GALLIENUS 267AD Alexandria Egypt Homonoia Authentic Ancient Roman Coin i55162

Description

Item:
i55162
Authentic Ancient  Coin of:
Gallienus - Roman Emperor: 253-268 A.D. -
Bronze 22mm (9.47 grams) of Alexandria in Egypt,  Dated RY 15, 267/268 A.D.
Reference:  Dattari 5247; Köln 2950; Milne 4165; Curtis 1605; Emmett  3816
ΑVΤ Κ Π ΛΙΚ ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝΟC CЄB, Laureate and cuirassed bust right.
Homonoia standing left, holding double cornucopia and raising hand; LIЄ (date)  in field to left; palm in field to right.
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You are bidding on the exact  item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime  Guarantee of Authenticity.
Homonoia was a minor goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind in  classical
Greek
culture.  Her opposite number was
Eris (Strife)
. She is associated with
Praxidike
the goddess of judicial
punishment
, the exacter of vengeance.  Praxidike's daughters were
Arete
(a goddess personifying
virtue
) and
Harmonia
(the very spirit of concord). As such  Homonoia was probably closely identified with the Theban Goddess-Queen
Harmonia
.
Alexandria was founded  by
Alexander the Great
in April 331 BC as
Ἀλεξάνδρεια
(
Alexándreia
).  Alexander's
chief architect
for the project was
Dinocrates
. Alexandria was intended to  supersede
Naucratis
as a
Hellenistic
center in Egypt, and to be the link  between Greece and the rich
Nile Valley
. An Egyptian city,
Rhakotis
, already existed on the shore, and  later gave its name to Alexandria in the
Egyptian language
(Egyptian
*Raˁ-Ḳāṭit
,  written
rˁ-ḳṭy.t
, 'That which is built up'). It continued to exist as the  Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left  Egypt and never returned to his city. After Alexander's departure, his viceroy,
Cleomenes
, continued the expansion. Following a  struggle with the other successors of Alexander, his general
Ptolemy
succeeded in bringing Alexander's body  to Alexandria.
Alexandria, sphinx made of
pink granite
,
Ptolemaic
.
Heptastadion and the mainland quarters seem to have been  primarily Ptolemaic work. Inheriting the trade of ruined
Tyre
and becoming the centre of the new  commerce between Europe and the
Arabian
and Indian East, the city grew in less  than a generation to be larger than
Carthage
. In a century, Alexandria had become  the largest city in the world and, for some centuries more, was second only to  Rome. It became Egypt's main Greek city, with
Greek people
from diverse backgrounds.
Alexandria was not only a centre of
Hellenism
, but was also home to the largest  Jewish community in the world. The
Septuagint
, a Greek translation of the
Hebrew Bible
, was produced there. The early  Ptolemies kept it in order and fostered the development of its museum into the  leading Hellenistic center of learning (
Library  of Alexandria
), but were careful to maintain the distinction of its  population's three largest ethnicities: Greek, Jewish, and
Egyptian
. From this division arose much of the  later turbulence, which began to manifest itself under
Ptolemy Philopater
who reigned from 221–204 BC.  The reign of
Ptolemy VIII Physcon
from 144–116 BC was marked  by purges and civil warfare..
The city passed formally under Roman jurisdiction in 80 BC, according to the  will of
Ptolemy Alexander
, but only after it had been  under Roman influence for more than a hundred years. It was captured by
Julius Caesar
in 47 BC during a Roman  intervention in the domestic civil war between king
Ptolemy XIII
and his advisers, and the fabled  queen
Cleopatra VII
. It was finally captured by
Octavian
, future
emperor
Augustus on 1 August 30 BC, with the  name of the month later being changed to
August
to commemorate his  victory.
