Probus INV – Invictus Unconquered Sun God 278A.D. Ancient Roman Coin i46774

Item: i46774

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Probus
–
Roman Emperor
: 276-282
A.D. –
 
Bronze Antoninianus 22mm (2.68 grams) Siscia mint:

278-280 A.D.

Reference: RIC 657c, C 147
IMPPROBVSINVAVG – Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust
right.
INV – Invictus (unconquered)
 CONCORDMILIT Exe: Δ/XXI – Probus standing right on left, shaking hands
with Concordia to right.

You

Authenticity.

Invictus (unconquered) was an

epithet

used for various Roman divinities in the Roman Empire.
In the

Roman Calendar

of the early empire these include

Jupiter

Invictus and

Mars

Invictus. It was in use from the late Republic and
throughout the Imperial period for a range of deities,
such as

Hercules
,

Apollo

and

Silvanus
,
and was therefore a well-established form when applied
to

Mithras

by Roman devotees from the 2nd century onwards. It has a
clear association with solar deities and solar monism;
as such, it became the preferred epithet of Rome’s
traditional

Sol

and the novel, short-lived Roman state cult to

Elagabalus
,
an

Emesan

solar deity who headed Rome’s official pantheon under
his

namesake emperor
.

Marriage in ancient Rome had mythical
beginnings, starting with the
abduction of the Sabine Women
.
Romulus
and his band of
male immigrants were rejected conubium, the legal
right to intermarriage, from the
Sabines
. According to
Livy
,
Romulus
and his men
abducted the Sabine maidens, but promised them an
honorable marriage, in which they would enjoy the
benefits of property, citizenship, and children. These
three benefits seem to define the purpose of marriage in
ancient Rome.

The word matrimonium, the root for our own word for
marriage
, matrimony,
defines the institution’s main function. Involving the
mater (mother),
it carries with it the implication of the man taking to
woman in marriage to have children. It is the idea
conventionally shared by Romans as to the purpose of
marriage, which would be to produce
legitimate children
;
citizens producing new citizens.

Consortium
is a
word used for the sharing of property, usually used in a
technical sense for the property held by heirs, but
could also be used in the context of marriage. Such
usage was commonly seen in
Christian
writings.
However, the sharing of water and fire (aquae et
ignis communiciatio) was symbolically more
important. It refers to the sharing of natural
resources. Worldly possessions transferred automatically
from the wife to the husband in archaic times, whereas
the classical marriage kept the wife’s property
separate.

In order for the union of a man and woman to be
legitimate, there needed to be consent legally and
morally. Both parties had to be willing and intend to
marry, and both needed their fathers’ consent. If all
other legal conditions were met, a marriage was made.

 Conventions
of Roman Marriage

The lives of elite Roman women were essentially
determined by their marriages. We are best informed
about families with both wealth and political standing,
whose largely inherited money would follow both their
sons and their daughters. In the earliest periods of
Roman history,
Manus Marriage
meant
that a married woman would be subjugated by her husband,
but that custom had died out by the 1st century BCE, in
favor of Free Marriage which did not grant a husband any
rights over his wife or have any changing effect on a
woman’s status.

Elite young men would usually marry in their
mid-twenties, after a year or more of
military
service and
some initial experience attending cases and even
pleading in the criminal or civil courts. Their brides,
however, would be markedly younger women, between
fifteen and twenty years of age. This was in part
because the family felt no need to retain the daughter
at home in order to give her a full education, and
partly from fear that once into the flush of adolescence
the girl might throw away her virginity or lose the
reputation for chastity, which was a prerequisite for
marriage. So betrothal tended to follow as soon as
possible after puberty, even when the girl’s physique
suggested postponement of consummation in marriage,
because she seemed insufficiently developed to carry a
healthy pregnancy or survive the high risks of
childbirth. The young wife would learn some of the
complexities of running a large household by observing
her mother, and her training would be supplemented by
the
slave staff
of her new
household.

