Diocletian Antoninianus Æ RIC V 322 IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG / CONCORDIA

Description: RIC V Diocletian 322 Date: 293 – 295 Denomination: Antoninianus Æ Mint: Antioch Obverse: IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG: Bust of Diocletian, radiate, draped, right, or bust of Diocletian, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right Reverse: CONCORDIA MILITVM / "XII" in exergue: Diocletian, draped, cuirassed, standing right, holding parazonium in right hand & receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter; Jupiter, standing left, holding sceptre. Weight: 2.95 Diameter: 19.00mm This ancient coin dates back to the era of Diocletian, the Roman Emperor who ruled from 284-305 AD. It is an Antoninianus made of bronze and features the image of Diocletian on one side and the symbol of Concordia on the other. The exact certification of this coin is uncertain, but it is a piece of history that would be a valuable addition to any collection. The provenance of this particular coin is not available, but it is a rare find for those interested in Roman Imperial coins. Don't miss out on the opportunity to own a piece of ancient history. Diocletian - (Latin: Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus; born Diocles; December 22nd 244 – December 3rd, 311) was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become a cavalry commander of the Emperor Carus's army. After the deaths of Carus & his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son Carinus but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus. Diocletian's reign stabilized the empire & marks the end of the Crisis of the 3rd Century. He appointed fellow officer Maximian as Augustus, co-emperor, in 286. Diocletian reigned in the Eastern Empire & Maximian reigned in the Western Empire. Diocletian delegated further on March 1st 293, appointing Galerius & Constantius as junior co-emperors (each with the title Caesar), under himself & Maximian respectively. Under this 'tetrarchy', or "rule of 4", each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the empire. Diocletian secured the empire's borders & purged it of all threats to his power. He defeated the Sarmatians & Carpi during several campaigns between 285 & 299, the Alamanni in 288 & usurpers in Egypt between 297 & 298. Galerius, aided by Diocletian, campaigned successfully against Sassanid Persia, the empire's traditional enemy. In 299 he sacked their capital, Ctesiphon. Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations & achieved a lasting & favorable peace. Diocletian separated & enlarged the empire's civil & military services & reorganized the empire's provincial divisions, establishing the largest & most bureaucratic government in the history of the empire. He established new administrative centres in Nicomedia, Mediolanum, Sirmium, & Trevorum, closer to the empire's frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome. Building on third-century trends towards absolutism, he styled himself an autocrat, elevating himself above the empire's masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies & architecture. Bureaucratic & military growth, constant campaigning, & construction projects increased the state's expenditures & necessitated a comprehensive tax reform. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation was standardized, made more equitable, & levied at generally higher rates. Not all of Diocletian's plans were successful: the Edict on Maximum Prices (301), his attempt to curb inflation via price controls, was counterproductive & quickly ignored. Although effective while he ruled, Diocletian's tetrarchic system collapsed after his abdication under the competing dynastic claims of Maxentius & Constantine, sons of Maximian & Constantius respectively. The Diocletianic Persecution (303–312), the empire's last, largest & bloodiest official persecution of Christianity, failed to eliminate Christianity in the empire; indeed, after 324, Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under under Constantine. Despite these failures & challenges, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of Roman imperial government & helped stabilize the empire economically & militarily, enabling the empire to remain essentially intact for another 150 years despite being near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on May 1st 305 & became the 1st Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily. He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the core of the modern-day city of Split in Croatia. Diocletian was born near Salona in Dalmatia (Solin in modern Croatia), some time around 244.His parents gave him the Greek name Diocles, or possibly Diocles Valerius. The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes his official birthday, December 22nd, as his actual birthdate. Other historians are not so certain. His parents were of low status; Eutropius records "that he is said by most writers to have been the son of a scribe, but by some to have been a freedman of a senator called Anulinus." The 1st 40 years of his life are mostly obscure.The Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras states that he was Dux Moesiae, a commander of forces on the lower Danube. The often-unreliable Historia Augusta states that he served in Gaul, but this account is not corroborated by other sources & is ignored by modern historians of the period. The 1st time Diocletian's whereabouts are accurately established, in 282, the Emperor Carus made him commander of the Protectores domestici, the elite cavalry force directly attached to the Imperial household, a post that earned him the honor of a consulship in 283. As such, he took part in Carus's subsequent Persian campaign.

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End Time: 2024-05-10T15:28:52.000Z

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