Licinius Jupiter Eagle Victory wreath Rare genuine Ancient Roman coin Nicomedia

Description

One original ancient Roman bronze coin of:
Licinius I, 308-324 AD. Co-emperor until he was murdered by order of Constantine I who then, by this act of perfidy, had the entire empire to himself.
AE Follis
Struck
313-317 AD.
Obverse:/
IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS PF AVG, laureate head right
.
Reverse:
/ IOVI CONS-ERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, chlamys hanging from left shoulder, holding Victory on globe and sceptre, eagle at foot left with wreath in beak, A in right field. Mintmark SMN.
RIC VII Nicomedia 13; Sear 15216.
AE follis 19-20mm.
3.16gm.
Nicomedia
mint. (VF) Original brown patina. Lightly cleaned. Exactly as pictured.
Coin is in good condition and very rare and nice inclusion to the finest collection.
Authenticity guaranteed.
Licinius I
(
Latin
:
Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius Augustus
c. 263 – 325), was
Roman Emperor
from 308 to 324. For the majority of his reign he was the colleague and rival of
Constantine I
, with whom he co-authored the
Edict of Milan
that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the
Battle of Chrysopolis
, before being executed on the orders of Constantine I.
Sculptural portraits of Licinius (left) and his rival
Constantine I
(right).
Early reign
Born to a
Dacian
peasant family in
Moesia
Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend, the future emperor
Galerius
, on the Persian expedition in 298. He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to
Maxentius
in
Italy
to attempt to reach some agreement about his illegitimate status. Galerius then trusted the eastern provinces to Licinius when he went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of
Flavius Valerius Severus
.
Upon his return to the east Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of
Augustus in the West
on November 11, 308. He received as his immediate command the provinces of
Illyricum
,
Thrace
and
Pannonia
. In 310 he took command of the war against the
Sarmatians
, inflicting a severe defeat on them and emerging victorious. On the death of Galerius in May 311, Licinius entered into an agreement with
Maximinus II
(Daia) to share the eastern provinces between them. By this point, not only was Licinius the official
Augustus
of the west, but he also possessed part of the eastern provinces as well, as the
Hellespont
and the
Bosporus
became the dividing line, with Licinius taking the European provinces and Maximinus taking the Asian.
An alliance between Maximinus and Maxentius forced the two remaining emperors to enter into a formal agreement with each other. So in March 313 Licinius married
Flavia Julia Constantia
, half-sister of
Constantine I
, at Mediolanum (now
Milan
); they had a son,
Licinius the Younger
, in 315. Their marriage was the occasion for the jointly-issued "
Edict of Milan
" that reissued Galerius' previous edict allowing
Christianity
to be professed in the Empire, with additional dispositions that restored confiscated properties to Christian congregations and exempted Christian clergy from municipal civic duties.
[8]
The redaction of the edict as reproduced by
Lactantius
- who follows the text affixed by Licinius in
Nicomedia
on June 14 313, after Maximinus' defeat - uses a neutral language, expressing a will to propitiate "any Divinity whatsoever in the seat of the heavens".
Coin of Licinius
Daia in the meantime decided to attack Licinius. Leaving Syria with 70,000 men, he reached
Bithynia
, although harsh weather he encountered along the way had gravely weakened his army. In April 313, he crossed the
Bosporus
and went to
Byzantium
, which was held by Licinius' troops. Undeterred, he took the town after an eleven-day siege. He moved to Heraclea, which he captured after a short siege, before moving his forces to the first posting station. With a much smaller body of men, possibly around 30,000,
[10]
Licinius arrived at
Adrianople
while Daia was still besieging
Heraclea
. Before the decisive engagement, Licinius allegedly had a vision in which an angel recited him a generic prayer that could be adopted by all cults and which Licinius then repeated to his soldiers.
[11]
On 30 April 313, the two armies clashed at the
Battle of Tzirallum
, and in the ensuing battle Daia's forces were crushed. Ridding himself of the imperial purple and dressing like a slave, Daia fled to
Nicomedia
. Believing he still had a chance to come out victorious, Daia attempted to stop the advance of Licinius at the
Cilician Gates
by establishing fortifications there. Unfortunately for Daia, Licinius' army succeeded in breaking through, forcing Daia to retreat to
Tarsus
where Licinius continued to press him on land and sea. The war between them only ended with Daia’s death in August 313.
Given that Constantine had already crushed his rival Maxentius in 312, the two men decided to divide the Roman world between them. As a result of this settlement, Licinius became sole Augustus in the East, while his brother-in-law, Constantine, was supreme in the West. Licinius immediately rushed to the east to deal with another threat, this time from the Persian
Sassanids
.
