MACRINUS 217AD DEMETER Harvest Nicopolis ad Istrum Ancient Roman Coin i50932

Item: i50932

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Macrinus
–
Roman Emperor
: 217-218 A.D. –

Bronze 26mm (11.57 grams) of

Nicopolis ad Istrum in Moesia Inferior 
under Consular Legate Agrippa
AVT K M ΟΠЄΛ CEVH MAKPINOC, Laureate,
draped and cuirassed bust right seen from behind.
VΠ AΓPIΠΠA NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠPOC ICTPΩ,
Demeter
standing left holding grain ears
and long torch.

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In
Greek mythology
,
Demeter was the goddess of the harvest, who presided over
grains
, the
fertility
of the earth, the
seasons
(personified by the
Hours
), and the
harvest
. One of her surnames is Sito (σίτος:
wheat) as the giver of food or corn. Though Demeter is often described simply as
the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sanctity of
marriage
, the
sacred law
, and the cycle of
life and death
. She and her daughter
Persephone
were the central figures of the
Eleusinian Mysteries
that also predated the
Olympian pantheon.

Her
Roman
cognate is
Ceres
.

Nicopolis ad Istrum was a

Roman

and Early

Byzantine

town founded by Emperor

Trajan
around

101–106, at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra)

and the Rositsa

rivers, in memory of his victory over the

Dacians
. Its

ruins are located at the village of

Nikyup

, 20 km north of

Veliko Tarnovo

in northern

Bulgaria
.

The town reached its apogee during the reigns of Trajan,

Hadrian
, the

Antonines

and the

Severan dynasty

.

The classical town was planned according to the orthogonal system. The

network of streets, the forum surrounded by an Ionic colonnade and many

buildings, a two-nave room later turned into a basilica and other public

buildings have been uncovered. The rich architectures and sculptures show a

similarity with those of the ancient towns in Asia Minor. Nicopolis ad Istrum

had issued coins, bearing images of its own public buildings.

In

447 AD

, the town was destroyed by

Attila’s

Huns
.

Perhaps it was already abandoned before the early 400s.

In the 6th century, it was rebuilt as a powerful fortress enclosing little more

than military buildings and churches, following a very common trend for the

cities of that century in the Danube area.The largest area of the extensive ruins (21.55 hectares) of the classical

Nicopolis was not reoccupied since the fort covered only one fourth of it (5.75

hectares), in the southeastern corner.

The town became an episcopal centre during the early Byzantine period. It was

finally destroyed by the Avar invasions at the end of the 6th century. A

Bulgarian medieval settlement arose upon its ruins later (10th-14th century).

Nicopolis ad Istrum can be said to have been the birthplace of

Germanic

literary tradition. In the 4th century, the

Gothic
bishop,

missionary and translator

Ulfilas
(Wulfila)

obtained permission from Emperor

Constantius II

to immigrate with his flock of converts to Moesia and settle

near Nicopolis ad Istrum in 347-8.

There, he invented the

Gothic alphabet

and translated the

Bible
from

Greek

to

Gothic

.

Marcus Opellius Macrinus (ca. 165 – June 218) was

Roman

emperor

for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor

to become so without membership in the senatorial class. Macrinus was possibly

of Berber

descent.

//

 Background

and career

Born in Caesarea (modern

Cherchell
,

Algeria) in the

Roman province

of

Mauretania

to an

equestrian

family, Macrinus received an education which allowed him to

ascend to the Roman political class. Over the years he earned a reputation as a

skilled lawyer. Under the emperor

Septimius Severus

he became an important bureaucrat. Severus’ successor

Caracalla

appointed him

prefect

of the

Praetorian guard

. While Macrinus likely enjoyed the trust of Caracalla, this

may have changed when, according to tradition, he was prophesied to depose and

succeed the emperor. Rumors spread regarding Macrinus’ alleged desire to take

the throne for himself. Given Caracalla’s tendency towards murdering political

opponents, Macrinus probably feared for his own safety should the emperor become

aware of this prophecy. According to Dio, Caracalla had already taken the step

of re-assigning members of Macrinus’ staff.

In the spring of 217, Caracalla was in the eastern provinces

preparing a campaign against the

Parthian Empire

. Macrinus was among his staff, as were other members of the

praetorian guard. In April, the emperor went to visit a temple of

Luna
near the

spot of the

battle of Carrhae

, accompanied only by his personal bodyguard, which

included Macrinus. Events are not clear, but it is certain that Caracalla was

murdered at some point on the trip (perhaps on

April 8
).