The more prominent her family, the less it was likely
that the girl would have much choice in the age,
appearance or character of her first husband. Through
high status marriages (even imperial ones), women were
able to gain associative power from their husbands’
prominent positions in society. Women who gained power
in this way could even then legitimize the power
positions of their sons (such as with
Livia
and
Tiberius
) as their
symbolic status influenced Roman society.

While upper class girls married very young, there is
evidence that lower class women –
plebeians
, freedwomen
etc. – often married in their late teens or early
twenties. Women were not seen as likely to marry after
thirty. Marriage for them was not about economic or
political gain, so it was not as urgent.

In a sense, the lives of all women in
antiquity
were defined
around their expectation and achievement of marriage:
first as young girls, then as wives and, if all went
well, as mothers. In their later years, it was
statistically probable that they would survive their
husbands and live as
widows
. From day to
day, on a larger scale, their obligations and
opportunities depended on the man or men to whom they
were married.

 Patria
Potestas

Fathers of legitimate children alone had
patria potestas
over
their children. Patria potestas was the lifelong
subjugation of a child to his or her father’s will and,
to the horror of the Greeks and other outside observers
of the time, applied to sons as much as daughters.^{[citation
needed]}

A man or woman whose legitimate father was still
alive required his consent for marriage. No paternal
consent was required for illegitimate children or those
whose fathers had died. This gave the father of
legitimate children a very substantial say in at least
the first marriage of his children. He had no right to
prevent a divorce by one of his children. Though a
father could deny the right to marriage by refusing a
prospective son- or daughter-in-law, he could not
legally force his children into marriage.

 Engagement
and Ceremony

The nuptiae was often begun with a
celebration, combining legal, religious, and social
features. It brings the two households together, new
property is introduced, and there is the underlying
promise of children. The wedding ceremony no doubt
included various customs and religious rites, but it
cannot be assumed such rituals were static or widespread
throughout the centuries.

The typical upperclass wedding in the classical
period tended to be a lavish affair. The expense of the
wedding was normally the bride’s family’s
responsibility. The day was carefully chosen, with all
sorts of religious reasons as to why certain days should
be avoided. Gifts were given to family and friends, and
sometimes the
bride
and
groom
exchanged
presents of money before the wedding. On the wedding
day, the bride went with a procession to her new home,
while the bridegroom went ahead of the bride to receive
her. With her, the bride brought a torch lit from her
family’s hearth, and was offered another torch and
water, symbolizing the aquae et ignis communicatio.
She was then carried over the threshold by her
attendants, not her husband. The words “Ubi tu Gaius,
ego Gaia” may have been exchanged at this point. The
actual consummation of the marriage took place in the
bedroom, supposedly in the dark. The day after the
wedding, the groom would hold a dinner party at his
house, and it was at this time that the bride made an
offering to the gods of her new home. All of this was
part of publicizing the marriage.

The verbal consent between the bride and groom
fulfilled the legal expectations, the sharing of the
water and fire and, perhaps, the clasping of their right
hands (dextrarum iunctio), the religious, and the
actual ceremony and celebration fulfilled the social.

 Dowry

One of the most important aspects of the practical
and business-like arrangement of Roman marriage was the
dowry
. The dowry was a
contribution made by the wife’s family to the husband to
cover the expenses of the household. It was more
customary than compulsory. Ancient
papyrus
texts show that
dowries typically included land and slaves but could
also include
jewelry
,
toilet articles
(used
to make women more attractive, such as
mirrors
), and clothing.
These items were connected with legacy and if the wife
died early in the marriage, the dowry could be returned
to her family and buried with her to give a more
elaborate burial than was typical for the time, however
that was not always the case.^{[citation
needed]}

The dowry was also how Roman families maintained
their social status relative to each other. It was
important to ensure that upon the end of a marriage, the
dowry was returned to either the wife or her family.
This was done in order to improve her chances of
remarriage as well as to maintain the family resources.
In ancient Rome, the dowry became the husband’s full
legal property. In actuality, however, the purpose of
the dowry often affected the husband’s freedom to use
the dowry. For example, if the dowry was given to help
in the maintenance of the wife, or if a legal provision
was made for the wife or her family to reclaim the dowry
should the marriage dissolve, the husband was restricted
as to how he could make use of the dowry.

