SEVERUS ALEXANDER as CAESAR 222AD Ancient Roman Coin Odessos Thrace i37920 Rare

Item: i37920

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Severus Alexander
–
Roman Emperor
: 222-235 A.D.
Bronze 24mm (8.29 grams) of
Odessos
in
Thrace


Severus Alexander as Caesar, Struck 222 A.D.
Reference: AMNG I, 2310; Varbanov 4425 corr. (citing AMNG 2310 as laureate)
M AVPH AΛEΞANΔPOC, Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
OΔHCCЄTΩN, the Great God, Derzelas, of Odessos standing left, sacrificing
from patera over altar on left and holding cornucopia.

Rare depiction of Severus Alexander as Caesar with the bare
head! Rare.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Derzelas (Darzalas) was a
Dacian
or
Thracian

chthonic
god of abundance and the underworld,
health and human spirit’s vitality, probably related with gods such as
Hades
,
Zalmoxis
,
Gebeleizis
.

Darzalas was the Great God of
Hellenistic

Odessos
(modern
Varna
) and was frequently depicted on its
coinage
from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd
century CE and portrayed in numerous
terra cotta
figurines, as well as in a rare 4th
century BC lead one (photo),
found in the city. Darzalas was often
depicted
in
himation
, holding
cornucopiae
with
altars
by his side. There was a temple
dedicated to him with a cult statue, and games (Darzaleia)
were held in his honor every five years, possibly attended by
Gordian III
in 238 AD.

Another temple dedicated to Derzelas was built at
Histria (Sinoe)
– a Greek colony, on the shore
of the Black Sea
in the 3rd century BC.

Darzalas Peak
on
Trinity Peninsula
in
Antarctica
is named after the god.

The region of ancient
Thrace
was populated by
Thracians
by 1000 BCE.
Miletian

Greeks
founded the apoikia (trading
post) of Odessòs towards the end of the 7th century BC (the earliest Greek
archaeological material is dated 600–575 BCE), or, according to
Pseudo-Scymnus
, in the time of
Astyages
(here, usually 572–570 BCE is
suggested), within an earlier Thracian settlement. The name Odessos was
pre-Greek, arguably of
Carian
origin. A member of the Pontic
Pentapolis
, Odessos was a mixed
community—contact zone between the
Ionian

Greeks
and the
Thracian
tribes (Getae,
Krobyzoi
,
Terizi
) of the
hinterland
. Excavations at nearby Thracian
sites have shown uninterrupted occupation from the 7th to the 4th century and
close commercial relations with the colony. The Greek alphabet has been applied
to inscriptions in
Thracian
since at least the 5th century BCE;
the city worshipped a Thracian great god whose cult survived well into the
Roman
period.

Odessos was included in the assessment of the
Delian league
of 425 BCE. In 339 BCE, it was
unsuccessfully besieged by
Philip II
(priests of the Getae persuaded him
to conclude a treaty) but surrendered to
Alexander the Great
in 335 BCE, and was later
ruled by his diadochus

Lysimachus
, against whom it rebelled in 313 BC
as part of a coalition with other Pontic cities and the Getae. The Roman city,
Odessus, first included into the Praefectura orae maritimae and
then in 15 CE annexed to the province of
Moesia
(later Moesia Inferior), covered
47 hectares in present-day central Varna and had prominent public baths,
Thermae
, erected in the late 2nd century AD,
now the largest Roman remains in Bulgaria (the building was 100 m (328.08 ft)
wide, 70 m (229.66 ft) long, and 25 m (82.02 ft) high) and fourth-largest known
Roman baths in Europe. Major athletic games were held every five years, possibly
attended by
Gordian III
in 238 CE.

Odessus was an early
Christian
centre, as testified by ruins of ten
early basilicas, a
monophysite
monastery, and indications that one
of the
Seventy Disciples
,
Ampliatus
, follower of
Saint Andrew
(who, according to the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
legend, preached in
the city in 56 CE), served as bishop there. In 6th-century CE imperial
documents, it was referred to as “holiest city,” sacratissima civitas. In
442 CE, a peace treaty between
Theodosius II
and
Attila
was done at Odessus. In 513, it became a
focal point of the
Vitalian
revolt. In 536,
Justinian I
made it the seat of the
Quaestura exercitus
ruled by a prefect of
Scythia or quaestor Justinianus and including Lower Moesia,
Scythia
, Caria, the
Aegean Islands
and Cyprus; later, the military
camp outside Odessus was the seat of another senior Roman commander, magister
militum per Thracias.

It has been suggested that the 681 peace treaty with the
Byzantine Empire
that established the new
Bulgarian state was concluded at Varna and the first Bulgarian capital south of
the Danube may have been provisionally located in its vicinity—possibly in an
ancient city near Lake Varna’s north shore named Theodorias (Θεοδωριάς) by
Justinian I—before it moved to
Pliska
70 kilometres (43 miles) to the west.
Asparukh fortified the Varna river lowland by a rampart against a possible
Byzantine landing; the Asparuhov val (Asparukh’s Wall) is still standing.
Numerous 7th-century
Bulgar
settlements have been excavated across
the city and further west; the ; the Varna lakes north shores, of all regions,
were arguably most densely populated by Bulgars. It has been suggested that
Asparukh was aware of the importance of the Roman military camp (campus
tribunalis) established by Justinian I outside Odessus and considered it (or
its remnants) as the legitimate seat of power for both Lower Moesia and Scythia.

