SEVERUS ALEXANDER 222AD Amphipolis Macedonia Tyche Ancient Roman Coin i55628

Item: i55628

 Authentic Ancient 

Coin of:

Roman Emperor: 222-235 A.D.
Bronze 20mm (6.21 grams) of

Amphipolis in

Macedonia
Reference: Varbanov 3299
AVTO K M AVP CЄV AΛЄΞΑΝΔΡΟC, Laureate, draped and 
cuirassed bust right
ΑΜΦΙΠΟΛЄΙΤΩΝ, 
City-goddess (Tyche) seated left, holding patera; fish below.
 

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 

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
.

Amphipolis was an
ancient

Greek

city
in the region once inhabited by the
Edoni
people in the present-day
periphery
of
Central Macedonia
. It was built on a raised 
plateau overlooking the east bank of the
river

Strymon
where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, 
about 3 m. from the
Aegean Sea
. Founded in 437 BC, the city was 
finally abandoned in the 8th century AD. The present municipality Amfipoli, 
named after the ancient city, occupies the site. Currently, it is a municipality 
in the
Serres Prefecture
,
Central Macedonia
with a population of 3,623 
(2001 census).

 Origins

Archaeology
has uncovered remains at the site 
dating to approximately 3000 BC. Due to the strategic location of the site it 
was fortified from very early.
Xerxes I

of Persia
passed during his invasion of Greece 
of 480 BC and buried alive nine young men and nine maidens as a sacrifice to the 
river god. Near the later site of Amphipolis
Alexander I

of Macedon
defeated the remains of Xerxes’ army 
in 479 BC.

Throughout the 5th century BC,
Athens
sought to consolidate its control over 
Thrace, which was strategically important because of its primary materials (the 
gold and silver of the
Pangaion hills
and the dense forests essential 
for naval construction), and the sea routes vital for Athens’ supply of grain 
from Scythia
. After a first unsuccessful attempt at 
colonisation in 497 BC by the
Miletian

Tyrant

Histiaeus
, the Athenians founded a first colony 
at Ennea-Hodoi (‘Nine Ways’) in 465, but these first ten thousand colonists were 
massacred by the
Thracians
. A second attempt took place in 437 
BC on the same site under the guidance of
Hagnon
, son of
Nicias
.

The new settlement took the name of Amphipolis (literally, “around the 
city”), a name which is the subject of much debates about
lexicography
.
Thucydides
claims the name comes from the fact 
that the Strymon flows “around the city” on two sides; however a note in the

Suda (also given in the lexicon of
Photius
) offers a different explanation 
apparently given by
Marsyas
, son of
Periander
: that a large proportion of the 
population lived “around the city”. However, a more probable explanation is the 
one given by
Julius Pollux
: that the name indicates the 
vicinity of an isthmus
. Furthermore, the
Etymologicum Genuinum
gives the following 
definition: a city of the Athenians or of Thrace, which was once called Nine 
Routes, (so named) because it is encircled and surrounded by the Strymon river. 
This description corresponds to the actual site of the city (see adjacent map), 
and to the description of Thucydides.

Amphipolis subsequently became the main power base of the Athenians in Thrace 
and, consequently, a target of choice for their
Spartans
adversaries. The Athenian population 
remained very much in the minority within the city. An Athenian rescue 
expedition led by strategist (and later historian) Thucydides had to settle for 
securing Eion
and could not retake Amphipolis, a failure 
for which Thucydides was sentenced to exile. A new Athenian force under the 
command of Cleon
failed once more in 422 BC during a
battle
at which both
Cleon
and
Brasidas
lost their lives. Brasidas survived 
long enough to hear of the defeat of the Athenians and was buried at Amphipolis 
with impressive pomp. From then on he was regarded as the founder of the city 
and honoured with yearly games and sacrifices. The city itself kept its 
independence until the reign of the king
Philip II
despite several other Athenian 
attacks, notably because of the government of
Callistratus

of Aphidnae
.

