Gratian –
Roman Emperor: 367-383 A.D. Bronze AE3 17mm Siscia mint,
struck circa 367-375 A.D. Reference: RIC 14c, xxxvii; LRBC 1431
Certification:
NGC Ancients Ch VF 4936036-049 D N GRATIANVS P F AVG,
pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right. GLORIA RO-MANORVM /
S-C/•-CA/SISCE, Emperor in military dress, walking right, head left,
holding labarum topped with the Christian Chi-Rho symbol and dragging
captive behind him.
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The
labarum was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the
“Chi-Rho” symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek
letters of the word “Christ” (Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) – Chi
(χ) and Rho (ρ). It was first used by the Roman emperor
Constantine I. Since the vexillum consisted of a flag suspended from the
crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize the crucifixion
of Christ.
Ancient sources draw an unambiguous distinction between
the two terms “labarum” and “Chi-Rho”, even though later usage sometimes
regards the two as synonyms. The name labarum was applied both to the
original standard used by Constantine the Great and to the many
standards produced in imitation of it in the Late Antique world, and
subsequently.
The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is
used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two
(capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ”
= KRistos = Christ in such a way to produce the
monogram. Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho
invokes the authority of Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the
Christ.
The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes
to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the
combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning
“good.” Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246-222 BC) were marked
with a Chi-Rho.
The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman emperor
Constantine I (r. 306-337) as part of a military standard (vexillum),
Constantine’s standard was known as the Labarum. Early symbols similar
to the Chi Rho were the Staurogram ()
and the IX monogram ().
Gratian –
Roman Emperor: 367-383 A.D.
367-375 A.D.
Junior Augustus with
Valentinian I 375-385 A.D. Senior Augustus with
Valentinian II Ruling in the East:
Valens (364-378 A.D.),
Theodosius I (379-395 A.D.) and
Arcadius (379-395 A.D.)
| Son of
Valentinian I and Severa | Husband of Constantia (daughter of
Constantius II) | Nephew of
Valens | Half-brother of
Valentinian II and Galla (wife of
Theodosius I) |
Gratian (Latin: Flavius Gratianus
Augustus; 18 April/23 May 359 -25 August 383) was Roman emperor from
367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian
accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube
frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian’s brother
Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father’s soldiers. In 378,
Gratian’s generals won a decisive victory over the Lentienses, a branch
of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led
a campaign across the Rhine, the last emperor to do so, and attacked the
Lentienses, forcing the tribe to surrender. That same year, his uncle
Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople against the Goths – making
Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured
Christianity over traditional Roman religion, refusing the divine
attributes of the Emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the
Roman Senate.
Life
Gratian was the son of Emperor
Valentinian I by Marina Severa, and was born at Sirmium (now Sremska
Mitrovica, Serbia) in Pannonia. He was named after his grandfather
Gratian the Elder. Gratian was first married to Flavia Maxima
Constantia, daughter of Constantius II. His second wife was Laeta. Both
marriages remained childless. His stepmother was Empress Justina and his
paternal half siblings were Emperor Valentinian II, Galla and Justa.
On 24 August 367 he received from his father the title of Augustus.
On the death of Valentinian (17 November 375), the troops in Pannonia
proclaimed his infant son (by a second wife Justina) emperor under the
title of Valentinian II.
Gratian acquiesced in their choice;
reserving for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, he
handed over Italy, Illyricum and Africa to Valentinian and his mother,
who fixed their residence at Mediolanum. The division, however, was
merely nominal, and the real authority remained in the hands of Gratian.
Gratian’s general Mallobaudes, a king of the Franks, and Naniemus,
completely defeated the Lentienses, the southernmost branch of the
Alamanni, in May 378 at the Battle of Argentovaria. Upon receiving news
of the victory, Gratian personally led a campaign across the Upper Rhine
into the territory of the Lentienses. After initial trouble facing the
Lentienses on high ground, Gratian blockaded the enemy instead and
received their surrender. The Lentienses were forced to supply young men
to be levied into the Roman army, while the remainder were allowed to
return home. Later that year, Valens met his death in the Battle of
Adrianople on 9 August. Valens refused to wait for Gratian and his army
to arrive and assist in defeating the host of Goths, Alans and Huns; as
a result, two-thirds of the eastern Roman army were killed as well.
In the same year, the government of the Eastern Empire devolved upon
Gratian, but feeling himself unable to resist unaided the incursions of
the barbarians, he promoted Theodosius I on 19 January 379 to govern
that portion of the Empire. Gratianus and Theodosius then cleared the
Illyricum of barbarians in the Gothic War (376-382).
For some
years Gratian governed the Empire with energy and success but gradually
sank into indolence, occupying himself chiefly with the pleasures of the
chase, and became a tool in the hands of the Frankish general Merobaudes
and bishop St. Ambrose of Milan.
By taking into his personal
service a body of Alans, and appearing in public in the dress of a
Scythian warrior, after the disaster of the Battle of Adrianople, he
aroused the contempt and resentment of his Roman troops. A Roman general
named Magnus Maximus took advantage of this feeling to raise the
standard of revolt in Britain and invaded Gaul with a large army.
Gratian, who was then in Paris, being deserted by his troops, fled to
Lyon. There, through the treachery of the governor, Gratian was
delivered over to one of the rebel generals, Andragathius, and
assassinated on 25 August 383.
Empire and Orthodox Christianity
The reign of Gratian forms an important epoch in ecclesiastical history,
since during that period Nicene Christianity for the first time became
dominant throughout the empire.
Gratian also published an edict
that all their subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome
and Alexandria (i.e., the Nicene faith). The move was mainly thrust at
the various beliefs that had arisen out of Arianism, but smaller
dissident sects, such as the Macedonians, were also prohibited.
Suppression of paganism
Gratian, under the influence of his chief
advisor the Bishop of Milan Ambrose, took active steps to repress pagan
worship. This brought to an end a period of widespread, if unofficial,
religious tolerance that had existed since the time of Julian. “In the
long truce between the hostile camps”, writes historian Samuel Dill “the
pagan, the sceptic, even the formal, the lukewarm Christian, may have
come to dream of a mutual toleration which would leave the ancient forms
undisturbed but such men, living in a world of literary and antiquarian
illusions, know little of the inner forces of the new Christian
movement.”
In 382, Gratian appropriated the income of the Pagan
priests and Vestal Virgins, forbade legacies of real property to them
and abolished other privileges belonging to the Vestals and to the
pontiffs. He confiscated the personal possessions of the colleges of
Pagan priests, which also lost all their privileges and immunities.
Gratian declared that all of the Pagan temples and shrines were to be
confiscated by the government and that their revenues were to be joined
to the property of the royal treasury.
He ordered another removal
of the Altar of Victory from the Senate House at Rome, despite protests
of the pagan members of the Senate, and confiscated its revenues. Pagan
Senators responded by sending an appeal to Gratian, reminding him that
he was still the Pontifex Maximus and that it was his duty to see that
the ancestral Pagan rites were properly performed. They appealed to
Gratian to restore the Altar of Victory and the rights and privileges of
the Vestal Virgins and priestly colleges. Gratian, at the urging of
Ambrose, did not grant an audience to the Pagan Senators. Moreover, he
further renounced the title, office, and insignia of the Pontifex
Maximus. Notwithstanding his actions, Gratian was still deified
after his death.
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