Caracalla’s body was brought back from the temple by his bodyguards, along with

the corpse of a fellow bodyguard. The story as told by Macrinus was that the

dead guard had killed Caracalla. By

April 11
,

Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor. Macrinus also nominated his son

Diadumenianus

and successor and conferred upon him the name “Antoninus”, thus

connecting him with the relatively stable reigns of the

Antonine emperors

of the 2nd century.

 Reign

(April 217 – June 218)

Despite his equestrian background, Macrinus was confirmed in

his new role by the

Senate
.

According to S.N. Miller, this may have been due to both his background as an

accomplished jurist and his deferential treatment of the senatorial class. He

found it necessary, however, to replace several provincial governors with men of

his own choosing. Caracalla’s mother

Julia

Domna
was initially left in peace, but when she started to conspire with the

military he ordered her to leave

Antioch
.

Being at that time in an advanced stage of breast cancer (Cassius Dio) she chose

instead to starve herself to death.

In urgent matters of foreign policy, Macrinus displayed a

tendency towards conciliation and a reluctance to engage in military conflict.

He averted trouble in the province of

Dacia
by

returning hostages that had been held by Caracalla, and he ended troubles in

Armenia

by granting that country’s throne to

Tiridates

, whose father had also been imprisoned under Caracalla. Less

easily managed was the problem of

Mesopotamia

, which had been invaded by the

Parthians
in

the wake of Caracalla’s demise. Meeting the Parthians in battle during the

summer of 217, Macrinus achieved a

costly draw

near the town of

Nisibis

and as a result was forced to enter negotiations through which was

obliged to pay the enormous

indemnity

of 200 million sesterces to the Parthian ruler

Artabanus IV

in return for peace.

Macrinus’ reluctance to engage in warfare, and his failure to

gain victory over even a historically inferior enemy such as the Parthians

caused considerable resentment among the soldiers. This was compounded by the

rolling back of the privileges they had enjoyed under Caracalla and the

introduction of a pay system by which recruits received less than veterans.

After only a short while, the legions were searching for a rival emperor.

At a high point of his popularity monuments were built to

revere Macrinus. The grand

tetrastyle

Capitoline Temple

, in

Volubilis

was erected to honour Emperor Macrinus in 217 AD.

His popularity also suffered in Rome. Not only had the new

emperor failed to visit the city after taking power, but a late-summer

thunderstorm caused widespread fires and flooding, and Macrinus’ appointee as

urban prefect proved unable to repair the damage to the satisfaction of the

populace and had to be replaced.

 Downfall

This discontent was fostered by the surviving members of the

Severan dynasty

, headed by

Julia

Maesa
(Caracalla’s aunt) and her daughters

Julia Soaemias

and

Julia Mamaea

. Having been evicted from the imperial palace and ordered to

return home by Macrinus, the Severan women plotted from their home near

Emesa

in

Syria

to place another Severan on the imperial throne. They used their

hereditary influence over the cult of

sun-deity

Elagabalus (the Latinised form of

El-Gabal

) to proclaim Soaemias’ son

Elagabalus

(named for his family’s patron deity) as the true successor to Caracalla. The

rumor was spread, with the assistance of the Severan women, that Elagabalus was

in fact Caracalla’s illegitimate son, and thus the child of a union between

first cousins.

On

May 18
,

Elagabalus was proclaimed emperor by the

Gallica Legio III

at its camp at

Raphana
. A

force under his tutor Gannys marched on

Antioch
and

engaged a force under Macrinus on

June 8
,

218. Macrinus,

deserted by most of his soldiers, was soundly defeated in the

battle

, and fled towards Italy disguised as a courier. He was captured near

Chalcedon

and later executed in

Cappadocia
.

His son Diadumenianus, sent for safety to the Parthian court, was captured at

Zeugma

and also put to death.

Macrinus’ short reign, while important for its historical

“firsts”, was cut short due to the inability of this otherwise accomplished man

to control or satisfy the soldiery. In his death at the hands of Roman soldiers,

Macrinus reinforced the notion of the soldiers as the true brokers of power in

the third-century empire and highlighted the importance of maintaining the

support of this vital faction. His reign was followed by another seventeen years

of rule under the Severan emperors

Elagabalus

and

Severus Alexander

.