Ancient Roman Emperors & Coins - Article 3

            Heroes, Villains & Coins

    During the thousand, or so, years leading up to the mythical murder of Remus by Romulus, Rome was a camp/settlement/village/town/city surrounded by tribes, and city-states. To the north were the Etruscans; a sophisticated society of city-states lead by a single person and consul. It is arguable that Roman history is merely an Etruscan history that settled out from a maelstrom of local and imported conflicts until each faction fused their aspects into Etruscan society and resolved into a Roman history.
    If you operate from the perspective of a Roman history that began on April 21, 753 BC with the murder of Remus, as most people do, there were six kings to follow Romulus before the Roman Republic was established. However, ignoring the Etruscans regarding the establishment of the Republic would be unfair. The last three Roman kings were Etruscan.
    Although much of what the ancient Roman historians wrote of the Etruscans was derogatory, they adopted many Etruscan ways. The purple trimmed robes, the eagle atop a standard, the consul, gladiators fighting to the death, use of the arch in construction, and the fasces to mention just a few. What they didn’t adopt from the Etruscans was a measurable degree of equality of females, and a comfort with public displays of affection and possible sex.
    In order to bridge the deadly fight between Romulus and Remus and the birth of the Republic, I have listed the Roman Kings whose actions created a desire for a republic, but more importantly influenced the mood, values, beliefs, and ceremonies that Rome was developing at the time.
    Seven Roman kings; no queens. They were not the nicest men, and they made no coins.

Romulus - first King of Rome from 753 - 715 BC
Numa Pompilius - was a Sabine; reputed to be a peaceful ruler from (715-673 BC).
Tullius Hostilius - ruled from (672-641 BC).
Ancus Marcius - ruled from (640 - 616 BC).
Tarquinius Priscus, (Tarquinius I) - ruled from (616 - 579 BC).
Servius Tullius - ruled from (578 to 534 BC).
Tarquinius Superbus, (Tarquin the Proud) - ruled from (534-510 BC).

    Much of our understanding of ancient Roman history leading up to the Republic comes from what remains of the writings of Titus Livius (59 BC – AD 17) (Usually referred to as Livy), and the people at that time who read and commented on his books.
    According to Livy, the last Tarquinius was arrogant, vicious and lacked favor with the aristocrats who made up the Senate. The senators vowed that Rome would never again be ruled by a king. The truth of the matter was more likely that this typical conduct of kings was not as important as the senator’s desire to gain power for themselves. The Roman Republic was formed in 509 BC when Lucius Junius Brutus, an Etruscan nobleman, lead a revolt against Tarquinius Superbus that put the Senate in control of Rome and ended the era of kings in Rome. Hummmm ‘a rose by any other name’.
    Considering names, take note of the names ‘Lucius Junius Brutus’ (Etruscan nobleman and rebel) and that of ‘Marcus Junius Brutus’ (Senator of ‘et tu Brutus’ fame) involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar 465 years later. The birth and death of the Roman Republic was instrumentally effected by a pair of bookend Bruti.
    It is common through history that powerful people try to connect themselves with the powerful, influential; even the divine. The Emperors of Japan were conveniently proven to be the direct descendants of the gods through the text of the Kojiki (Books they ordered written), and the leaders of the Roman Senate were no less megalomaniac. Julius Caesar fancied himself a descendant of the god Venus. Each Roman house had a god that protected it; occasionally a god with family ties. The importance of aristocratic ancestry and familial ties, another Etruscan infusion, mattered a great deal. Aristocracy didn’t guarantee power and wealth, but it did make it much more possible, and to have history and a god or two on your side might help.
    If you were a young son of a senator, or patrician aristocrat, you might become one of three magistrates that produced coins. The position was significant. The coins they were allowed to produce would often publicize a family connection with important historical people and events; as well as with the gods. The Romans created a very real economy in controlling and producing graphic advertisement and propaganda, and their longest lasting media were their coins.

    The coin above was produced in 62 BC by Aemilius Lepidus Paullus (Brother of the Second Triumvir Lepidus who ruled with the better known Mark Antony and Octavian (later know as the first Emperor Augustus).  This coin is a fine example of propaganda in which the Aemilius Lepidus family is boasting of their relation to the great Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paullus who ended the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC) and captured the Macedonian King Perseus.  The reverse of this denarius shows the Macedonian king on the right bound as a prisoner along with his half-brother Philippus and son Alexander.  At the bottom, in exergue, is the name of this family member: PAVLLVS.  The obverse of the coin connects ‘PAVLLVS LEPIDVS’ with the god ‘CONCORDIA’.   Subtle is not a Roman trait.
    I find the Lepidus family to be one of the more interesting families in power during the establishment of the Roman Republic and then that of Imperial Rome.  They are often mentioned, but seldom centered upon.  They never got the ‘ink’ that Julius Caesar, Augustus, Mark Antony, Cassius, and the like received, but they were there, they were mentioned, and they were significant.  They swam at the deepest end of the power pool in Rome.  Marcus Aemilius Lepidus along with Mark Antony and Augustus formed the Second Triumvirate.  These three went after the assassins, revenged Caesar’s death, and then went at each other.  Lepidus did nothing extremely wonderful as triumvirate.  He gave up his power easily when instructed, then retired, and died of old age.  Wielding power in Rome and managing to retire and die of old age was a very uncommon and significant accomplishment.

