VALENS 367AD Rome R.PRIMA Very rare Ancient Roman Coin Victory Angel i29820

Item: i29820

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Valens – Roman Emperor: 364-378 A.D. –
Bronze AE3 17mm (2.28 grams) Rome mint:
367-375 A.D.
Reference: RIC 24b.9 (Roma),
LRBC 719
DNVALENSPFAVG – Diademed, draped and
cuirassed bust right.
SECVRITASREIPVBLICAE Exe: R.PRIMA – Victory advancing
left, holding wreath and palm.

*Numismatic Note: Twelve different
mintmarks of Rome mint are known.
 These examples: R dot PRIMA, R dot SECVNDA; R dot
TERTIA and RB.

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In

Roman mythology

, Victoria was the personification/Goddess of victory.

She is the Roman version of the

Greek goddess

Nike

, and was associated with

Bellona

. She was adapted from the

Sabine

agricultural goddess

Vacuna
and had

a

temple

on the

Palatine Hill

. Her name (in Latin) means victory. Unlike the Greek Nike, Victoria (Latin

for “victory”) was a major part of Roman society. Multiple temples were erected

in her honour. When her statue was removed in 382 AD by emperor

Gratianus

there was much anger in Rome. She was normally worshipped by

triumphant

generals returning from war.

Also unlike the Greek Nike,who was known for success in athletic games such

as chariot races, Victoria was a symbol of victory over death and determined who

would be successful during war. Appearing on Roman coins, jewelry, architecture, and other arts, Victoria is

often seen with or in a

chariot
. An

example of this is her place upon the

Brandenburg Gate

in Berlin, Germany.

Flavius Julius Valens (Latin:

FLAVIUS IVLIVS VALENS AVGVSTVS; 328 – 9

August 378) was

Roman Emperor

(364-378), after he was given the

Eastern part of the empire by his brother

Valentinian I

. Valens, sometimes known as the

, was defeated and killed in the

Battle of Adrianople

, which marked the beginning of

the fall of the

Western Roman Empire

.

//

 Life

 Appointment

to emperor

Valens and his brother

Flavius Valentinianus

(Valentinian) were both born

48 miles west of

Sirmium

(modern

Sremska Mitrovica

,

Serbia

), in the town of Cibalae (Vinkovci,

Croatia

) in 328 and 321, respectively. They had

grown up on estates purchased by their father,

Gratian the Elder

, in Africa and Britain. While

Valentinian had enjoyed a successful military career

prior to his appointment as emperor, Valens apparently

had not. He had spent much of his youth on the family’s

estate and only joined the army in the 360s,

participating with his brother in the Persian campaign

of Emperor

Julian

.

He restored some religious

persecution, and was

Arian

.

In February 364, reigning Emperor

Jovian

, while hastening to

Constantinople

to secure his claim to the throne,

was

asphyxiated

during a stop at Dadastana, 100 miles

east of

Ankara

. Among Jovian’s agents was Valentinian, a

tribunus scutariorum. He was proclaimed

Augustus

on 26 February, 364. Valentinian felt that

he needed help to govern the large and troublesome

empire, and, on 28 March of the same year, appointed his

brother Valens as co-emperor in the palace of

Hebdomon

. The two Augusti travelled together

through Adrianople and Naissus to

Sirmium

, where they divided their personnel, and

Valentinian went on to the West.

Valens obtained the eastern half of

the

Balkan Peninsula

,Greece,

Egypt

,

Syria

and

Anatolia

as far east as Persia. Valens was back in

his capital of Constantinople by December 364.

 Revolt

of Procopius

Valens inherited the eastern portion

of an empire that had recently retreated from most of

its holdings in

Mesopotamia

and

Armenia

because of a treaty that his predecessor

Jovian had made with

Shapur II

of the

Sassanid Empire

. Valens’s first priority after the

winter of 365 was to move east in hopes of shoring up

the situation. By the autumn of 365 he had reached

Cappadocian Caesarea when he learned that a usurper had

proclaimed himself in Constantinople. When he died,

Julian had left behind one surviving relative, a

maternal cousin named

Procopius

. Procopius had been charged with

overseeing a northern division of Julian’s army during

the Persian expedition and had not been present with the

imperial elections when Julian’s successor was named.

Though Jovian made accommodations to appease this

potential claimant, Procopius fell increasingly under

suspicion in the first year of Valens’ reign.

