SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 193AD Thrace Coela GALLEY SHIP Ancient Roman Coin i48732

Description

Item:
i48732
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
<="" font="" color="#000000">
Septimius Severus
-
Roman Emperor
: 193-211 A.D. -="">
Bronze 18mm (3.44 grams) of
Coela in
Thrace
Reference: Moushmov 5569
Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
AEL MVNICIPI CVILA, prow right with corn ears (or palm branches) above and dolphin swimming right below.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
A
galley
is a type of
ship
propelled by
rowers
that originated in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea
and was used for
warfare
,
trade
and
piracy
from the first millennium BC. Galleys dominated
naval warfare
in the Mediterranean from the 8th century BC until development of advanced sailing warships in the 17th century. Galleys fought in the wars of
Assyria
, ancient
Phoenicia
,
Greece
,
Carthage
and
Rome
until the 4th century AD. After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
galleys formed the mainstay of the
Byzantine navy
and other navies of successors of the Roman Empire, as well as new
Muslim
navies. Medieval Mediterranean states, notably the Italian maritime republics, including
Venice
,
Pisa
,
Genoa
and the
Ottoman Empire
relied on them as the primary warships of their fleets until the 17th century, when they were gradually replaced by sailing warships. Galleys continued to be applied in minor roles in the Mediterranean and the
Baltic Sea
even after the introduction of
steam propelled
ships in the early 19th century.
The galley engagements at
Actium
and
Lepanto
are among the greatest
naval battles
in history.
Coela was located on the eastern part of the Thracian Chersonese, known in modern times as the Gallipoli Peninsula. It struck coins during times of Alexander the Great and later issued coins under the ancient Romans (known as Roman Provincial or Greek Imperial coins.
The
Gallipoli
peninsula
(
Turkish
:
Gelibolu
Yarımadası
;
Greek
:
Καλλίπολη
) is located in Turkish Thrace (or
East Thrace
), the European part of
Turkey
, with the
Aegean Sea
to the west and the
Dardanelles
strait to the east.
Gallipoli derives its name from the
Greek
"Καλλίπολις" (
Kallipolis
), meaning "Beautiful City". In
antiquity
, it was known as the
Thracian Chersonese
, from
Greek
:
Θρακική Χερσόνησος
(
Latin
:
Chersonesus Thracica
).
The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the
Aegean Sea
, between the Hellespont (now known as the
Dardanelles
) and the bay of Melas (today
Saros bay
). Near
Agora
it was protected by a wall running across its full breadth. The isthmus traversed by the wall was only 36
stadia
in breadth (about 6.5 km), but the length of the peninsula from this wall to its southern extremity, Cape Mastusia, was 420 stadia (about 77.5 km).
Thrace
(demonym
Thracian
;
Bulgarian
:
Тракия,
Trakiya
,
Greek
:
Θράκη,
Thráki
,
Turkish
:
Trakya
) is a historical and geographic area in southeast
Europe
. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the
Balkan Mountains
on the north,
Rhodope Mountains
and the
Aegean Sea
on the south, and by the
Black Sea
and the
Sea of Marmara
on the east. The areas it comprises are southeastern
Bulgaria
(
Northern Thrace
), northeastern
Greece
(
Western Thrace
), and the European part of
Turkey
(
Eastern Thrace
). The biggest part of Thrace is part of present-day Bulgaria. In Turkey, it is also called
Rumelia
. The name comes from the
Thracians
, an ancient
Indo-European
people inhabiting Southeastern Europe.
The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. Noteworthy is the fact that, at an early date, the
ancient Greeks
employed the term "Thrace" to refer to all of the territory which lay north of
Thessaly
inhabited by the
Thracians
, a region which "had no definite boundaries" and to which other regions (like
Macedonia
and even
Scythia
) were added. In one ancient Greek source, the very Earth is divided into "Asia, Libya, Europa and Thracia". As the knowledge of world geography of the Greeks broadened, the term came to be more restricted in its application: Thrace designated the lands bordered by the
Danube
on the north, by the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) on the east, by northern
Macedonia
in the south and by the
Illyrian
lands (i.e.
Illyria
) to the west. This largely coincided with the Thracian
Odrysian kingdom
, whose borders varied in time. During this time, specifically after the Macedonian conquest, the region's old border with Macedonia was shifted from the
Struma River
to the
Mesta River
. This usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, (classical) Thrace referred only to the tract of land largely covering the same extent of space as the modern geographical region. In its early period, the
Roman province of Thrace
was of this extent, but after the administrative reforms of the late 3rd century, Thracia's much reduced territory became the six small provinces which constituted the
Diocese of Thrace
. The medieval
Byzantine
theme
of
Thrace
contained only what today is
Eastern Thrace
.
The largest cities of Thrace are:
İstanbul
(European side),
Plovdiv
,
Burgas
,
Stara Zagora
,
Haskovo
,
Edirne
,
Çorlu
and
Tekirdag
.
