PHILIP I the ARAB 244AD Pella Macedonia Authentic Ancient Roman Coin RARE i55629

Item: i55629

Authentic Ancient 

Coin of:

Philip 
I ‘the Arab’ –

Roman Emperor: 244-249 A.D. –
Bronze 24mm (7.85 grams) of

* Numismatic Note: It looks like the celator making the dies for the striking of 
this coin was actually of Roman decent, and likely did not read Greek, as the 
legend is a blunder switching between Latin and Greek inscriptions. Very 
interesting and extraordinarily rare coin.

You are bidding on the exact 
item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime 
Guarantee of Authenticity.  

Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent was
Fortuna
) was the presiding
tutelary deity
that governed the fortune and 
prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period, 
cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a
mural crown
(a crown like the walls of the 
city).

The 
Greek historian Polybius
believed that when no cause can be 
discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts or even in politics, then 
the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.

Stylianos Spyridakis  concisely expressed Tyche’s appeal in a 
Hellenistic world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: “In the 
turbulent years of the
Epigoni of Alexander
, an awareness of the 
instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind 
mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the 
vicissitudes of the time.”

In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of
Hermes
and
Aphrodite
, or considered as one of the
Oceanids
, daughters of
Oceanus
and
Tethys
, or of

Zeus. She was connected with
Nemesis
and
Agathos Daimon
(“good spirit”).

She was uniquely venerated at
Itanos
in Crete, as Tyche Protogeneia, 
linked with the Athenian
Protogeneia
(“firstborn”), daughter of
Erechtheus
, whose self-sacrifice saved the 
city.

She had temples at
Caesarea Maritima
,
Antioch
,
Alexandria
and
Constantinople
. In
Alexandria
the Tychaeon, the temple of 
Tyche, was described by
Libanius
as one of the most magnificent of the 
entire Hellenistic world.

Tyche appears on many
coins
of the Hellenistic period in the three 
centuries before the Christian era, especially from cities in the Aegean. 
Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines of
Hellenistic romances
, such as
Leucippe and Clitophon
or
Daphnis and Chloe
. She experienced a 
resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly 
sanctioned
Paganism
, between the late-fourth-century 
emperors
Julian
and
Theodosius I
who definitively closed the 
temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability 
in philosophical circles during that generation, though among poets it was a 
commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.

In medieval art
, she was depicted as carrying a
cornucopia
, an
emblematic
ship’s rudder, and the
wheel of fortune
, or she may stand on the 
wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.

The constellation of
Virgo
is sometimes identified as the heavenly 
figure of Tyche, as well as other goddesses such as
Demeter
and
Astraea
.

Pella, 
an ancient city located in
Pella Prefecture
of
Macedonia
in
Greece
, was the
capital
of the
ancient

kingdom
of
Macedon
. A common
folk etymology
is traditionally given for the 
name Pella, ascribing it to a form akin to the
Doric

Apella
, originally meaning a ceremonial 
location where decisions were made. However, the local form of Greek was not 
Doric, and the word exactly matches standard Greek pélla “stone”, 
undoubtedly referring to a famous landmark from the time of its foundation.

The 
city was founded by Archelaus I of Macedon (413–399 BC) as the capital of his 
kingdom, replacing the older palace-city of Aigai (Vergina). After this, it was 
the seat of King Philip II of Macedon and of Alexander the Great, his son. In 
168 BC, it was sacked by the Romans, and its treasury transported to Rome. 
Later, the city was destroyed by an earthquake and eventually was rebuilt over 
its ruins. By 180 AD, Lucian could describe it in passing as “now insignificant, 
with very few inhabitants”.

Marcus 

Julius Philippus or Philippus I Arabs (c. 204–249), known in

English

as Philip the Arab or formerly (prior to World War II) in 

English as Philip the Arabian, was a

Roman 

Emperor
from 244 to 249.

//

Little is known about Philip’s early life and political 

career. He was born in

Shahba
, about 

55 miles southeast of

Damascus
, 

in the

Roman province

of

Syria

. Philip has the nickname “the Arab” because he had family who had 

originated in the

Arabian peninsula

, believed to be distant descendants of the prestigious 

Baleed family of Aleppo

. Philip was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, 

possibly of some importance. Many historians 

agree that he was of Arab descent who gained

Roman citizenship

through his father, a man of considerable influence. Many 

citizens from the provinces took Roman names upon acquiring citizenship. This 

makes tracing his Arabic blood line difficult. However, it is documented that 

Rome used the

Ghassan

tribe from the

Azd of

Yemen
as vassals 

to keep the neighboring northern Arabs in check.

