GORDIAN III 238AD Nicaea Bythinia Ancient Roman Coin STANDARDS EAGLE i48505

Item: i48505

Authentic Ancient

Roman Coin of:

Gordian III –
Roman Emperor
: 238-244 A.D. –

Bronze 18mm (2.71 grams) from the Roman provincial city of Nicaea in the

province
of Bythinia  238-244 A.D.

Reference: SNGCop 526, BMC 114, SGI 3671

 M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AV, radiate, draped bust right.

NIKAEΩN, Three legionary standards, centered one tipped with an eagle, the

others
with laurel wreaths.

You are bidding on the exact

Guarantee of Authenticity.

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.

Roman ornament with an aquila (100–200 AD) from the
Cleveland Museum of Art
.

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.

A modern reconstruction of an aquila

History

The signa militaria were the Roman military
ensigns
or
standards
. The most ancient standard employed
by the Romans is said to have been a handful (manipulus) of straw fixed
to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to it was
called a
maniple
. The bundle of
hay
or fern
was soon succeeded by the figures of
animals, of which
Pliny the Elder
(H.N. x.16) enumerates
five: the eagle
, the
wolf
, the ox with the man’s head, the
horse
, and the
boar
. In the second consulship of
Gaius Marius
(104 BC) the four quadrupeds were
laid aside as standards, the eagle (Aquila) alone being retained. It was
made of silver
, or
bronze
, with outstretched wings, but was
probably of a relatively small size, since a standard-bearer (signifer)
under Julius Caesar
is said in circumstances of
danger to have wrenched the eagle from its staff and concealed it in the folds
of his girdle.Under the later emperors the eagle was carried, as it had been for
many centuries, with the legion, a legion being on that account sometimes called
aquila (Hirt. Bell. Hisp. 30). Each
cohort
had for its own ensign the
serpent
or
dragon
, which was woven on a square piece of
cloth textilis anguis, elevated on a
gilt
staff, to which a cross-bar was adapted
for the purpose, and carried by the draconarius.

Another figure used in the standards was a ball (orb), supposed to have been
emblematic of the dominion of Rome over the world; and for the same reason a
bronze figure of
Victoria
was sometimes fixed at the top of the
staff, as we see it sculptured, together with small statues of Mars, on the
Column of Trajan
and the
Arch of Constantine
. Under the eagle or other
emblem was often placed a head of the reigning emperor, which was to the army
the object of idolatrous adoration.^[9]
The name of the emperor, or of him who was acknowledged as emperor, was
sometimes inscribed in the same situation. The pole used to carry the eagle had
at its lower extremity an iron point (cuspis) to fix it in the ground, and to
enable the aquilifer in case of need to repel an attack.

The minor divisions of a cohort, called centuries, had also each an ensign,
inscribed with the number both of the cohort and of the century. This, together
with the diversities of the crests worn by the centurions, enabled each soldier
to take his place with ease.

 

Denarius
minted by
Mark Antony
to pay his legions. On
the reverse, the aquila of his
Third legion
.

In the
Arch of Constantine
at Rome there are four
sculptured panels near the top which exhibit a great number of standards and
illustrate some of the forms here described. The first panel represents Trajan
giving a king to the Parthians: seven standards are held by the soldiers. The
second, containing five standards, represents the performance of the sacrifice
called
suovetaurilia
.

When Constantine embraced Christianity, a figure or emblem of Christ, woven
in gold upon purple cloth, was substituted for the head of the emperor. This
richly ornamented standard was called
labarum
. The labarum is still used today by
the
Orthodox Church
in the Sunday service. The
entry procession of the chalice whose contents will soon become holy communion
is modeled after the procession of the standards of the Roman army.

 

Eagle and weapons from an
Augustan-era
funerary monument,
probably that of
Messalla
(Prado,
Madrid
)

Even after the adoption of Christianity as the Roman Empire’s religion, the
Aquila eagle continued to be used as a symbol. During the reign of
Eastern Roman Emperor

Isaac I Komnenos
, the single-headed eagle was
modified to
double-headed
to symbolise the Empire’s
dominance over
East and West
.

Since the movements of a body of troops and of every portion of it were
regulated by the standards, all the evolutions, acts, and incidents of the Roman
army were expressed by phrases derived from this circumstance. Thus signa
inferre meant to advance,^[15]
referre to retreat, and convertere to face about; efferre,
or castris vellere, to march out of the camp; ad signa convenire,
to re-assemble. Notwithstanding some obscurity in the use of terms, it appears
that, whilst the standard of the legion was properly called aquila, those
of the cohorts were in a special sense of the term called signa, their
bearers being signiferi, and that those of the manipuli or smaller
divisions of the cohort were denominated vexilla, their bearers being
vexillarii. Also, those who fought in the first ranks of the legion before
the standards of the legion and cohorts were called antesignani.

