HONORIUS 410AD Rome Victory Authentic Ancient Roman Coin RARE AE4 Type i45190

Item: i45190

 Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Honorius
  –
Roman Emperor
: 393-423 A.D.

Bronze AE4 10mm (1.06 grams) Rome mint, circa 410-423 A.D.
Reference: Grierson, Late Roman Coins, 732; C 39; LRBC 828-30
DN HONORIVS PF AVG, Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
VICTORIA AVG G, Victory advancing left.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Flavius Honorius ( 9 September 384 – 15 August 423 )

was Roman Emperor

(393–395) and then

Western Roman Emperor

from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of

Theodosius I

and his first wife

Aelia Flaccilla

, and brother of the Eastern Emperor

Arcadius
.

Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western

Empire, Honorius’ reign was precarious and chaotic. His throne was guarded by

his principal general, Flavius

Stilicho
,

who was successively Honorius’s guardian (during his childhood) and his

father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho’s generalship helped

preserve some level of stability, but with his execution, the Western Roman

Empire moved closer to collapse.

//

Rule

Early reign

After holding the

consulate
at

the age of two, Honorius was declared

Augustus

, and thus co-ruler, on

23 January

393 after the

death of

Valentinian II

and the usurpation of

Eugenius
.

When Theodosius died, in January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire,

so that Honorius became Western Roman Emperor at the age of ten.

During the first part of his reign Honorius depended on the

military leadership of the general Stilicho, who was of mixed

Vandal

and Roman ancestry. To strengthen his bonds with the young emperor,

Stilicho married his daughter

Maria

to him. The

epithalamion

written for the occasion by Stilicho’s court poet

Claudian

survives.

At first Honorius based his capital in

Mediolanum
,

but when the Visigoths

entered Italy in 402 he moved his capital to the coastal city of

Ravenna
,

which was protected by a ring of marshes and strong fortifications. While the

new capital was easier to defend, it was poorly situated to allow Roman forces

to protect central Italy from the increasingly regular threat of barbarian

incursions.

Erosion of

the Western Roman Empire

Honorius’ reign was plagued by many threats: from the

barbarians entering within the Empire’s borders to several usurpers.

A

revolt led by Gildo

, comes Africae, in Northern Africa lasted for two

years (397-398). In 405, a barbarian army led by

Radagaisus

invaded

Italy

, bringing devastation to the heart of the Empire, until Stilicho

defeated them in 406.

The situation in

Britannia

was even more problematic. The British provinces were isolated, lacking support

from the Empire, and the soldiers supported the revolts of

Marcus

(406 – 407),

Gratian

(407), and

Constantine “III”

. Constantine invaded Gaul in 407, occupying

Arles
.

An invasion of

Alans
,

Suevi

and

Vandals

moved from Gaul on

31

December
406, and arrived in

Hispania
in

409. In 408, Stilicho (after forcing the Roman Senate to pay 4,000 pounds of

gold)

was arrested and executed by the order of Honorius, probably because of a court

conspiracy against the

Arian

general. The Visigoths under their King

Alaric I

invaded Italy in 408, besieged Rome, and extorted from the city a ransom of

5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides

dyed scarlet, and 3,000 pounds of pepper),

while Honorius in Ravenna did nothing.

In 409, Alaric returned, and with the agreement of the Senate

supported the usurpation of

Priscus Attalus

. In 410, the

Eastern Roman Empire

sent six

Legions

(6,000 men; late Roman legions were small units)

to aid Honorius. To counter Priscus, Honorius tried to negotiate with Alaric.

Alaric withdrew his support for Priscus in 410, but the negotiations with

Honorius broke down. Alaric again entered Italy and

sacked Rome

.

The revolt of Constantine III in the west continued through

this period. In 409,

Gerontius

, Constantine III’s general in Hispania, rebelled against him,

proclaimed

Maximus

Emperor, and besieged Constantine at Arles. Honorius now found

himself an able commander,

Constantius

, who defeated Maximus and Gerontius, and then Constantine, in

411.