Kitos War
, which gave
Hadrian
and his architect,
Decriannus
, an opportunity to rebuild it. In  215, the
emperor
Caracalla
visited the city and, because of some  insulting
satires
that the inhabitants had directed at  him, abruptly commanded his troops to
put to death
all youths capable of bearing  arms. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a
tsunami
(
365  Crete earthquake
), an event still annually commemorated 17 hundred  years later as a "day of horror." In the late 4th century, persecution of
pagans
by newly Christian Romans had reached  new levels of intensity. In 391, the Patriarch
Theophilus
destroyed all pagan temples in  Alexandria under orders from Emperor
Theodosius I
. The
Brucheum
and Jewish quarters were desolate in  the 5th century. On the mainland, life seemed to have centred in the vicinity of  the
Serapeum
and
Caesareum
, both of which became
Christian churches
. The
Pharos
and
Heptastadium
quarters,  however, remained populous and were left intact.
In 619, Alexandria
fell
to the
Sassanid Persians
. Although the
Byzantine Emperor
Heraclius
recovered it in 629, in 641 the Arabs  under the general
Amr ibn al-As
captured it during the
Muslim conquest of Egypt
, after a siege that  lasted 14 months.
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Gallienus
(
Latinin
:
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus Augustus
;  c. 218 – 268) was
Roman Emperor
with his father
Valerian
from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to  268. He ruled during the
Crisis of the Third Century
that nearly caused  the collapse of the empire. While he won a number of military victories, he was  unable to prevent the secession of important provinces.
Life
Rise to power
The exact birth date of Gallienus is unknown. The Greek chronicler
John Malalas
and the
Epitome de Caesaribus
report that he was about 50 years old at the time of his death, meaning he was  born around 218. He was the son of emperor
Valerian
and
Mariniana
, who may have been of senatorial  rank, possibly the daughter of
Egnatius Victor Marinianus
, and his brother was
Valerianus Minor
. Inscriptions on coins connect  him with
Falerii
in
Etruria
, which may have been his birthplace; it  has yielded many inscriptions relating to his mother's family, the Egnatii.
[3]
Gallienus married
Cornelia Salonina
about ten years before his  accession to the throne. She was the mother of three princes:
Valerian II
, who died in 258;
Saloninus
, who was named co-emperor but was  murdered in 260 by the army of general Postumus; and
Marinianus
, who was killed in 268, shortly  after his father was assassinated.
When
Valerian
was proclaimed Emperor on 22 October  253, he asked the
Senate
to ratify the elevation of Gallienus to  Caesar and
Augustus
. He was also designated
Consul Ordinarius
for 254. As
Marcus Aurelius
and his adopted brother
Lucius Verus
had done a century earlier,  Gallienus and his father divided the Empire. Valerian left for the East to stem  the Persian threat, and Gallienus remained in Italy to repel the Germanic tribes  on the
Rhine
and
Danube
.
Division of the empire
had become necessary due  to its sheer size and the numerous threats it faced, and it facilitated  negotiations with enemies who demanded to communicate directly with the emperor.
Early  reign and the revolt of Ingenuus
Gallienus spent most of his time in the provinces of the Rhine area (
Germania  Inferior
,
Germania Superior
,
Raetia
, and
Noricum
), though he almost certainly visited  the
Danube
area and
Illyricum
during 253 to 258. According to  Eutropius and Aurelius Victor, he was particularly energetic and successful in  preventing invaders from attacking the German provinces and Gaul, despite the  weakness caused by Valerian's march on Italy against
Aemilianus
in 253. According to numismatic  evidence, he seems to have won many victories there, and a victory in
Roman Dacia
might also be dated to that period.  Even the hostile Latin tradition attributes success to him at this time.
In 255 or 257, Gallienus was made Consul again, suggesting that he briefly  visited Rome on those occasions, although no record survives. During his Danube  sojourn (Drinkwater suggests in 255 or 256), he proclaimed his elder son
Valerian II
Caesar and thus official heir to  himself and Valerian I; the boy probably joined Gallienus on campaign at that  time, and when Gallienus moved west to the Rhine provinces in 257, he remained  behind on the Danube as the personification of Imperial authority.
