SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS 193AD Ancient Rare Roman Coin SERAPIS Antiquity God i19868

Item: i19868

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Septimius Severus – Roman Emperor: 193-211 A.D. –

Bronze 16mm (2.76 grams) of Nicopolis ad Istrum in Moesia Inferior 193-211 A.D.

AV K Λ CЄVHPOC, laureate head of Septimius right.

NIKOΠOΛ ΠPOC IC, Turreted draped
bust of Serapis right.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Serapis (Latin spelling, or Sarapis in Greek) was a

syncretic

Hellenistic

–Egyptian

god in

Antiquity

. His most renowned temple was the

Serapeum

of Alexandria.

Under

Ptolemy Soter

, efforts were made to integrate Egyptian religion with that of

their Hellenic rulers. Ptolemy’s policy was to find a deity that should win the

reverence alike of both groups, despite the curses of the Egyptian priests

against the gods of the previous foreign rulers (i.e

Set

who was lauded by the

Hyksos
).

Alexander the Great

had attempted to use

Amun for this

purpose, but he was more prominent in

Upper

Egypt
, and not as popular with those in

Lower

Egypt
, where the Greeks had stronger influence. The Greeks had little

respect for animal-headed figures, and so a Greek-style

anthromorphic

statue was chosen as the

idol
,

and proclaimed as the equivalent of the highly popular

Apis

.

It was named Aser-hapi (i.e. Osiris-Apis), which became Serapis,

and was said to be Osiris

in full, rather than just his

Ka

(life force).

//

 History

The earliest mention of a Serapis is in the disputed death scene of

Alexander (323 BC).

Here, Serapis has a temple at

Babylon
, and

is of such importance that he alone is named as being consulted on behalf of the

dying king. His presence in Babylon would radically alter perceptions of the

mythologies of this era, though fortunately it has been discovered that the

unconnected Babylonian god Ea (Enki)

was titled Serapsi, meaning king of the deep, and it is possibly

this Serapsi which is referred to in the diaries. The significance of this

Serapsi in the Hellenic psyche, due to its involvement in Alexander’s death,

may have also contributed to the choice of Osiris-Apis as the chief

Ptolemaic god.

According to Plutarch

, Ptolemy stole the

cult statue

from Sinope
,

having been instructed in a dream by the

, to bring the statue to

Alexandria
,

where the statue was pronounced to be Serapis by two religious experts. One of

the experts was of the

Eumolpidae
,

the ancient family from whose members the

hierophant

of the

Eleusinian Mysteries

had been chosen since before history, and the other was

the scholarly Egyptian priest

Manetho
,

which gave weight to the judgement both for the

Egyptians

and the Greeks.

Plutarch may not however be correct, as some Egyptologists allege that the

Sinope in the tale is really the hill of Sinopeion, a name given to the site

of the already existing

Serapeum
at

Memphis

. Also, according to

Tacitus

, Serapis (i.e. Apis explicitly identified as Osiris in full) had

been the god of the village of

Rhakotis

, before it suddenly expanded into the great capital of Alexandria.

The statue suitably depicted a figure resembling

Hades
or

Pluto

, both being kings of the Greek

underworld
,

and was shown enthroned with the

modius
, a

basket/grain-measure, on his head, since it was a Greek

symbol
for the

land of the dead. He also held a

sceptre
in

his hand indicating his rulership, with

Cerberus
,

gatekeeper of the underworld, resting at his feet, and it also had what appeared

to be a

serpent

at its base, fitting the Egyptian symbol of rulership, the

uraeus
.

