Galerius Maximian Victory Jupiter 296 Rare genuine Ancient Roman coin Alexandria

Description

One original ancient Roman bronze coin of:
Galerius Maximian Caesar 293-305 AD, Augustus 305-311 AD.
AE Radiate Fraction. 296-297 AD. Alexandria mint.
AE follis 20mm. 3.14gm.
Original brown patina.
(VF) Well centered nice specimen.
Coin is in good condition and very rare and nice inclusion to the finest collection.
Obverse:/
GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES, radiate, draped bust right.
Reverse:
/ CONCORDIA MIL-ITVM, Galerius standing right receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter. A in lower centre. Mintmark: ALE.
Authenticity guaranteed.
Galerius Maximianus
(
ca
. 260 – late April or early May 311), formally
Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus
was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311.
Early life
Galerius was born on a small farm estate, on the site where he later built his palace, Felix Romuliana.[5] His father was a Thracian and his mother Romula was a Dacian woman, who left Dacia because of the Carpians' attacks.[10] He originally followed his father's occupation, that of a herdsman, where he got his surname of Armentarius (Latin: armentum, herd). He served with distinction as a soldier under Emperors Aurelian and Probus, and in 293 at the establishment of the Tetrarchy, was designated Caesar along with Constantius Chlorus, receiving in marriage Diocletian's daughter Valeria (later known as Galeria Valeria), and at the same time being entrusted with the care of the Illyrian provinces. Soon after his appointment, Galerius would be dispatched to Egypt to fight the rebellious cities Busiris and Coptos.[11]
War with Persia
Invasion, counterinvasion
In 294,
Narseh
, a son of Shapur who had been passed over for the Sassanid succession, came into power in Persia. Narseh probably moved to eliminate
Bahram III
, a young man installed by a noble named Vahunam in the wake of Bahram II's death in 293.
[12]
In early 294, Narseh sent Diocletian the customary package of gifts, but within Persia he was destroying every trace of his immediate predecessors, erasing their names from public monuments. He sought to identify himself with the warlike reigns of
Ardashir
(r. 226–41) and
Shapur
(r. 241–72), the same Shapur who had sacked Roman Antioch, skinned the Emperor
Valerian
(r. 253–260) to decorate his war temple.
[13]
In 295 or 296, Narseh declared war on Rome. He appears to have first invaded western Armenia, retaking the lands delivered to Tiridates in the peace of 287. He would occupy the lands there until the following year.
[14]
Narseh then moved south into Roman Mesopotamia, where he inflicted a severe defeat on Galerius, then commander of the Eastern forces, in the region between Carrhae (
Harran
, Turkey) and Callinicum (
Ar-Raqqah
, Syria).
[15]
Diocletian may or may not have been present at the battle,
[16]
but would present himself soon afterwards at Antioch, where the official version of events was made clear: Galerius was to take all the blame for the affair. In Antioch, Diocletian forced Galerius to walk a mile in advance of his imperial cart while still clad in the purple robes of an emperor.
[17]
The message conveyed was clear: the loss at Carrhae was not due to the failings of the empire's soldiers, but due to the failings of their commander, and Galerius' failures would not be accepted.
[18]
(It is also possible that Galerius' position at the head of the caravan was merely the conventional organization of an imperial progression, designed to show a Caesar's deference to his Augustus.)
[19]
Detail of Galerius attacking
Narseh
on the
Arch of Galerius
at
Thessaloniki
,
Greece
, the city where Galerius carried out most of his administrative actions.
[20]
Galerius had been reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new contingent collected from the empire's Danubian holdings.
[21]
Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia, leaving Galerius to lead the offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia.
[18]
Diocletian may or may not have been present to assist the campaign.
[22]
Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius' force, to Narseh's disadvantage: the rugged Armenian terrain was favorable to Roman infantry, but unfavorable to Sassanid cavalry. Local aid gave Galerius the advantage of surprise over the Persian forces, and, in two successive battles, Galerius secured victories over Narseh.
[23]
During the second encounter, Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife along with it.
[23]
Narseh's wife would live out the remainder of the war in Daphne, a suburb of Antioch, serving to the Persians as a constant reminder of Roman victory.
[18]
Galerius advanced into
Media
and
Adiabene
, winning continuous victories, most prominently near Erzurum,
[20]
and securing Nisibis (
Nusaybin
, Turkey) before October 1, 298. He moved down the Tigris, taking Ctesiphon, and gazing onwards to the ruins of Babylon before returning to Roman territory via the Euphrates.
[24]
Peace negotiations
Narseh had previously sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his wives and children, but Galerius had dismissed this ambassador, reminding him of how Shapur had treated Valerian.