    Two other important coin producers and history makers were Lucius Cornelius Sulla 138 BC – 78 BC, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus 106 BC - 48 BC.  Sulla gave momentum to the erosion of the republic when he became dictator; this followed two terms as consul.  He invaded Rome twice.  Pompey the Great did his part as a powerful dictator and member of the First Triumvirate along with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar.
    Now let’s go to the later Brutus who played an important role in the ending of the Roman Republic, and his friend, Cassius, with whom he conspired.  Although Sulla and Pompey the Great added to the momentum that a king-like ruler of Rome would bring an end to the Republic, it was the conspiracy by Cassius and Brutus to assassinate Julius Caesar that finally brought the curtain down on the Republic.
    It is believed that Caesar was assassinated beneath a statue of Pompey.  When Caesar was stabbed 23 times, the plot that was created by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus hatched.  It happened on March 15, 44 BC; ‘The Ides of March’.  Both Cassius and Brutus were moneyers and produced coins.  Brutus produced a coin that associated the assassination of Julius Caesar with freedom from slavery.  Imagine: Aristocratic slaves no less.
    On 26 November 43 BC the forming of the Second Triumvirate marked the end of the Roman Republic.  The Second Triumvirate was made up of Lepidus, Octavius (Augustus), and Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony).

    I covered Lepidus a bit, and showed a coin of his, and a Cassius Longinus coin is shown, so that leaves Marcus Antonius.  Mark Antony produced a great deal of coins while he was around.  Here is an example of a legionary coin produced by and for his Fifth Legion ‘LEG V’.  Mark Antony’s (ANT) legionary coins were used throughout the Rome and the Mediterranean.  They are a fairly common coin, but often expensive when in good and readable condition.  They are often very worn and difficult to read because they were produced of a low quality silver.  If, in the ancient Roman marketplace, a person had to spend a coin, they would choose to spend the low silver content coins and keep the one with higher silver content.

    To close my short history of the Roman Republic, and coins to prove it, I would like to encourage you to try something I find very entertaining: Connecting the famous individuals during this time and place in history with coins, books, and videos. When I watch the BBC production of ‘I Claudius’, or the HBO production of ‘Rome’, I take great pleasure in familiarizing myself with the family trees of the individuals involved, searching for coins depicting or issued by these characters at WildWinds.com, searching with Google to learn more, and, if I have them, holding coins that were actually designed and/or issued by these, sometimes, bizarre, but always interesting individuals. Coins by Claudius I are common and not all that expensive if you don’t mind having a coin that has felt, and shows the effects of time.
    Good examples of such coins for the show ‘I Claudius’ are shown below. The coin on the right was made under the rule of Caligula. It shows the profile of Germanicus who died in 19 A.D. Germanicus was the nephew of Tiberius, and Caligula’s father. Caligula was the third Emperor of Rome and a very sick and infamous individual; in the BBC production ‘I Claudius’ he is complicit in the murder of his father Germanicus. He is reputed to have appointed a horse (Incitatus) to the senate, coercively pimped the wives of the senators at his orgies, battled with the god Neptune over sea shells, and died believing he was a god himself. The coin on the left also shows the profile of Germanicus, but was issued by Claudius, the main character in the BBC production, Caligula’s uncle and the bother of Germanicus. In the video ‘I Claudius’, Livia, the wife of Augustus, is suspected of having Germanicus killed to make way for Tiberius as emperor. She is shown to have killed or had killed most of the imperial family and friends; even her husband Augustus. Can you get more intrigue and perversion than that? These people and their actions have been woven into the fabric of the world we live in today. Look around. Rome is everywhere even today; and even more so if today happens to fall on a day in a month with a Roman aspect :-).

January (Ianuarius) - The Roman god Janus.
February (Februatio) The Roman festival of purification.
March (Martius) Named after Mars, the Roman god of war.
April (Aprilis) April was sacred to Venus, the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on April 1st . It is possible that Aprilis was originally the month of Aphrodite. A connection from ‘Fool’ to ‘Love’ is not a difficult one for most of us to make.
May (Marius) Most likely referring to the Roman goddess Bona Dea of fertility, healing, virginity and women, also known as Marica.
June (Iunius), Honors the ancient Roman goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter.
July (Iulius) Originally named Quintilis by the Romans as it was the fifth month at that time, it was renamed Julius in honor of Julius Caesar, who was born in that month.
August (Augustus) Originally named Sextilis because it was the sixth month of the Roman ten month calendar. It was changed in 8 BC to Augustus in honor of the first emperor.
September (septimus) In Latin, septem means "seven" and septimus means "seventh". September was the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 153 BC.
October (Octo) October retains its Roman name for “eighth”.
November (novem) November retains its Roman name for nine as it was the ninth month of the Roman calendar.
December (decem) December retains its Roman name and place as the last month of the year. This made more sense to the Roman with a ten month calendar.

Articles in ‘Ancient Roman Emperors & Coins’:
00) Ancient Roman Coins On Ebay
0) Introduction
1) When, where & why were coins first made?
2) The Story of Romulus and Remus & The Birth of Rome
3) The Roman Republic
4) Julius Caesar and the Death of the Republic
5) Augustus Caesar: The First Roman Emperor
6) Tiberius Caesar: The First Julio-Claudian Heir
7) Caligula: The first really crazy Caesar
8) Claudius: A level headed Caesar
9) Nero: The Last Julio-Claudian Heir