PHILIP II 244AD Antioch Pisidia Legionary Eagle Standards Roman Coin i56581

Item: i56581

Authentic Ancient 

Coin of:

Philip II
  –
Roman Caesar
: 244-249 A.D. –  

Bronze 26mm (9.46 grams) of

Antioch in 

Pisidia
Radiate and cuirassed bust right.
 CAES ANTIOCH COL, vexillum surmounted by eagle, between two legionary 
eagles, S-R to lower left and right of vexillum.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 

Authenticity.

The
vexillum (English pronunciation: plural vexilla was 
a flag
-like object used in the
Classical Era
of the
Roman Empire
. The word is itself a diminutive 
for the Latin word, velum, sail, which confirms the historical evidence (from 
coins and sculpture) that vexilla were literally “little sails” i.e. flag-like 
standards. In the vexillum the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar 
suspended from the staff; this is unlike most modern flags in which the ‘hoist’ 
of the cloth is attached directly to the vertical staff. The bearer of a 
vexillum was known as a
vexillarius
or vexillifer. Just as 
in the case of the regimental colors or flag of Western regiments, the vexillum 
was a treasured symbol of the military unit that it represented and it was 
closely defended in combat
.

Nearly all of the present-day regions of
Italy
preserve the use of vexilla. Many 
Christian processional banners are in the vexillum form; usually these banners 
are termed labara
(Greek:
λάβαρον) after the standard adopted by the 
first Christian Roman emperor
Constantine I
which replaced the imperial eagle 
with the “Chi-Rho” 
symbol
☧
.

The term Vexillum is also used by the
Legion of Mary
as the term for its standard. A 
small version is used on the altar and a full size Vexillum leads processions.

Standards

Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa 
(first three on left) belong to centuriae of the 
legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards – whether 
spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the 
legion’s
aquila
. The standard on the 
extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(lupa) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of 
Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then 
based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is 
known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan’s Column, Rome

Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary 
standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with 
four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum 
of commander (legatus) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with 
embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion

Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had 
its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was 
borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius. 
Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where 
the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in 
the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military 
standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine 
spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently 
prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit’s standard to the enemy was 
considered a terrible stain on the unit’s honour, which could only be fully 
expunged by its recovery.

The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was 
borne by the unit’s signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an 
open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been 
suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(manipulus = “handful”), the 
smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were 
adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain). 
In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including, 
at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also 
normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.

The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was 
known as a vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag, 
normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched 
on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar 
found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio) 
would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum 
traditionally marked the commander’s position on the battlefield.^[194] 
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.

From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all 
legions was the
aquila
(“eagle”). The pole was surmounted 
by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying 
thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the 
pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found 
(doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold 
content). The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion’s most senior 
standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military 
prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary 
lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching 
full-scale invasions of the enemy’s territory, sometimes decades after the 
eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a 
fortress of the Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years 
earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
. Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to 
recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.

Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines) 
of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was 
usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer.

From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae 
adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry 
squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an 
open dragon’s mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it 
would make a strong hissing-sound.

Decorations

The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for 
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae 
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae 
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and

torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest 
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a 
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona 
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy 
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.

There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual 
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the 
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”). 
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles 
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..

Antioch 
in Pisidia – alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or Pisidian 
Antioch (Greek:
Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in
Roman Empire
,
Latin
: Antiochia Caesareia or
Antiochia Caesarea – is a city in the
Turkish Lakes Region
, which is at the 
crossroads of the
Mediterranean
,
Aegean
and Central
Anatolian
regions, and formerly on the border 
of Pisidia
and
Phrygia
, hence also known as Antiochia in 
Phrygia. The site lies approximately 1 km northeast of
Yalvaç
, the modern town of
Isparta Province
. The city is on a hill with 
its highest point of 1236 m in the north.

