Maximian – Roman Emperor: 285-305, 306-308 & 310 A.D. Silvered Bronze Antoninianus 21mm (4.72 grams) Struck at the mint of Antioch 285-295 A.D. Reference: RIC 622, C 311 IMPCMAVRVALMAXIMIANVSPFAVG – Radiate, cuirassed bust right. IOVETHERCVCONSERAVGG Exe: (crescent)/Δ/XXI – Hercules standing left, holding club gives Victory to Jupiter facing him and holding scepter and globe.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Heracles, born Alcaeus (Alkaios) or Alcides, was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson and half-brother (as they are both sired by the god Zeus) of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it linking the hero with the geography of the Central Mediterranean. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.
Extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him. Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king Augeas of Elis, wrestling the giant Antaeus, or tricking Atlas into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae. His iconographic attributes are the lion skin and the club. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have “made the world safe for mankind” and to be its benefactor. Heracles was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing both great deeds for his friends (such as wrestling with Thanatos on behalf of Prince Admetus, who had regaled Heracles with his hospitality, or restoring his friend Tyndareus to the throne of Sparta after he was overthrown) and being a terrible enemy who would wreak horrible vengeance on those who crossed him, as Augeas, Neleus and Laomedon all found out to their cost.
Maximian – Roman Emperor: 285-305, 306-308 & 310 A.D.
July 21 or July 25 285 – 286 (as Caesar under Diocletian) April 2, 286 – May 1, 305 (as Augustus of the West, with Diocletian as Augustus of the East) Late 306 – November 11, 308 (declared himself Augustus) 310 (declared himself Augustus)
| Son-in-law of Diocletian | Father of Maxentius and Fausta | Step-father of Theodora | Grandfather of Romulus |
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius (c. 250 – c. July 310), commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar (junior Roman Emperor) from July 285 and Augustus (senior Roman Emperor) from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian’s military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In the late summer of 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he ran a scorched earth campaign deep into the territory of the Alamanni tribes in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhenish provinces from the threat of Germanic invasion.
The man he appointed to police the Channel shores, Carausius, rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul. Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by storms in 289 or 290. Maximan’s subordinate, Constantius, campaigned against Carausius’ successor, Allectus, while Maximian held the Rhenish frontier. The rebel leader was ousted in 296, and Maximian moved south to combat Moorish pirates in Iberia and Berber incursions in Mauretania. When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he lived in comfort until 305. At Diocletian’s behest, Maximian abdicated on May 1, 305, gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to southern Italy.
In late 306, Maximian took the title of Augustus again and aided his son Maxentius‘ rebellion in Italy. In April 307, he attempted to depose his son, but failed and fled to the court of Constantius’ successor, Constantine, in Trier. At the Council of Carnuntum in November 308, Diocletian and his successor, Galerius, forced Maximian to renounce his imperial claim again. In early 310, Maximian attempted to seize Constantine’s title while the emperor was on campaign on the Rhine. Few supported him, and he was captured by Constantine in Marseille. Maximian committed suicide in the summer of 310 on Constantine’s orders. During Constantine’s war with Maxentius, Maximian’s image was purged from all public places. However, after Constantine ousted and killed Maxentius, Maximian’s image was rehabilitated, and he was deified.
One of the members of the Tetrarchy, Maximianus had a convoluted reign that started when he and Diocletian began ruling as equals in 286. Maximianus was in charge of the western portion of the empire along with Constantius I, his junior in command, while Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern half. After several years of putting down revolts and usurpers, both he and Diocletian abdicated to let their Caesars take their place in 306. However, this peaceful arrangement would come to an end soon when Maximianus’s son Maxentius initiated a revolt of his own. Seeing that it would lend an air of legitimacy to his claims, Maxentius requested his father to return to assume the high post along with him. Maximianus, although possibly reluctant initially, took up his son’s offer. He had abdicated less than voluntarily under Diocletian’s scheme and now he was caught up in the fervor of Maxentius’s drive to become sole ruler. In time, Maxentius met with failure after he lost several key battles to Constantine and Maximianus found himself in the awkward position of being an emperor with no rightful claim nor army willing to proceed with his agenda. Increasingly isolated, Constantine cornered him and he was either executed or committed suicide.
|