With his (i.e. Osiris’) wife

Isis, and their son

(at this point in history)

Horus
(in the

form of Harpocrates

), Serapis won an important place in the Greek world,

reaching

Ancient

Rome
, with Anubis

being identified as Cerberus. In Rome, Serapis was worshiped in the

Iseum Campense, the sanctuary of the goddess

Isis located in the

Campus Martius

and built during the

Second Triumvirate

. The Roman cults of Isis and Serapis gained in popularity

late in the first century thanks to the god’s role in the miracles that the

imperial usurper

Vespasian

experienced in the city of

Alexandria
,

where he stayed prior to his return to Rome as emperor in

70 AD

. From the

Flavian Dynasty

on, Serapis sometimes appeared on imperial coinage with the

reigning emperor. The great cult survived until 385, when a Christian mob

destroyed the Serapeum

of Alexandria, and subsequently the cult was forbidden by the

Theodosian decree

.

The early Alexandrian Christian community appears to have been rather

syncretic in their worship of Serapis and Jesus and would prostrate themselves

without distinction between the two.

A letter inserted in the

, ascribed to the Emperor

Hadrian
,

refers to the worship of Serapis by residents of Egypt who described themselves

as Christians
,

and Christian worship by those claiming to worship Serapis, suggesting a great

confusion of the cults and practices:

The land of Egypt, the praises of which you have been recounting to me,

my dear Servianus, I have found to be wholly light-minded, unstable, and

blown about by every breath of rumour. There those who worship Serapis are,

in fact, Christians, and those who call themselves bishops of Christ are, in

fact, devotees of Serapis. There is no chief of the Jewish

synagogue
,

no Samaritan

, no Christian

presbyter
,

who is not an

astrologer

, a

soothsayer

, or an anointer. Even the

Patriarch

himself, when he comes to Egypt, is forced by some to worship Serapis, by

others to worship Christ.

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

.

Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (April 11,

145/146-February 4, 211) was a

Roman

general, and

Roman

Emperor
from April 14, 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the

Berber
part of

Rome’s historic

Africa Province

.

Septimius Severus was born and raised at

Leptis

Magna
(modern Berber

, southeast of

Carthage
,

modern Tunisia
).

Severus came from a wealthy, distinguished family of

equestrian

rank. Severus was of

Italian

Roman ancestry on his mother’s side and of

Punic

or

Libyan

-Punic^[1]

ancestry on his father’s. Little is known of his father,

Publius Septimius Geta

, who held no major political status but had two

cousins who served as consuls under emperor

Antoninus Pius

. His mother, Fulvia Pia’s family moved from

Italy
to

North

Africa
and was of the

Fulvius
gens,

an ancient and politically influential clan, which was originally of

plebeian

status. His siblings were a younger

Publius Septimius Geta

and Septimia Octavilla. Severus’s maternal cousin was

Praetorian Guard

and consul

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

.^[2]

In 172, Severus was made a

Senator

by the then emperor

Marcus Aurelius

. In 187 he married secondly

Julia

Domna
. In 190 Severus became

consul
, and in

the following year received from the emperor

Commodus

(successor to Marcus Aurelius) the command of the

legions

in Pannonia
.

On the murder of

Pertinax
by

the troops in 193, they proclaimed Severus Emperor at

Carnuntum
,

whereupon he hurried to Italy. The former emperor,

Didius Julianus

, was condemned to death by the Senate and killed, and

Severus took possession of Rome without opposition.

The legions of

Syria

, however, had proclaimed

Pescennius Niger

emperor. At the same time, Severus felt it was reasonable

to offer

Clodius Albinus

, the powerful governor of Britannia who had probably

supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to

succession. With his rearguard safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger’s

forces at the

Battle of Issus

. The following year was devoted to suppressing Mesopotamia

and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. When afterwards Severus

declared openly his son

Caracalla

as successor, Albinus was hailed emperor by his troops and moved to Gallia.

Severus, after a short stay in Rome, moved northwards to meet him. On

February

19
, 197
,

in the

Battle of Lugdunum

, with an army of 100,000 men, mostly composed of

Illyrian
,

Moesian
and

Dacian
legions,

Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the

Empire.

Emperor

Severus was at heart a

soldier
, and

sought glory through military exploits. In 197 he waged a brief and successful

war against the

Parthian Empire

in retaliation for the support given to Pescennius Niger.