Roman period

While the Hellenistic Kingdoms (the inheritors of
Alexander the Great
) were fighting each other 
and the Galatians,
Rome
became the most powerful state in Europe 
and started to follow a policy of expansion to the east. They invaded
Macedon
,
Thrace
, and the
Dardanelles
, and reaching
Phrygia
via
Magnesia
and Pisidia. They cowed the Galatians 
and according to the
treaty
signed in
Apamea
in 188 BC, they gave the land of Pisidia 
which they had got from
Antiochos III
, to their ally the
Pergamon
Kingdom which dominated the region.
Attalos III
, the last king of
Pergamon
, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome on his 
death in 133 BC
Aristonikos
who claimed Pergamon was defeated 
in 129, then Rome affected Anatolia with its well-developed, creative culture 
for centuries.

Although Anatolia
was dominated by the
Roman Empire
as the
province of Asia
, Pisidia was given to the 
Kingdom of Cappadocia
, which was an ally of Rome. During 
the following years, the authority gap which could not be filled by these 
kingdoms remote from central government, led to the rise of powerful pirate 
kingdoms, especially in
Cilicia
and Pisidia. The Romans were disturbed 
by these kingdoms and fought against them. Cilicia,
Pamphylia
,
Phrygia
and Pisida were freed from pirates and 
Roman rule was restored in 102 BC.

The geographical and strategical position of the region made it difficult to 
control the area and maintain constant peace. The
Homonadesians
, settled in the
Taurus Mountains
between
Attaleia
and
Ikonion
, caused problems for Rome.
Marcus Antonius
who had to control the roads 
connecting Pisidia to Pamphylia, charged his allied king
Amyntas
, King of Pisidia, to fight against 
Homonadesians, but Amyntas was killed during the struggle.

Then Rome started to colonize using military
legions
as a solution to the failure of the 
locally appointed governors. The Province of
Galatia
was established in 25 BC and Antioch 
became a part of it. To support the struggle against the Homonadesians 
logistically, the construction of a road called the
Via Sebaste
, the centre of which was Antioch, 
was started by the governor of the Province of Galatia,
Cornutus Arrutius Aquila
. The Via Sebaste was 
separated into two and directed to the southwest and southeast to surround the 
Homonadesians. Secondary connecting roads were built between these two roads. 
Rome by means of the Via Sebaste
P.Sulpicius Quirinius
brought an end to the 
Homonadesians problem in 3 BC, relocating survivors in different surrounding 
locations.

During the reign of
Augustus
, eight colonies were established in 
Pisidia, but only Antioch was honoured with the title of
Caesarea
and given the right of the
Ius Italicum
, maybe because of its 
strategic position. The city became an important Roman colony which rose to the 
position of a capital city with the name of “Colonia 
Caesarea“.

Hellenisation
became Latinisation during the 
Roman period and it was applied in Antioch best. The city was divided into seven 
quarters called “vici” 
all of which were founded on seven hills like in Rome. The formal language was
Latin
until the end of the 3rd century. The 
fertility of the land and the peace brought by
Augustus
(Pax 
Romana: Roman Peace) made it easier for the veterans as colonists 
in the area to have good relations and integration with the natives.

One of the three surviving copies of the
Res Gestae Divi Augusti
, the famous 
inscription recording the noble deeds of the Emperor Augustus was found in front 
of the Augusteum in Antioch. The original was carved on bronze tablets and 
exhibited in front of the
Mausoleum of Augustus
in
Rome
, but unfortunately has not survived. The 
Antioch copy on stone was written in Latin which is a sign of the importance of 
the city as a military and cultural base of Rome in Asia. (One of the copies, in
Greek
and
Latin
, is in
Ankara
, the other, in Greek, in Apollonia 
-Uluborlu).

Marcus 

Julius Philippus Severus, also known as Philippus II, Philip II 

and Philip the Younger (238 – 249) was the son and heir of the

Roman 

Emperor

Philip the Arab

by his wife Roman Empress

Marcia Otacilia Severa

. According to numismatic evidence, he had a sister 

called Julia Severa or Severina, whom the ancient Roman sources do not mention.

When his father became emperor in 244 he was appointed

Caesar

. Philippus was

consul
in 247 

and 248. His father was killed in battle by his successor

Decius
in 249. 

When news of this death reached Rome, he was murdered by the

Praetorian Guard

. He died in his mother’s arms. When he died, he was eleven 

years old.