Claudius II – Roman Emperor: 268-270 A.D.
Silvered Bronze Antoninianus 21mm (2.39 grams) Struck circa 268-270 A.D.
Reference: RIC 195
IMP CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
VIRTVS AVG, Virtus, Mars or soldier standing left, holding spear and
resting hand on shield.
Star in left field, II in right field.
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Mars was the
Roman
god of war
, the son of
Juno
and
Jupiter
, husband of
Bellona
, and the lover of
Venus
. He was the most prominent of the
military
gods that were
worshipped
by the
Roman legions
. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only
to Jupiter (their main god). His
festivals
were held in
March
(named for
him) and October. As the word Mars has no
Indo-European
derivation, it is most likely the
Latinised
form of the agricultural
Etruscan
god Maris
. Initially Mars was a Roman god of
fertility
and vegetation
and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries and farmers. In
the second century BC, the conservative
Cato the Elder
advised “For your cattle, for them to be healthy, make this
sacrifice to Mars Silvanus you must make this sacrifice each year”.
Mars later became associated with battle as the growing
Roman
Empire
began to expand, and he came to be identified with the
Greek
god Ares
.
Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as
the most honoured god. He was also the
tutelary
god of the city of Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father
of Rome’s founder,
Romulus
, it was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.
Virtus. Valour. The Roman personification of Valour was represented
helmeted with spear and sword and standing with right foot on helmet. There was
a golden statue of her at Rome which was melted by Alaric, king of the Goths.
Valour is frequently represented on coins- VIRTVS AVG. or AVGG.
Marcus Aurelius Claudius (May
10, 213
– January, 270), often referred to as Claudius Gothicus or Claudius II,
was a Roman Emperor
. He ruled the
Roman
Empire
for less than two years (268 – 270), but during that brief time he
managed to obtain some successes. He was later given divine status.
//
Life
Origin
and rise to power
Claudius’ origin is uncertain. He was either from
Sirmium
(Syrmia;
in Pannonia
Inferior) or from Naissus
Dardania
(in
Moesia Superior
); both areas are located in
Serbia
.
Claudius was the commander of the Roman army that decisively defeated the
Goths
at the
Battle of Naissus
in September 268; in the same month, he attained the
throne, amid charges, never proven, that he murdered his predecessor
Gallienus
.
However, he soon proved to be less than bloodthirsty, as he asked the
Roman
Senate
to spare the lives of Gallienus’ family and supporters. He was less
magnanimous toward Rome’s enemies, however, and it was to this that he owed his
popularity.
Claudius, like
Maximinus Thrax
before him, was of barbarian birth. After an interlude of
failed aristocratic Roman emperors since Maximinus’s death, Claudius was the
first in a series of tough soldier-emperors who would eventually restore the
Empire from the
Crisis of the third century
.
Claudius
as emperor
At the time of his accession, the Roman Empire was in serious danger from
several incursions, both within and outside its borders. The most pressing of
these was an invasion of Illyricum and
Pannonia
by
the Goths
. Not
long after being named emperor (or just prior to Gallienus’ death, depending on
the source), he won his greatest victory, and one of the greatest in the history
of Roman arms.
The Roman Empire in 268 A.D
At the
Battle of Naissus
, Claudius and his legions routed a huge Gothic army.
Together with his cavalry commander, the future Emperor
Aurelian
,
the Romans took thousands of prisoners, destroyed the Gothic cavalry as a force
and stormed their laager (a circular alignment of wagons long favored by the
Goths). The victory earned Claudius his surname of “Gothicus” (conqueror of the
Goths), and that is how he is known to this day. More importantly, the Goths
were soon driven back across the
Danube River
, and a century passed before they again posed a serious threat
to the empire.
While this was going on, the Germanic tribe known as the
Alamanni
had crossed the Alps
and attacked the empire. Claudius responded quickly, routing the Alamanni at the
Battle of Lake Benacus
in the late fall of 268, a few months after the
battle of Naissus. He then turned on the
Gallic Empire
, ruled by a pretender for the past fifteen years and
encompassing
Britain
, Gaul
,
and the
Iberian Peninsula
. He won several victories and soon regained control of
Spain and the Rhone river valley of Gaul. This set the stage for the ultimate
destruction of the Gallic Empire under Aurelian.
However, Claudius did not live long enough to fulfill his goal of reuniting
all the lost territories of the empire. Late in 269 he was preparing to go to
war against the Vandals
, who were raiding in
Pannonia
.
However, he fell victim to the
Plague of Cyprian
(possibly
smallpox
),
and died early in January 270. Before his death, he is thought to have named
Aurelian as his successor, although Claudius’ brother
Quintillus
briefly seized power.
The Senate
immediately deified Claudius as “Divus Claudius Gothicus”.
Links
to
Constantinian dynasty
The
Historia Augusta
reports Claudius and Quintillus having another brother
named Crispus and through him a niece. Said niece Claudia reportedly married
Eutropius and was mother to
Constantius Chlorus
. Historians however suspect this account to be a
genealogical
fabrication intended to link
Constantine I
‘s family to that of a well-respected emperor.
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