Julia Domna Thessalonica in Macedonia Ancient Roman Coin Nike Victory i48516

$650.00 $585.00

Availability: 1 in stock

SKU: i48516 Category:

Item: i48516

 

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:


Julia Domna

Roman Empress
Wife of
Emperor

Septimius Severus
193-211 A.D. –

Bronze 28mm (12.89 grams) of

Thessalonica in

Macedonia
Draped bust left.
ΘЄCCAΛONIKЄΩN,

Nike (Victory)
advancing left, holding wreath and palm branch. 

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of

Authenticity.

Stone carving of the goddess Nike at the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus
In
Greek mythology
,
Nike
was a
goddess
who personified
victory
, also known as the Winged Goddess of
Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria
. Depending upon the time of various
myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas
(Titan) and

Styx
(Water) and the sister of
Kratos
(Strength),
Bia
(Force), and
Zelus
(Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close
companions of Zeus
, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon
. According to classical (later)
myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the
Titan War
against the older deities. Nike
assumed the role of the divine
charioteer
, a role in which she often is
portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the
victors with glory and fame.

Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged
deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is
the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance
of Athena
, and is thought to have stood in
Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.
Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.

Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas
, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas,
Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.


The city

Thessalonica in

Macedonia  was founded around
315 BC
by the
King Cassander of Macedon
, on or near the site
of the ancient town of
Therma
and twenty-six other local villages. He
named it after his wife
Thessalonike
, a half-sister of
Alexander the Great
. She gained her name
(“victory of Thessalians”: Gk
nikē
“victory”) from her father,
Philip II
, to commemorate her birth on the day
of his gaining a victory over the
Phocians
, who were defeated with the help of
Thessalian
horsemen, the best in Greece at that
time. Thessaloniki developed rapidly and as early as the
2nd century BC
the first walls were built,
forming a large square. It was an autonomous part of the Kingdom of
Macedon
, with its own parliament where the King
was represented and could interfere in the city’s domestic affairs.

 Roman
era

After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in
168 BC
, Thessalonica became a city of the
Roman Republic
. It grew to be an important
trade-hub located on the
Via Egnatia
, the
Roman road
connecting
Byzantium
(later
Constantinople
), with
Dyrrhachium
(now
Durrës
in
Albania
), and facilitating trade between Europe
and Asia. The city became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of
Macedonia; it kept its privileges but was ruled by a
praetor
and had a Roman garrison, while for a
short time in the
1st century BC
, all the Greek provinces came
under Thessalonica (the Latin form of the name). Due to the city’s key
commercial importance, a spacious harbour was built by the Romans, the famous
Burrowed Harbour
(Σκαπτός Λιμήν) that accommodated the town’s trade up to
the eighteenth century; later, with the help of silt deposits from the river
Axios
, it was reclaimed as land and the port
built beyond it. Remnants of the old harbour’s docks can be found in the present
day under Odos Frangon Street, near the Catholic Church.

Thessaloniki’s
acropolis
, located in the northern hills, was
built in 55 BC
after
Thracian
raids in the city’s outskirts, for
security reasons.

The city had a
Jewish
colony, established during the
first century
, and was to be an early centre of
Christianity
. On his second missionary journey,
Paul

of Tarsus
, born a Hellenized Israelite,
preached in the city’s synagogue, the chief synagogue of the Jews in that part
of Thessaloniki, and laid the foundations of a church. Other Jews opposed to
Paul drove him from the city, and he fled to
Veroia
. Paul wrote two of his
epistles
to the Christian community at
Thessalonica, the
First Epistle to the Thessalonians
and the
Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
.

Thessaloníki acquired a patron saint,
St. Demetrius
, in 306. He is credited with a
number of miracles that saved the city, and was the Roman
Proconsul
of Greece under the anti-Christian
emperor Maximian
, later martyred at a Roman prison
where today lies the
Church of St. Demetrius
, first built by the
Roman sub-prefect of
Illyricum
Leontios in 463. Other important
remains from this period include the
Arch and Tomb of Galerius
, located near the
centre of the modern city.


 

Julia

Domna (unknown date–217)

was a member of the

Severan dynasty

of the

Julia domna.jpgRoman

Empire. Empress and wife of

Roman

Emperor
Lucius

Septimius Severus

and mother of Emperors

Geta

and Caracalla

, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power

behind the throne in the Roman Empire.

//

 Family

background

Julia was of Syrian origin from the ancient city of

Emesa. Her

ancestors were Kings Priest of the famous temple of

Baal. The family

lost its kingdom to Rome but continued domination of the temple of Baal. The

family had an enormous wealth and was promoted to Roman senatorial aristocracy.