The fate of the dowry at the end of a marriage
depended on its original source. A dowry of dos
recepticia was one in which agreements were made in
advance about its disposal. The agreement made
beforehand determined how this dowry would be recovered.
One of dos profecticia was a dowry given by the
father of the bride. This type of dowry could be
recovered by the donor or by a divorced daughter if her

pater
died. A dowry
of dos adventicia was given by the daughter
herself, though it came from her pater. This
dowry usually came in non-traditional forms, for
example, in lieu of a debt settlement, instead of being
given as a direct charge on the pater’s estate.
The wife usually recovered this dowry. However, if she
died, the husband retained this dowry.

 Old
Age and Marriage

The evidence for rules of age in Augustus’ marriage
legislation will be applied to the information we have
in regard to the age of
menopause
in women in
classical times
, and
similarly the age up to which males were considered
capable of fathering children. Under the terms of the
lex Iulia, unmarried persons, caelibes
(unmarried as defined by laws), were incapable of taking
either inheritances or legacies. Married persons who had
no children, orbi, could take no more than
one-half of either inheritances or legacies. Originally,
this basic principle seems to have applied only to those
of a certain age, namely to men between the ages of 25
and 59 years, and to women of 20 to 49 years of age.
Apart from questions of age, others were also exempted
from the limitations imposed on the capacity to inherit,
namely relatives, cognati, to the sixth
(and in certain cases to the seventh) degree, as well as
those in the manus or
potestas
of such
relatives. Under the Augustan legislation a husband and
wife could enjoy complete capacity to inherit if, apart
from the rules of age, they were otherwise related to
within the sixth degree, or the husband was absent for a
certain period of time (a temporary privilege), or the
couple had a living communis child or a certain
number of children who had survived to certain ages, or
they had otherwise been granted the ius liberorum.
If the married couple could not claim under any of these
conditions, then they were normally capable of taking
only one-tenth of the estate of the other.

 Adultery
and Julian Marriage Laws

In 18 BC, the
Emperor Augustus
turned
his attention to social problems at Rome. Extravagance
and adultery
were
widespread. Among the upper classes, marriage was
increasingly infrequent and many couples who did marry
failed to produce offspring. Augustus, who hoped to
thereby elevate both morals and the numbers of upper
classes in Rome and to increase the population of native
Italians in Italy
, enacted laws to
encourage marriage and having children, including
provisions establishing adultery as a crime. The
law
against adultery
made the offence a crime punishable by
exile
and confiscation
of property. Augustus assessed heavier taxes on
unmarried men and women without husbands, and by
contrast offered awards for marriage and childbearing.

The Augustan adultery law permitted a father to kill
his daughter and her adulterer only if he caught them in
his own domus (house) or that of the daughter’s
husband and the husband can kill an adulterer of low
status if discovered in the husband’s house. The
language of pollution and violation underlines the
sacred nature of the domus and the honorable duty
to protect it.

Less serious offenses than adultery and
rape
could diminish the
honor of the household. Domus in the sense of human
households, as well as physical house was a focus of
honor for Romans: the honor of the pater familias
(father of the family) depended on his ability to
protect his household, and in turn the virtue of the
household contributed to his prestige. Augustus himself
was obliged to invoke the law against his own daughter,
Julia
, and relegated
her to the island of
Pandateria
.

The
Augustan social
laws
were badly received and were modified in AD 9 by the
Lex Papia Poppaea
,
named after the two bachelor consuls of that year. The
earlier and later laws are often referred to in juristic
sources as the lex Julia et Papia. In part as a
result of Christian opposition to such policies, the
laws were eventually nearly all repealed or fell into
disuse under
Constantine
and later
emperors, including
Justinian
.