Sometime between 258 and 260 (the exact date is unclear), while Valerian was  distracted with the ongoing invasion of Shapur in the East, and Gallienus was  preoccupied with his problems in the West,
Ingenuus
, governor of at least one of the  Pannonian provinces, took advantage and declared himself emperor. Valerian II  had apparently died on the Danube, most likely in 258. Ingenuus may have been  responsible for that calamity. Alternatively, the defeat and capture of Valerian  at the
battle of Edessa
may have been the trigger for  the subsequent revolts of Ingenuus,
Regalianus
, and
Postumus
. In any case, Gallienus reacted with  great speed. He left his son
Saloninus
as Caesar at
Cologne
, under the supervision of Albanus (or  Silvanus) and the military leadership of Postumus. He then hastily crossed the
Balkans
, taking with him the new cavalry corps  (
comitatus
) under the command of
Aureolus
and defeated Ingenuus at
Mursa
or
Sirmium
.The victory must be attributed mainly  to the cavalry and its brilliant commander. Ingenuus was killed by his own  guards or committed suicide by drowning himself after the fall of his capital,  Sirmium.
Invasion of the  Alamanni
A major invasion by the
Alemanni
and other Germanic tribes occurred  between 258 and 260 (it is hard to fix the precise date of these  events),probably due to the vacuum left by the withdrawal of troops supporting  Gallienus in the campaign against Ingenuus.
Franks
broke through the lower Rhine, invading
Gaul
, some reaching as far as southern Spain, sacking Tarraco (modern
Tarragona
).The Alamanni invaded, probably  through
Agri Decumates
(an area between the upper Rhine  and the upper Danube), likely followed by the
Juthungi
. After devastating Germania Superior  and Raetia (parts of southern
France
and
Switzerland
), they entered Italy, the first  invasion of the Italian peninsula, aside from its most remote northern regions,  since
Hannibal
500 years before. When invaders  reached the outskirts of Rome, they were repelled by an improvised army  assembled by the Senate, consisting of local troops (probably prǣtorian guards)  and the strongest of the civilian population.On their retreat through northern  Italy, they were intercepted and defeated in the
battle of Mediolanum
(near present day
Milan
) by Gallienus' army, which had advanced  from Gaul, or from the Balkans after dealing with the Franks.The battle of  Mediolanum was decisive, and the Alamanni didn't bother the empire for the next  ten years. The Juthungi managed to cross the Alps with their valuables and  captives from Italy. An historian in the 19th century suggested that the  initiative of the Senate gave rise to jealousy and suspicion by Gallienus, thus  contributing to his exclusion of senators from military commands.
The revolt of  Regalianus
Around the same time,
Regalianus
, a military commander of
Illyricum
, was proclaimed Emperor. The reasons  for this are unclear, and the
Historia Augusta
(almost the sole resource  for these events) does not provide a credible story. It is possible the seizure  can be attributed to the discontent of the civilian and military provincials,  who felt the defense of the province was being neglected.
Regalianus held power for some six months and issued coins bearing his image.  After some success against the
Sarmatians
, his revolt was put down by the  invasion of
Roxolani
into
Pannonia
, and Regalianus himself was killed  when the invaders took the city of
Sirmium
. There is a suggestion that Gallienus  invited Roxolani to attack Regalianus, but other historians dismiss the  accusation.It is also suggested that the invasion was finally checked by  Gallienus near
Verona
and that he directed the restoration of  the province, probably in person.
Capture of Valerian, revolt of Macrianus
In the East, Valerian was confronted with serious troubles. A band of
Scythians
set a naval raid against
Pontus
, in the northern part of modern Turkey.  After ravaging the province, they moved south into
Cappadocia
. Valerian led troops to intercept  them but failed, perhaps because of a plague that gravely weakened his army, as  well as the contemporary invasion of northern
Mesopotamia
by
Shapur I
, ruler of the
Sassanid Empire
.
In 259 or 260, the Roman army was defeated in the
Battle of Edessa
, and Valerian was taken  prisoner. Shapur's army raided
Cilicia
and
Cappadocia
(in present day
Turkey
), sacking, as Shapur's inscriptions  claim, 36 cities. It took a rally by an officer
Callistus
(Balista), a fiscal official named
Fulvius Macrianus
, the remains of the Eastern  Roman legions, and
Odenathus
and his
Palmyrene
horsemen to turn the tide against  Shapur. The Persians were driven back, but Macrianus proclaimed his two sons
Quietus
and
Macrianus
(sometimes misspelled Macrinus) as  emperors. Coins struck for them in major cities of the East indicate  acknowledgement of the usurpation. The two Macriani left Quietus, Ballista, and,  presumably, Odenathus to deal with the Persians while they invaded Europe with  an army of 30,000 men, according to the
Historia Augusta
. At first they  met no opposition. The Pannonian legions joined the invaders, being resentful of  the absence of Gallienus. He sent his successful commander Aureolus against the  rebels, however, and the decisive battle was fought in the spring or early  summer of 261, most likely in Illyricum, although
Zonaras
locates it in Pannonia. In any case,  the army of the usurpers surrendered, and their two leaders were killed.