 Conquest 
by the Romans

In 357 BC, Philip removed the block which Amphipolis presented on the road to 
Macedonian control over Thrace by conquering the town, which Athens had tried in 
vain to recover during the previous years. According the historian
Theopompus
, this conquest came to be the object 
of a secret accord between
Athens
and Philip II, who would return the city 
in exchange for the fortified town of
Pydna
, but the Macedonian king betrayed the 
accord, refusing to cede Amphipolis and laying siege to Pydna.

After the conquest by Philip II, the city was not immediately incorporated 
into the kingdom, and for some time preserved its institutions and a certain 
degree of autonomy. The border of Macedonia was not moved further east; however, 
Philip sent a number of Macedonians governors to Amphipolis, and in many 
respects the city was effectively ‘Macedonianized’. Nomenclature, the calendar 
and the currency (the
gold stater
, installed by Philip to capitalise 
on the gold reserves of the Pangaion hills, replaced the Amphipolitan
drachma
) were all replaced by Macedonian 
equivalents. In the reign of
Alexander
, Amphipolis was an important naval 
base, and the birthplace of three of the most famous Macedonian
Admirals
:
Nearchus
, Androsthenes^[6] 
and
Laomedon
whose burial place is most likely 
marked by the famous lion of Amphipolis.

Amphipolis became one of the main stops on the Macedonian royal road (as 
testified by a border stone found between
Philippos
and Amphipolis giving the distance to 
the latter), and later on the ‘Via 
Egnatia’, the principal
Roman Road
which crossed the southern Balkans. 
Apart from the ramparts of the low town (see photograph), the gymnasium and a 
set well-preserved frescoes from a wealthy villa are the only artifacts from 
this period that remain visible. Though little is known of the layout of the 
town, modern knowledge of its institutions is in considerably better shape 
thanks to a rich epigraphic documentation, including a military ordinance of
Philip V
and an
ephebarchic
law from the gymnasium. After the 
final victory of
Rome
over Macedonia in a
battle
in 168 BC, Amphipolis became the capital 
one of the four mini-republics, or ‘merides’, which were created by the Romans 
out of the kingdom of the
Antigonids
which
succeeded
Alexander’s Empire in Macedon. These 
‘merides’ were gradually incorporated into the Roman client state, and later 
province, of Thracia
.

 Revival 
in Late Antiquity

During the period of
Late Antiquity
, Amphipolis benefited from the 
increasing economic prosperity of Macedonia, as is evidenced by the large number 
of Christian Churches
that were built. 
Significantly however, these churches were built within a restricted area of the 
town, sheltered by the walls of the
acropolis
. This has been taken as evidence that 
the large fortified perimeter of the ancient town was no longer defendable, and 
that the population of the city had considerably diminished.

Nevertheless, the number, size and quality of the churches constructed 
between the fifth and sixth centuries are impressive. Four
basilicas
adorned with rich
mosaic
floors and elaborate architectural 
sculptures (such as the ram-headed
column
capitals – see picture) have been 
excavated, as well as a church with a hexagonal central plan which evokes that 
of the
basilica
of
St. Vitalis
in
Ravenna
. It is difficult to find reasons for 
such municipal extravagance in such a small town. One possible explanation 
provided by the historian
André Boulanger
is that an increasing 
‘willingness’ on the part of the wealthy upper classes in the late Roman period 
to spend money on local
gentrification
projects (which he terms ‘’évergétisme’’, 
from the Greek verb εύεργετέω,(meaning ‘I do good’) was exploited by the local 
church to its advantage, which led to a mass gentrification of the urban centre 
and of the agricultural riches of the city’s territory. Amphipolis was also a
diocese
under the
suffragan
of
Thessaloniki
– the Bishop of Amphipolis is 
first mentioned in 533 AD.