After narrowly escaping arrest, he

went into hiding and reemerged at Constantinople where

he was able to convince two military units passing

through the capital to proclaim him emperor on 28

September 365. Though his early reception in the city

seems to have been lukewarm, Procopius won favor quickly

by using propaganda to his advantage: he sealed off the

city to outside reports and began spreading rumors that

Valentinian had died; he began minting coinage flaunting

his connections to the Constantinian dynasty; and he

further exploited dynastic claims by using the widow and

daughter of

Constantius II

to act as showpieces for his regime.

This program met with some success, particularly among

soldiers loyal to the Constantinians and eastern

intellectuals who had already begun to feel persecuted

by the Valentinians.

Valens, meanwhile, faltered. When

news arrived that Procopius had revolted, Valens

considered

abdication

and perhaps even

suicide

. Even after he steadied his resolve to

fight, Valens’s efforts to forestall Procopius were

hampered by the fact that most of his troops had already

crossed the

Cilician

gates into

Syria

when he learned of the revolt. Even so, Valens

sent two legions to march on Procopius, who easily

persuaded them to desert to him. Later that year, Valens

himself was nearly captured in a scramble near

Chalcedon

. Troubles were exacerbated by the refusal

of Valentinian to do any more than protect his own

territory from encroachment. The failure of imperial

resistance in 365 allowed Procopius to gain control of

the dioceses of

Thrace

and Asiana by year’s end.

Only in the spring of 366 had Valens

assembled enough troops to deal with Procopius

effectively. Marching out from Ancyra through

Pessinus

, Valens proceeded into

Phrygia

where he defeated Procopius’s general

Gomoarius at the

Battle of Thyatira

. He then met Procopius himself at

Nacoleia and convinced his troops to desert him.

Procopius was executed on 27 May and his head sent to

Valentinian in

Trier

for inspection.

 War

against the Goths

The

Gothic

people in the northern region had supported

Procopius in his revolt against Valens, and Valens had

learned the Goths were planning an uprising of their

own. These Goths, more specifically the Tervingi, were

at the time under the leadership of

Athanaric

and had apparently remained peaceful since

their defeat under Constantine in 332. In the spring of

367, Valens crossed the Danube and marched on

Athanaric’s Goths. These fled into the

Carpathian Mountains

, and eluded Valens’ advance,

forcing him to return later that summer. The following

spring, a Danube flood prevented Valens from crossing;

instead the emperor occupied his troops with the

construction of fortifications. In 369, Valens crossed

again, from

Noviodunum

, and attacked the north-easterly Gothic

tribe of Greuthungi before facing Athanaric’s Tervingi

and defeating them. Athanaric pled for treaty terms and

Valens gladly obliged. The treaty seems to have largely

cut off relations between Goths and Romans, including

free trade

and the exchange of troops for tribute.

Valens would feel this loss of military manpower in the

following years.

 Conflict

with the Sassanids

Among Valens’ reasons for contracting

a hasty and not entirely favorable peace in 369 was the

deteriorating state of affairs in the East. Jovian had

surrendered Rome’s much disputed claim to control over

Armenia in 363, and

Shapur II

was eager to make good on this new

opportunity. The

Sassanid

ruler began enticing Armenian lords over to

his camp and eventually forced the defection of the

Arsacid

Armenian king,

Arsakes II

, whom he quickly arrested and

incarcerated. Shapur then sent an invasion force to

seize

Caucasian Iberia

and a second to besiege Arsaces’

son,

Pap

, in the fortress of Artogerassa, probably in

367. By the following spring, Pap had engineered his

escape from the fortress and flight to Valens, whom he

seems to have met at Marcianople while campaigning

against the Goths.

Already in the summer following his

Gothic settlement, Valens sent his general Arinthaeus to

re-impose Pap on the Armenian throne. This provoked

Shapur himself to invade and lay waste to Armenia. Pap,

however, once again escaped and was restored a second

time under escort of a much larger force in 370. The

following spring, larger forces were sent under

Terentius to regain Iberia and to garrison Armenia near

Mount Npat. When Shapur counterattacked into Armenia in

371, his forces were bested by Valens’ generals Traianus

and Vadomarius at Bagavan. Valens had overstepped the

363 treaty and then successfully defended his

transgression. A truce settled after the 371 victory

held as a quasi-peace for the next five years while

Shapur was forced to deal with a

Kushan

invasion on his eastern frontier.

Meanwhile, troubles broke out with

the boy-king Pap, who began acting in high-handed

fashion, even executing the Armenian

bishop

Narses

and demanding control of a number of Roman

cities, including

Edessa

. Pressed by his generals and fearing that Pap

would defect to the Persians, Valens made an

unsuccessful attempt to capture the prince and later had

him executed inside Armenia. In his stead, Valens

imposed another Arsacid,

Varazdat

, who ruled under the regency of the

sparapet

Musel

Mamikonean

, a friend of Rome.