In the aftermath of the battle, the rebellion of Postumus had already  started, so Gallienus had no time to deal with the rest of the usurpers, namely  Balista and Quietus. He came to an agreement with Odenathus, who had just  returned from his victorious Persian expedition. Odenathus received the title of
dux Romanorum
and besieged the usurpers, who were based at
Emesa
. Eventually, the people of Emesa killed  Quietus, and Odenathus arrested and executed Balista about November 261.
The revolt of Postumus
After the defeat at Edessa, Gallienus lost control over the provinces of  Britain, Spain, parts of Germania, and a large part of Gaul when another  general,
Postumus
, declared his own realm (usually known  today as the
Gallic Empire
). The revolt partially coincided  with that of
Macrianus
in the East. Gallienus had installed  his son Saloninus and his guardian,
Silvanus
, in Cologne in 258. Postumus, a  general in command of troops on the banks of the Rhine, defeated some raiders  and took possession of their spoils. Instead of returning it to the original  owners, he preferred to distribute it amongst his soldiers. When news of this  reached Silvanus, he demanded the spoils be sent to him. Postumus made a show of  submission, but his soldiers mutinied and proclaimed him Emperor. Under his  command, they besieged Cologne, and after some weeks the defenders of the city  opened the gates and handed Saloninus and Silvanus to Postumus, who had them  killed. The dating of these events is not accurate, but they apparently occurred  just before the end of 260. Postumus claimed the consulship for himself and one  of his associates, Honoratianus, but according to D.S. Potter, he never tried to  unseat Gallienus or invade Italy.
Upon receiving news of the murder of his son, Gallienus began gathering  forces to face Postumus. The invasion of the Macriani forced him to dispatch  Aureolus with a large force to oppose them, however, leaving him with  insufficient troops to battle Postumus. After some initial defeats, the army of  Aureolus, having defeated the Macriani, rejoined him, and Postumus was expelled.  Aureolus was entrusted with the pursuit and deliberately allowed Postumus to  escape and gather new forces. Gallienus returned in 263 or 265 and surrounded  Postumus in an unnamed Gallic city. During the siege, Gallenus was severely  wounded by an arrow and had to leave the field. The standstill persisted until  the death of Gallienus, and the
Gallic Empire
remained independent until 274.
The revolt of  Aemilianus
In 262, the mint in
Alexandria
started to again issue coins for  Gallienus, demonstrating that Egypt had returned to his control after  suppressing the revolt of the Macriani. In spring of 262, the city was wrenched  by civil unrest as a result of a new revolt. The rebel this time was the prefect  of Egypt,
Lucius Mussius Aemilianus
, who had already  given support to the revolt of the Macriani. The correspondence of bishop
Dionysius of Alexandria
provides a colourful  commentary on the sombre background of invasion, civil war, plague, and famine  that characterized this age.
Knowing he could not afford to lose control of the vital Egyptian granaries,  Gallienus sent his general Theodotus against Aemilianus, probably by a naval  expedition. The decisive battle probably took place near Thebes, and the result  was a clear defeat of Aemilianus. In the aftermath, Gallienus became Consul  three more times in 262, 264, and 266.
