RIC VII Antioch 29
Title
RIC VII Antioch 29
Date
317-320 CE
Description
An AE 2 of Emperor Licinius.
Subject
Jupiter, Victoria
Publisher
Bethel University
Contributor
Conor Nordmeyer
Coverage
POINT(3104951.62324393 4921510.81469073)
Relation
Render Unto Caesar Roman coin project.
Type
Coin
Format
Image/Jpeg
Language
Latin
Mint
Cyzicus (Belkis)
Denomination
AE2
AE3
Deity
Jupiter, Victoria
Portrait
Licinius
Region
Mysia
Material
Bronze
Obverse Legend
D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C
Obverse Type
Bust of Licinius, laureate, draped, left, holding sceptre in right hand and mappa in left hand
Reverse Legend
IOVI CONS-ERVATORI CAESS
Reverse Type
Jupiter, nude, chlamys draped across left shoulder, standing left, holding Victory on globe in right hand and leaning on sceptre with left hand; to left, captive
Obverse Analysis
Valerius Licinius Licinianus was born to a peasant family in the Upper Moesia in the year 250 CE. He started his life in a very impoverished society finding refuge in the Roman military. After joining the military Licinius began to climb through the ranks of Rome’s army. While he was climbing the ranks, he befriended a man named Galerius Valerius Maximianus who would soon become the emperor after Diocletiaon. During a campaign against the Persians Licinius proved himself to Galerius. Galerius saw Licinius’ performance and was very impressed. After that campaign Licinius was rewarded with military command over the Danube province.
In 306 CE Licinius traveled to Rome on Galerius’ request to help negotiate with Maxentius who at the time was one of Rome’s emperors. It ultimately was unsuccessful and lead to a series of civil wars between Galerius and Maxentius. During these civil wars Licinius was promoted to the rank of Augustus during a conference at Carnuntum in 308 CE. At the same conference, Diocletian adopted him and appointed him the Territories of Pannonia, Italy, Africa, and Spain. Even though he was named emperor he was one of the weakest and needed to find an ally to defend himself against Maximinus II. Constantine made a treaty with Licinius, but to confirm the treaty Licinius would have to marry Constantine’s sister Constantia in exchange they would become allies. After the treaty was ratified Maximinius II made the aggressive move against Licinius by marching his troops to Thrace. In the end this campaign was a disaster for Maximinius II. His troops were exhausted after crossing Turkey and were cut down by Licinius and his men at Campus Serenus. After this defeat Maximinius II retreated with his troops back to Asia Minor and Licinius issued his own edict restating the Edict of Milan and paying his respect to Constantine I. This edict gave Christians the freedom to worship through the entire empire. After this edict was introduced Licinius set his gaze to Asia minor to defeat Maximinius. Licinius pushed through each of the fortifications, and as he made it to Tarsus, finally in August, 313 CE Maximinus committed suicide and Licinius became the sole ruler of Eastern Rome. Even though Licinius was the lesser emperor to Constantine he didn’t like how Constantine appointed his brother Bassianus to the rank of Caesar, and gave him control of the province of Balkans. Licinius tried instigating a revolt involving Bassianus, but this plot was discovered by Constantine and this lead to a civil war between the two emperors. Constantine won the war, but the civil war took a toll on Rome’s armies. Instead of abdicating his position Licinius instead made a treaty with Constantine that would keep him in power, but made Constantine the higher emperor. This didn’t quell any of the tension between the two empires it actually made it worse. Instead of following the treaty Licinius openly opposed Christians in the west which lead to another civil war. This time it ended differently for Licinius, Constantine defeated him at Chrysopolis in September 324. With this Licinius fled to Nicomedia where he captured by Constantine and his armies. Constantine forced Licinius to give up his position of emperor in the East which made Constantine the sole emperor of Rome. As a gift to his new Emperor Licinius brought a purple garment to the feet of Constantine declaring him Emperor and king. This officially reuniting the two Roman empires which were separated by Diocletian. Constantine took pity on Licinius and kept him under house arrest in Thessalonica until he was hung in 325 CE, on the grounds of leading a rebellion against Constantine.
Roman coins are small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, but hold more symbols then most modern coinage. When you study a coin, you can’t take it for face value you must break down its Obverse and reverse looking at each symbol for meaning. Most importantly remember that every mark on coin should be considered important until you research it no matter what it looks like. On the reverse of coin RIC VII Antioch 29 it shows the god Jupiter holding a globe with the goddess Victory standing on the top. The naked god Jupiter has a chlamys draped over his left shoulder leaning on a Hosta and to the left of Jupiter there is a human captive. Focusing on the picture on the obverse we see a picture of Licinius holding a scepter in his right hand and wearing a laurel. Surrounding the obverse’s picture there is an inscription of words reading “D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C” which roughly translates to “Our lord Valerius Licinianus Licinius, Royal heir to the throne.” On the reverse of the coin there is another inscription that reads “: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI CAESS” which some believe translates to Jupiter Guardian and protector of the Caesars.