In military stratagems it was sometimes necessary to conceal the standards.
Although the Romans commonly considered it a point of honour to preserve their
standards, in some cases of extreme danger the leader himself threw them among
the ranks of the enemy in order to divert their attention or to animate his own
soldiers. A wounded or dying standard-bearer delivered it, if possible, into the
hands of his general, from whom he had received it signis acceptis.

Lost Aquilae

• Battles where the Aquilae were lost, units that lost the Aquilae and the
  fate of the Aquilae:
  • 53 BC –
    Battle of Carrhae
    . Crassus
    Legio X
    (returned).
  • 40 BC – defeat of
    Decidius Saxa
    at
    Cilicia
    (returned).
  • 36 BC – defeat of
    Mark Antony
    (returned).
  • 19 BC –
    Cantabrian Wars
    at Hispania.
    Legio I Germanica
    (thought to have been
    lost, and stripped of its title “Augusta”).
  • 9 AD –
    Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
    .
    Legio XVII
    ,
    Legio XVIII
    , and
    Legio XIX
    (all recaptured).
  • 66 –
    Great Jewish Revolt
    .
    Legio XII Fulminata
    (fate uncertain).
  • 87 –
    Domitian’s Dacian War
    .
    Legio V Alaudae
    (fate uncertain).
  • 132 –
    Bar Kochva Revolt
    .
    Legio XXII Deiotariana
    (fate
    uncertain).
  • 161 – Parthians overrun a legion commanded by Severianus at Elegeia
    in Armenia, possibly the
    Ninth Legion
    .^[23]

Modern imagery

• 
  

  Reconstruction of aquila on Roman vexilloid

• 
  

  Aquila clutching fasces, a symbol in Italy during the Fascist
  period

• 
  

  Aquila on the
  coat of arms of Romania

Standards

Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa
(first three on left) belong to centuriae of the
legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards – whether
spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the
legion’s
aquila
. The standard on the
extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(lupa) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of
Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then
based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is
known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan’s Column, Rome

Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary
standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with
four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum
of commander (legatus) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with
embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion

Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had
its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was
borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius.
Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where
the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in
the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military
standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine
spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently
prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit’s standard to the enemy was
considered a terrible stain on the unit’s honour, which could only be fully
expunged by its recovery.

The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was
borne by the unit’s signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an
open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been
suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(manipulus = “handful”), the
smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were
adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain).
In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including,
at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also
normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.

The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was
known as a vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag,
normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched
on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar
found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio)
would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum
traditionally marked the commander’s position on the battlefield.^[194]
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.

From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all
legions was the
aquila
(“eagle”). The pole was surmounted
by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying
thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the
pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found
(doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold
content). The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion’s most senior
standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military
prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary
lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching
full-scale invasions of the enemy’s territory, sometimes decades after the
eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a
fortress of the Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years
earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
. Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to
recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.

Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines)
of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was
usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer.

From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae
adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry
squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an
open dragon’s mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it
would make a strong hissing-sound.

Decorations

The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and

torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.

There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”).
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..

Nicaea

Early history, Roman and Byzantine Empires

The place is said to have been colonized by

Bottiaeans
,

and to have originally borne the name of Ancore (Steph.

B. s. v.) or Helicore (Geogr. Min. p. 40, ed. Hudson); but it was

subsequently destroyed by the

Mysians
. A

few years after the death of

Alexander the Great

,

Macedonian

king

Antigonus

— who had taken control of much of

Asia Minor

upon the death of Alexander (under whom Antigonus had served as a

general) — probably after his victory over

Eumenes
, in

316 BC, rebuilt the town, and called it, after himself, Antigoneia (Greek:

Αντιγόνεια). (Steph. B. l. c.; Eustath. ad

Horn. II. ii. 863) Several other of Alexander’s generals (known together as the

Diadochi

(Latin; original Greek

DiadokhoiΔιάδοχοι/

“successors”)) later conspired to remove Antigonus, and after defeating him the

area was given to

Thessalian

general Lysimachus

(Lysimakhos) (circa 355 BC-281 BC) in 301 BC as his share

of the lands. He renamed it Nicaea (Greek:

Νίκαια

, also

transliterated

as Nikaia or Nicæa; see also

List of traditional Greek place names

), in tribute to his wife Nicaea, a

daughter of Antipater

. (Steph. B., Eustath., Strab., ll. cc.) According to another

account (Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224. p. 233, ed. Bekker), Nicaea was founded by

men from

Nicaea

near

Thermopylae

, who had served in the army of Alexander the Great. The town was

built with great regularity, in the form of a square, measuring 16 stadia in

circumference; it had four gates, and all its streets intersected one another at

right angles, so that from a monument in the centre all the four gates could be

seen. (Strabo

xii. pp. 565 et seq.) This monument stood in the gymnasium, which was

destroyed by fire, but was restored with increased magnificence by the

younger Pliny

(Epist. x. 48), when he was governor of

Bithynia
.