Herulian invasions, revolt of Aureolus, conspiracy and death
In the years 267–269, Goths and other barbarians invaded the empire in great  numbers. Sources are extremely confused on the dating of these invasions, the  participants, and their targets. Modern historians are not even able to discern  with certainty whether there were two or more of these invasions or a single  prolonged one. It seems that, at first, a major naval expedition was led by the
Heruli
starting from north of the
Black Sea
and leading in the ravaging of many  cities of Greece (among them,
Athens
and
Sparta
). Then another, even more numerous army  of invaders started a second naval invasion of the empire. The Romans defeated  the barbarians on sea first. Gallienus' army then won a battle in
Thrace
, and the Emperor pursued the invaders.  According to some historians, he was the leader of the army who won the great
Battle of Naissus
, while the majority believes  that the victory must be attributed to his successor,
Claudius II
.
In 268, at some time before or soon after the battle of Naissus, the  authority of Gallienus was challenged by
Aureolus
, commander of the cavalry stationed in
Mediolanum
(
Milan
),  who was supposed to keep an eye on
Postumus
. Instead, he acted as deputy to  Postumus until the very last days of his revolt, when he seems to have claimed  the throne for himself. The decisive battle took place at what is now
Pontirolo Nuovo
near Milan; Aureolus was  clearly defeated and driven back to Milan. Gallienus laid siege to the city but  was murdered during the siege. There are differing accounts of the murder, but  the sources agree that most of Gallienus' officials wanted him dead. According  to the
Historia Augusta
, an unreliable source compiled  long after the events it describes, a conspiracy was led by the commander of the  guard
Aurelius Heraclianus
and Marcianus.
Cecropius, commander of the Dalmatians, spread the word that the forces of  Aureolus were leaving the city, and Gallienus left his tent without his  bodyguard, only to be struck down by Cecropius.One version has Claudius selected  as Emperor by the conspirators, another chosen by Gallienus on his death bed;  the Historia Augusta was concerned to substantiate the descent of the
Constantinian dynasty
from Claudius, and this  may explain its accounts, which do not involve Claudius in the murder. The other  sources (
Zosimus
i.40 and
Zonaras
xii.25) report that the conspiracy was  organized by Heraclianus, Claudius, and
Aurelian
.
According to Aurelius Victor and Zonaras, on hearing the news that Gallienus  was dead, the Senate in Rome ordered the execution of his family (including his  brother Valerianus and son Marinianus) and their supporters, just before  receiving a message from Claudius to spare their lives and deify his  predecessor.
Arch of Gallienus
in Rome, 262 –  dedicated to, rather than built by, Gallienus.
Legacy
Gallienus was not treated favorably by ancient historians, partly due to the  secession of Gaul and
Palmyra
and his inability to win them back.  According to modern scholar Pat Southern, some historians now see him in a more  positive light.Gallienus produced some useful reforms. He contributed to  military history as the first to commission primarily
cavalry
units, the
Comitatenses
, that could be dispatched anywhere  in the Empire in short order. This reform arguably created a precedent for the  future emperors
Diocletian
and
Constantine I
.
The biographer
Aurelius Victor
reports that Gallienus forbade
senators
from becoming military commanders.  This policy undermined senatorial power, as more reliable
equestrian
commanders rose to prominence. In  Southern's view, these reforms and the decline in senatorial influence not only  helped Aurelian to salvage the Empire, but they also make Gallienus one of the  emperors most responsible for the creation of the
Dominate
, along with
Septimius Severus
, Diocletian, and Constantine  I.
By portraying himself with the attributes of the gods on his coinage,  Gallienus began the final separation of the Emperor from his subjects.A late  bust of Gallienus (see above) depicts him with a largely blank face, gazing  heavenward, as seen on the famous stone head of
Constantine I
. One of the last rulers of Rome  to be theoretically called "Princeps", or First Citizen, Gallienus' shrewd  self-promotion assisted in paving the way for those who would be addressed with  the words "Dominus et Deus" (Lord and God).
Antoninianus
issued to celebrate
LEG II ITAL VII P VII F
, "
Italica
Legio  II
seven  times faithful and loyal."
Antoninianus issued to celebrate
LEG III ITAL VI P VI F
,  "
Italica
Legio  III
six times  faithful and loyal."
Antoninianus issued to celebrate
LEG VII MAC VI P VI F
,  "
Macedonica
Legio  VII
six  times faithful and loyal."
Antoninianus issued to celebrate
LEG VII CLA VI P VI F
,  "
Claudia
Legio  VII
six
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