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ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ,
Eagle standing facing on thunderbolt with open wings, head right, with wreath in
beak.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
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 the Greek
Zeus, and in
Latin literature
and
Roman art
, the myths and iconography of Zeus
are adapted under the name Iuppiter.
An aquila, or eagle, was a prominent symbol used in
ancient Rome, especially as the
standard
of a
Roman legion
. A
legionary
known as an
aquilifer
, or eagle-bearer, carried this
standard. Each legion carried one eagle. The eagle was extremely important to
the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard
was considered an extremely grave occurrence, and the Roman military often went
to great lengths to both protect a standard and to recover it if lost; for
example, see the aftermath of the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
, where the
Romans spent decades attempting to recover the lost standards of three legions.
Plovdiv (Bulgarian:
Пловдив) is
the second-largest city
in
Bulgaria
with a population of 380,683.
Plovdiv’s history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement
dating to roughly 4000 BC. It is the administrative center of
Plovdiv Province
in southern Bulgaria and three
municipalities (Plovdiv,
Maritsa
and
Rodopi
) and Bulgaria’s
Yuzhen tsentralen
planning region (NUTS II), as
well as the largest and most important city in
Northern Thrace
and the wider international
historical region of
Thrace
. The city is an important economic,
transport, cultural and educational center.
Known in the West for most of its history by the
Greek
name Philippopolis, it was
originally a Thracian
settlement before becoming a major
Roman
city. In the Middle Ages, it retained its
strategic regional importance, changing hands between the
Byzantine
and
Bulgarian Empires
. It came under
Ottoman
rule in the 14th century. In 1878,
Plovdiv was made the capital of the autonomous Ottoman region of
Eastern Rumelia
; in 1885, it became part of
Bulgaria with the
unification
of that region and the
Principality of Bulgaria
.
Plovdiv is situated in the southern part of the Plovdiv Plain on the two
banks of the
Maritsa River
. The city has historically
developed on seven
syenite
hills, some of which are 250 m high.
Because of these seven hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as “The
City of the Seven Hills”.
There are many remains preserved from
Antiquity
such as the
Ancient amphitheatre
, Roman odeon,
Roman Stadium
, the archaeological complex
Eirene and others.
Plovdiv was given various names throughout its long history. It was
originally a Thracian
settlement by the name of Eumolpias.
Philip II of Macedon
conquered the area in
342-341 BC and renamed the city Philippoupolis (Greek:
Φιλιππούπολις), of which the later Thracian
name for the city, Pulpu-deva, is a reconstructed translation. After the
Romans took control of the area, the city was named
Latin
:
Trimontium, meaning the Three Hills. During the Middle Ages the city
was known as Philippoupolis in
Byzantine Greek
and Paldin (Пълдин) or
Plavdiv (Плъвдив) in
Old Bulgarian
, variations of the town’s earlier
Thracian
name. The city was known as
Philippopolis in Western Europe well into the early 20th century. The city was
known as Filibe in
Turkish
during the
Ottoman Empire
.
Plovdiv has settlement traces dating from the Neolithic, roughly 4000 BC.
Archaeologists have discovered fine pottery and other objects of everyday life
from as early as the Neolithic Age, showing that in the end of the 4th
millennium B.C. there already was an established settlement there. According to
Ammianus Marcellinus
, Plovdiv’s written
post-Bronze Age history lists it as a
Thracian
fortified settlement named Eumolpias.
In 4th century BC the city was a centre of a trade fair (called panegyreis).
In 342 BC, it was conquered by
Philip II of Macedon
, the father of
Alexander the Great
, who renamed it “Φιλιππόπολις”,
Philippopolis or “the city of Philip” in his own honour. Later, it was
reconquered by the
Thracians
who called it Pulpudeva (a
reconstructed translation of Philipopolis)
In 72 AD it was seized by the Roman general Terentius Varo Lukulus and was
incorporated into the
Roman Empire
, where it was called Trimontium
(City of Three Hills) and served as metropolis (capital) of the province
of Thrace
. It gained a city status in late 1st
century. Trimontium was an important crossroad for the Roman Empire and was
called “The largest and most beautiful of all cities” by
Lucian
. Although it was not the capital of the
Province of Thrace, the city was the largest and most important centre in the
province. In those times, the
Via Militaris
(or Via Diagonalis),
the most important military road in the
Balkans
, passed through the city.