Conflict with Constantine I
In 314, a civil war erupted between Licinius and Constantine, in which Constantine used the pretext that Licinius was harbouring Senecio, whom Constantine accused of plotting to overthrow him. Constantine prevailed at the
Battle of Cibalae
in
Pannonia
(October 8, 314).
[6]
Although the situation was temporarily settled, with both men sharing the
consulship
in 315, it was but a lull in the storm. The next year a new war erupted, when Licinius named
Valerius Valens
co-emperor, only for Licinius to suffer a humiliating defeat on the plain of
Mardia
(also known as
Campus Ardiensis
) in
Thrace
. The emperors were reconciled after these two battles and Licinius had his co-emperor Valens killed.
Over the next ten years, the two imperial colleagues maintained an uneasy truce. Licinius kept himself busy with a campaign against the Sarmatians in 318, but temperatures rose again in 321 when Constantine pursued some Sarmatians, who had been ravaging some territory in his realm, across the Danube into what was technically Licinius’s territory. When he repeated this with another invasion, this time by the
Goths
who were pillaging
Thrace
, Licinius complained that Constantine had broken the treaty between them.
Constantine wasted no time going on the offensive. Licinius's fleet of 350 ships was defeated by Constantine I's fleet in 323. Then in 324, Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices" of his colleague, again declared war against him, and, having defeated his army of 170,000 men at the
Battle of Adrianople
(July 3, 324), succeeded in shutting him up within the walls of
Byzantium
.
[6]
The defeat of the superior fleet of Licinius in the
Battle of the Hellespont
by
Crispus
, Constantine’s eldest son and
Caesar
, compelled his withdrawal to
Bithynia
, where a last stand was made; the
Battle of Chrysopolis
, near
Chalcedon
(September 18), resulted in Licinius' final submission. While Licinius' co-emperor
Sextus Martinianus
was killed, Licinius himself was spared due to the pleas of his wife, Constantine's sister, and interned at
Thessalonica
. The next year, Constantine had him hanged, accusing him of conspiring to raise troops among the barbarians.
Character and legacy
Constantine made every effort to blacken the reputation of his imperial colleague. To this end, stories began circulating about Licinius’s cruelty. It was said that he had put to death Severianus, the son of the emperor Severus, as well as Candidianus, the son of Galerius. To this was added the execution of the wife and daughter of the Emperor
Diocletian
, who had fled from the court of Licinius before being discovered at
Thessalonica
. Much of this can be considered imperial propaganda on the part of Constantine.
In addition, as part of Constantine’s attempts to decrease Licinius’s popularity, he actively portrayed his brother-in-law as a pagan supporter. This was not the case; contemporary evidence tends to suggest that he was at least a committed supporter of Christians. He co-authored the Edict of Milan which ended the
Great Persecution
, and re-affirmed the rights of Christians in his half of the empire. He also added the Christian symbol to his armies, and attempted to regulate the affairs of the Church hierarchy just as Constantine and his successors were to do. His wife was a devout Christian. It is even a possibility that he converted. However,
Eusebius of Caesarea
, writing under the rule of Constantine, charges him with expelling Christians from the Palace and ordering military sacrifice, as well as interfering with the Church's internal procedures and organization. According to Eusebius, this turned what appeared to be a committed Christian into a man who feigned sympathy for the sect but who eventually exposed his true bloodthirsty pagan nature, only to be stopped by the virtuous Constantine.
Finally, on Licinius’s death, his memory was branded with infamy; his statues were thrown down; and by edict, all his laws and judicial proceedings during his reign were abolished
In
ancient Roman religion
and
myth
,
Jupiter
(
Latin
:
Iuppiter
) or
Jove
is the
king of the gods
and the
god of sky
and
thunder
. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman state religion throughout the
Republican
and
Imperial
eras, until the Empire
came under Christian rule
. In
Roman mythology
, he negotiates with
Numa Pompilius
, the second
king of Rome
, to establish principles of Roman religion such as sacrifice.
Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god. His identifying implement is the
thunderbolt
, and his primary sacred animal is the eagle, which held precedence over other birds in the taking of
auspices
and became one of the most common symbols of the
Roman army
(see
Aquila
). The two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt, frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins. As the sky-god, he was a divine witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which justice and good government depend. Many of his functions were focused on the
Capitoline
("Capitol Hill"), where the
citadel
was located. He was the chief deity of the
early Capitoline Triad
with
Mars
and
Quirinus
. In the
later Capitoline Triad
, he was the central guardian of the state with
Juno
and
Minerva
. His sacred tree was the oak.
The Romans regarded Jupiter as the
equivalent
of Greek
Zeus
, and in
Latin literature
and
Roman art
, the myths and iconography of Zeus are adapted under the name
Iuppiter
. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Jupiter was the brother of
Neptune
and
Pluto
. Each presided over one of the three realms of the universe: sky, the waters, and the underworld. The
Italic
Diespiter
was also a sky god who manifested himself in the daylight, usually but not always identified with Jupiter. The
Etruscan
counterpart was
Tinia
and
Hindu
counterpart is
Indra
.