 From 
the reduction of the urban area to the disappearance of the city

The
Slavic invasions
of the late 6th century 
gradually encroached on the back-country Amphipolitan lifestyle and led to the 
decline of the town, during which period its inhabitants retreated to the area 
around the acropolis. The ramparts were maintained to a certain extent, thanks 
to materials plundered from the monuments of the lower city, and the large 
unused cisterns of the upper city were occupied by small houses and the 
workshops of artisans. Around the middle of the 7th century AD, a further 
reduction of the inhabited area of the city was followed by an increase in the 
fortification of the town, with the construction of a new rampart with 
pentagonal towers cutting through the middle of the remaining monuments. The 
acropolis, the Roman baths
, and especially the Episcopal 
basilica were crossed by this wall.

The city was probably abandoned in the eighth century, as the last bishop was 
attested in 787. Its inhabitants probably moved to the neighbouring site of 
ancient Eion
, port of Amphipolis, which had been 
rebuilt and refortified in the
Byzantine period
under the name “Chrysopolis”. 
This small port continued to enjoy some prosperity, before being abandoned 
during the
Ottoman period
. The last recorded sign of 
activity in the region of Amphipolis was the construction of a fortified tower 
to the north in 1367 by
Grand Primicier
Jean and the
Stratopedarque
Alexis to protect the land that 
they had given to the monastery of Pantokrator on
Mount Athos
.

 Archaeology

The site was rediscovered and described by many travellers and archaeologists 
during the 19th century, including E. Cousinéry (1831) (engraver), L. Heuzey 
(1861), and P. Perdrizet (1894–1899). In 1934, M. Feyel, of the
École française d’Athènes
, led an
epigraphical mission
to the site and uncovered 
the remains of a funeral lion (a reconstruction was given in the, a publication 
of the EfA which is available on line). However, excavations did not truly begin 
until after the Second World War. The
Greek Archaeological Society
under D. Lazaridis 
excavated in 1972 and 1985, uncovering a necropolis, the rampart of the old town 
(see photograph), the basilicas, and the acropolis.

 Amphipolitans

• Demetrius of Amphipolis
  , student of Plato’s
• Zoilus
  (400 BC-320 BC), grammarian, cynic 
  philosopher
• Pamphilus (painter)
  , head of
  Sicyonian
  school and teacher of
  Apelles
• Aetion
  , sculptor
• Philippus of Amphipolis
  , historian
• Nearchus
  , admiral
• Erigyius
  , general
• Damasias
   ^{[disambiguation 
  needed]} of Amphipolis 320 BC
  Stadion
  Olympics
• Hermagoras of Amphipolis
  (c. 225 BC), stoic 
  philosopher ,follower of
  Persaeus
• Xena
  , the Warrior Princess of Amphipolis.

Aurelius Severus Alexander (October 1, 208–March 18, 235 AD), commonly 

called Alexander Severus, was the last

Roman emperor

(11 March 222–235) of the

Severan dynasty

. Alexander Severus succeeded his cousin,

Elagabalus
 

upon the latter’s assassination in 222 AD, and was ultimately assassinated 

himself, marking the

epoch event

for the

Crisis of the Third Century

—nearly fifty years of disorder, Roman civil 

wars, economic chaos, regional rebellions, and external threats that brought the 

Empire to near-collapse.

Alexander Severus was the

heir 

apparent
to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered 

along with his mother by his own guards—and as a mark of contempt, had their 

remains cast into the

Tiber river

. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and 

powerful Julia Maesa

, who had arranged for Elagabalus’ acclamation as Emperor by the 

famed

Third Gallic Legion

.

A rumor of Alexander’s death circulated, triggering the assassination of 

Elagabalus.

Alexander’s reign was marked by troubles. In military conflict against the 

rising

Sassanid Empire

, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was 

checked. However, when campaigning against

Germanic tribes

of

Germania
, 

Alexander Severus apparently alienated his legions by trying diplomacy and 

bribery, and they assassinated him.

 Life

Alexander was born with the name Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus. 

Alexander’s father,

Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus

was a Syrian

Promagistrate

. His mother

Julia Avita Mamaea

was the second daughter of

Julia 

Maesa
and Syrian noble

Julius Avitus

and maternal aunt of Emperor

Elagabalus
. 

He had an elder sister called Theoclia and little is known about her. 