“This [Plovdiv] is the biggest and loveliest of all cities. Its beauty shines from faraway…” |
Roman writer Lucian . |
The Roman times were a period of growth and cultural excellence. The ancient
ruins tell a story of a vibrant, growing city with numerous public buildings,
shrines, baths, and theatres. The city had an advanced water system and
sewerage
. It was defended with a double wall.
Many of those are still preserved and can be seen by tourists. Today only a
small part of the ancient city has been excavated.
Septimius Severus –
Roman Emperor: 193-211 A.D.
Augustus: 193-211 A.D. | 193-198 A.D. Sole reign; 195-198
A.D.
Caracalla as Caesar | 198-209 A.D. with
Caracalla;
Geta as Caesar | 209-211
A.D. with
Caracalla and
Geta
Husband of
Julia Domna
| Father of
Caracalla and
Geta
| Uncle of
Julia Soaemias and
Julia Mamaea | Great-uncle of
Elagabalus and
Severus Alexander | Brother-in-law of
Julia Maesa | Father-in-law of
Plautilla |
Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (April 11,
145/146-February 4, 211) was a
Roman
general, and
Roman
Emperor
from April 14, 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the
Berber
part of
Rome’s historic
Africa Province
.
Septimius Severus was born and raised at
Leptis
Magna
(modern Berber
, southeast of
Carthage
,
modern Tunisia
).
Severus came from a wealthy, distinguished family of
equestrian
rank. Severus was of
Italian
Roman ancestry on his mother’s side and of
Punic
or
Libyan
-Punic
ancestry on his father’s. Little is known of his father,
Publius Septimius Geta
, who held no major political status but had two
cousins who served as consuls under emperor
Antoninus Pius
. His mother, Fulvia Pia’s family moved from
Italy
to
North
Africa
and was of the
Fulvius
gens,
an ancient and politically influential clan, which was originally of
plebeian
status. His siblings were a younger
Publius Septimius Geta
and Septimia Octavilla. Severus’s maternal cousin was
Praetorian Guard
and consul
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
.
In 172, Severus was made a
Senator
by the then emperor
Marcus Aurelius
. In 187 he married secondly
Julia
Domna
. In 190 Severus became
consul
, and in
the following year received from the emperor
Commodus
(successor to Marcus Aurelius) the command of the
legions
in Pannonia
.
On the murder of
Pertinax
by
the troops in 193, they proclaimed Severus Emperor at
Carnuntum
,
whereupon he hurried to Italy. The former emperor,
Didius Julianus
, was condemned to death by the Senate and killed, and
Severus took possession of Rome without opposition.
The legions of
Syria
, however, had proclaimed
Pescennius Niger
emperor. At the same time, Severus felt it was reasonable
to offer
Clodius Albinus
, the powerful governor of Britannia who had probably
supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to
succession. With his rearguard safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger’s
forces at the
Battle of Issus
. The following year was devoted to suppressing Mesopotamia
and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. When afterwards Severus
declared openly his son
Caracalla
as successor, Albinus was hailed emperor by his troops and moved to Gallia.
Severus, after a short stay in Rome, moved northwards to meet him. On
February
19
, 197
,
in the
Battle of Lugdunum
, with an army of 100,000 men, mostly composed of
Illyrian
,
Moesian
and
Dacian
legions,
Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the
Empire.
Emperor
Severus was at heart a
soldier
, and
sought glory through military exploits. In 197 he waged a brief and successful
war against the
Parthian Empire
in retaliation for the support given to Pescennius Niger.