None of this sat well with the

Persians, who began agitating again for compliance with

the 363 treaty. As the eastern frontier heated up in

375, Valens began preparations for a major expedition.

Meanwhile, trouble was brewing elsewhere. In

Isauria

, the mountainous region of western

Cilicia

, a major revolt had broken out in 375 which

diverted troops formerly stationed in the east.

Furthermore, by 377, the

Saracens

under

Queen Mavia

had broken into revolt and devastated a

swath of territory stretching from

Phoenicia

and

Palestine

as far as the

Sinai

. Though Valens successfully brought both

uprisings under control, the opportunities for action on

the eastern frontier were limited by these skirmishes

closer to home.

In 375, Valens’ older brother

Valentinian, while in

Pannonia

had suffered a burst

blood vessel

in his skull, which resulted in his

death on 17 November, 375.

Gratian

, Valentinian’s son and Valens’ nephew, had

already been associated with his father in the imperial

dignity and was joined by his half-brother

Valentinian II

who was elevated, on their father’s

death, to

Augustus

by the imperial troops in

Pannonia

.

 Gothic

War

Valens’ plans for an eastern campaign

were never realized. A transfer of troops to the western

empire in 374 had left gaps in Valens’ mobile forces. In

preparation for an eastern war, Valens initiated an

ambitious recruitment program designed to fill those

gaps. It was thus not unwelcome news when Valens learned

that the Gothic tribes had been displaced from their

homeland by an invasion of

Huns

in 375 and were seeking asylum from him. In

376, the

Visigoths

advanced to the far shores of the lower

Danube and sent an ambassador to Valens who had set up

his capitol in

Antioch

. The Goths requested shelter and land in the

Balkan peninsula

. An estimated 200,000 Gothic

Warriors and altogether 1,000,000 Gothic persons were

along the Danube in

Moesia

and the ancient land of

Dacia

.

As Valens’ advisers were quick to

point out, these Goths could supply troops who would at

once swell Valens’ ranks and decrease his dependence on

provincial troop levies — thereby increasing revenues

from the recruitment tax. Among the Goths seeking asylum

was a group led by the chieftain

Fritigern

. Fritigern had enjoyed contact with Valens

in the 370s when Valens supported him in a struggle

against Athanaric stemming from Athanaric’s persecution

of Gothic

Christians

. Though a number of Gothic groups

apparently requested entry, Valens granted admission

only to Fritigern and his followers. This did not,

however, prevent others from following.

When Fritigern and his Goths

undertook the crossing, Valens’s mobile forces were tied

down in the east, on the Persian frontier and in

Isauria. This meant that only

units were present to oversee the

Goths’ settlement. The small number of imperial troops

present prevented the Romans from stopping a Danube

crossing by a group of Goths and later by Huns and

Alans

. What started out as a controlled resettlement

mushroomed into a massive influx. And the situation grew

worse. When the riparian commanders began abusing the

Visigoths under their charge, they revolted in early 377

and defeated the Roman units in

Thrace

outside of Marcianople.

After joining forces with the

Ostrogoths and eventually the Huns and Alans, the

combined barbarian group marched widely before facing an

advance force of imperial soldiers sent from both east

and west. In a

Ad Salices battle at

, the Goths were once

again victorious, winning free run of Thrace south of

the

Haemus

. By 378, Valens himself was able to march

west from his eastern base in Antioch. He withdrew all

but a skeletal force — some of them Goths — from the

east and moved west, reaching Constantinople by 30 May,

378. Meanwhile, Valens’ councilors,

Comes

Richomeres

, and his generals Frigerid, Sebastian,

and Victor cautioned Valens and tried to persuade him to

wait for Gratian’s arrival with his victorious

legionaries from Gaul, something that Gratian himself

strenuously advocated. What happened next is an example

of

hubris

, the impact of which was to be felt for years

to come. Valens, jealous of his nephew Gratian’s

success, decided he wanted this victory for himself.

 Battle

of Adrianople and death of Valens

After a brief stay aimed at building

his troop strength and gaining a toehold in Thrace,

Valens moved out to

Adrianople

. From there, he marched against the

confederated barbarian army on 9 August 378 in what

would become known as the

Battle of Adrianople

. Although negotiations were

attempted, these broke down when a Roman unit sallied

forth and carried both sides into battle. The Romans

held their own early on but were crushed by the surprise

arrival of Visigoth cavalry which split their ranks.

The primary source for the battle is

Ammianus Marcellinus

.