Alexander’s maternal great-aunt was empress

Julia 

Domna
(also Maesa’s younger sister) and his great-uncle in marriage was 

emperor Lucius

Septimius Severus

. Emperors

Caracalla
 

and

Publius Septimius Geta

, were his mother’s maternal cousins. In 221, 

Alexander’s grandmother, Maesa, persuaded the emperor to adopt his cousin as 

successor and make him

Caesar

and Bassianus changed his name to Alexander. In the following 

year, on March 11, Elagabalus was murdered, and Alexander was proclaimed emperor 

by the

Praetorians

and accepted by the Senate.

When Alexander became emperor, he was young, amiable, well-meaning, and 

entirely under the dominion of his mother. Julia Mamaea was a woman of many 

virtues, and she surrounded the young emperor with wise counsellors. She watched 

over the development of her son’s character and improved the tone of the 

administration. On the other hand, she was inordinately jealous. She also 

alienated the army by extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son were strong 

enough to impose military discipline. Mutinies became frequent in all parts of 

the empire; to one of them the life of the jurist and praetorian praefect

Ulpian
was 

sacrificed; another compelled the retirement of

Cassius 

Dio
from his command.

On the whole, however, the reign of Alexander was prosperous until the rise, 

in the east, of the

Sassanids

. Of the war that followed there are various accounts. (Mommsen 

leans to that which is least favourable to the Romans). According to Alexander’s 

own dispatch to the senate, he gained great victories. At all events, though the 

Sassanids were checked for the time, the conduct of the Roman army showed an 

extraordinary lack of discipline. The emperor returned to

Rome and celebrated 

a triumph in 233.

The following year he was called to face German invaders in

Gaul, who had 

breached the Rhine frontier in several places, destroying forts and over-running 

the countryside. Alexander mustered his forces, bringing legions from the 

eastern provinces, and crossed the Rhine into Germany on a pontoon bridge. 

Initially he attempted to buy the German tribes off, so as to gain time. Whether 

this was a wise policy or not, it caused the Roman legionaries to look down on 

their emperor as one who was prepared to commit unsoldierly conduct.

Herodian
 

says “in their opinion Alexander showed no honourable intention to pursue the 

war and preferred a life of ease, when he should have marched out to punish the 

Germans for their previous insolence”. These circumstances drove the army to 

look for a new leader. They chose

Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus

, a Thracian soldier who had worked his way up 

through the ranks.

Following the nomination of Maximinus as emperor, Alexander was slain (on 

either March 18 or March 19, 235), together with his mother, in a mutiny of the

Primigenia Legio XXII

. These assassinations secured the throne for 

Maximinus.

The death of Alexander is considered as the end of the Principate 

system established by

Augustus
. 

Although the Principate continued in theory until the reign of

Diocletian
, 

Alexander Severus’ death signalled the beginning of the chaotic period known as 

the

Crisis of the Third Century

which weakened the empire considerably.

 Legacy

Alexander was the last of the Syrian emperors. Under the influence of his 

mother, he did much to improve the morals and condition of the people. His 

advisers were men like the famous jurist Ulpian, the historian Cassius Dio and a 

select board of sixteen senators; a municipal council of fourteen assisted the 

urban praefect in administering the affairs of the fourteen districts of Rome. 

The luxury and extravagance that had formerly been so prevalent at the court 

were put down; the standard of the coinage was raised; taxes were lightened; 

literature, art and science were encouraged; the lot of the soldiers was 

improved; and, for the convenience of the people, loan offices were instituted 

for lending money at a moderate rate of interest.

In religious matters Alexander preserved an open mind. It is said that he was 

desirous of erecting a temple to the

founder of 

Christianity
, but was dissuaded by the pagan priests.

 Marriage

Alexander was married three times. His most famous wife was

Sallustia Orbiana

,

, whom he married in 225. He divorced and exiled her in 227, 

after her father,

Seius Sallustius

, was executed for attempting to assassinate the emperor. 

Another wife was Sulpicia Memmia. Her father was a man of consular rank; her 

grandfather’s name was Catulus.