Most of the Bulgarian and Greek population are Christians, while most of the Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Muslims.
The Roman province of Thrace
Thrace in ancient Greek mythology
Ancient Greek mythology
provides them with a mythical ancestor, named
Thrax
, son of the war-god
Ares
, who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in
Homer
's
Iliad
as
Trojan
allies, led by
Acamas
and
Peiros
. Later in the
Iliad
,
Rhesus
, another Thracian king, makes an appearance.
Cisseus
, father-in-law to the Trojan elder
Antenor
, is also given as a Thracian king. Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River
Axios
in the west to the
Hellespont
and
Black Sea
in the east. The
Catalogue of Ships
mentions three separate contingents from Thrace: Thracians led by Acamas and Peiros, from
Aenus
;
Cicones
led by
Euphemus
, from southern Thrace, near
Ismaros
; and from the city of
Sestus
, on the Thracian (northern) side of the Hellespont, which formed part of the contingent led by
Asius
. Greek mythology is replete with Thracian kings, including
Diomedes
,
Tereus
,
Lycurgus
,
Phineus
,
Tegyrius
,
Eumolpus
,
Polymnestor
,
Poltys
, and
Oeagrus
(father of
Orpheus
). In addition to the tribe that Homer calls Thracians, ancient Thrace was home to numerous other tribes, such as the
Edones
,
Bisaltae
,
Cicones
, and
Bistones
.
Thrace is also mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses in the episode of
Philomela
, Procne, and
Tereus
. Tereus, the King of Thrace, lusts after his sister-in-law, Philomela. He kidnaps her, holds her captive, rapes her, and cuts out her tongue. Philomela manages to get free, however. She and her sister, Procne, plot to get revenge, by killing Itys (son of Tereus and Procne) and serving him to his father for dinner. At the end of the myth, all three turn into birds—Procne, a swallow; Philomela, a nightingale; and Tereus, a
hoopoe
.
History
Ancient history
The indigenous population of Thrace was a people called the
Thracians
, divided into numerous tribal groups. Thracian troops were known to accompany neighboring ruler
Alexander the Great
when he crossed the
Hellespont
which abuts Thrace, and took on the
Persian Empire
of the day.
The Thracians did not describe themselves as such and
Thrace
and
Thracians
are simply the names given them by the Greeks.
Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not manage to form a lasting political organization until the
Odrysian state
was founded in the 4th century BC. Like
Illyrians
, Thracian tribes of the mountainous regions fostered a locally ruled warrior tradition, while the tribes based in the plains were purportedly more peaceable. Recently discovered funeral mounds in Bulgaria suggest that Thracian kings did rule regions of Thrace with distinct Thracian national identity.
During this period, a subculture of
celibate
ascetics
called the
Ctistae
lived in Thrace, where they served as philosophers, priests and prophets.
Medieval history
By the mid 5th century, as the Roman Empire began to crumble, Thracia fell from the authority of Rome and into the hands of Germanic tribal rulers. With the fall of Rome, Thracia turned into a battleground territory for the better part of the next 1,000 years. The eastern successor of the
Roman Empire
in the Balkans, the
Byzantine Empire
, retained control over Thrace until the 8th century when the northern half of the entire region was incorporated into the
First Bulgarian Empire
. Byzantium regained Thrace in the late 10th century and administered it as a
theme
, until the Bulgarians regained control of the northern half at the end of the 12th century. Throughout the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, the region was changing in the hands of the Bulgarian and the Byzantine Empire(excl. Constantinopole). In 1265 the area suffered a Mongol raid from the
Golden Horde
, led by
Nogai Khan
. In 1352, the
Ottoman
Turks
conducted their first incursion into the region subduing it completely within a matter of two decades and occupying it for five centuries.
L
ucius Septimius Severus
(or rarely
Severus I
) (April 11, 145/146-February 4, 211) was a
Roman
general, and
Roman Emperor
from April 14, 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the
Berber
part of Rome's historic
Africa Province
.
Septimius Severus was born and raised at
Leptis Magna
(modern
Berber
, southeast of
Carthage
, modern
Tunisia
). Severus came from a wealthy, distinguished family of
equestrian
rank. Severus was of
Italian
Roman ancestry on his mother's side and of
Punic
or
Libyan
-Punic ancestry on his father's. Little is known of his father,
Publius Septimius Geta
, who held no major political status but had two cousins who served as consuls under emperor
Antoninus Pius
. His mother, Fulvia Pia's family moved from
Italy
to
North Africa
and was of the
Fulvius
gens, an ancient and politically influential clan, which was originally of
plebeian
status. His siblings were a younger
Publius Septimius Geta
and Septimia Octavilla. Severus’s maternal cousin was
Praetorian Guard
and consul
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
.
In 172, Severus was made a
Senator
by the then emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. In 187 he married secondly
Julia Domna
. In 190 Severus became
consul
, and in the following year received from the emperor
Commodus
(successor to Marcus Aurelius) the command of the
legions
in
Pannonia
.
