SEVERUS ALEXANDER 226AD Caesarea Cappadocia Grain Ears Ancient Roman Coin i46837

Description

Item:
i46837
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
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Severus Alexander
-
Roman Emperor
: 222-235 A.D.
Bronze 21mm (6.56 grams) of
Caesarea
in
Cappadocia
Struck Year 5 of Regnal Year, 225/226 A.D.
Reference: SNG Copenhagen 301 var. (date); Sydenham, Caesarea 587 var. (date)
AY. K. C
Є
OYHP A
ΛЄ
ΞΑΝΔ., Laureate head right.
MHTP. ΚΑΙCA.
ЄΤ Є, Three grain ears.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Kayseri
, named in
classical antiquity
as
Mazaka
or
Mazaca
,
Eusebia
,
Caesarea Cappadociae
, and later as
Kaisariyah
, is a large and industrialized
city
in
Central Anatolia
,
Turkey
. It is the seat of
Kayseri Province
.
Kayseri has been a continuous settlement since 3000 BC. The city has always been a vital trade center since it is located on major trade routes, particularly along what was called the
Great Silk Road
.
Kültepe
, one of the oldest cities in
Asia Minor
, lies nearby.
As
Mazaca
, the city served as the residence of the kings of
Cappadocia
. In ancient times, it was on the crossroads of the trade routes from
Sinope
to the
Euphrates
and from the
Persian Royal Road
that extended from
Sardis
to
Susa
. In
Roman
times, a similar route from
Ephesus
to the East also crossed the city.
The city's name was changed to
Eusebia
in honor of the Cappadocian king
Ariathes V
(163–130 BC). The name was changed again to
Caesarea
by the last Cappadocian King
Archelaus
or perhaps by
Tiberius
.
Caesarea stood on a low spur on the north side of
Mount Erciyes
(
Mons Argaeus
in ancient times). The site, now called the old town, diplays only a few traces from the old town. It was destroyed by the
Sassanid
king
Shapur I of Persia
after his victory over the
Emperor Valerian I
in AD 260. At the time it was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants. In the 4th century, bishop
Basil
established an ecclesiastical centre on the plain, about one mile to the northeast, which gradually supplanted the old town. A portion of Basil's new city was surrounded with strong walls and turned into a fortress by
Justinian
.
SEVERUS ALEXANDER
Augustus:
A.D. 222-235
Caesar:
A.D. 221-222 under Elagabalus
Son of Julia Mamaea
Husband of Orbiana
Grandson of Julia Maesa
Nephew of Julia Soaemias
Cousin of Elagabalus
Second-cousin of Caracalla and Geta
Great-newphew of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna
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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