Divus VESPASIAN Consecratio 249AD Silver Roman Coin under TRAJAN DECIUS i52202

Item: i52202

Authentic Ancient 

Coin of:

Vespasian
–
Roman Emperor
: 69-79 A.D. –
Divus Vespasian type, Restoration Issue under emperor
Trajan Decius

Silver Antoninianus 22mm (2.78 grams) Rome mint: 249-251 A.D.
Reference: RIC 80; C 652
DIVO VESPASIANO, radiate head of Vespasian right.
CONSECRATIO, fiery altar.

* Numismatic Note: Emperors at times would “restore” issues of 
the emperors from their past. This one restores the memory of emperor Vespasian, 
over 150 years after the emperor Vespasian’s passing, with the title of “god” or “divo/divus”.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 

Authenticity.

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, known in English as Vespasian (November 

17 9
AD –

June 23

79AD), was a

Roman 

Emperor
who reigned from 69 AD until his death in 79 AD. Vespasian was the 

founder of the short-lived

Flavian dynasty

, which ruled the

Roman 

Empire
between 69 AD and 96 AD He was succeeded by his sons

Titus
(79–81) and

Domitian
 

(81–96).

Vespasian descended from a family of

equestrians

which rose into the

senatorial

rank under the emperors of the

Julio-Claudian dynasty

. Although he attained the

standard succession

of public offices, holding the

consulship

in 51, Vespasian became more reputed as a successful military 

commander, partaking in the

Roman invasion of Britain

in 43, and subjugating the

Judaea province

during the

Jewish rebellion

of 66. While Vespasian was preparing to besiege the city of

Jerusalem
 

during the latter campaign, emperor

Nero committed 

suicide, plunging the Roman Empire into a year of

civil war
 

known as the

Year of the Four Emperors

. After

Galba
and

Otho perished in 

quick succession,

Vitellius
 

became emperor in mid 69. In response, the armies in

Egypt

and Judaea themselves declared Vespasian emperor on

July 1
. In his 

bid for imperial power, Vespasian joined forces with

Gaius Licinius Mucianus

, the governor of

Syria
, who led 

the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian himself gained control 

over Egypt. On

December 

20
, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day, Vespasian was 

declared emperor by the

Roman 

Senate
.

Little factual information survives about Vespasian’s government during the 

ten years he was emperor. His reign is best known for financial reforms 

following the demise of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the successful campaign 

against Judaea, and several ambitious construction projects such as the

Colosseum
. 

Upon his death on

June 23
,

79, he was 

succeeded by his eldest son Titus.

//

 Family 

and early career

Vespasian was born in

Falacrina

, in the

Sabine
country 

near Reate. His father,

Titus Flavius Sabinus

, was an

equestrian

who worked as a

customs

official in the province of

Asia

and a money-lender on a small scale in

Aventicum
, 

where Vespasian lived for some time. His mother,

Vespasia Polla

, was the sister of a

Senator
.

After prompting from his mother, Vespasian followed his older brother, also 

called

Titus Flavius Sabinus

, into public life. He served in the army as a military

tribune
in

Thrace
in 36. 

The following year he was elected

quaestor
 

and served in Crete
 

and Cyrene

. He rose through the ranks of Roman public office, being elected

aedile
on his 

second attempt in 39 and

praetor
on 

his first attempt in 40, taking the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the 

Emperor Caligula

.

In the meantime, he married

Domitilla the Elder

, the daughter of an equestrian from Ferentium. They had 

two sons, Titus 

Flavius Vespasianus
(b. 41) and

Titus Flavius 

Domitianus
(b. 51), and a daughter,

Domitilla

(b. 39). Domitilla died before Vespasian became emperor. 

Thereafter his mistress,

Caenis
, was his 

wife in all but name until she died in 74.

Upon the accession of

Claudius
as 

emperor in 41, Vespasian was appointed

legate
of

Augusta Legio II

, stationed in

Germania
, 

thanks to the influence of the Imperial

freedman

Narcissus

.

 Invasion 

of Britannia

In 43, Vespasian and the II Augusta participated in the

Roman invasion of Britain

, and he distinguished himself under the overall 

command of

Aulus Plautius

. After participating in crucial early battles on the rivers

Medway
 

and Thames

, he was sent to reduce the south west, penetrating through the modern 

counties of Hampshire

,

Wiltshire
,

Dorset
,

Somerset
,

Devon
and

Cornwall
 

with the probable objectives of securing the south coast ports and harbours 

along with the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver and lead mines of Somerset.

