it attacked a victim in the arena.
Commodus the gladiator
Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the
arena
himself, dressed as a gladiator. The Romans found Commodus's naked gladiatorial combats to be scandalous and disgraceful. It was rumoured that he was actually the son, not of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator whom his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort of
Caieta
.
In the arena, Commodus always won since his opponents always submitted to the emperor. Thus, these public fights would not end in death. Privately, it was his custom to slay his practice opponents. For each appearance in the arena, he charged the city of Rome a million
sesterces
, straining the Roman economy.
Commodus raised the ire of many military officials in Rome for his Hercules persona in the arena. Often, wounded soldiers and amputees would be placed in the arena for Commodus to slay with a sword. Commodus's eccentric behaviour would not stop there. Citizens of Rome missing their feet through accident or illness were taken to the arena, where they were tethered together for Commodus to club to death while pretending they were giants. These acts may have contributed to his assassination.
Commodus was also known for fighting exotic animals in the arena, often to the horror of the Roman people. According to Gibbon, Commodus once killed 100 lions in a single day. Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart and afterwards carried the bleeding head of the dead bird and his sword over to the section where the Senators sat and gesticulated as though they were next. On another occasion, Commodus killed three
elephants
on the floor of the arena by himself. Finally, Commodus killed a
giraffe
, which was considered to be a strange and helpless beast.
In November 192 Commodus held Plebian Games, in which he shot hundreds of animals with arrows and javelins every morning, and fought as a gladiator every afternoon, winning all the bouts. In December he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January.
At this point, the prefect Laetus formed a conspiracy with Eclectus to supplant Commodus with Pertinax, taking Marcia into their confidence. On 31 December Marcia poisoned his food but he vomited up the poison; so the conspirators sent his wrestling partner
Narcissus
to strangle him in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a
de facto
damnatio memoriae
) and restored the original name to the city of Rome and its institutions. Commodus's statues were thrown down. His body was buried in the
Mausoleum of Hadrian
. In 195 the emperor
Septimius Severus
, trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commodus's memory and had the Senate deify him.
Commodus was succeeded by
Pertinax
, whose reign was short lived, being the first to fall victim to the
Year of the Five Emperors
. Commodus's death marked the end of the
Nervan-Antonian dynasty
.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mr. Ilya Zlobin, world-renowned expert numismatist, enthusiast, author and dealer in authentic ancient Greek, ancient Roman, ancient Byzantine, world coins & more.
Who am I dealing with?
You are dealing with Ilya Zlobin, ancient coin expert, enthusiast, author and dealer with an online store having a selection of over 15,000 items with great positive feedback from verified buyers and over 10 years experience dealing with over 57,000 ancient and world coins and artifacts. Ilya Zlobin is an independent individual who has a passion for coin collecting, research and understanding the importance of the historical context and significance all coins and objects represent. Most others are only concerned with selling you, Ilya Zlobin is most interested in educating you on the subject, and providing the largest selection, most professional presentation and service for the best long-term value for collectors worldwide creating returning patrons sharing in the passion of ancient and world coin collecting for a lifetime.
How long until my order is shipped?
Orders are shipped by the next business day (after receipt of payment) most of the time.
How will I know when the order was shipped?
After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that date could be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date. Any tracking number would be found under your 'Purchase history' tab.
USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S. International shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country to country.
Standard international mail to many countries
does not
include a tracking number, and can also be slow sometimes.
For a tracking number and signature confirmation, you may want to do Express Mail International Shipping, which costs more, however, is the fastest and most secure. Additionally you may be able to receive your order in as little as 3-5 business days using this method. For Express Mail International, it may be possible to place up to 10-15 items in one package (for the one shipping cost) as it is flat rate envelope, which may be the most cost-effective, secure and fastest way to receive items internationally. Send me a message about this and I can update your invoice should you want this method.
Getting your order to you, quickly and securely is a top priority and is taken seriously here.
Great care is taken in packaging and mailing every item securely and quickly.
Please be aware, I cannot take responsibility for any postal service delivery delays, especially for international packages as it may happen in rare instances.
What is a certificate of authenticity and what guarantees do you give that the item is authentic?
Each of the items sold here, is provided with a Certificate of Authenticity, and a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity, issued by a world-renowned numismatic and antique expert that has identified over 57,000 ancient coins and has provided them with the same guarantee. You will be very happy with what you get with the COA; a professional presentation of the coin, with all of the relevant information and a picture of the coin you saw in the listing. Additionally, the coin is inside it's own protective coin flip (holder), with a 2x2 inch description of the coin matching the individual number on the COA.
On the free-market such a presentation alone, can be considered a - value all in itself, and it comes standard with your purchases from me,
FREE.
With every purchase, you are leveraging my many years of experience to get a more complete context and understanding of the piece of history you are getting. Whether your goal is to collect or give the item as a gift, coins presented like this could be more prized and valued higher than items that were not given such care and attention to.
Buy a coin today and own a piece of history, guaranteed.
Is there a money back guarantee?
I offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee. I stand behind my coins and would be willing to exchange your order for either store credit towards other coins, or refund, minus shipping expenses, within 30 days from the receipt of your order. My goal is to have the returning customers for a lifetime, and I am so sure in my coins, their authenticity, numismatic value and beauty, I can offer such a guarantee.
Is there a number I can call you with questions about my order?
You can contact me directly via ask seller a question and request my telephone number, or go to my About Me Page to get my contact information only in regards to items purchased on eBay.
When should I leave feedback?
Once you receive your order, please leave a positive feedback. Please don't leave any negative feedbacks, as it happens sometimes that people rush to leave feedback before letting sufficient time for their order to arrive. Also, if you sent an email, make sure to check for my reply in your messages before claiming that you didn't receive a response. The matter of fact is that any issues can be resolved, as reputation is most important to me. My goal is to provide superior products and quality of service.
How and where do I learn more about collecting ancient coins?
Visit the "Guide on How to Use My Store" for on an overview about using my store, with additional information and links to all other parts of my store which may include educational information on topics you are looking for.
You may also want to do a YouTube search for the term "ancient coin collecting" for educational videos on this topic.