SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 205AD Caesarea Cappadocia Mt Argaeus Silver Roman Coin i56042

Item: i56042

Authentic Ancient 

Coin of:

Caesarea in Cappadocia
Dated Regnal Year (RY) 
14 of Septimius Severus, 205/206 A.D.
Reference:
 Sydenham, Caesarea 399; BMC 225
AY. KAY. Λ. CЄΠ. CЄΥΗΡΟC, Laureate head 
right.
MHTPO. KAICAPI., Mt. Argaeus surmounted by star; ЄT IΔ 
(date) in exergue.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of 
Authenticity.  

Mount 
Erciyes( Mons Argaeus in ancient times) is a massive
stratovolcano
located 25 km south of
Kayseri
,
Turkey
. Erciyes is the highest
mountain
in central
Anatolia
(3,916 metres). The volcano is heavily 
eroded, but may have erupted as recently as
253 BC
, as may be depicted on
Roman era
coins.
Strabo
wrote that in his time the summit was 
never free from snow and that those few who ascended it could see both the
Black Sea
and the
Mediterranean
.

Kayseri, named in
classical antiquity
as Mazaka or
Mazaca, Eusebia, Caesarea Cappadociae, and later as
Kaisariyah, is a large and industrialized
city
in
Central Anatolia
,
Turkey
. It is the seat of
Kayseri Province
.

Kayseri has been a continuous settlement since 3000 BC. The city has always 
been a vital trade center since it is located on major trade routes, 
particularly along what was called the
Great Silk Road
.
Kültepe
, one of the oldest cities in
Asia Minor
, lies nearby.

As Mazaca, the city served as the residence of the kings of
Cappadocia
. In ancient times, it was on the 
crossroads of the trade routes from
Sinope
to the
Euphrates
and from the
Persian Royal Road
that extended from
Sardis
to

Susa. In
Roman
times, a similar route from
Ephesus
to the East also crossed the city.

The city’s name was changed to Eusebia in honor of the Cappadocian 
king
Ariathes V
(163–130 BC). The name was changed 
again to Caesarea by the last Cappadocian King
Archelaus
or perhaps by
Tiberius
.

Caesarea stood on a low spur on the north side of
Mount Erciyes
(Mons Argaeus in ancient 
times). The site, now called the old town, diplays only a few traces from the 
old town. It was destroyed by the
Sassanid
king
Shapur I of Persia
after his victory over the
Emperor Valerian I
in AD 260. At the time it 
was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants. In the 4th century, bishop
Basil
established an ecclesiastical centre on 
the plain, about one mile to the northeast, which gradually supplanted the old 
town. A portion of Basil’s new city was surrounded with strong walls and turned 
into a fortress by
Justinian
.

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

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

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.