Vespasian marched from

Noviomagus Reginorum

(Chichester) 

to subdue the hostile

Durotriges
 

and Dumnonii
 

tribes

[1]
, 

captured twenty oppida (towns, or more probably

hill forts
, 

including Hod 

Hill
and

Maiden Castle

in

Dorset
). He 

also invaded Vectis
 

(the Isle of Wight

), finally setting up a fortress and legionary headquarters at

Isca Dumnoniorum

(Exeter). 

These successes earned him triumphal regalia (ornamenta triumphalia) on 

his return to Rome.

 Continued 

political career

Vespasian was elected

consul
for the 

last two months of 51, after which he withdrew from public life. He came out of 

retirement in 63 when he was sent as governor to

Africa Province

. According to

Tacitus
 

(ii.97), his rule was “infamous and odious” but according to

Suetonius

(Vesp. 4), he was “upright and, highly honourable”. On one 

occasion he was pelted with

turnips
. 

Vespasian used his time in North Africa wisely. Usually governorships were seen 

by ex-consuls as opportunities to extort huge amounts of money to regain their 

wealth that they had spent on their previous political campaigns. Corruption was 

so rife, that it was almost expected that a governor would come back from these 

appointments with his pockets full. However, Vespasian used his time in North 

Africa making friends instead of money; something that would be far more 

valuable in the years to come. During his time in North Africa, he found himself 

in financial difficulties and was forced to mortgage his estates to his brother. 

To revive his fortunes he turned to the

mule trade and 

gained the nickname mulio (mule-driver).

Returning from Africa, Vespasian toured

Greece
in

Nero‘s retinue, but 

lost Imperial favour after paying insufficient attention (some sources suggest 

he fell asleep) during one of the Emperor’s recitals on the

lyre, and found 

himself in the political wilderness.

 Great 

Jewish Revolt

However, in 66, Vespasian was appointed to conduct the

war

in Judea
. 

A revolt there had killed the previous governor and routed

Licinius 

Mucianus
, the governor of

Syria

, when he tried to restore order. Two legions, with eight cavalry 

squadrons and 10 auxiliary cohorts, were therefore dispatched under the command 

of Vespasian to add to the one already there. His elder son, Titus, served on 

his staff. During this time he became the patron of

Flavius Josephus

, a Jewish

resistance leader turned Roman agent who would go on to write his 

people’s history in

Greek

. In the end, thousands of Jews were killed and many towns destroyed by 

the Romans, who successfully re-established control over Judea. They took 

Jerusalem in 70
. He is 

remembered by Jews as a fair and humane official, in contrast to the notorious

Herod the Great

.

Josephus
 

wrote that after the Roman

Legio X Fretensis

accompanied by Vespasian destroyed Jericho on

June 21
,

68, he took a 

group of Jews who could not swim (possibly

Essenes
from

Qumran
), 

fettered them, and threw them into the

Dead Sea
to 

test its legendary

buoyancy
. 

Sure enough, the Jews shot back up after being thrown in from boats and floated 

calmly on top of the sea.

 Year 

of Four Emperors

After the death of Nero in 68, Rome saw a succession of short-lived emperors 

and a year of civil wars

. Galba
 

was murdered by Otho
, 

who was defeated by

Vitellius
. 

Otho’s supporters, looking for another candidate to support, settled on 

Vespasian.

According to Suetonius, a prophecy ubiquitous in the Eastern provinces 

claimed that from Judaea would come the future rulers of the world. Vespasian 

eventually believed that this prophecy applied to him, and found a number of

omens,

oracles
, and

portents

that reinforced this belief .

He also found encouragement in Mucianus, the governor of Syria; and, although 

Vespasian was a strict disciplinarian and reformer of abuses, Vespasian’s 

soldiers were thoroughly devoted to him. All eyes in the East were now upon him. 

Mucianus and the Syrian legions were eager to support him. While he was at

Caesarea

, he was proclaimed emperor (July 

1, 69
), 

first by the army in Egypt

under

Tiberius Julius Alexander

, and then by his troops in Judaea (July 11 

according to Suetonius, July 3 according to Tacitus).

Nevertheless,

Vitellius
, 

the occupant of the throne, had Rome’s best troops on his side — the veteran 

legions of Gaul
and 

the Rhineland
. 

But the feeling in Vespasian’s favour quickly gathered strength, and the armies 

of Moesia
,

Pannonia
, 

and

Illyricum

soon declared for him, and made him the de facto master of 

half of the Roman world.