[21]
The Romans, in any case, treated Narseh's captured family with tact, perhaps seeking to evoke comparisons to
Alexander
and his beneficent conduct towards the family of
Darius III
.
[18]
Peace negotiations began in the spring of 299, with both Diocletian and Galerius presiding. Their
magister memoriae
(secretary) Sicorius Probus was sent to Narseh to present terms.
[21]
The conditions of the peace were heavy:
[18]
Persia would give up territory to Rome, making the Tigris the boundary between the two empires. Further terms specified that Armenia was returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border;
Caucasian Iberia
would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over the five satrapies between the Tigris and Armenia:
Ingilene
, Sophanene (
Sophene
), Arzanene (
Aghdznik
),
Corduene
, and
Zabdicene
(near modern
Hakkâri
, Turkey). These regions included the passage of the Tigris through the
Anti-Taurus
range; the
Bitlis
pass, the quickest southerly route into Persian Armenia; and access to the
Tur Abdin
plateau. With these territories, Rome would have an advance station north of Ctesiphon, and would be able to slow any future advance of Persian forces through the region.
[25]
Under the terms of the peace Tiridates would regain both his throne and the entirety of his ancestral claim, and Rome would secure a wide zone of cultural influence in the region.
[21]
The fact that the empire was able to sustain such constant warfare on so many fronts has been taken as a sign of the essential efficacy of the Diocletianic system and the goodwill of the army towards the tetrarchic enterprise.
[26]
Detail of the
Arch of Galerius
in
Thessaloniki
.
Persecution of Christians
Main article:
Diocletian Persecution
Christians had lived in peace during most of the rule of Diocletian. The persecutions that began with an edict of February 24, 303, were credited by Christians to Galerius' work, as he was a fierce advocate of the old ways and old gods. Christian houses of assembly were destroyed, for fear of sedition in secret gatherings.
Diocletian
was not anti-Christian during the first part of his reign, and historians have claimed that Galerius decided to prod him into persecuting them by secretly burning the Imperial Palace and blaming it on Christian saboteurs. Regardless of who was at fault for the fire, Diocletian's rage was aroused and he began one of the last and greatest Christian persecutions in the history of the
Roman Empire
.
It was at the insistence of Galerius that the last edicts of persecution against the
Christians
were published, beginning on February 24, 303, and this policy of repression was maintained by him until the appearance of the general edict of toleration, issued from
Nicomedia
in April 311, apparently during his last bout of illness, in his own name and in those of
Licinius
and
Constantine
(see
Edict of Toleration by Galerius
).
Lactantius
gives the text of the edict in his moralized chronicle of the bad ends to which all the persecutors came,
De Mortibus Persecutorum
("On the Deaths of the Persecutors", chapters 34, 35). This marked the end of official persecution of Christians.
Rule as Augustus
After the elevation of
Constantius I
and Galerius to the rank of Augusti, two new Caesars were required to supply their place, and to complete the system of the Imperial government. The two persons whom Galerius promoted to the rank of Caesar were very much Galerius' creatures, and he hoped to enhance his authority throughout the empire with their elevation.
First was
Maximinus Daia
, whose mother was Galerius' sister. An inexperienced youth with little formal education, he was invested with the purple, exalted to the dignity of Caesar, and assigned the command of Egypt and Syria. Second was
Severus
, Galerius' comrade in arms; he was sent to
Milan
to receive the possession of Italy and Africa. According to the forms of the constitution, Severus acknowledged the supremacy of the western emperor; but he was absolutely devoted to the commands of his benefactor Galerius, who, reserving to himself the intermediate countries from the confines of Italy to those of Syria, firmly established his power over three quarters of the empire.
His hopes were dashed when his colleague Constantius died at
York
in 306 and the legions elevated his son
Constantine
to the position of Augustus. Galerius only discovered this when he received a letter from Constantine, who informed him of his father's death, modestly asserted his natural claim to the succession, and respectfully lamented that the enthusiastic violence of his troops had not allowed him to obtain the Imperial purple in the regular and constitutional manner. The first emotions of Galerius were those of surprise, disappointment, and rage; and, as he could seldom restrain his passions, he threatened to burn both the letter and the messenger.
But when he had time to reconsider his position, he inevitably saw that his chances of winning a war against Constantine was doubtful at best, especially given that he was well aware of Constantine’s strengths as Constantine had been his guest for some time at
Nicomedia
, not to mention the attachment of the troops to him. Therefore, without either condemning or ratifying the choice of the British army, Galerius accepted the son of his deceased colleague as the ruler of the provinces beyond the Alps; but he gave him only the title of Caesar, and the fourth rank among the Roman princes, whilst he conferred the vacant place of Augustus on his favourite Severus.
