THEODOSIUS II 425AD Ancient Roman Coin Cross within wreath of success i32883

Item: i32883

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Theodosius II – Roman Emperor: 408-450 A.D. –

Bronze AE4 11mm (0.73 grams) Cyzicus mint: 425-435 A.D.
Reference: RIC 451 (X, Theodosius II)
DNTHEODOSIVSPFAVG – Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
No legend Exe: SMKΔ – Wreath, cross within.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

A laurel wreath is a circular
wreath
made of interlocking branches and leaves
of the
bay laurel
(Laurus nobilis), an aromatic
broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher’s broom (Ruscus
hypoglossum) or cherry laurel (Prunus
laurocerasus). In
Greek mythology
,
Apollo
is represented wearing a laurel wreath
on his head. In
ancient Greece
wreaths were awarded to victors,
both in athletic competitions, including the ancient
Olympics
made of wild olive-tree known
as “kotinos“
(κότινος),^[1]
(sc. at
Olympia
) and in poetic meets; in
Rome
they were symbols of martial victory,
crowning a successful commander during his
triumph
. Whereas ancient laurel wreaths are
most often depicted as a
horseshoe
shape, modern versions are usually
complete rings.

In common modern idiomatic
usage it refers to a victory. The
expression “resting on one’s laurels” refers to someone relying entirely on
long-past successes for continued fame or recognition, where to “look to one’s
laurels” means to be careful of losing rank to competition.

Academic use

 

Ovid
with laurel wreath, common in
poets.

In some countries the laurel wreath is used as symbol of the
master’s degree
. The wreath is given to young
masters in the
graduation ceremony
of the university. The word
“Laureate”
in ‘poet
laureate‘ refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. The
medieval Florentine poet and philosopher
Dante Alighieri
,^{[dubious
–
discuss
]} a graduate of the
Sicilian School
, is often represented in
paintings and sculpture wearing a laurel wreath.

Laureato^[3]
is the term used in Italy
to refer to any graduated student. In
some italian regions (Veneto,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
and
Trentino
), right after the graduation ceremony
(in Italian: laurea), the student receives a laurel wreath and is allowed
to wear it for the rest of the day. This tradition was born in the
University of Padua
and since the end of the
19th century is common to all
northeastern Italian
universities.

At
Connecticut College
in the United States,
members of the junior class carry a laurel
chain
, which the seniors pass through during
commencement. It represents nature and the continuation of life from year to
year. Immediately following commencement, the junior girls write out with the
laurels their class year, symbolizing they have officially become seniors and
the cycle will repeat itself the following spring.

At
Mount Holyoke College
in
South Hadley, Massachusetts
, United States,
laurel has been a fixture of
commencement
traditions since 1900, when
graduating students carried or wore laurel wreaths. In 1902, the chain of
mountain laurel
was introduced; since then,
tradition has been for seniors to march across campus, carrying and linked by
the chain. The mountain laurel represents the
bay laurel
used by the
Romans
in wreaths and crowns of honor.

At Reed College
in
Portland, Oregon
, United States, members of the
senior class receive laurel wreaths upon submitting their senior
thesis
in May. The tradition stems from the use
of laurel wreaths in athletic competitions; the seniors have “crossed the finish
line,” so to speak.

At
St. Mark’s School
in
Southborough, Massachusetts
, students who
successfully complete three years of one classical language and two of the other
earn the distinction of the Classics Diploma and the honor of wearing a laurel
wreath on Prize Day.

In Sweden
, those receiving a Doctorate or an
Honorary Doctorate
at the Faculty of Philosophy
(meaning Philosophy, Languages, Arts, History and Social Sciences), receive a
laurel wreath during the ceremony of conferral of the degree.

Architectural and decorative arts motif

 

Alexander Garden Grille

 

“Victory, A Knight Being Crowned With A Laurel Wreath” by
Frank Dicksee
.

The laurel wreath is a common motif in
architecture
,
furniture
, and
textiles
. The laurel wreath is seen carved in
the stone and decorative plaster works of
Robert Adam
, and in
Federal
,
Regency
,
Directoire
, and
Beaux-Arts
periods of architecture. In
decorative arts, especially during the
Empire period
, the laurel wreath is seen woven
in textiles, inlaid in marquetry, and applied to furniture in the form of gilded
brass mounts.
Alfa Romeo
added a laurel wreath to their

logo after they won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in
1925 with the
P2
racing car.

Theodosius

II (10

April 401

–

July 28
,

450), called

the

, was a

Eastern Roman Emperor

(408-450). He is mostly known for promulgating the

Theodosian law code

as well for the

Theodosian Walls of Constantinople

. He also presided over the outbreak of

two great christological controversies

.

Setting a record for longest-reigning Roman emperor

at 48 years (equivalent to a dozen U.S. Presidential terms!), Theodosius

II set remarkably few other records in all this time. He was the last

emperor to rule both east and west halves, albeit briefly, after the

death of Honorius and before the puppet emperor Johannes came onto the

scene. As for his own achievements, he wasn’t much more than a

figurehead esconced in his palace. His sister Pulcheria took the active

role in steering the empire. He died a few days after a hunting

accident.