While Vespasian himself was in Egypt securing its

grain supply

, his troops entered Italy from the northeast under the 

leadership of

M. Antonius Primus

. They defeated Vitellius’s army (which had awaited him in

Mevania
) at

Bedriacum

(or Betriacum), sacked

Cremona
and 

advanced on Rome. They entered Rome after furious fighting. In the resulting 

confusion, the Capitol was destroyed by fire and Vespasian’s brother Sabinus was 

killed by a mob.

On receiving the tidings of his rival’s defeat and death at

Alexandria
, 

the new emperor at once forwarded supplies of urgently needed grain to Rome, 

along with an edict or a declaration of policy, in which he gave assurance of an 

entire reversal of the laws of Nero, especially those relating to

treason
. 

While in Egypt he visited the Temple of

Serapis
, 

where reportedly he experienced a

vision

. Later he was confronted by two labourers who were convinced that he 

possessed a divine power that could work

miracles
.

 Vespasian 

as emperor

 Aftermath 

of the civil war

Vespasian was declared emperor by the Senate while he was in Egypt in 

December of 69 (the Egyptians had declared him emperor in June of 69). In the 

short-term, administration of the empire was given to

Mucianus
 

who was aided by Vespasian’s son,

Domitian
. 

Mucianus started off Vespasian’s rule with tax reform that was to restore the 

empire’s finances. After Vespasian arrived in Rome in mid-70, Mucianus continued 

to press Vespasian to collect as many taxes as possible.

Vespasian and Mucianus renewed old taxes and instituted new ones, increased 

the tribute of the provinces, and kept a watchful eye upon the treasury 

officials. The Latin

proverb
“Pecunia 

non olet” (“Money does not smell”) may have been created when he had 

introduced a

urine tax

on public toilets. By his own example of simplicity of life — he 

caused something of a scandal when it was made known he took his own boots off — 

he initiated a marked improvement in the general tone of society in many 

respects.

In early 70, Vespasian was still in Egypt, the source of Rome’s grain supply, 

and had not yet left for Rome. According to

Tacitus
, his 

trip was delayed due to bad weather. 

Modern historians theorize that Vespasian had been and was continuing to 

consolidate support from the Egyptians before departing. 

Stories of a divine Vespasian healing people circulated in Egypt. 

During this period, protests erupted in Alexandria over his new tax policies and 

grain shipments were held up. Vespasian eventually restored order and grain 

shipments to Rome resumed.

In addition to the uprising in Egypt, unrest and civil war continued in the 

rest of the empire in 70. In Judea, rebellion had continued from 66. Vespasian’s 

son, Titus
, 

finally subdued the rebellion with the capture of Jerusalem and destruction of 

the

Jewish Temple

in 70. According to

Eusebius

, Vespasian then ordered all descendants of the royal line of

David
to be 

hunted down, causing the Jews to be persecuted from province to province. 

Several modern historians have suggested that Vespasian, already having been 

told by Josephus that he was prophesied to become emperor whilst in Judaea, was 

probably reacting to other widely-known Messianic prophecies circulating at the 

time, to suppress any rival claimants arising from that dynasty.

In January of the same year, an uprising occurred in

Gaul and Germany, 

known as the second

Batavian Rebellion

. This rebellion was headed by

Gaius Julius Civilis

and

Julius Sabinus

. Sabinus, claiming he was descended from

Julius Caesar

, declared himself emperor of Gaul. The rebellion defeated and 

absorbed two Roman legions before it was suppressed by Vespasian’s 

brother-in-law,

Quintus Petillius Cerialis

, by the end of 70.

 Arrival 

in Rome and gathering support

In mid-70, Vespasian first came to Rome. Vespasian immediately embarked on a 

series of efforts to stay in power and prevent future revolts. He offered gifts 

to many in the military and much of the public. 

Soldiers loyal to Vitellius were dismissed or punished. 

He also restructured the Senatorial and Equestrian orders, removing his enemies 

and adding his allies. 

Regional autonomy of Greek provinces was repealed. 

Additionally, he made significant attempts to control public perception of his 

rule.

 Propaganda 

campaign

Many modern historians note the increased amount of propaganda that appeared 

during Vespasian’s reign. 

Stories of a supernatural emperor who was destined to rule circulated in the 

empire. 

Nearly one-third of all coins minted in Rome under Vespasian celebrated military 

victory or peace. 

The word vindex was removed from coins so as not to remind the public of 

rebellious Vindex
. 

Construction projects bore inscriptions praising Vespasian and condemning 

previous emperors. 