The ambitious spirit of Galerius was only just gotten over this disappointment when he beheld the unexpected loss of Italy to
Maxentius
. Galerius’ need for additional revenue had persuaded him to make a very strict and rigorous examination of the property of his subjects for the purpose of a general taxation. A very minute survey was taken of their real estates; and, wherever there was the slightest suspicion of concealment, torture was used to obtain a sincere declaration of their personal wealth. Italy had traditionally been exempt from any form of taxation
[27]
, but Galerius ignored this precedent, and the officers of the revenue already began to number the Roman people, and to settle the proportion of the new taxes. Italy began to murmur against this indignity and Maxentius used this sentiment to declare himself emperor in Italy, to the fury of Galerius. Therefore, Galerius ordered his colleague Severus to immediately march to Rome, in the full confidence that, by his unexpected arrival, he would easily suppress the rebellion
[27]
. Severus was quickly captured and executed by
Maximian
, who had once again been elevated to the rank of co-emperor, this time by his son Maxentius.
The importance of the occasion needed the presence and abilities of Galerius. At the head of a powerful army collected from
Illyricum
and the East, he entered Italy, determined to revenge the death of Severus and to punish the rebellious Romans. But due to the skill of Maximian, Galerius found every place hostile, fortified, and inaccessible; and though he forced his way as far as
Narni
, within sixty miles of Rome, his control in Italy was confined to the narrow limits of his camp.
Seeing that he was facing ever-greater difficulties, Galerius made the first advances towards reconciliation, and dispatched two officers to tempt the Romans by the offer of a conference, and the declaration of his paternal regard for Maxentius, reminding them that they would obtain much more from his willing generosity that anything that might have been obtained through a military campaign. The offers of Galerius were rejected with firmness, his friendship refused, and it was not long before he discovered that unless he retreated, he might have succumbed to the fate of Severus. It was not a moment too soon; large monetary gifts from Maxentius to his soldiers had corrupted the fidelity of the Illyrian legions. When Galerius finally began his withdrawal from Italy, it was only with great difficulty that he managed to stop his veterans deserting him.
In frustration, Galerius allowed his legions to ravage the countryside as they passed northwards. Maxentius declined to make a general engagement.
With so many emperors now in existence, in
308
Galerius, together with the retired emperor Diocletian and the now active Maximian, called an imperial 'conference' at
Carnuntum
on the River Danube to rectify the situation and bring some order back into the imperial government. Here it was agreed that Galerius’ long-time friend and military companion
Licinius
, who had been entrusted by Galerius with the defense of the Danube while Galerius was in Italy, would become Augustus in the West, with Constantine as his Caesar. In the East, Galerius remained Augustus and Maximinus remained his Caesar. Maximian was to retire, and Maxentius was declared a usurper.
Galerius’ plan soon failed. The news of Licinius’ promotion was no sooner carried into the East, than Maximinus, who governed, the provinces of Egypt and Syria, rejected his position as Caesar, and, notwithstanding the prayers as well as arguments of Galerius, exacted, the equal title of Augustus. For the first, and indeed for the last time, six emperors administered the Roman world. And though the opposition of interest, and the memory of a recent war, divided the empire into two great hostile powers, their mutual fears and the fading authority of Galerius produced an apparent tranquility in the imperial government.
The last years of Galerius saw him relinquishing his aspirations towards being the supreme emperor of the empire, though he managed to retain the position of first among equals. He spent the remainder of his years enjoying himself and ordering some important public works, such as discharging into the
Danube
the superfluous waters of
Lake Pelso
, and the cutting down the immense forests that encompassed it.
Death
Galerius died on 5 May 311 from a horribly gruesome disease described by
Eusebius
, possibly some form of
bowel cancer
,
gangrene
or
Fournier gangrene
.
Gamzigrad-Romuliana
, Palace of Galerius near
Zaječar
in
Serbia
he had constructed in his birthplace, was inscribed into the
World Heritage List
in June 2007.
Items will be shipped within 1 to 3 business days of purchase completion.
FREE - domestic SHIPPING
INTERNATIONAL .99
(REGISTERED-.00) WE COMBINE SHIPPING.
If you would like to have special shipping, please contact us.
All items will be sent out in protected envelope and boxed if necessary.
YOU ARE BIDDING ON AN ANCIENT ITEM(S) AS DESCRIBED AND PICTURED ABOVE!!!
Every item offered by cameleoncoins is unconditionally guaranteed to be genuine & authentic.
We can provide a certificate of authenticity or extended return policy by request only!!!
Please include 5 dollars and a short request with your payment if you would like a COA!!!
If in the unlikely event that an item is found to be reproduction, full return privileges are within 14 days of receiving the coins. We will promptly offer a full refund without hesitation or hassle.