SEVERUS ALEXANDER 222AD Nicaea Bithynia Legionary Eagle Roman Coin i44759

Description

Item:
i44759
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
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Severus Alexander
-
Roman Emperor
: 222-235 A.D.
Bronze 15mm (2.14 grams) of
Nicaea
in
Bythinia
Reference: Cf. RG 616; cf. SNG Copenhagen 519; SNG von Aulock -
M AVP C
ЄVH
AΛEΞANΔPOC AV
Г
, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
NIKAIEΩN, legionary eagle between two standards.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
An
aquila
, or
eagle
, was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the
standard
of a
Roman legion
. A
legionary
known as an
aquilifer
, or eagle-bearer, carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle.
Roman ornament with an aquila (100–200 AD) from the
Cleveland Museum of Art
.
The eagle was extremely important to the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard was considered an extremely grave occurrence, and the Roman military often went to great lengths to both protect a standard and to recover it if lost; for example, see the aftermath of the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
, where the Romans spent decades attempting to recover the lost standards of three legions.
A modern reconstruction of an
aquila
History
The
signa militaria
were the Roman military
ensigns
or
standards
. The most ancient standard employed by the Romans is said to have been a handful (
manipulus
) of straw fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was called a
maniple
. The bundle of
hay
or
fern
was soon succeeded by the figures of animals, of which
Pliny the Elder
(
H.N.
x.16) enumerates five: the
eagle
, the
wolf
, the ox with the man's head, the
horse
, and the
boar
. In the second consulship of
Gaius Marius
(104 BC) the four quadrupeds were laid aside as standards, the eagle (
Aquila
) alone being retained. It was made of
silver
, or
bronze
, with outstretched wings, but was probably of a relatively small size, since a standard-bearer (
signifer
) under
Julius Caesar
is said in circumstances of danger to have wrenched the eagle from its staff and concealed it in the folds of his girdle.Under the later emperors the eagle was carried, as it had been for many centuries, with the legion, a legion being on that account sometimes called
aquila
(Hirt. Bell. Hisp. 30). Each
cohort
had for its own ensign the
serpent
or
dragon
, which was woven on a square piece of cloth
textilis anguis
, elevated on a
gilt
staff, to which a cross-bar was adapted for the purpose, and carried by the
draconarius
.
Another figure used in the standards was a ball (orb), supposed to have been emblematic of the dominion of Rome over the world; and for the same reason a bronze figure of
Victoria
was sometimes fixed at the top of the staff, as we see it sculptured, together with small statues of Mars, on the
Column of Trajan
and the
Arch of Constantine
. Under the eagle or other emblem was often placed a head of the reigning emperor, which was to the army the object of idolatrous adoration.
[9]
The name of the emperor, or of him who was acknowledged as emperor, was sometimes inscribed in the same situation. The pole used to carry the eagle had at its lower extremity an iron point (cuspis) to fix it in the ground, and to enable the aquilifer in case of need to repel an attack.
The minor divisions of a cohort, called centuries, had also each an ensign, inscribed with the number both of the cohort and of the century. This, together with the diversities of the crests worn by the centurions, enabled each soldier to take his place with ease.
Denarius
minted by
Mark Antony
to pay his legions. On the reverse, the
aquila
of his
Third legion
.
In the
Arch of Constantine
at Rome there are four sculptured panels near the top which exhibit a great number of standards and illustrate some of the forms here described. The first panel represents Trajan giving a king to the Parthians: seven standards are held by the soldiers. The second, containing five standards, represents the performance of the sacrifice called
suovetaurilia
.
When Constantine embraced Christianity, a figure or emblem of Christ, woven in gold upon purple cloth, was substituted for the head of the emperor. This richly ornamented standard was called
labarum
. The labarum is still used today by the
Orthodox Church
in the Sunday service. The entry procession of the chalice whose contents will soon become holy communion is modeled after the procession of the standards of the Roman army.
Eagle and weapons from an
Augustan-era
funerary monument, probably that of
Messalla
(
Prado
,
Madrid
)
Even after the adoption of Christianity as the Roman Empire's religion, the Aquila eagle continued to be used as a symbol. During the reign of
Eastern Roman Emperor
Isaac I Komnenos
, the single-headed eagle was modified to
double-headed
to symbolise the Empire's dominance over
East and West
.