 Divorce

 Divorce
from Manus Marriage

Divorce, like marriage, changed and evolved
throughout Roman history. As the centuries passed and
ancient Rome became more diversified, the laws and
customs of divorce also changed and became more
diversified to include the customs and beliefs of all
the different people. Divorce had always been a common
occurrence in Rome and from the beginning of ancient law
in Rome men have always had the possibility of divorcing
their wives. Although this custom was usually reserved
for serious marital faults, such as adultery, making
copies of the household keys, consuming wine, or
infertility
, it could
be employed by a husband at any time. For many centuries
only husbands had this privilege but wives were finally
included in this process and given permission to divorce
their husbands as Rome entered into the classical age.

Since marriage was often used as a political tool in
ancient Rome, especially in the upper classes, divorces
were common when new political opportunities presented
themselves. Anytime a new opportunity arouse, a man or
woman would divorce their current spouse and marry a new
one. A man or woman could form valuable family ties
through their various marriages and divorces to
different families. A motivated man or woman might marry
and divorce a couple times in their lifetime if they
thought it to their advantage.

One of the main reasons for divorce, besides serious
marital fault, was a desire to no longer remain married
to a spouse. Since one of the defining characteristics
of marriage was a will to be married and an attitude of
regarding one another as husband or wife, the marriage
ended when the will or attitude ended. A husband or wife
would notify their spouse that they no longer desired to
be married and the marriage would end. It is interesting
to note that only one spouse’s will was required for a
divorce and that a divorce was still final even if the
other spouse did not receive the notice of divorce. All
that mattered was that one spouse wanted it to end, and
it ended.

Divorce in ancient Rome was usually a private affair
and only the parties involved were notified of it. A
divorce did not have to be recognized or ratified by the
church
or
state
and no
public record
was kept
of a divorce. The lack of divorce records often led to
some confusion with the numerous marriages and divorces
going on.

One of the main components of a marriage was the
exchange of the dowry between the husband and the wife
or the wife’s guardian. This would sometimes lead to
disputes when the marriage ended because both parties
wanted to claim the dowry. It became an established
custom that if the wife were not at fault for the ending
of the marriage, then she was able to reclaim her dowry.
This would often happen if the husband had committed
offenses during the marriage, such as adultery. Since
either a husband or a wife could initiate a divorce, it
became understood that if the wife wanted the divorce
and there were children involved, then a husband could
have some claim on the dowry based on the children.

 Divorce
from Free Marriage

The Manus Marriage custom ended in the 1st century
BCE and the Free Marriage divorce emerged. With this,
the reasons for any divorce became irrelevant. Either
spouse could leave a marriage at any point. Property
during a marriage was kept separate under Roman Law, and
this left only the dowry in common. In cases of
adultery, husbands got to keep a portion of the dowry,
but without the involvement of adultery women would take
most if not all of their dowry with them, as well as
their personal property. However, the woman had to get
permission from the government to have a divorce while
the man could simply just kick the woman out of the
house.

 Remarriage
and Widowhood

Remarriage was very common in ancient Rome society
and many men and women were usually married at least
twice in their lifetimes. This is due to the fact that
there was a high
infant mortality rate
,
high
death rate
, and low
average
life expectancy
in
ancient Rome. Men and women did not live very long. This
high mortality rate plus the high
divorce rate
, common in
ancient Rome, lead to many instances of remarriage.
Since children were expected in marriage, each spouse
usually brought at least one child to the new marriage.
Remarriages thus created a new blending of the family in
ancient Roman society, where children were influenced by
stepparents
and some
instances where
stepmothers
were
younger than their
stepchildren
.

Most wives were encouraged to remarry after either
the death of the husband or a divorce. Ancient
physicians
believed
that a woman was liable to get very sick if she was
deprived of
sexual activity
and it
could even lead to a woman getting ‘’hysteric uterine
constriction.’’ There was even legislation passed during
the rule of Augustus that required widows and widowers
to remarry to be able to fully inherit from people
outside of their immediate family.