On the murder of
Pertinax
by the troops in 193, they proclaimed Severus Emperor at
Carnuntum
, whereupon he hurried to Italy. The former emperor,
Didius Julianus
, was condemned to death by the Senate and killed, and Severus took possession of Rome without opposition.
The legions of
Syria
, however, had proclaimed
Pescennius Niger
emperor. At the same time, Severus felt it was reasonable to offer
Clodius Albinus
, the powerful governor of Britannia who had probably supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to succession. With his rearguard safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger's forces at the
Battle of Issus
. The following year was devoted to suppressing Mesopotamia and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. When afterwards Severus declared openly his son
Caracalla
as successor, Albinus was hailed emperor by his troops and moved to Gallia. Severus, after a short stay in Rome, moved northwards to meet him. On
February 19
,
197
, in the
Battle of Lugdunum
, with an army of 100,000 men, mostly composed of
Illyrian
,
Moesian
and
Dacian
legions, Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the Empire.
Emperor
Severus was at heart a
soldier
, and sought glory through military exploits. In 197 he waged a brief and successful war against the
Parthian Empire
in retaliation for the support given to Pescennius Niger. The Parthian capital
Ctesiphon
was sacked by the legions, and the northern half of
Mesopotamia
was restored to Rome.
His relations with the
Roman Senate
were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment. Severus ordered the execution of dozens of Senators on charges of corruption and
conspiracy
against him, replacing them with his own favorites.
He also disbanded the
Praetorian Guard
and replaced it with one of his own, made up of 50,000 loyal soldiers mainly camped at
Albanum
, near Rome (also probably to grant the emperor a kind of centralized reserve). During his reign the number of legions was also increased from 25/30 to 33. He also increased the number of auxiliary corps (
numerii
), many of these troops coming from the Eastern borders. Additionally the annual wage for a soldier was raised from 300 to 500
denarii
.
Although his actions turned Rome into a military
dictatorship
, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out the rampant corruption of Commodus's reign. When he returned from his victory over the Parthians, he erected the
Arch of Septimius Severus
in Rome.
According to Cassius Dio, however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian Prefect,
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
, who came to have almost total control of most branches of the imperial administration. Plautianus's daughter,
Fulvia Plautilla
, was married to Severus's son, Caracalla. Plautianus’s excessive power came to an end in 205, when he was denounced by the Emperor's dying brother and killed. The two following
praefecti
, including the jurist
Aemilius Papinianus
, received however even larger powers.
Campaigns in Caledonia (Scotland)
Starting from 208 Severus undertook a number of military actions in
Roman Britain
, reconstructing
Hadrian's Wall
and campaigning in
Scotland
.
He reached the area of the
Moray Firth
in his last campaign in Caledonia, as was called Scotland by the Romans.. In 210 obtained a peace with the
Picts
that lasted practically until the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain, before falling severely ill in
Eboracum
(
York
).
Death
He is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men" before he died at Eboracum on
February 4
,
211
. Upon his death in 211, Severus was
deified
by the Senate and succeeded by his sons,
Caracalla
and
Geta
, who were advised by his wife
Julia Domna
. The stability Severus provided the Empire was soon gone under their reign.
Accomplishments and Record
Though his military expenditure was costly to the empire, Severus was the strong, able ruler that Rome needed at the time. He began a tradition of effective emperors elevated solely by the military. His policy of an expanded and better-rewarded army was criticized by his contemporary
Dio Cassius
and
Herodianus
: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden (in the form of taxes and services) the civilian population had to bear to maintain the new army.
Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the
Septizodium
in Rome and enriched greatly his native city of
Leptis Magna
(including another triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of 203).
Severus and Christianity
Christians were
persecuted
during the reign of Septimus Severus. Severus allowed the enforcement of policies already long-established, which meant that Roman authorities did not intentionally seek out Christians, but when people were accused of being Christians they could either curse
Jesus
and make an offering to
Roman gods
, or be executed. Furthermore, wishing to strengthen the peace by encouraging religious harmony through
syncretism
, Severus tried to limit the spread of the two quarrelsome groups who refused to yield to syncretism by outlawing
conversion
to Christianity or
Judaism
. Individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in
Egypt
and the
Thebaid
, as well as in
Africa proconsularis
and the East. Christian
martyrs
were numerous in
Alexandria
(cf.
Clement of Alexandria
,
Stromata
, ii. 20;
Eusebius
,
Church History
, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf.
Tertullian's
Ad martyres
), and included the Christians known in the
Roman martyrology
as the martyrs of
Madaura
. Probably in 202 or 203
Felicitas
and
Perpetua
suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time under the proconsul
Scapula
in 211, especially in
Numidia
and
Mauritania
. Later accounts of a
Gallic
persecution, especially at
Lyon
, are legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians under Septimius Severus was the same as under the
Antonines
; but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the
rescript
of
Trajan
[
needed
clarification
]
had failed to execute its purpose.
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