The city was built on an important crossroads between

Galatia
and

Phrygia
, and

thus saw steady trade. Soon after the time of Lysimachus, Nicaea became a city

of great importance, and the kings of Bithynia, whose era begins in 288 BC with

Zipoetes

, often resided at Nicaea. It has already been mentioned that in the

time of Strabo it is called the metropolis of Bithynia, an honour which is also

assigned to it on some coins, though in later times it was enjoyed by

Nicomedia
.

The two cities, in fact, kept up a long and vehement dispute about the

precedence, and the 38th oration of

Dio

Chrysostomus
was expressly composed to settle the dispute. From this

oration, it appears that Nicomedia alone had a right to the title of metropolis,

but both were the first cities of the country.

The younger Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings,

which he undertook to restore when governor of Bithynia. (Epist. x. 40, 48,

etc.) It was the birthplace of the astronomer

Hipparchus

(ca. 194 BC), the mathematician and astronomer

Sporus

(ca. 240) and the historian

Dio Cassius

(ca. 165).^[1]

It was the death-place of the comedian

Philistion

. The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the

interest taken in the city by the emperors, as well as its attachment to the

rulers; many of them commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honour of

gods and emperors, as Olympia, Isthmia, Dionysia, Pythia, Commodia, Severia,

Philadelphia, etc. Throughout the imperial period, Nicaea remained an important

town; for its situation was particularly favourable, being only 40 km (25 mi)

distant from Prusa

(Pliny

v. 32), and 70 km (43 mi) from

Constantinople

. (It.

Ant. p. 141.) When Constantinople became the capital of the

Eastern Empire

, Nicaea did not lose in importance; for its present walls,

which were erected during the last period of the Empire, enclose a much greater

space than that ascribed to the place in the time of Strabo. Much of the

existing architecture and defensive works date to this time, early 300s.

Nicaea suffered much from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of

which, it was restored by the emperor

Valens
. During

the Middle Ages it was for a long time a strong bulwark of the

Byzantine

emperors against the

Turks

.

 Nicaea

in early Christianity

In the reign of

Constantine

, 325, the celebrated

First Council of Nicaea

was held there against the

Arian

heresy
, and the

prelates there defined more clearly the concept of the

Trinity
and

drew up the

Nicene

Creed
. The doctrine

of the Trinity was finalized at the Council of Constantinople in

381 AD which expressly included the Holy Ghost as equal to the Father and the

Son. The first Nicene Council was probably held in what would become the now

ruined mosque of Orchan. The church of Hagia Sophia was built by

Justinian

I
in the middle of the city in the 6th century (modelled after the larger

Hagia

Sophia
in Constantinople), and it was there that the

Second Council of Nicaea

met in 787 to discuss the issues of

iconography

.

Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January

20, 225

–

February

11
, 244
),

known in

English

as Gordian III,

was

Roman

Emperor
from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of

Antonia Gordiana

and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before

238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor

Gordian I

and younger sister of Emperor

Gordian II
.

Very little is known on his early life before becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian

had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.

Rise to power

Following the murder of emperor

Alexander Severus

in Moguntiacum (modern

Mainz
), the

capital of the

Roman province

Germania Inferior

,

Maximinus Thrax

was acclaimed emperor, despite strong opposition of the

Roman senate

and the majority of the population. In response to what was

considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian’s grandfather and uncle, Gordian I

and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the

Africa Province

. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus,

governor of Numidia

and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died,

but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men,

victims of Maximinus’ oppression.

Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and

the Senate elected

Pupienus

and Balbinus

as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of

Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian’s fate, so that the Senate decided

to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his

grandfather, and raise him to the rank of

Caesar

and imperial heir.

Pupienus

and Balbinus

defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several

legions
,

namely the

Parthica II

who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was

doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and even an

enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On

July 29
,

Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the

Praetorian guard

and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.

Rule

Due to Gordian’s age, the imperial government was surrendered

to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the

senate. In 240,

Sabinianus

revolted in the African province, but the situation was dealt quickly. In 241,

Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia

Tranquillina

, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect,

Timesitheus

. As chief of the Praetorian guard and father in law of the

emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman

empire.

In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the

Germanic tribes across the

Rhine
and

Danube
, and the

Sassanid

kingdom across the

Euphrates

increased its own attacks. When the Persians under

Shapur I

invaded Mesopotamia

, the young emperor opened the doors of the

Temple of Janus

for the last time in Roman history, and sent a huge army to

the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the

Battle of Resaena

(243). The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had

joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy’s territory, when his

father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign,

and the emperor’s security, were at risk.

Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as

Philip the Arab

, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefect and

the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244, the Persians counter-attacked.

Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle

of Misiche) near modern

Fallujah
(Iraq)

and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III^[1].

Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away,

upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who

succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es

Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian’s death is unknown.

Gordian’s youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his

grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper,

granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the

new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to

appease the population and avoid riots.