Relation to other gods
Archaic Triad
The Archaic Triad is a theological structure (or system) consisting of the gods Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. It was first described by Wissowa, and the concept was developed further by Dumézil. The three-function hypothesis of
Indo-European society
advanced by Dumézil holds that in prehistory, society was divided into three classes (priests, warriors and craftsmen) which had as their religious counterparts the divine figures of the sovereign god, the warrior god and the civil god. The sovereign function (embodied by Jupiter) entailed omnipotence; thence, a domain extended over every aspect of nature and life. The colour relating to the sovereign function is white.
The three functions are interrelated with one another, overlapping to some extent; the sovereign function, although essentially religious in nature, is involved in many ways in areas pertaining to the other two. Therefore, Jupiter is the "magic player" in the founding of the Roman state and the fields of war, agricultural plenty, human fertility and welth.
Capitoline Triad
Capitoline Triad
The Capitoline Triad was introduced to Rome by the Tarquins. Dumézil thinks it might have been an Etruscan (or local) creation based on Vitruvius' treatise on architecture, in which the three deities are associated as the most important. It is possible that the Etruscans paid particular attention to
Menrva
(Minerva) as a goddess of destiny, in addition to the royal couple Uni (Juno) and Tinia (Jupiter).
[169]
In Rome, Minerva later assumed a military aspect under the influence of
Athena Pallas
(Polias). Dumézil argues that with the advent of the Republic, Jupiter became the only king of Rome, no longer merely the first of the great gods.
Jupiter and Minerva
Apart from being protectress of the arts and craft as Minerva Capta, who was brought from Falerii, Minerva's association to Jupiter and relevance to Roman state religion is mainly linked to the
Palladium
, a wooden statue of Athena that could move the eyes and wave the spear. It was stored in the
penus interior
, inner penus of the
aedes Vestae
, temple of Vesta and considered the most important among the
pignora imperii
, pawns of dominion, empire.
[170]
In Roman traditional lore it was brought from Troy by Aeneas. Scholars though think it was last taken to Rome in the third or second century BC.
Juno and Fortuna
The divine couple received from Greece its matrimonial implications, thence bestowing on Juno the role of tutelary goddess of marriage (
Iuno Pronuba
).
The couple itself though cannot be reduced to a Greek apport. The association of Juno and Jupiter is of the most ancient Latin theology.
Praeneste
offers a glimpse into original Latin mythology: the local goddess
Fortuna
is represented as milking two infants, one male and one female, namely Jove (Jupiter) and Juno. It seems fairly safe to assume that from the earliest times they were identified by their own proper names and since they got them they were never changed through the course of history: they were called Jupiter and Juno. These gods were the most ancient deities of every Latin town. Praeneste preserved divine filiation and infancy as the sovereign god and his paredra Juno have a mother who is the primordial goddess Fortuna Primigenia.
[174]
Many terracotta statuettes have been discovered which represent a woman with a child: one of them represents exactly the scene described by Cicero of a woman with two children of different sex who touch her breast. Two of the votive inscriptions to Fortuna associate her and Jupiter: " Fortunae Iovi puero..." and "Fortunae Iovis puero..."
In 1882 though R. Mowat published an inscription in which Fortuna is called
daughter of Jupiter
, raising new questions and opening new perspectives in the theology of Latin gods. Dumezil has elaborated an interpretative theory according to which this
aporia
would be an intrinsic, fundamental feature of Indoeuropean deities of the primordial and sovereign level, as it finds a parallel in Vedic religion. The contradiction would put Fortuna both at the origin of time and into its ensuing diachronic process: it is the comparison offered by Vedic deity
Aditi
, the
Not-Bound
or
Enemy of Bondage
, that shows that there is no question of choosing one of the two apparent options: as the mother of the
Aditya
she has the same type of relationship with one of his sons,
Dakṣa
, the minor sovereign. who represents the
Creative Energy
, being at the same time his mother and daughter, as is true for the whole group of sovereign gods to which she belongs. Moreover Aditi is thus one of the heirs (along with
Savitr
) of the opening god of the Indoiranians, as she is represented with her head on her two sides, with the two faces looking opposite directions. The mother of the sovereign gods has thence two solidal but distinct modalities of duplicity, i.e. of having two foreheads and a double position in the genealogy. Angelo Brelich has interpreted this theology as the basic opposition between the primordial absence of order (chaos) and the organisation of the cosmos.
Janus
The relation of Jupiter to Janus is problematic. Varro defines Jupiter as the god who has
potestas
(power) over the forces by which anything happens in the world. Janus, however, has the privilege of being invoked first in rites, since in his power are the beginnings of things (
prima
), the appearance of Jupiter included.