The Parthian capital

Ctesiphon

was sacked by the legions, and the northern half of

Mesopotamia

was restored to Rome.

His relations with the

Roman

Senate
were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having

seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment.

Severus ordered the execution of dozens of Senators on charges of corruption and

conspiracy

against him, replacing them with his own favorites.

He also disbanded the

Praetorian Guard

and replaced it with one of his own, made up of 50,000

loyal soldiers mainly camped at

Albanum

, near Rome (also probably to grant the emperor a kind of centralized

reserve). During his reign the number of legions was also increased from 25/30

to 33. He also increased the number of auxiliary corps (numerii), many of

these troops coming from the Eastern borders. Additionally the annual wage for a

soldier was raised from 300 to 500

denarii
.

Although his actions turned Rome into a military

dictatorship

, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out

the rampant corruption of Commodus’s reign. When he returned from his victory

over the Parthians, he erected the

Arch of Septimius Severus

in Rome.

According to Cassius Dio,^[3]

however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian

Prefect,

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

, who came to have almost total control of most

branches of the imperial administration. Plautianus’s daughter,

Fulvia Plautilla

, was married to Severus’s son, Caracalla. Plautianus’s

excessive power came to an end in 205, when he was denounced by the Emperor’s

dying brother and killed.^[4]

The two following praefecti, including the jurist

Aemilius Papinianus

, received however even larger powers.

Campaigns in Caledonia (Scotland)

Starting from 208 Severus undertook a number of military actions in

Roman

Britain
, reconstructing

Hadrian’s Wall

and campaigning in

Scotland
.

He reached the area of the

Moray

Firth
in his last campaign in Caledonia, as was called Scotland by the

Romans.^[5].

In 210 obtained a peace with the

Picts
that lasted

practically until the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain

[6]
,

before falling severely ill in

Eboracum
(York).

Death

He is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: “Be harmonious,

enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men” before he died at Eboracum on

February 4
,

211^[7].

Upon his death in 211, Severus was

deified

by the Senate and succeeded by his sons,

Caracalla

and

Geta

, who were advised by his wife

Julia

Domna
.^[8]

The stability Severus provided the Empire was soon gone under their reign.

Accomplishments and Record

Though his military expenditure was costly to the empire, Severus was the

strong, able ruler that Rome needed at the time. He began a tradition of

effective emperors elevated solely by the military. His policy of an expanded

and better-rewarded army was criticized by his contemporary

Dio Cassius

and

Herodianus

: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden (in the

form of taxes and services) the civilian population had to bear to maintain the

new army.

Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal

arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the

Septizodium

in Rome and enriched greatly his native city of

Leptis

Magna
(including another triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of

203).

Severus and Christianity

Christians were

persecuted

during the reign of Septimus Severus. Severus allowed the

enforcement of policies already long-established, which meant that Roman

authorities did not intentionally seek out Christians, but when people were

accused of being Christians they could either curse

Jesus
and make an

offering to

Roman gods

, or be executed. Furthermore, wishing to strengthen the peace by

encouraging religious harmony through

syncretism
,

Severus tried to limit the spread of the two quarrelsome groups who refused to

yield to syncretism by outlawing

conversion

to Christianity or

Judaism
.

Individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor

against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of

law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in

Egypt
and the

Thebaid
, as

well as in

Africa proconsularis

and the East. Christian

martyrs
were

numerous in Alexandria

(cf.

Clement of Alexandria

, Stromata, ii. 20;

Eusebius

, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were

the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf.

Tertullian’s

Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the

as the martyrs of

Madaura
.

Probably in 202 or 203

Felicitas

and

Perpetua

suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time

under the proconsul

Scapula
in

211, especially in

Numidia
and

Mauritania
.

Later accounts of a Gallic

persecution, especially at

Lyon, are

legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians

under Septimius Severus was the same as under the

Antonines
;

but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the

rescript
of

Trajan
^[

neededclarification] had failed to execute its purpose..