Since the movements of a body of troops and of every portion of it were regulated by the standards, all the evolutions, acts, and incidents of the Roman army were expressed by phrases derived from this circumstance. Thus
signa inferre
meant to advance,
[15]
referre
to retreat, and
convertere
to face about;
efferre
, or
castris vellere
, to march out of the camp;
ad signa convenire
, to re-assemble. Notwithstanding some obscurity in the use of terms, it appears that, whilst the standard of the legion was properly called
aquila
, those of the cohorts were in a special sense of the term called
signa
, their bearers being
signiferi
, and that those of the manipuli or smaller divisions of the cohort were denominated
vexilla
, their bearers being
vexillarii
. Also, those who fought in the first ranks of the legion before the standards of the legion and cohorts were called
antesignani
.
In military stratagems it was sometimes necessary to conceal the standards. Although the Romans commonly considered it a point of honour to preserve their standards, in some cases of extreme danger the leader himself threw them among the ranks of the enemy in order to divert their attention or to animate his own soldiers. A wounded or dying standard-bearer delivered it, if possible, into the hands of his general, from whom he had received it
signis acceptis
.
Lost
Aquilae
Battles where the Aquilae were lost, units that lost the Aquilae and the fate of the Aquilae:
53 BC -
Battle of Carrhae
. Crassus
Legio X
(returned).
40 BC - defeat of
Decidius Saxa
at
Cilicia
(returned).
36 BC - defeat of
Mark Antony
(returned).
19 BC -
Cantabrian Wars
at Hispania.
Legio I Germanica
(thought to have been lost, and stripped of its title "Augusta").
9 AD -
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
.
Legio XVII
,
Legio XVIII
, and
Legio XIX
(all recaptured).
66 -
Great Jewish Revolt
.
Legio XII Fulminata
(fate uncertain).
87 -
Domitian's Dacian War
.
Legio V Alaudae
(fate uncertain).
132 -
Bar Kochva Revolt
.
Legio XXII Deiotariana
(fate uncertain).
161 - Parthians overrun a legion commanded by Severianus at Elegeia in Armenia, possibly the
Ninth Legion
.
[23]
Modern imagery
Reconstruction of
aquila
on Roman vexilloid
Aquila
clutching fasces, a symbol in Italy during the Fascist period
Aquila
on the
coat of arms of Romania
Standards
Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or
signa
(
first three on left
) belong to
centuriae
of the legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards - whether spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (
second from right
) the legion's
aquila
. The standard on the extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(
lupa
) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan's Column, Rome
Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary standards. From left to right:
signum
(spear-head type), with four discs;
signum
(wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago
of ruling emperor; legionary
aquila
;
vexillum
of commander (
legatus
) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with embroidered name and emblem (
Capricorn
) of legion
Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from
centuria
upwards, had its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of
duplicarius
. Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine spirit (
genius
) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit's standard to the enemy was considered a terrible stain on the unit's honour, which could only be fully expunged by its recovery.
The standard of a
centuria
was known as a
signum
, which was borne by the unit's
signifer
. It consisted of a pole topped by either an open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(
manipulus
= "handful"), the smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain). In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including, at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.
[194]
The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or
ala
was known as a
vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag, normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum
was borne by a
vexillarius
. A legionary detachment (
vexillatio
) would also have its own
vexillum
. Finally, a
vexillum
traditionally marked the commander's position on the battlefield.
[194]
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla
, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.
From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all legions was the
aquila
("eagle"). The pole was surmounted by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found (doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold content).
[194]
The eagle was borne by the
aquilifer
, the legion's most senior standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching full-scale invasions of the enemy's territory, sometimes decades after the eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a fortress of the
Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
.
[195]
Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.
Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (
imagines
) of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An
imago
was usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer
.
From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary
alae
adopted the dragon-standard (
draco
) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an open dragon's mouth. When the bearer (
draconarius
) was galloping, it would make a strong hissing-sound.
Decorations
The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (
dona
) for valour to its legionaries.
Hasta pura
was a miniature spear;
phalerae
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass;
armillae
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and
torques
were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest awards were the
coronae
("crowns"), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica
, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the
corona muralis
, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.
[196]
There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata
("awarded a torque") or
armillata
("awarded bracelets"). Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles and decorations e.g.
cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R.
.