Saturn
The
Latins
considered Saturn the predecessor of Jupiter. Saturn reigned in
Latium
during a mythical
Golden Age
reenacted every year at the festival of
Saturnalia
. Saturn also retained primacy in matters of agriculture and money. Unlike the Greek tradition of
Cronus
and Zeus, the usurpation of Saturn as king of the gods by Jupiter was not viewed by the Latins as violent or hostile; Saturn continued to be revered in his temple at the foot of the Capitol Hill, which maintained the alternative name
Saturnius
into the time of Varro.
[182]
A. Pasqualini has argued that Saturn was related to
Iuppiter Latiaris
, the old Jupiter of the Latins, as the original figure of this Jupiter was superseded on the Alban Mount, whereas it preserved its gruesome character in the ceremony held at the sanctuary of the Latiar Hill in Rome which involved a human sacrifice and the aspersion of the statue of the god with the blood of the victim.
Fides
The abstract
personification
Fides ("Faith, Trust") was one of the oldest gods associated with Jupiter. As guarantor of public faith, Fides had her temple on the Capitol (near that of Capitoline Jupiter).
Genius
Augustine quotes Varro who explains the
genius
as "the god who is in charge and has the power to generate everything" and "the rational spirit of all (therefore, everyone has their own)". Augustine concludes that Jupiter should be considered the
genius
of the universe.
G. Wissowa advanced the hypothesis that Semo
Sancus
is the genius of Jupiter.
[189]
W. W. Fowler has cautioned that this interpretation looks to be an anachronism and it would only be acceptable to say that Sancus is a
Genius Iovius
, as it appears from the Iguvine Tables.
Censorinus cites
Granius Flaccus
as saying that "the Genius was the same entity as the Lar" in his lost work
De Indigitamentis
. Dumézil opines that the attribution of a Genius to the gods should be earlier than its first attestation of 58 BC, in an inscription which mentions the
Iovis Genius
.
A connection between Genius and Jupiter would be apparent in
Plautus
' comedy
Amphitryon
, in which Jupiter takes up the looks of
Alcmena
's husband in order to seduce her: J. Hubeaux sees there a reflection of the story that
Scipio Africanus
' mother conceived him with a snake that was in fact Jupiter transformed. Scipio himself claimed that only he would rise to the mansion of the gods through the widest gate.
It is noteworthy that among the Etruscan Penates there is a
Genius Iovialis
who comes after Fortuna and Ceres and before Pales . Genius Iovialis is one of the earthly Penates and not one of the
Penates
of Jupiter though, as these were located in region I of Martianus Capella' s division of Heaven, while Genius appear in regions V and VI along with Ceres, Favor (possibly a Roman approximation to an Etruscan male manifestation of Fortuna) and Pales.
Victoria
Coin with
laureate
head of Jupiter (
obverse
) and (reverse) Victory, standing ("
ROMA
" below in
relief
)
Victoria was connected to
Iuppiter Victor
in his role as bestower of military victory. Jupiter, as a sovereign god, was considered as having the power to conquer anyone and anything in a supernatural way; his contribution to military victory was different from that of
Mars
(god of military valour). Victoria appears first on the reverse of coins representing Venus (driving the quadriga of Jupiter, with her head crowned and with a palm in her hand) during the first Punic War. Sometimes, she is represented walking and carrying a trophy.
A temple was dedicated to the goddess afterwards on the Palatine, testifying to her high station in the Roman mind. When
Hieron of Syracuse
presented a golden statuette of the goddess to Rome, the Senate had it placed in the temple of Capitoline Jupiter among the greatest (and most sacred) deities. Although Victoria played a significant role in the religious ideology of the late Republic and the Empire, she is undocumented in earlier times. A function similar to hers may have been played by the little-known
Vica Pota
.
In
Roman mythology
,
Jupiter
or
Jove
was the
king of the gods
, and the god of
sky
and
thunder
. He is
the equivalent of
Zeus
in the
Greek pantheon
. He was called
Iuppiter
(or
Diespiter
)
Optimus Maximus
("Father God the Best and Greatest"). As the patron deity of
ancient Rome
, he ruled over laws and social order. He was the chief god of the
Capitoline Triad
, with sister/wife
Juno
. Jupiter is also the father of the god
Mars
with Juno. Therefore, Jupiter is the grandfather of
Romulus and Remus
, the legendary founders of Rome. Jupiter was venerated in
ancient Roman religion
, and is still venerated in
Roman Neopaganism
. He is a son of
Saturn
, along with brothers
Neptune
and
Pluto
. He is also the brother/husband of
Ceres
(daughter of Saturn and mother of
Proserpina
), brother of
Veritas
(daughter of Saturn), and father of
Mercury
.
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