The Parthian capital
Ctesiphon
was sacked by the legions, and the northern half of
Mesopotamia
was restored to Rome.
His relations with the
Roman
Senate
were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having
seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment.
Severus ordered the execution of dozens of Senators on charges of corruption and
conspiracy
against him, replacing them with his own favorites.
He also disbanded the
Praetorian Guard
and replaced it with one of his own, made up of 50,000
loyal soldiers mainly camped at
Albanum
, near Rome (also probably to grant the emperor a kind of centralized
reserve). During his reign the number of legions was also increased from 25/30
to 33. He also increased the number of auxiliary corps (numerii), many of
these troops coming from the Eastern borders. Additionally the annual wage for a
soldier was raised from 300 to 500
denarii
.
Although his actions turned Rome into a military
dictatorship
, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out
the rampant corruption of Commodus’s reign. When he returned from his victory
over the Parthians, he erected the
Arch of Septimius Severus
in Rome.
According to Cassius Dio,
however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian
Prefect,
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus
, who came to have almost total control of most
branches of the imperial administration. Plautianus’s daughter,
Fulvia Plautilla
, was married to Severus’s son, Caracalla. Plautianus’s
excessive power came to an end in 205, when he was denounced by the Emperor’s
dying brother and killed.
The two following praefecti, including the jurist
Aemilius Papinianus
, received however even larger powers.
Campaigns in Caledonia (Scotland)
Starting from 208 Severus undertook a number of military actions in
Roman
Britain
, reconstructing
Hadrian’s Wall
and campaigning in
Scotland
.
He reached the area of the
Moray
Firth
in his last campaign in Caledonia, as was called Scotland by
the Romans..
In 210 obtained a peace with the
Picts
that lasted
practically until the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain,
before falling severely ill in
Eboracum
(York).
Death
He is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: “Be harmonious,
enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men” before he died at Eboracum on
February 4
,
211. Upon his death in 211, Severus was
deified
by the Senate and succeeded by his sons,
Caracalla
and
Geta
, who were advised by his wife
Julia
Domna
. The stability Severus provided the Empire was soon gone under their reign.
Accomplishments and Record
Though his military expenditure was costly to the empire, Severus was the
strong, able ruler that Rome needed at the time. He began a tradition of
effective emperors elevated solely by the military. His policy of an expanded
and better-rewarded army was criticized by his contemporary
Dio Cassius
and
Herodianus
: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden (in the
form of taxes and services) the civilian population had to bear to maintain the
new army.
Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal
arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the
Septizodium
in Rome and enriched greatly his native city of
Leptis
Magna
(including another triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of
203).
Severus and Christianity
Christians were
persecuted
during the reign of Septimus Severus. Severus allowed the
enforcement of policies already long-established, which meant that Roman
authorities did not intentionally seek out Christians, but when people were
accused of being Christians they could either curse
Jesus
and make an
offering to
Roman gods
, or be executed. Furthermore, wishing to strengthen the peace by
encouraging religious harmony through
syncretism
,
Severus tried to limit the spread of the two quarrelsome groups who refused to
yield to syncretism by outlawing
conversion
to Christianity or
Judaism
.
Individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor
against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of
law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in
Egypt
and the
Thebaid
, as
well as in
Africa proconsularis
and the East. Christian
martyrs
were
numerous in Alexandria
(cf.
Clement of Alexandria
, Stromata, ii. 20;
Eusebius
, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were
the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf.
Tertullian’s
Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the
Roman martyrology
as the martyrs of
Madaura
.
Probably in 202 or 203
Felicitas
and
Perpetua
suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time
under the proconsul
Scapula
in
211, especially in
Numidia
and
Mauritania
.
Later accounts of a Gallic
persecution, especially at
Lyon, are
legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians
under Septimius Severus was the same as under the
Antonines
;
but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the
rescript
of
Trajan
had failed to execute its purpose.
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