In

Roman religion

, Concord (Latin:

Concordia, “harmony”) was the

goddess of agreement, understanding, and marital harmony. Her Greek version is

Harmonia

, and the Harmonians and some

Discordians

equate her with

Aneris

. Her opposite is Discordia (or the Greek

Eris
).The

cult of Concordia

(“Majestic Harmony”) was of special importance to the

imperial household

. Dedicatory inscriptions to her, on behalf of emperors

and members of the imperial family, were common. The oldest

Temple of Concord

, built in

367 BC
by

Marcus Furius Camillus

, stood on the

Roman

Forum
. Other temples and shrines in Rome dedicated to Concordia were largely

geographically related to the main temple.

Probus (Latin:
Marcus Aurelius Probus
Augustus; c. 19 August 232 –
September/October 282), was
Roman Emperor
from 276
to 282.

During his reign, the
Rhine
and
Danube
frontier was
strengthened after successful wars against several
Germanic tribes
such as
the
Goths
,
Alamanni
,
Longiones
,
Franks
,
Burgundians
, and
Vandals
. The
Agri Decumates
and much
of the
Limes Germanicus
in
Germania Superior
were
officially abandoned during his reign, with the Romans
withdrawing to the
Rhine
and
Danube
rivers.

Life

Born in 232 in
Sirmium
(modern day
Sremska Mitrovica
),
Pannonia Inferior
, the
son of Dalmatius, Probus entered the army around 250
upon reaching adulthood. Appointed as a
military tribune
by the
emperor
Valerian
, he later
distinguished himself under the emperors
Aurelian
and
Tacitus
. He was
appointed governor of the East by Tacitus, whose death
in 276 prompted Probus’ soldiers to proclaim him
emperor.

Florianus
, the
half-brother of Tacitus, was also proclaimed successor
by his soldiers, but he was killed after an indecisive
campaign.^[9]
Probus travelled west, defeating the Goths along the
lower Danube in 277, and acquiring the title of
Gothicus. His position as emperor was ratified by
the
Senate
around this
time.

As Emperor

In 278, Probus campaigned successfully in
Gaul
against the
Alamanni
and
Longiones
; both tribes
had advanced through the
Neckar
valley and
across the Rhine into Roman territory. Meanwhile, his
generals defeated the
Franks
and these
operations were directed to clearing
Gaul
of Germanic
invaders (Franks
and
Burgundians
), allowing
Probus to adopt the titles of Gothicus Maximus
and Germanicus Maximus.

One of his principles was never to allow the soldiers
to be idle, and to employ them in time of peace on
useful works, such as the planting of vineyards in Gaul,
Pannonia and other districts, in order to restart the
economy in these devastated lands.^[14]
Of a greater and more lasting significance, Probus began
the strategy of settling the Germanic tribes in the
devastated provinces of the empire.

In 279–280, Probus was, according to
Zosimus
, in
Raetia
,
Illyricum
and
Lycia
, where he fought
the
Vandals
. In the same
years, Probus’ generals defeated the
Blemmyes
in
Egypt
. Probus then
ordered the reconstruction of bridges and canals along
the Nile, where the production of grain for the Empire
was centered.

In 280–281, Probus put down three usurpers,
Julius Saturninus
,
Proculus
and
Bonosus
. The extent of
these revolts is not clear, but there are clues that
they were not just local problems. In 281, the emperor
was in Rome, where he celebrated his
triumph
.

Probus was eager to start his eastern campaign,
delayed by the revolts in the west. He left Rome in 282,
travelling first towards Sirmium, his birth city. About
Probus’ death different accounts exist. According to
John Zonaras
, the
commander of the
Praetorian Guard

Marcus Aurelius Carus

had been proclaimed, more or less unwillingly, emperor
by his troops.

Assassination (282)

Probus sent some troops against the new usurper, but
when those troops changed sides and supported Carus,
Probus’ remaining soldiers assassinated him at Sirmium
(September/October 282). According to other sources,
however, Probus was killed by disgruntled soldiers, who
rebelled against his orders to be employed for civic
purposes, like draining marshes.^[24]
Carus was proclaimed emperor after Probus’ death and
avenged the murder of his predecessor.