RIC VIII Lugdunum 190
Title
RIC VIII Lugdunum 190
Date
353-355 AD
Description
An AE3 of Constantius II
Publisher
Bethel University
Contributor
Sophia Carlson
Coverage
POINT(536498.051912016 5741927.7541519)
Relation
Roman Coin Project
Type
Coin
Format
Image/jpeg
Mint
Lugdunum (Lyons)
Denomination
AE3
Portrait
Constantius II
Region
Gallia
Material
Bronze
Obverse Legend
D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG
Obverse Type
Bust of Constantius II, rosette-diademed, draped, cuirassed, right
Reverse Legend
FEL TEMP - REPARATIO
Reverse Type
Soldier, helmeted, draped, cuirassed, advancing left, spearing fallen horseman with right hand and wearing shield on left arm; shield on ground to right; horseman wearing a pointed cap, turning to soldier, extending left arm
Obverse Analysis
Constantius II was the second son of Constantine and Fausta and was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. Constantius II named after his grandfather, was the one of his three brothers to pay many respects to his deceased father. He headed the professional and gave his father a truly elaborate funeral. After his father had passed, Constantius II sent for the resulted people from his Grandfather's second family to be killed. This included 2 uncles and three cousins. After this killing the only descendants of Constantine the great were Constantius II, his two brother, and three cousins one of whom was Julian.
When the empire was divided amongst the three brothers, Constantius II received the eastern portions including Constantinople, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. His brothers went head to head in 340 which led to the death of Constantine II, giving Constans control over his reigns. This lasted until 350 when Constans was assassinated, making Constantius II the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.
Through his reign, Constantinople became not only second to the city of Rome but matched up to it. Obviously there was some favoritism in regards to the city that bared his father's name. Constantius II showed great respects to his father and the way that he had chosen to run aspects of the Empire. He ensured Constantine’s distinction between military and civil posts.
Another aspect that he had great effect on was that of religion. Constantius II made a great effort to close all places of pagan worship with the Edict of 365 CE. This had a great impact on the religion as a whole as the temples were the main place that held such practices done by pagans. In addition he had the statue of Victory removed from the senate house because it was under his thought that no christian should have to work under the dominance of a pagan.
Constantius’ reign came to an end after his cousin and caesar Julian took the name of Augustus in revolt. The two were to go to war however in the process Constantius II fell ill and passed in 361 CE. Before his passing recognizing that he would not be able to proceed, he named Julian his rightful successor.
From what has been written of him, his reign was not one of great ambiguity although it was also not one of great change aside from that of religion. The battles and military moments that occured are evident however many smaller scaled victories. The result of his reign did not end in assassination and at 24 years of ruling quite frankly he seemed to be a Roman Emperor of great success leaving the empire in a more unified and comforted state than that of which he found it.
When the empire was divided amongst the three brothers, Constantius II received the eastern portions including Constantinople, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. His brothers went head to head in 340 which led to the death of Constantine II, giving Constans control over his reigns. This lasted until 350 when Constans was assassinated, making Constantius II the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.
Through his reign, Constantinople became not only second to the city of Rome but matched up to it. Obviously there was some favoritism in regards to the city that bared his father's name. Constantius II showed great respects to his father and the way that he had chosen to run aspects of the Empire. He ensured Constantine’s distinction between military and civil posts.
Another aspect that he had great effect on was that of religion. Constantius II made a great effort to close all places of pagan worship with the Edict of 365 CE. This had a great impact on the religion as a whole as the temples were the main place that held such practices done by pagans. In addition he had the statue of Victory removed from the senate house because it was under his thought that no christian should have to work under the dominance of a pagan.
Constantius’ reign came to an end after his cousin and caesar Julian took the name of Augustus in revolt. The two were to go to war however in the process Constantius II fell ill and passed in 361 CE. Before his passing recognizing that he would not be able to proceed, he named Julian his rightful successor.
From what has been written of him, his reign was not one of great ambiguity although it was also not one of great change aside from that of religion. The battles and military moments that occured are evident however many smaller scaled victories. The result of his reign did not end in assassination and at 24 years of ruling quite frankly he seemed to be a Roman Emperor of great success leaving the empire in a more unified and comforted state than that of which he found it.
Reverse Analysis
Constantius II. On the obverse side of the coin, the legend reads “DN CONSTANTIVS PF AVG”. DN means “Dominus Noster”
meaning supreme ruler such as a God like figure for the physical world. This is followed by his name and PF, “Pius Felix” meaning duditful and wise. AVG “Augustus” which defines him as the emperor. The depiction presented him as sole emperor. He is draped and crowned. The lesser human like depiction hints at him being perceived as a God like figure who is different from the people he oversees. It is not as realistic as other coins I have interacted with and seen in research. The reverse is depicted as “The fallen hoarsemen.” The legend reads “FEL TEMP REPARATIO.” This is thought to mean “Reestablishment of the happy times”. The picture on the reverse side is of a Roman Soldier killing a man on a hoarse. The man is thought to be a barbarian. This suggests that the meaning for the coin is that Constantius II is bringing back the happy times by destroying the barbarians and re establishing the Roman soldier that was so cherished by the general public. The reverse of this coin was presented for both Constans and Constantius II with the only differences between the two being the depiction and legend on the obverse of the coin. The common political drive of bringing back the good times from the past is something that brings about calm amongst the general public and fuels those who have more traditional views of the Roman way.
meaning supreme ruler such as a God like figure for the physical world. This is followed by his name and PF, “Pius Felix” meaning duditful and wise. AVG “Augustus” which defines him as the emperor. The depiction presented him as sole emperor. He is draped and crowned. The lesser human like depiction hints at him being perceived as a God like figure who is different from the people he oversees. It is not as realistic as other coins I have interacted with and seen in research. The reverse is depicted as “The fallen hoarsemen.” The legend reads “FEL TEMP REPARATIO.” This is thought to mean “Reestablishment of the happy times”. The picture on the reverse side is of a Roman Soldier killing a man on a hoarse. The man is thought to be a barbarian. This suggests that the meaning for the coin is that Constantius II is bringing back the happy times by destroying the barbarians and re establishing the Roman soldier that was so cherished by the general public. The reverse of this coin was presented for both Constans and Constantius II with the only differences between the two being the depiction and legend on the obverse of the coin. The common political drive of bringing back the good times from the past is something that brings about calm amongst the general public and fuels those who have more traditional views of the Roman way.
Diameter
1.3
Weight
1.93