She was the youngest daughter of high-priest Gaius

Julius Bassianus

and her eldest sister was

Julia

Maesa
.

 Reign

In the late 180s, Julia married future Emperor

Septimius Severus

who himself was in part of

Punic

background. The marriage proved to be a happy one and Severus

cherished his wife and her political opinions, since she was very well read and

keen on philosophy. Together, they had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (Caracalla)

in 186 and

Publius Septimius Geta

in 189.

 Civil

War

When Severus became emperor in 193 he had a civil war waiting

for him, against rivals such as

Pescennius Niger

and

Clodius Albinus

. Julia accompanied him in his campaigns in the East, an

uncommon event in a time when women were expected to wait in Rome for their

husbands. Nevertheless, she remained with the emperor and among the several

proofs of affection and favour are the minting of coins with her portrait and

the title mater castrorum (mother of the camp).

Julia now had complete power and ruled behind the Roman

Empire. Many early Romans disliked the fact of her ruling over the throne when

Septimius Severus was at war.

 Controversy

and transition of power

As empress, Julia was often involved in intrigues and had

plenty of political enemies who accused her of treason and adultery. None of

these accusations were proven, Severus continued to favour his wife and insisted

on her company in the campaign against the

Britons

that started in 208. When Severus died, in 211 in

York, Julia became

the mediator between their two sons.

Caracalla

and

Geta

who were to rule as joint emperors, according to their father’s wishes

expressed on his will. But the two young men were never fond of each other and

quarrelled frequently. Geta was murdered by Caracalla’s soldiers in the same

year.

Caracalla was now sole emperor, but his relations with his

mother were difficult, as attested by several sources, probably due to his

involvement in Geta’s murder. Nevertheless, Julia accompanied Caracalla in his

campaign against the

Parthian empire

in 217. During this trip, Caracalla was assassinated and

succeeded (briefly) by

Macrinus
.

On hearing about the rebellion, Julia chose to commit suicide. Her body was

brought to Rome and placed in the Sepulcrum C. et L. Caesaris (perhaps a

separate chamber in the

Mausoleum of Augustus

). Later, however, both her bones and those of Geta

were transferred by her sister

Julia

Maesa
to the

Mausoleum of Hadrian

.

She was later deified.


Frequently Asked Questions

How long until my order is shipped?
Depending on the volume of sales, it may take up to 5 business days for

shipment of your order after the receipt of payment.

How will I know when the order was shipped?
After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that

date should be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date.

After you shipped the order, how long will the mail take?
USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S.,

international shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country

to country. I am not responsible for any USPS delivery delays, especially

for an international package.

What is a certificate of authenticity and what guarantees do you give

that the item is authentic?
Each of the items sold here, is provided with a Certificate of Authenticity,

and a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity, issued by a world-renowned numismatic

and antique expert that has identified over 10000 ancient coins and has provided them

with the same guarantee. You will be quite happy with what you get with the COA; a professional presentation of the coin, with all of the relevant

information and a picture of the coin you saw in the listing.

Compared to other certification companies, the certificate of

authenticity is a $25-50 value. So buy a coin today and own a piece

of history, guaranteed.

Is there a money back guarantee?

I offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee. I stand

behind my coins and would be willing to exchange your order for

either store credit towards other coins, or refund, minus shipping

expenses, within 30 days from the receipt of your order. My goal is

to have the returning customers for a lifetime, and I am so sure in

my coins, their authenticity, numismatic value and beauty, I can

offer such a guarantee.

Is there a number I can call you with questions about my

order?

You can contact me directly via ask seller a question and request my

telephone number, or go to my

About Me Page to get my contact information only in regards to

items purchased on eBay.

When should I leave feedback?
Once you receive your

order, please leave a positive. Please don’t leave any

negative feedbacks, as it happens many times that people rush to leave

feedback before letting sufficient time for the order to arrive. Also, if

you sent an email, make sure to check for my reply in your messages before

claiming that you didn’t receive a response. The matter of fact is that any

issues can be resolved, as reputation is most important to me. My goal is to

provide superior products and quality of service.

  • Selection Required: Select product options above before making new offer.
  • Offer Sent! Your offer has been received and will be processed as soon as possible.
  • Error: There was an error sending your offer, please try again. If this problem persists, please contact us.

Make Offer

To make an offer please complete the form below:
$
Please wait...
YEAR

Year_in_description

DENOMINATION

Denomination_in_description

Shopping Cart