FAUSTINA II Marcus Aurelius Wife 161AD Pautalia Thrace Roman Coin TYCHE i52874

Description

Item:
i52874
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Faustina II
-
Roman Empress
& Wife of
Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
- 161-175 A.D. -
Bronze 20mm (5.51 grams) of
Pautalia
in
Thrace
Reference: Moushmov 4114
ΦAVCTEINA CEBACTH, draped bust right
OVΛΠIAC ΠAVTAΛIAC, Tyche standing left, turreted, with rudder & cornucopia.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Kyustendil
(
Bulgarian
:
Кюстендил
, historically
Велбъжд
,
Velbazhd
) is a town in the far west of
Bulgaria
, the capital of
Kyustendil Province
, with a population of 58,059 (2005 census). Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of
Sofia
. It was named after the medieval lord of the surrounding region,
Constantine Dragaš
.
A
Thracian
settlement was founded at the place of the modern town in the
5th
-4th century BC and the
Romans
developed it into an important stronghold, balneological resort and trade junction called
Pautalia
in the 1st century AD.
The
Hisarlaka
fortress was built in the 4th century and the town was mentioned under the
Slavic
name of
Velbazhd
(Велбъжд, meaning "camel") in a 1019 charter by the
Byzantine
Emperor
Basil II
. It became a major religious and administrative centre.
Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent was
Fortuna
) was the presiding
tutelary deity
that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period, cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a
mural crown
(a crown like the walls of the city).
The Greek historian
Polybius
believed that when no cause can be discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts or even in politics, then the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.
Stylianos Spyridakis  concisely expressed Tyche's appeal in a Hellenistic world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: "In the turbulent years of the
Epigoni of Alexander
, an awareness of the instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the vicissitudes of the time."
In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of
Hermes
and
Aphrodite
, or considered as one of the
Oceanids
, daughters of
Oceanus
and
Tethys
, or of
Zeus
. She was connected with
Nemesis
and
Agathos Daimon
("good spirit").
She was uniquely venerated at
Itanos
in Crete, as
Tyche Protogeneia
, linked with the Athenian
Protogeneia
("firstborn"), daughter of
Erechtheus
, whose self-sacrifice saved the city.
She had temples at
Caesarea Maritima
,
Antioch
,
Alexandria
and
Constantinople
. In
Alexandria
the
Tychaeon
, the temple of Tyche, was described by
Libanius
as one of the most magnificent of the entire Hellenistic world.
Tyche appears on many
coins
of the Hellenistic period in the three centuries before the Christian era, especially from cities in the Aegean. Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines of
Hellenistic romances
, such as
Leucippe and Clitophon
or
Daphnis and Chloe
. She experienced a resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly sanctioned
Paganism
, between the late-fourth-century emperors
Julian
and
Theodosius I
who definitively closed the temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability in philosophical circles during that generation, though among poets it was a commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.
In
medieval art
, she was depicted as carrying a
cornucopia
, an
emblematic
ship's rudder, and the
wheel of fortune
, or she may stand on the wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.
The constellation of
Virgo
is sometimes identified as the heavenly figure of Tyche, as well as other goddesses such as
Demeter
and
Astraea
.
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor
(
Minor
Latin for
the younger
),
Faustina Minor
or
Faustina the Younger
(
February 16
between 125 and 130-175) was a daughter of
Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius
and Roman Empress
Faustina the Elder
. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death.
//
Biography
Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and their second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in
Rome
.
Her great uncle, the Emperor
Hadrian
, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry
Lucius Verus
. On February 25, 138, she and Verus were betrothed.
Verus’ father
was Hadrian’s first adopted son and his intended heir. However when Verus’ father died, Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor. Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal to her maternal cousin,
Marcus Aurelius
; Aurelius was also adopted by her father. On May 13, 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius were married. When her father died on March 7, 161, her husband and Lucius Verus succeeded to her father’s throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the title of
Augusta
and became Empress.
Unfortunately, not much has survived from the Roman sources regarding Faustina's life, but what is available does not give a good report.
Cassius Dio
and the
Augustan History
accuse Faustina of ordering deaths by poison and execution; she has also been accused of instigating the revolt of
Avidius Cassius
against her husband. The
Augustan History
mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, and men of rank. However, Faustina and Aurelius seem to have been very close and mutually devoted. Her husband trusted her and defended her vigorously against detractors.
Faustina accompanied her husband on various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title of
Mater Castrorum
or
Mother of the Camp
. Between 170-174, she was in the north, and in 175, she accompanied Aurelius to the east. However, these experiences took their toll on Faustina, who died in the winter of 175, after an accident, at the military camp in Halala (a city in the
Taurus Mountains
in
Cappadocia
).
Aurelius grieved much for his wife and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her honor. Halala’s name was changed to
Faustinopolis
and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls called
Puellae Faustinianae
or 'Girls of Faustina'.
[1]
The Baths of Faustina in
Miletus
are named after her.
In their thirty years of marriage, Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children:
Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina
(147-after 165)
Gemellus Lucillae (died around 150), twin brother of Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria
Lucilla
(148/50-182), twin sister of Gemellus, married her father's co-ruler
Lucius Verus
Titus Aelius Antoninus (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Hadrianus (152-157)
Domitia Faustina (born after 150, died before 7 March 161)
Fadilla
(159-after 211)
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor
(160-after 211)
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (161-165), twin brother of Commodus
Commodus
(161-192), twin brother of Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
(162-169)
Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170-died before 217)
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