The name of Philip’s mother is unknown, but sources refer to 

a brother,

Gaius Julius Priscus

, a member of the

Praetorian guard

under

Gordian 

III
(238–244). In 234, Philip married

Marcia Otacilia Severa

, daughter of a Roman Governor. They had two children: 

a son named Marcus Julius Philippus Severus (Philippus 

II) in 238 and according to numismatic evidence they had a daughter called 

Julia Severa or Severina, whom the ancient Roman sources don’t mention.

Philip became a member of the

Pretorian Guard

during the reign of the emperor

Alexander Severus

, who was a Syrian. In ancient Rome the Pretorian Guard was 

closely associated with the emperor, serving among other things as the emperor’s 

bodyguard.

 Political 

career

In 243, during

Gordian 

III
‘s campaign against

Shapur I
of 

Persia, the

Praetorian prefect

Timesitheus

died under unclear circumstances. At the suggestion of his 

brother Priscus, Philip became the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention 

that the two brothers would control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world 

as unofficial regents. Following a military defeat, Gordian III died in 244 

under circumstances that are still debated. While some claim that Philip 

conspired in his murder, other accounts (including one coming from the Persian 

point of view) state that Gordian died in battle. Whatever the case, Philip 

assumed the purple following Gordian’s death. According to Edward Gibbon:

His rise from so obscure a station to the first dignities 

of the empire seems to prove that he was a bold and able leader. But his 

boldness prompted him to aspire to the throne, and his abilities were 

employed to supplant, not to serve, his indulgent master.

Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous 

claimants, and was aware that he had to return to

Rome in order to 

secure his position with the

senate

. He thus travelled west, after concluding a peace treaty with Shapur 

I, and left his brother Priscus as extraordinary ruler of the Eastern provinces. 

In Rome he was confirmed

Augustus

, and nominated his young son

and heir.

Philip’s rule started with yet another

Germanic

incursion on the provinces of

Pannonia
 

and the Goths
 

invaded Moesia
 

(modern-day Serbia
 

and Bulgaria
) 

in the Danube
 

frontier. They were finally defeated in the year 248, but the

legions
 

were not satisfied with the result, probably due to a low share of the plunder, 

if any. Rebellion soon arose and

Tiberius 

Claudius Pacatianus
was proclaimed emperor by the troops. The uprising was 

crushed and Philip nominated

Gaius Messius 

Quintus Decius
as governor of the province. Future events would prove this 

to be a mistake. Pacatianus’ revolt was not the only threat to his rule: in the 

East, Marcus Jotapianus

led another uprising in response to the oppressive rule of

Priscus

and the excessive taxation of the Eastern provinces. Two other 

usurpers, Marcus Silbannacus

and

Sponsianus
, 

are reported to have started rebellions without much success.

In April

A.D.

248 (April 1000

A.U.C.

), Philip had the honour of leading the celebrations of the one 

thousandth birthday of Rome, which according to tradition was

founded

in 753 BC by

Romulus

. He combined the anniversary with the celebration of Rome’s alleged 

tenth saeculum
. 

According to contemporary accounts, the festivities were magnificent and 

included spectacular games,

ludi saeculares

, and theatrical presentations throughout the city. In the 

coliseum, more than 1,000 gladiators were killed along with hundreds of exotic 

animals including hippos, leopards, lions, giraffes, and one rhinoceros. 

The events were also celebrated in literature, with several publications, 

including

Asinius Quadratus

‘s History of a Thousand Years, specially prepared 

for the anniversary.

Despite the festive atmosphere, discontent in the legions was 

growing. Decius
 

(249–251) was proclaimed Emperor by the Danubian armies in the spring of 249 and 

immediately marched to Rome. Philip’s army met the usurper near modern

Verona

that summer. Decius won the battle and Philip was killed sometime in 

September 249, 

either in the fighting or assassinated by his own soldiers who were eager to 

please the new ruler. Philip’s eleven-year-old son and heir may have been killed 

with his father and Priscus disappeared without a trace.

 Religious 

beliefs

Some later traditions, first mentioned in the historian

Eusebius

in his

, held that Philip was the first

Christian

Roman emperor. This tradition seems to be based on reports in 

Eusebius that Philip allegedly had once entered a Christian service on Easter, 

after having been required by a bishop to confess his sins. Later versions 

located this event in Antioch.

However, historians generally identify the later Emperor 

Constantine, baptised on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and 

generally describe Philip’s adherence to Christianity as dubious, because 

non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign, 

Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow the

state religion

. 

Critics ascribe Eusebius’ claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed 

towards Christians.

Saint Quirinus of Rome

was, according to a legendary account, the son of 

Philip the Arab.