[193]
The place Nicaea in Bithynia is said to have been colonized by
Bottiaeans
, and to have originally borne the name of
Ancore
(
Steph. B.
s. v.) or
Helicore
(Geogr. Min. p. 40, ed. Hudson); but it was subsequently destroyed by the
Mysians
. A few years after the death of
Alexander the Great
,
Macedonian
king
Antigonus
— who had taken control of much of
Asia Minor
upon the death of Alexander (under whom Antigonus had served as a general) — probably after his victory over
Eumenes
, in 316 BC, rebuilt the town, and called it, after himself,
Antigoneia
(
Greek
:
Αντιγόνεια
). (Steph. B. l. c.; Eustath. ad Horn. II. ii. 863) Several other of Alexander's generals (known together as the
Diadochi
(Latin; original Greek
Diadokhoi
Διάδοχοι/
"successors")) later conspired to remove Antigonus, and after defeating him the area was given to
Thessalian
general
Lysimachus
(
Lysimakhos
) (circa 355 BC-281 BC) in 301 BC as his share of the lands. He renamed it
Nicaea
(Greek:
Νίκαια
, also
transliterated
as
Nikaia
or
Nicæa
; see also
List of traditional Greek place names
), in tribute to his wife Nicaea, a daughter of
Antipater
. (Steph. B., Eustath., Strab., ll. cc.) According to another account (Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224. p. 233, ed. Bekker), Nicaea was founded by men from
Nicaea
near
Thermopylae
, who had served in the army of Alexander the Great. The town was built with great regularity, in the form of a square, measuring 16 stadia in circumference; it had four gates, and all its streets intersected one another at right angles, so that from a monument in the centre all the four gates could be seen. (
Strabo
xii. pp. 565
et seq.
) This monument stood in the gymnasium, which was destroyed by fire, but was restored with increased magnificence by the
younger Pliny
(Epist. x. 48), when he was governor of
Bithynia
.
The city was built on an important crossroads between
Galatia
and
Phrygia
, and thus saw steady trade. Soon after the time of Lysimachus, Nicaea became a city of great importance, and the kings of Bithynia, whose era begins in 288 BC with
Zipoetes
, often resided at Nicaea. It has already been mentioned that in the time of Strabo it is called the metropolis of Bithynia, an honour which is also assigned to it on some coins, though in later times it was enjoyed by
Nicomedia
. The two cities, in fact, kept up a long and vehement dispute about the precedence, and the 38th oration of
Dio Chrysostomus
was expressly composed to settle the dispute. From this oration, it appears that Nicomedia alone had a right to the title of metropolis, but both were the first cities of the country.
The younger Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings, which he undertook to restore when governor of Bithynia. (Epist. x. 40, 48, etc.) It was the birthplace of the astronomer
Hipparchus
(ca. 194 BC), the mathematician and astronomer
Sporus
(ca. 240) and the historian
Dio Cassius
(ca. 165). It was the death-place of the comedian
Philistion
. The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the interest taken in the city by the emperors, as well as its attachment to the rulers; many of them commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honour of gods and emperors, as Olympia, Isthmia, Dionysia, Pythia, Commodia, Severia, Philadelphia, etc. Throughout the imperial period, Nicaea remained an important town; for its situation was particularly favourable, being only 40 km (25 mi) distant from
Prusa
(
Pliny
v. 32), and 70 km (43 mi) from
Constantinople
. (
It. Ant.
p. 141.) When Constantinople became the capital of the
Eastern Empire
, Nicaea did not lose in importance; for its present walls, which were erected during the last period of the Empire, enclose a much greater space than that ascribed to the place in the time of Strabo. Much of the existing architecture and defensive works date to this time, early 300s.
Nicaea suffered much from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of which, it was restored by the emperor
Valens
. During the Middle Ages it was for a long time a strong bulwark of the
Byzantine
emperors against the
Turks
.
Nicaea in early Christianity
In the reign of
Constantine
, 325, the celebrated
First Council of Nicaea
was held there against the
Arian
heresy
, and the prelates there defined more clearly the concept of the
Trinity
and drew up the
Nicene Creed
. The
doctrine
of the Trinity was finalized at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD which expressly included the Holy Ghost as equal to the Father and the Son. The first Nicene Council was probably held in what would become the now ruined mosque of Orchan. The church of Hagia Sophia was built by
Justinian I
in the middle of the city in the 6th century (modelled after the larger
Hagia Sophia
in Constantinople), and it was there that the
Second Council of Nicaea
met in 787 to discuss the issues of
iconography
.
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander
(October 1, 208–March 18, 235 AD), commonly called
Alexander Severus
, was the last
Roman emperor
(11 March 222–235) of the
Severan dynasty
. Alexander Severus succeeded his cousin,
Elagabalus
upon the latter's assassination in 222 AD, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the
epoch event
for the
Crisis of the Third Century
—nearly fifty years of disorder, Roman civil wars, economic chaos, regional rebellions, and external threats that brought the Empire to near-collapse.