Valens had left a sizeable guard with his baggage and

treasures depleting his force. His right wing, cavalry,

arrived at the Gothic camp sometime before the left wing

arrived. It was a very hot day and the Roman cavalry was

engaged without strategic support, wasting its efforts

while they suffered in the heat.

Meanwhile Fritigern once again sent

an emissary of peace in his continued manipulation of

the situation. The resultant delay meant that the Romans

present on the field began to succumb to the heat. The

army’s resources were further diminished when an ill

timed attack by the Roman archers made it necessary to

recall Valens’ emissary, Comes Richomeres. The archers

were beaten and retreated in humiliation.

Gothic cavalry under the command of

Althaeus and Saphrax then struck and, with what was

probably the most decisive event of the battle, the

Roman cavalry fled. From here, Ammianus gives two

accounts of Valen’s demise. In the first account,

Ammianus states that Valens was “mortally wounded by an

arrow, and presently breathed his last breath,”

(XXXI.12) His body was never found or given a proper

burial. In the second account, Ammianus states the Roman

infantry was abandoned, surrounded and cut to pieces.

Valens was wounded and carried to a small wooden hut.

The hut was surrounded by the Goths who put it to the

torch, evidently unaware of the prize within. According

to Ammianus, this is how Valens perished (XXXI.13.14-6).

The church historian

Socrates

likewise gives two accounts for the death

of Valens.

Some have asserted that he was

burnt to death in a village whither he had retired,

which the barbarians assaulted and set on fire. But

others affirm that having put off his imperial robe

he ran into the midst of the main body of infantry;

and that when the cavalry revolted and refused to

engage, the infantry were surrounded by the

barbarians, and completely destroyed in a body.

Among these it is said the emperor fell, but could

not be distinguished, in consequence of his not

having on his imperial habit.

When the battle was over, two-thirds

of the eastern army lay dead. Many of their best

officers had also perished. What was left of the army of

Valens was led from the field under the cover of night

by Comes Richomer and General Victor.

J.B. Bury

, a noted historian of the period, provides

specific interpretation on the significance the battle:

it was “a disaster and disgrace that need not have

occurred.”

For Rome, the battle incapacitated

the government. Emperor Gratian, nineteen years old, was

overcome by the debacle, and until he appointed

Theodosius I

, unable to deal with the catastrophe

which spread out of control.

 Legacy

Adrianople was the most significant

event in Valens’ career. The battle of Adrianople was

significant for yet another reason: the evolution of

warfare. Until that time, the Roman infantry was

considered invincible, and the evidence for this was

considerable. However, the Gothic cavalry completely

changed all that. Although J.B. Bury states that records

are incomplete for the 5th century, all during the 4th

and 6th centuries, history shows that the cavalry took

over as the principal Roman weapon of war on land.

“Valens was utterly undistinguished,

still only a protector, and possessed no military

ability: he betrayed his consciousness of inferiority by

his nervous suspicion of plots and savage punishment of

alleged traitors,” writes

A.H.M. Jones

. But Jones admits that “he was a

conscientious administrator, careful of the interests of

the humble. Like his brother, he was an ernest

Christian.”

To have died in so inglorious a battle has thus come to

be regarded as the nadir of an unfortunate career. This

is especially true because of the profound consequences

of Valens’ defeat. Adrianople spelled the beginning of

the end for Roman territorial integrity in the late

empire and this fact was recognized even by

contemporaries. Ammianus understood that it was the

worst defeat in Roman history since the

Battle of Cannae

(31.13.19), and

Rufinus

called it “the beginning of evils for the

Roman empire then and thereafter.”

Valens is also credited with the

commission of a short history of the Roman State. This

work, produced by Valens’ secretary

Eutropius

, and known with the name Breviarium ab

Urbe condita, tells the story of Rome from its

founding. According to some historians, Valens was

motivated by the necessity of learning Roman history,

that he, the royal family and their appointees might

better mix with the Roman Senatorial class.

 Struggles

with the religious nature of the empire

During his reign, Valens had to

confront the theological diversity that was beginning to

create division in the Empire.

Julian

(361–363), had tried to revive the pagan

religions. His reactionary attempt took advantage of the

dissensions between the different factions among the

Christians

and a largely Pagan

rank and file military

. However, in spite of broad

support, his actions were often viewed as excessive, and

before he died in a campaign against the Persians, he

was often treated with disdain. His death was considered

a sign from

God

.

Like the brothers

Constantius II

and

Constans

, Valens and Valentinian I held divergent

theological views. Valens was an

Arian

and

Valentinian I

upheld the

Nicene Creed

. When Valens died however, the cause of

Arianism in the Roman East was to come to an end. His

successor

Theodosius I

would endorse the Nicene Creed.