VALERIAN I Senior 253AD Antioch in Pisidia Legionary Eagle Roman Coin i53245

Item: i53245

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Roman Emperor: 253-260 A.D. –

Bronze 21mm (5.21 grams) of

Antioch in

Pisidia
Reference: Krzyzanowska pl. XLVIII, VII and 31

IMP CAE RASLLOVNAHHIO, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
ANTIOCHIO C, vexilium surmounted by eagle, between two legionary standards; SR
in exergue.

The legends on the coins of Pisidian Antioch are usually
blundered from the time of the reign of Volusian onwards.

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.

Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god. His identifying
implement is the
thunderbolt
, and his primary sacred animal is
the eagle, which held precedence over other birds in the taking of
auspices
and became one of the most

common
symbols of the
Roman army
(see
Aquila
). The two emblems were often combined to
represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt,
frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins. As the sky-god, he was a divine
witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which justice and good government depend.
Many of his functions were focused on the
Capitoline
(“Capitol Hill”), where the
citadel
was located. He was the chief deity of
the
early Capitoline Triad
with
Mars
and
Quirinus
. In the
later Capitoline Triad
, he was the central
guardian of the state with
Juno
and
Minerva
. His sacred tree was the oak. The
Romans regarded Jupiter as the
equivalent
of the Greek

Zeus, and in
Latin literature
and
Roman art
, the myths and iconography of Zeus
are adapted under the name Iuppiter.

An aquila, or eagle, was a prominent symbol used in

ancient Rome, especially as the
standard
of a
Roman legion
. A
legionary
known as an
aquilifer
, or eagle-bearer, carried this
standard. Each legion carried one eagle. The eagle was extremely important to
the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard
was considered an extremely grave occurrence, and the Roman military often went
to great lengths to both protect a standard and to recover it if lost; for
example, see the aftermath of the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
, where the
Romans spent decades attempting to recover the lost standards of three legions.

Antioch in Pisidia– alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or
Pisidian Antioch (Greek:
Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in
Roman
Empire,
Latin
: Antiochia Caesareia or
Antiochia Caesaria – 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.

Publius Licinius Valerianus

(c. 200 – after 260), commonly known in

English

as Valerian or Valerian I, was the

Roman

Emperor
from 253 to 260.

Origins and rise to power

Unlike the majority of the pretenders during the

Crisis of the Third Centuryy

, Valerian was of a noble and traditional

senatorial

family. Details of his early life are elusive, but for his

marriage to Egnatia Mariniana

, who gave him two sons: later emperor

Publius

Licinius Egnatius Gallienus
and

Valerianus Minor

.

In 238 he was

, and

Gordian I

negotiated through him for Senatorial acknowledgement for his claim as emperor.

In 251, when Decius

revived the censorship with legislative and executive powers so extensive that

it practically embraced the civil authority of the emperor, Valerian was chosen

censor

by the Senate, though he declined to accept the post. Under Decius he

was nominated governor of the

Rhine
provinces

of Noricum

and Raetia
and

retained the confidence of his successor,

Trebonianus Gallus

, who asked him for reinforcements to quell the rebellion

of Aemilianus

Rule and fall

Valerian’s first act as emperor was to make his son Gallienus

his colleague. In the beginning of his reign the affairs in Europe went from bad

to worse and the whole West fell into disorder. In the East,

Antioch
had

fallen into the hands of a

Sassanid

vassal,

Armenia

was occupied by

Shapur I
(Sapor).

Valerian and Gallienus split the problems of the empire between the two, with

the son taking the West and the father heading East to face the

Persian

threat.

By 257, Valerian had already recovered Antioch and returned

the province of

Syria

to Roman control but in the following year, the

Goths
ravaged

Asia Minor

. Later in 259, he moved to

Edessa

, but an outbreak of

plague

killed a critical number of

legionaries
,

weakening the Roman position in Edessa which was then besieged by the Persians.

At the beginning of 260, Valerian was defeated in the

Battle of Edessa

and he arranged a meeting with Shapur to negotiate a peace

settlement. The ceasefire was betrayed by Shapur who seized him and held him

prisoner for the remainder of his life. Valerian’s capture was a humiliating

defeat for the Romans.

Gibbon

, in

describes

Valerian’s fate:

The voice of history, which is often little more than the

organ of hatred or flattery, reproaches Sapor with a proud abuse of the rights

of conquest. We are told that Valerian, in chains, but invested with the

Imperial purple, was exposed to the multitude, a constant spectacle of fallen

greatness; and that whenever the Persian monarch mounted on horseback, he placed

his foot on the neck of a Roman emperor. Notwithstanding all the remonstrances

of his allies, who repeatedly advised him to remember the vicissitudes of

fortune, to dread the returning power of Rome, and to make his illustrious

captive the pledge of peace, not the object of insult, Sapor still remained

inflexible. When Valerian sunk under the weight of shame and grief, his skin,

stuffed with straw, and formed into the likeness of a human figure, was

preserved for ages in the most celebrated temple of Persia; a more real monument

of triumph, than the fancied trophies of brass and marble so often erected by

Roman vanity.

The tale is moral and pathetic, but the truth of it may very fairly be called in

question. The letters still extant from the princes of the East to Sapor are

manifest forgeries;

nor is it natural to suppose that a jealous monarch should, even in the person

of a rival, thus publicly degrade the majesty of kings. Whatever treatment the

unfortunate Valerian might experience in Persia, it is at least certain that the

only emperor of Rome who had ever fallen into the hands of the enemy, languished

away his life in hopeless captivity.

Valerian’s massacre of 258

According to the

Catholic Encyclopedia

article on

Valerian

:

Pope Sixtus

was seized on 6 August, 258, in one of the Catacombs and was put

to death;

Cyprian of Carthage

suffered martyrdom on 14 September. Another celebrated

martyr was the Roman deacon

St. Lawrence

. In Spain Bishop

Fructuosus of Tarragona

and his two deacons were put to death on 21 January,

259. There were also executions in the eastern provinces (Eusebius, VII, xii).

Taken altogether, however, the repressions were limited to scattered spots and

had no great success..

Death in captivity

An early Christian source,

Lactantius
,

maintained that for some time prior to his death Valerian was subjected to the

greatest insults by his captors, such as being used as a human footstool by

Shapur when mounting his horse. According to this version of events, after a

long period of such treatment Valerian offered Shapur a huge ransom for his

release. In reply, according to one version, Shapur was said to have forced

Valerian to swallow molten gold (the other version of his death is almost the

same but it says that Valerian was killed by being flayed alive) and then had

the unfortunate Valerian skinned and his skin stuffed with straw and preserved

as a trophy in the main Persian temple. It was further alleged by Lactantius

that it was only after a later Persian defeat against Rome that his skin was

given a cremation and burial.

The role of a Chinese prince held hostage by Shapur I, in the events following

the death of Valerian has been frequently debated by historians, without

reaching any definitive conclusion.