Alexander Severus was the
heir apparent
to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into the
Tiber river
. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful
Julia Maesa
, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as Emperor by the famed
Third Gallic Legion
.
A rumor of Alexander's death circulated, triggering the assassination of Elagabalus.
Alexander's reign was marked by troubles. In military conflict against the rising
Sassanid Empire
, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was checked. However, when campaigning against
Germanic tribes
of
Germania
, Alexander Severus apparently alienated his legions by trying diplomacy and bribery, and they assassinated him.
Life
Alexander was born with the name
Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus
. Alexander's father,
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus
was a Syrian
Promagistrate
. His mother
Julia Avita Mamaea
was the second daughter of
Julia Maesa
and Syrian noble
Julius Avitus
and maternal aunt of Emperor
Elagabalus
. He had an elder sister called Theoclia and little is known about her. Alexander's maternal great-aunt was empress
Julia Domna
(also Maesa's younger sister) and his great-uncle in marriage was emperor Lucius
Septimius Severus
. Emperors
Caracalla
and
Publius Septimius Geta
, were his mother's maternal cousins. In 221, Alexander's grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor to adopt his cousin as successor and make him
Caesar
and Bassianus changed his name to Alexander. In the following year, on March 11, Elagabalus was murdered, and Alexander was proclaimed emperor by the
Praetorians
and accepted by the Senate.
When Alexander became emperor, he was young, amiable, well-meaning, and entirely under the dominion of his mother. Julia Mamaea was a woman of many virtues, and she surrounded the young emperor with wise counsellors. She watched over the development of her son's character and improved the tone of the administration. On the other hand, she was inordinately jealous. She also alienated the army by extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son were strong enough to impose military discipline. Mutinies became frequent in all parts of the empire; to one of them the life of the jurist and praetorian praefect
Ulpian
was sacrificed; another compelled the retirement of
Cassius Dio
from his command.
On the whole, however, the reign of Alexander was prosperous until the rise, in the east, of the
Sassanids
. Of the war that followed there are various accounts. (
Mommsen
leans to that which is least favourable to the Romans). According to Alexander's own dispatch to the senate, he gained great victories. At all events, though the Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed an extraordinary lack of discipline. The emperor returned to
Rome
and celebrated a triumph in 233.
The following year he was called to face German invaders in
Gaul
, who had breached the Rhine frontier in several places, destroying forts and over-running the countryside. Alexander mustered his forces, bringing legions from the eastern provinces, and crossed the Rhine into Germany on a pontoon bridge. Initially he attempted to buy the German tribes off, so as to gain time. Whether this was a wise policy or not, it caused the Roman legionaries to look down on their emperor as one who was prepared to commit unsoldierly conduct.
Herodian
says "in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the Germans for their previous insolence". These circumstances drove the army to look for a new leader. They chose
Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus
, a Thracian soldier who had worked his way up through the ranks.
Following the nomination of Maximinus as emperor, Alexander was slain (on either March 18 or March 19, 235), together with his mother, in a mutiny of the
Primigenia
Legio XXII
. These assassinations secured the throne for Maximinus.
The death of Alexander is considered as the end of the
Principate
system established by
Augustus
. Although the
Principate
continued in theory until the reign of
Diocletian
, Alexander Severus' death signalled the beginning of the chaotic period known as the
Crisis of the Third Century
which weakened the empire considerably.
Legacy
Alexander was the last of the Syrian emperors. Under the influence of his mother, he did much to improve the morals and condition of the people. His advisers were men like the famous jurist Ulpian, the historian Cassius Dio and a select board of sixteen senators; a municipal council of fourteen assisted the urban praefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome. The luxury and extravagance that had formerly been so prevalent at the court were put down; the standard of the coinage was raised; taxes were lightened; literature, art and science were encouraged; the lot of the soldiers was improved; and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.
In religious matters Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was desirous of erecting a temple to the
founder of Christianity
, but was dissuaded by the pagan priests.
Marriage
Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was
Sallustia Orbiana
,
Augusta
,
whom he married in 225. He divorced and exiled her in 227, after her father,
Seius Sallustius
, was executed for attempting to assassinate the emperor. Another wife was Sulpicia Memmia. Her father was a man of consular rank; her grandfather's name was
Catulus
.
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