Gaul was again a source of troubles for Honorius: just after

Constantius’ troops had returned to Italy,

Jovinus

revolted in northern Gaul, with the support of Alans, Burgundians, and the

Gallic nobility. Jovinus tried to negotiate with the invading

Goths
of Ataulf

(412), but his proclamation of his brother

Sebastianus

as

Augustus

made Ataulf seek alliance with Honorius. Honorius had Ataulf settle

the matter with Jovinus, and the rebel was defeated and executed in 413.

In 414, Constantius attacked Ataulf, who proclaimed Priscus

Attalus emperor again. Constantius drove Ataulf into Hispania, and Attalus,

having again lost Visigoth support, was captured and deposed.

Northeastern Gaul became subject to even greater

Frankish

influence, while a treaty signed in 418 granted to the

Visigoths

the southwestern portion, the former

Gallia Aquitania

.

In 417, Constantius married Honorius’ sister,

Galla Placidia

. In 421, Honorius recognized him as co-emperor Constantius

III, but he died early in 422.

In 420-422, another Maximus (or perhaps the same) gained and

lost power in Hispania.

Death

Honorius died of

dropsy

in 423, leaving no heir. In the subsequent interregnum

Joannes
was

nominated emperor. The following year, however, the Eastern Emperor

Theodosius II

elected emperor his cousin

Valentinian III

, son of

Galla Placidia

and

Constantius III

.

Sack of Rome

The most notable event of his reign was the assault and

Sack of Rome

on

August 24
,

410 by the

Visigoths under Alaric

.

The city had been under Visigothic siege since shortly after

Stilicho’s deposition and execution in the summer of 408. Lacking a strong

general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman Army, Honorius could do

little to attack Alaric’s forces directly, and apparently adopted the only

strategy he could in the situation: wait passively for the Visigoths to grow

weary and spend the time marshalling what forces he could. Unfortunately, this

course of action appeared to be the product of Honorius’ indecisive character

and he suffered much criticism for it both from contemporaries and later

historians.

Whether this plan could have worked is perhaps debatable. In

any case it was overtaken by events. Stricken by starvation, somebody opened

Rome’s defenses to Alaric and the Goths poured in. The city had not been under

the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gauls some eight centuries

before. The sack itself was notably mild as sacks go; Churches and religious

statuary went unharmed for example. The psychological blow to the Romans was

considerably more painful. The shock of this event reverberated from Britain to

Jerusalem, and inspired

Augustine

to write his magnum opus,

.

The year 410 also saw Honorius reply to a

British

plea for assistance against local barbarian incursions. Preoccupied

with the Visigoths, Honorius lacked any military capability to assist the

distant province. According to

Zosimus
, “Honorius

wrote letters to the cities in Britain, bidding them to guard themselves.”

Judgments on Honorius

In his History of the Wars,

Procopius

mentions a story (which

Gibbon

disbelieved) where, on hearing the news that Rome had “perished”,

Honorius was initially shocked; thinking the news was in reference to a favorite

chicken
he

had named “Roma”, he recalled in disbelief that the bird was just recently

feeding out of his hand. It was then explained to him that the Rome in question

was the city.

Summarizing his account of Honorius’ reign, the historian

J.B. Bury

wrote, “His name would be forgotten among the obscurest occupants

of the Imperial throne were it not that his reign coincided with the fatal

period in which it was decided that western Europe was to pass from the Roman to

the Teuton.” After listing the disasters of those 28 years, Bury concludes that

Honorius “himself did nothing of note against the enemies who infested his

realm, but personally he was extraordinarily fortunate in occupying the throne

till he died a natural death and witnessing the destruction of the multitude of

tyrants who rose up against him.”

Honorius issued a decree during his reign, prohibiting men

from wearing trousers in Rome [Codex Theodosianus 14.10.2-3, tr. C. Pharr, “The

Theodosian Code,” p. 415]. The last known gladiatorial fight took place during

the reign of Honorius.