Roman Egypt.Cladius II Gothicus.Billon tetradrachm.Lot 326

Description: Roman Egypt.Clodius II Gothicus.Lot 326. Roman Egypt billon tetradrachm. Emperor Cllaudius II Gothicus. Heavy attractive tetradrachm. Weight: 10.64 gm Size: 20 mm Marcus Aurelius Claudius"Gothicus" (10 May 214 January/April 270), also known asClaudius II, wasRoman emperorfrom 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against theAlemanniand decisively defeated theGothsat theBattle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to a "pestilence", possibly thePlague of Cyprianthat had ravaged the provinces of the Empire. The most significant source for Claudius II is the collection of imperial biographies called theHistoria Augusta. However, his story, like the rest of theHistoria Augusta, is riddled with fabrications and obsequious praises. In 4th century, Claudius was declared a relative ofConstantine the Great's father,Constantius I Chlorus, and, consequently, of the ruling dynasty. TheHistoria Augustashould be used with extreme caution and supplemented with information from other sources: the works ofAurelius Victor, Pseudo-Aurelius Victor,Eutropius,Orosius,Joannes Zonaras, andZosimus, as well as coins and inscriptions. The future emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius was born on 10 May 214.Some researchers suggest a later date 219 or 220.Nevertheless, most historians adhere to the first version. Moreover, as the 6th century Byzantine historianJohn Malalasreports, at the time of his death Claudius was 56 years old.Claudius was anIllyrianand came fromDalmatiaorIllyricum, although it is possible that his place of birth was the region ofDardaniainMoesia Superior. According to the fourth-centuryEpitome de Caesaribus, he was thought to be a bastard son ofGordian II,although this is doubted by some historians. TheHistoria Augustarefers to him as a member of thegens Flavia. Before coming to power, Claudius served with the Roman army, where he had a successful career and secured appointments to the highest military posts. During the reign ofDecius(249251) he served as amilitary tribune.In this post, Claudius was sent to defendThermopylae, in connection with which the governor ofAchaeawas ordered to send him 200 Dardanian soldiers, 60 horsemen, 60 Cretan archers, and a thousand well-armed recruits. However, there is no evidence that the Goths who invaded at that time threatened the region, since their invasion did not extend beyond the middle Balkans. Most likely the message of the "History of the Augustus" is an anachronism, since it is known that the garrison at Thermopylae appeared in 254. Historian Franois Pashau suggests that this passage was invented in order to contrast the successful pagan commander Claudius with the unlucky Christian generals who allowed the ruin of Greece by the Gothic leaderAlaric Iin 396.In addition, Trebellius Pollio reveals that Decius rewarded Claudius after he demonstrated his strength while fighting another soldier at the Games of Mars. His troops then proclaimed him emperoramid charges, never proven, that he murdered his predecessorGallienus.However, he soon showed himself to be less than bloodthirsty, as he asked theRoman Senateto spare the lives of Gallienus's family and supporters. He was less magnanimous toward Rome's enemies and it was to this that he owed his popularity. It is possible Claudius gained his position and the respect of the soldiers by being physically strong and especially cruel. A legend tells of Claudius knocking out a horse's teeth with one punch. When Claudius performed as a wrestler in the 250s, he supposedly knocked out the teeth of his opponent when his genitalia had been grabbed in the match. Claudius, likeMaximinus Thraxbefore him, was ofbarbarianbirth. After a period of failedaristocraticRoman emperors following Maximinus's death, Claudius was the first in a series of tough "soldier emperors" who would eventually restore the Empire after theCrisis of the Third Century. At the time of Claudius's accession, theRoman Empirewas in serious danger from several incursions, both inside and outside its borders. The most pressing of these was an invasion ofIllyricumandPannoniaby theGoths.AlthoughGallienushad already inflicted some damage on them at the Battle of Nestus,Claudius, not long after being named emperor, followed this up by winning his greatest victory, and one of the greatest in the history of Roman arms. At theBattle of Naissus, Claudius and his legions routed a huge Gothic army.Together with hiscavalrycommander, the future EmperorAurelian, the Romans took thousands of prisoners and destroyed the Gothic cavalry as a force. The victory earned Claudius his surname of "Gothicus" (conqueror of the Goths). The Goths were soon driven back across theDanube Riverby Aurelian, and nearly a century passed before they again posed a serious threat to the empire. Claudius did not live long enough to fulfil his goal of reuniting all the lost territories of the empire. Late in 269 he had travelled toSirmiumand was preparing to go to war against theVandals, who were raiding inPannonia.However, he fell victim to thePlague of Cyprian(possiblysmallpox), and died early in 270 AD.Before his death, he is thought to have named Aurelian as his successor, though Claudius's brotherQuintillusbriefly seized power.TheSenateimmediately deified Claudius as "Divus Claudius Gothicus". Historians date Claudius's death in either January,April,August, or September.These discrepancies are the result of the various conflicting sources. TheChronograph of 354gives Claudius a reign of "1 year and 4 months",JeromeandAurelius Victorboth give "1 year and 9 months".Some Alexandrian coins have been dated to his third year, suggesting that he died in September 270.However, the first document ofAurelianis dated to 25 May 270 AD In his first full year of power, Claudius was greatly assisted by the sudden destruction of the imperium Galliarum. When Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus, a high official underPostumus, declared himself emperor inGermania Superior, in the spring of 269, Postumus defeated him, but in doing so, refused to allow the sack ofMainz, which had served asLaelianus's headquarters. This proved to be his downfall, for out of anger, Postumus's army mutinied and murdered him. Selected by the troops,Marcus Aurelius Mariuswas to replace Postumus as ruler. Marius's rule did not last long though, asVictorinus, Postumus's praetorian prefect, defeated him. Now emperor of theGauls, Victorinus was soon in a precarious position, for the Spanish provinces had deserted theGallic Empireand declared their loyalty to Claudius, while in southern Gaul,Placidianushad capturedGrenoble. Luckily, it was there that Placidianus stopped and Victorinus's position stabilized. In the next year, whenAutunrevolted, declaring itself for Claudius, the central government made no moves to support it. As a result, the city went through a siege, lasting many weeks, until it was finally captured and sacked by Victorinus. Some brief description of Claudius II Gothicus. Certificate of Authenticity is available.

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End Time: 2024-05-25T03:14:00.000Z

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