The Final War

Not to brag, but the Spanish Emperors were awesome: Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius (born in Italy but parents were Spaniards), and now I found out about Magnus Maximus being a Spaniard. Yeah, sounds like the problem was that there were not enough Spanish Emperors. No wonder Rome fell, it didn't have enough awesome Spanish leadership.

 

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Yup...



(just joking, just joking )

 

Son of a b$&) almost had my grandfather shot.
It does bring a smile to my face to know that my Spanish kinsmen rose through the ranks to become some of the best Emperors of Rome though.

 

Not a big Franco fan either, he did a lot of harm. But at least he kept Spain from turning Communist and named Juan Carlos as his successor, which was a very wise choice as the former king did the most to promote Spanish democracy and rule of law. Not that any of that justifies the bad stuff, but its still worth pointing out.

Anyway, going back to Ancient times...yes, Spain was fortunate in producing some good Emperors, though that's not hard to do considering how low some Emperors set the bar (Caligula, Nero, Commodus, Elagabalus, etc). Anyone who half paid attention to the military and the senate, and didn't mass murder political opponents, could be considered a great Emperor after the reigns of some of those maniacs that came before and after them.

 

True that! (I have Spanish ancestors btw but from like a few centuries ago).

 

Emperor Majorian isn't from Spain but he fought so skillfully with what little he had at his disposal that in only a few short years he was able to bring most of Spain back under imperial control (from the Visigoths) in the late 450s AD. The reconquest did not last long after Majorian's murder. He was on his way to bringing the Western Empire back onto its feet.

Majorian, Western Roman Empire
AE nummus
Obv: D N IVL MAIORIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory advancing right, holding palm branch and trophy
Mint: Milan (struck 457-461 AD)
Mintmark: MD
Ref: RIC X 2642

 

Where was Majorian from anyway? Like where was he born?

 

It doesn't seem to be recorded, at least from my past searches.

His age is sort of known, however:

"Majorian was probably born after 420, as in 458 he is defined a iuvenis, a 'young man'." - Wikipedia

Since his place of birth is not known, I amend my original statement that he isn't from Spain. He could be, but then again he could be from Italy or Gaul or any other place in the empire.

 

Now all I need is a Constantine III Siliqua and my Siliquae collection will be complete!
JK I still need Eugenius and Theodosius I

 

My only AE-4 of Magnus Maximus


Magnus Maximus AE-4
1.14 Grams

 

Here is an interesting historical tidbit I accidently found recently that answers @The Big Bad Wolf's question.
"His(Theodosius I) mighty enemy Maximus, a stern ruler who exacted taxes even from the savage German tribes by the mere terror of his name, was surrounded, captured and........."
Orosius ‘Historiarum Adversus Paganos Libri Septem’ Book VII Chapter 35 (c.417)
I guess we know what MM was doing from 383-387 CE; kicking some german butt!

 

Very interesting.

 

Sorry I'm late and missed this thread

A wonderful OP and write-up!!! Super posts everyone!!

I'll throw in this modest AE-4 that I grabbed to' fill in the hole' for that ruler......As you might suspect, it was VERY cheap