In 306 CE Licinius traveled to Rome on Galerius’ request to help negotiate with Maxentius who at the time was one of Rome’s emperors. It ultimately was unsuccessful and lead to a series of civil wars between Galerius and Maxentius. During these civil wars Licinius was promoted to the rank of Augustus during a conference at Carnuntum in 308 CE. At the same conference, Diocletian adopted him and appointed him the Territories of Pannonia, Italy, Africa, and Spain. Even though he was named emperor he was one of the weakest and needed to find an ally to defend himself against Maximinus II. Constantine made a treaty with Licinius, but to confirm the treaty Licinius would have to marry Constantine’s sister Constantia in exchange they would become allies. After the treaty was ratified Maximinius II made the aggressive move against Licinius by marching his troops to Thrace. In the end this campaign was a disaster for Maximinius II. His troops were exhausted after crossing Turkey and were cut down by Licinius and his men at Campus Serenus. After this defeat Maximinius II retreated with his troops back to Asia Minor and Licinius issued his own edict restating the Edict of Milan and paying his respect to Constantine I. This edict gave Christians the freedom to worship through the entire empire. After this edict was introduced Licinius set his gaze to Asia minor to defeat Maximinius. Licinius pushed through each of the fortifications, and as he made it to Tarsus, finally in August, 313 CE Maximinus committed suicide and Licinius became the sole ruler of Eastern Rome. Even though Licinius was the lesser emperor to Constantine he didn’t like how Constantine appointed his brother Bassianus to the rank of Caesar, and gave him control of the province of Balkans. Licinius tried instigating a revolt involving Bassianus, but this plot was discovered by Constantine and this lead to a civil war between the two emperors. Constantine won the war, but the civil war took a toll on Rome’s armies. Instead of abdicating his position Licinius instead made a treaty with Constantine that would keep him in power, but made Constantine the higher emperor. This didn’t quell any of the tension between the two empires it actually made it worse. Instead of following the treaty Licinius openly opposed Christians in the west which lead to another civil war. This time it ended differently for Licinius, Constantine defeated him at Chrysopolis in September 324. With this Licinius fled to Nicomedia where he captured by Constantine and his armies. Constantine forced Licinius to give up his position of emperor in the East which made Constantine the sole emperor of Rome. As a gift to his new Emperor Licinius brought a purple garment to the feet of Constantine declaring him Emperor and king. This officially reuniting the two Roman empires which were separated by Diocletian. Constantine took pity on Licinius and kept him under house arrest in Thessalonica until he was hung in 325 CE, on the grounds of leading a rebellion against Constantine.
Roman coins are small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, but hold more symbols then most modern coinage. When you study a coin, you can’t take it for face value you must break down its Obverse and reverse looking at each symbol for meaning. Most importantly remember that every mark on coin should be considered important until you research it no matter what it looks like. On the reverse of coin RIC VII Antioch 29 it shows the god Jupiter holding a globe with the goddess Victory standing on the top. The naked god Jupiter has a chlamys draped over his left shoulder leaning on a Hosta and to the left of Jupiter there is a human captive. Focusing on the picture on the obverse we see a picture of Licinius holding a scepter in his right hand and wearing a laurel. Surrounding the obverse’s picture there is an inscription of words reading “D N VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C” which roughly translates to “Our lord Valerius Licinianus Licinius, Royal heir to the throne.” On the reverse of the coin there is another inscription that reads “: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI CAESS” which some believe translates to Jupiter Guardian and protector of the Caesars.
Reverse Analysis
When you look at the reverse of the coin the first image that draws you in is the nude figure in the center of the coin. The nudity of this man is symbolizing divinity in the Greco-Roman world. There is a very strong assumption that the deity is depicting Jupiter, because of the goddess Victoria that is standing to his left, and also the inscription around perimeter of the reverse. There is a captive that is standing off to the left of Jupiter which could symbolize a triumph over Licinius’ enemies in the field of combat. This could be referring to the defeat of Maximinus II Daia which gave Licinius sole power over the eastern empire.
If we move from the depiction of the captive to the depiction of the woman standing on a globe we see that the figure has wings, and it is associated with Jupiter so we can assume it is Victoria the goddess of victory. In this case Victoria is standing on a globe or sphere which symbolized the area that the emperor ruled over. Sometimes instead of a globe she may stand on a rostrum to depict a series of naval battles that an emperor had won. If you look close at Victoria’s hand you can see her holding a laurel which is a crown given to citizen who have won a great victory in Rome. From the viewers angle it could look like she is presenting the laurel to Jupiter as a sign of his victory over the world.
Every time this coin is looked at there may be something new discovered or interpreted, and that is the cool thing about coins. No one knows the true reason why the romans used these images. It will forever be a mystery, but within any mystery there are clues that can lead us on a journey to fill in the blanks about why these coins were made a specific way.
If we move from the depiction of the captive to the depiction of the woman standing on a globe we see that the figure has wings, and it is associated with Jupiter so we can assume it is Victoria the goddess of victory. In this case Victoria is standing on a globe or sphere which symbolized the area that the emperor ruled over. Sometimes instead of a globe she may stand on a rostrum to depict a series of naval battles that an emperor had won. If you look close at Victoria’s hand you can see her holding a laurel which is a crown given to citizen who have won a great victory in Rome. From the viewers angle it could look like she is presenting the laurel to Jupiter as a sign of his victory over the world.
Every time this coin is looked at there may be something new discovered or interpreted, and that is the cool thing about coins. No one knows the true reason why the romans used these images. It will forever be a mystery, but within any mystery there are clues that can lead us on a journey to fill in the blanks about why these coins were made a specific way.
Diameter
18 mm
Weight
2.92 g.