A temple of peace was constructed in the forum as well. 

Vespasian approved histories written under his reign, ensuring biases against 

him were removed.

Vespasian also gave financial rewards to ancient writers. 

The ancient historians who lived through the period such as

Tacitus
,

Suetonius
,

Josephus
 

and

Pliny the Elder

speak suspiciously well of Vespasian while condemning the 

emperors who came before him. 

Tacitus admits that his status was elevated by Vespasian, Josephus identifies 

Vespasian as a patron and savior, and Pliny dedicated his Natural Histories 

to Vespasian, Titus.

Those who spoke against Vespasian were punished. A number of stoic 

philosophers were accused of corrupting students with inappropriate teachings 

and were expelled from Rome.

Helvidius Priscus

, a pro-republic philosopher, was executed for his 

teachings.

 Construction 

and conspiracies

Between 71 and 79, much of Vespasian’s reign is a mystery. Historians report 

that Vespasian ordered the construction of several buildings in Rome. 

Additionally, he survived several conspiracies against him.

Vespasian helped rebuild Rome after the civil war. He added the temple of 

Peace and the temple to the Deified Claudius. 

In 75, he erected a colossal statue of

Apollo
, begun 

under Nero
, and he 

dedicated a stage of the theater of Marcellus. He also began construction of the 

Colosseum.

Suetonius claims that Vespasian was met with “constant conspiracies” against 

him. 

Only one conspiracy is known specifically, though. In 78 or 79, Eprius Marcellus 

and

Aulus Caecina Alienus

attempted to kill Vespasian. Why these men turned 

against Vespasian is not known.

 Military 

pursuits and death

In 78,

Agricola

was sent to

Britain

, and both extended and consolidated the Roman dominion in that 

province, pushing his way into what is now

Scotland
. 

On June 23 of the following year, Vespasian was on his deathbed and expiring 

rapidly, he demanded that he be helped to stand as he believed “An emperor 

should die on his feet”. He died of an intestinal inflammation which led to 

excessive diarrhea

. His purported great wit can be glimpsed from his last words; Væ, 

puto deus fio, “Damn. I am already

becoming a god

!”

 Views 

on Vespasian

Vespasian was known for his wit and his amiable manner alongside his 

commanding persona and military prowess. He could be liberal to impoverished 

Senators and equestrians and to cities and towns desolated by natural calamity. 

He was especially generous to men of letters and

rhetors

, several of whom he pensioned with salaries of as much as 1,000 gold 

pieces a year.

Quintilian
 

is said to have been the first public teacher who enjoyed this imperial favor.

Pliny the Elder

‘s work, the

, was written during Vespasian’s reign, and dedicated to 

Vespasian’s son Titus.

Vespasian distrusted philosophers in general, viewing them as unmanly 

complainers who talked too much. It was the idle talk of philosophers, who liked 

to glorify the good times of the

Republic

, that provoked Vespasian into reviving the obsolete penal laws 

against this profession as a precautionary measure. Only one however,

Helvidius Priscus

, was put to death, and he had repeatedly affronted the 

Emperor by studied insults which Vespasian had initially tried to ignore, “I 

will not kill a dog that barks at me,” were his words on discovering Priscus’s 

public slander.

Vespasian was indeed noted for mildness when dealing with political 

opposition. According to Suetonius, he bore the frank language of his friends, 

the quips of pleaders, and the impudence of the philosophers with the greatest 

patience. Though Licinius Mucianus, a man of notorious unchastity, presumed upon 

his services to treat Vespasian with scant respect, he never had the heart to 

criticize him except privately and then only to the extent of adding to a 

complaint made to a common friend, the significant words: “I at least, am a 

man.” 

He was also noted for his benefactions to the people, much money was spent on 

public works and the restoration and beautification of Rome: a new forum, the 

Temple of Peace, the public baths and the great show piece, the

Colosseum
.

In the modern

Italian language

, the urinals are called “vespasiano”, probably in reference 

to a tax the emperor placed on urine collection (useful due to its ammoniac 

content; see

Pay toilet
).

 In 

later literature

• Marcus Didius Falco

  novels

• The Course of Honour, a novel by

  Lindsey Davis

• Edward Rutherfurd

  ‘s

  historical fiction

  novel

  Sarum

  contains an account of one the protagonists’ (a

  Celtic
  chief) 

  meeting Vespasian during his campaign through southern Britannia.

• Vespasian, as legate under

  Aulus Plautius

  , is a regular secondary character in

  Simon Scarrow

  ‘s

  Eaglegle

  series.