Heres one that came out wonderfully! Its silver coated, but only about 40% of the silver has survived. It was found in about 6 inches of farm soil with the V3i. The coin is from Roman emperor Probus and dates to 278 AD. - Obverse: IMP C PROBVS AVG. Radiate bust left in imperial mantle, holding eagle-tipped sceptre surmounted. - Reverse: PAX AVGVSTI, Pax standing left, holding olive branch & transverse sceptre, T to left, Star to right, VXXI in exergue. - Minted in Siscia (Croatia) mint, in A.D. 278. - Weight 4 g - Diameter 23 mm Pax was the God Mars, and called Mars the Pacifier. This may be seen as ironic today, but the Romans knew that victory in war (hopefully including the total destruction of your enemy) is an effective way to also achieve peace. Probus was probably born in 232, although his exact birthdate was never recorded. This is because he was born to local peasents in Sirmium - modern day Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia. Historians have traditionally referred to the era between 235 and 284 CE as the Crisis of the Third Century; plague, economic crisis, increasingly brutal defensive wars against foreign threats, and most of all a total lack of stability in the Imperial regime brought the Roman Empire within a whisper of collapse. Probus was born and raiused in that chaotic environment. He joined the legions and rose through the ranks becoming an expert tactician and leader. Nothing is known about any other member of Probus family; no siblings, wife, or children are mentioned in our sources, or attested in archaeology. It is hard to imagine that Probus never married; perhaps his wife died young, or had otherwise left the scene by the time Probus acheived the purple. Probus enlisted in either a legionary or an auxiliary unit, perhaps c. 250. He rose through the ranks quickly, becoming a tribune during the reign of Valerian (253-260). This would suggest that either his family was well-to-do or connected, or else that he displayed exceptional talent and bravery as a soldier - likely, it was a little of both. He served in the Danube region, and became a scarred veteran after years of bitter fights with Celtic/Gothic and Carpian bands from across the frontier. Coming from a military background under Valerian, Probus ascended the throne as a usurper against Emperor Florian, under pretext that Florian himself appropriated the imperial title without the Senates consent. Florian advanced against Probus and on first appearance it looked like his own army would be no match against Florians so he gambled that by artificially prolonging a direct confrontation between the two he could frustrate the enemy. The two rival emperors met in battle in Cilicia (Turkey, near todays Incirliks NATO/USAF Air Base). Florianus had the larger army, but Probus was a more experienced general and avoided a direct clash. Florians western army was not accustomed to the hot, dry eastern climate of southern Turkey and Probus likely secured a small victory. Florian was assassinated by his own troops near Tarsus once their confidence was lost, and the two armies joined as one to march into Rome. His surviving coins and busts show Probus to be a well-built, middle-aged man with a full beard and mustache, a ruggedly handsome face, and deep, thoughtful eyes. They are suggestive a confident general, but a realistic and perhaps even humble one - and this may not be far from the truth. In two years of fighting, Probus inflicted defeats on the Goths, the Alamanni, the Burgundians, the Vandals, the newly-formed Frankish tribes, and an otherwise unknown but highly aggressive tribe known as the Longiones. After Aurelian had brought the Gaulish provinces back into the Empire, they had been inadequately defended. Both contemporary accounts and archaeology confirm that in the mid-late 270s there was enormous devastation in the Rhineland, and perhaps across Gaul. Probus did much for these battered and demoralized provinces; commanding the army in person, he masterminded powerful victories over these and other tribes, and recaptured much booty and many hostages. Having pushed the Western barbarians back, he set out for the East. Almost every successful Roman emperor had a fixation on the East; most sought to recapture Mesopotamia, and those who already occupied it wanted to go further into Persia. Probus set out for the East by way of the Danube provinces, planning a war against Persia. Along the way he inflicted defeats on Scythians in Thrace, likely Free Dacians or Basternae, and settled thousands of them in Roman territory. But his planned Persian campaign never materialized. Probus and the Persians agreed to a treaty in which neither party seems to have paid any form of tribute. During these intervining years, Probus spent a lot of time rebuilding the provinces. He felt there was no better use of a soldier in peacetime than the call of civic duty as a laborer. Probus ordered his troops to dig ditches, build roads, bridges and other public works. By early 282, Probus was again apparently planning on launching a second massive foray into the East - apparently to break his short peace with Persia in a most dramatic fashion. He camped for a time just outside of his birthplace of Sirmium, apparently overseeing some military construction in the province. While this was going on, a revolt broke out. A legionary garrison declared his Praetorian prefect, Marcus Aurelius Carus emperor - whether Carus himself instigated this or had it forced upon him is unknown. Probus made a mistake in sending a legionary army led by a subordinate out to face Carus, rather than commanding it himself. The army he dispatched was bribed into supporting Carus, who then sent a detachment back to Sirmium with orders to murder Probus. The fatal error seems to have been a statement by Probus that the time was coming when a state of peace would make the armies unnecessary. It is never a good management technique to tell the workers that you dont need or appreciate them. When your workers carry swords, this could be a big mistake. Probus and the loyal elements of his staff took refuge in a military building, possibly an auxiliary fort. After a short siege, the executioners broke into the building, and stabbed Probus to death with their swords. Whether he surrendered himself and was executed, or whether he died fighting with sword in hand is unknown; a legionary at heart, however, it is perhaps not too romantic to suspect that he died with a bloodied gladius of his own in hand.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 23:04:18 +0000