Life

Theodosius was born in 401 as the only son of Emperor

Arcadius

and his Frankish-born wife

Aelia

Eudoxia
. In 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became Emperor

of the Eastern parts of the Roman Empire.

Government was at first by the

Praetorian Prefect

Anthemius

, under whose supervision that the

Theodosian land walls

of Constantinople were constructed.

In 414, Theodosius’ older sister

Pulcheria

was proclaimed Augusta and assumed the regency. By 416 Theodosius was capable of

ruling himself, but his sister remained a strong influence on him. She also

assisted her brother in procuring marriage to the Athenian

Aelia

Eudocia
in June 421. The two had a daughter named

Licinia Eudoxia

.

Theodosius’ increasing interest in Christianity, fuelled by

the influence of Pulcheria, had him start a

war against the Sassanids

(421-422), who were persecuting Christians; the

war ended in a draw, when the Romans were forced to accept peace as the Huns

menaced

Constantinople

.^[1]

In 423, the Western Emperor

Honorius

, Theodosius’ uncle, died and the

Joannes
was

proclaimed Emperor. Honorius’ sister

Galla Placidia

and her young son

Valentinian

fled to Constantinople to seek Eastern assistance and after some

deliberation in 424 Theodosius opened the war against Joannes. In May 425,

Valentinian III was installed as Emperor of the West, with his mother acting as

regent. To strengthen the ties between the two parts of the Empire, Theodosius’

daughter

Licinia Eudoxia

was betrothed to Valentinian.

 University

and Law Code

In 425, Theodosius founded the

University of Constantinople

with 31 chairs (15 in Latin and 16 in Greek).

Among subjects were law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,

music and rhetoric.

In 429, Theodosius appointed a commission to collect all of

the laws since the reign of

Constantine I

, and create a fully formalized system of law. This plan was

left unfinished, but the work of a second commission that met in Constantinople,

assigned to collect all of the general legislations and bring them up to date

was completed, and their collection published as the

in 438. The law code of Theodosius II, summarizing

edicts promulgated since Constantine, formed a basis for the law code of Emperor

Justinian

I
in the following century.

 Wars

with the Huns, Vandals and Persians

The Eastern Empire was also plagued by short raiding attacks

by the Huns
. The

Huns arrived at

Athyra (Büyükçekmece)

in 447, but an agreement was reached with the

Eastern Roman empire

, negotiated by

Anatolius

. The Emperor chose to pay tribute which amounted to 350 Roman

pounds (ca. 114.5 kg) of gold until 435 and 700 Roman pounds after that.

When Roman Africa fell to the Vandals in 439, both Eastern

and Western Emperors sent forces to

Sicily
, to

launch an attack at the Vandals at Carthage, but this project failed. Seeing the

imperial borders without significant forces, the

Huns and

Sassanid Persia

declared war. During 443 two Roman armies were defeated and

destroyed by the Huns. In the subsequent peace agreement Roman tribute was

tripled to 2,100 Roman pounds (ca. 687 kg) in gold after which the Huns withdrew

into the interior of their empire. The

war with Persia

on the other hand proved indecisive, and a peace was

arranged in 422 without changes to the status quo.

 Theological

disputes

During a visit to Syria, Theodosius met the preacher

Nestorius

and appointed him Patriarch of Constantinople in 428. Nestorius quickly became

involved in the disputes of two theological factions, which differed in their

Christology

. Nestorius tried to find a middle ground between those that,

emphasizing the fact that in Christ God had been born as a man, insisted on

calling

the Virgin Mary

Theotokos (“birth-giver of God”), and those that

rejected that title because God as an eternal being could not have been born.

Nestorius suggested the title Christotokos (“birth-giver to Christ”), but

did not find acceptance by either faction and was accused of detaching Christ’s

divine and human natures from each other, a heresy later called

Nestorianism

. Though initially supported by the Emperor, Nestorius found a

forceful opponent in Patriarch

Cyril of Alexandria

. With the consent of the Emperor and

Pope Celestine I

, an

Ecumenical Council convened in Ephesus

in 431, which affirmed the title

Theotokos and condemned Nestorius, who was then exiled by the Emperor.

Almost twenty years later, the theological dispute broke out

again, this time caused by the Constantinopolitan abbot

Eutyches
,

whose Christology was understood by some to mingle Christ’s divine and human

nature into one. Eutyches was condemned by Patriarch

Flavian of Constantinople

but found a powerful friend in Cyril’s successor

Dioscurus of Alexandria

.

Another council convoked to Ephesus

in 449, deemed “robber synod” because of

its tumultuous circumstances, restored Eutyches and deposed Flavian, who was

mistreated and died shortly afterwards.

Pope Leo I

of Rome and many other bishops protested against the outcome, but the Emperor

supported it. Only after his death in 450 would the decisions be reversed at the

Council of Chalcedon

.

 Death

Theodosius died in 450 as the result of a riding accident. In

the ensuing power struggle, his sister

Pulcheria
,

who had recently returned to court, won out against the

eunuch

Chrysaphius

. She married the general

Marcian
,

thereby making him Emperor.