Aurelius Severus Alexander (October 1, 208–March 18, 235 AD), commonly

called Alexander Severus, was the last

Roman emperor

(11 March 222–235) of the

Severan dynasty

. Alexander Severus succeeded his cousin,

Elagabalus

upon the latter’s assassination in 222 AD, and was ultimately assassinated

himself, marking the

epoch event

for the

Crisis of the Third Century

—nearly fifty years of disorder, Roman civil

wars, economic chaos, regional rebellions, and external threats that brought the

Empire to near-collapse.

Alexander Severus was the

heir

apparent
to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered

along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their

remains cast into the

Tiber river

. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and

powerful Julia Maesa

, who had arranged for Elagabalus’ acclamation as Emperor by the

famed

Third Gallic Legion

.

A rumor of Alexander’s death circulated, triggering the assassination of

Elagabalus.

Alexander’s reign was marked by troubles. In military conflict against the

rising

Sassanid Empire

, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was

checked. However, when campaigning against

Germanic tribes

of

Germania
,

Alexander Severus apparently alienated his legions by trying diplomacy and

bribery, and they assassinated him.

 Life

Alexander was born with the name Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus.

Alexander’s father,

Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus

was a Syrian

Promagistrate

. His mother

Julia Avita Mamaea

was the second daughter of

Julia

Maesa
and Syrian noble

Julius Avitus

and maternal aunt of Emperor

Elagabalus
.

He had an elder sister called Theoclia and little is known about her.

Alexander’s maternal great-aunt was empress

Julia

Domna
(also Maesa’s younger sister) and his great-uncle in marriage was

emperor Lucius

Septimius Severus

. Emperors

Caracalla

and

Publius Septimius Geta

, were his mother’s maternal cousins. In 221,

Alexander’s grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor to adopt his cousin as

successor and make him

Caesar

and Bassianus changed his name to Alexander. In the following

year, on March 11, Elagabalus was murdered, and Alexander was proclaimed emperor

by the

Praetorians

and accepted by the Senate.

When Alexander became emperor, he was young, amiable, well-meaning, and

entirely under the dominion of his mother. Julia Mamaea was a woman of many

virtues, and she surrounded the young emperor with wise counsellors. She watched

over the development of her son’s character and improved the tone of the

administration. On the other hand, she was inordinately jealous. She also

alienated the army by extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son were strong

enough to impose military discipline. Mutinies became frequent in all parts of

the empire; to one of them the life of the jurist and praetorian praefect

Ulpian
was

sacrificed; another compelled the retirement of

Cassius

Dio
from his command.

On the whole, however, the reign of Alexander was prosperous until the rise,

in the east, of the

Sassanids

. Of the war that followed there are various accounts. (Mommsen

leans to that which is least favourable to the Romans). According to Alexander’s

own dispatch to the senate, he gained great victories. At all events, though the

Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed an

extraordinary lack of discipline. The emperor returned to

Rome and celebrated

a triumph in 233.

The following year he was called to face German invaders in

Gaul, who had

breached the Rhine frontier in several places, destroying forts and over-running

the countryside. Alexander mustered his forces, bringing legions from the

eastern provinces, and crossed the Rhine into Germany on a pontoon bridge.

Initially he attempted to buy the German tribes off, so as to gain time. Whether

this was a wise policy or not, it caused the Roman legionaries to look down on

their emperor as one who was prepared to commit unsoldierly conduct.

Herodian

says “in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the

war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the

Germans for their previous insolence”. These circumstances drove the army to

look for a new leader. They chose

Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus

, a Thracian soldier who had worked his way up

through the ranks.

Following the nomination of Maximinus as emperor, Alexander was slain (on

either March 18 or March 19, 235), together with his mother, in a mutiny of the

Primigenia Legio XXII

. These assassinations secured the throne for

Maximinus.

The death of Alexander is considered as the end of the Principate

system established by

Augustus
.

Although the Principate continued in theory until the reign of

Diocletian
,

Alexander Severus’ death signalled the beginning of the chaotic period known as

the

Crisis of the Third Century

which weakened the empire considerably.

 Legacy

Alexander was the last of the Syrian emperors. Under the influence of his

mother, he did much to improve the morals and condition of the people. His

advisers were men like the famous jurist Ulpian, the historian Cassius Dio and a

select board of sixteen senators; a municipal council of fourteen assisted the

urban praefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome.

The luxury and extravagance that had formerly been so prevalent at the court

were put down; the standard of the coinage was raised; taxes were lightened;

literature, art and science were encouraged; the lot of the soldiers was

improved; and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted

for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.

In religious matters Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was

desirous of erecting a temple to the

founder of

Christianity
, but was dissuaded by the pagan priests.

 Marriage

Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was

Sallustia Orbiana

,

, whom he married in 225. He divorced and exiled her in 227,

after her father,

Seius Sallustius

, was executed for attempting to assassinate the emperor.

Another wife was Sulpicia Memmia. Her father was a man of consular rank; her

grandfather’s name was Catulus.