My Titus trend continues with this 'naval victory' as struck for Titus Caesar. One could say I recently came down with a case of Titus-itus! Titus as Caesar [Vespasian] Æ As, 10.12g Rome mint, 72 AD Obv: T CAES VESPASIAN IMP P TR P COS II; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: VICTORIA NAVALIS; S C in field; Victory stg. r. on prow, with wreath and palm RIC 454 (R). BMC 645A. BNC 637. Acquired from London Ancient Coins, October 2021. A fairly scarce and early variant of the Victoria Navalis type, struck in 72 during the first flurry of bronze issues at Rome for Titus Caesar. The type would be repeatedly struck throughout Vespasian's reign for both father and son, perhaps indicating how important it was to their military gravitas. Traditionally, it has been attributed to the naval victory Vespasian and Titus won on Lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) during the Jewish War. By any definition it is a most bizarre 'naval' battle indeed. Near the close of the Galilean campaign, Vespasian and Titus marched to Lake Gennesaret in order to secure the cities along its coastline. Tiberias fell without much resistance, but the neighbouring city of Taricheae was a tougher nut to crack. Home to many of the Jewish rebels who had fled Tiberias, they put up a small fight on the plain outside the city and were quickly defeated by Titus' troops who then stormed the city and began slaughtering the inhabitants. Many of the rebels took flight to waiting boats they had previously commandeered on the lake. These were likely local fishing or ferry vessels not intended for use in war. Vespasian ordered the legionaries to construct large rafts in order to pursue the rebel's makeshift flotilla. With the coastline guarded by Roman horsemen the legionaries launched their rafts and sailed out in a large line toward the enemy. The Jewish boats were no match for the heavily armoured Roman rafts. The legionaries easily picked off the Jewish rebels who had no means of escape. The slaughter was intense, so much so that Josephus claims 6,500 Jews were killed. Several years later during Vespasian and Titus' Jewish War Triumph in Rome, ships were displayed to commemorate the battle. Were the Victoria Navalis coins struck with the same event in mind? As unlikely as it seems, the impromptu 'naval' battle at Lake Gennesaret is the best candidate for Vespasian striking this Actium-lite reverse type. The connection to Augustus would not have been lost on his contemporaries. Flavian propaganda at its most exaggerated. Please share your Victory (naval or otherwise) coins. Also, any propaganda pieces that stretch credulity would be welcomed!
very interesting coin David ! Of course, if this thread is about navy battles the battle of Actium needs a place in this thread This battle was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet led by Octavian and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Agrippa & Augustus, dupondius. Mint Gaul Nemausus, ca 10-14 AD. Obv. Back-to-back heads, Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown and Augustus right, laureate; IMP above, P P across fields, DIVI F below. Rev. Crocodile right, chained to palm branch with long vertical fronds; above, wreath with long ties, palms below; COL NEM. 27 mm 13,12 g. RIC I 160 RPC 525
Propaganda, you said? Trajan, sestertius, 33 mm, 20.96 g. Obv.: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate and draped bust to right. Rev.: REX PARTHIS DATVS, S C in exergue, Trajan seated left on sella castrensis set on tribunal, presenting Parthamaspates to an allegory of Parthia kneeling right; to right of Trajan, prefect standing left. The Parthian Kingdom was weakened by domestic trouble. A Parthian king, Chosroes I, had revolted against the King of Kings Vologases III and seized the western part of the Parthian Empire (roughly today's Iraq). In 113, claiming to be now the new legitimate King of Kings, he unilaterally deposed the king of Armenia (who was his nephew) and appointed the deposed king's brother in his place. He should not have done this: according to a treaty, the king of Armenia should be appointed only with the agreement of Rome. Trajan immediately considered this a casus belli and launched an important military intervention first against Armenia in 114, then in 115 against Mesopotamia (today's Iraq) in order to topple Chosroes' regime. At first the Roman legions met little resistance, the few Parthian forces that were positioned on their way were no match for them. The Romans took the Parthian western capital Ctesiphon (20 km south of today's Baghdad) and reached the Gulf shores. Chosroes had fled and was hiding somewhere, waiting for better times. Like he had done before with the Dacian and the Nabateaen kingdoms which had been turned into Roman provinces of Dacia and Arabia, Trajan declared the annexation of the occupied territories and created three new provinces : Armenia, Assyria and Mesopotamia. But in Northern Mesopotamia the locals, especially the Jewish who hated the Romans since the destruction of Jerusalem Temple 45 years before, revolted in 116 against the Roman occupation, and Trajan who was in Ctesiphon had to send troops to crush the insurgencies. Even worse : other Jewish communities spread the insurgency to Egypt and Cyrenaica, while the Parthians had concentrated forces and were now fighting back. For the Romans the situation was soon out of control, and Trajan decided to retreat and withdraw from the short-lived provinces of Mesopotamia and Assyria. Could they at least remain a pro-Roman client kingdom? Before leaving Ctesiphon, Trajan organized a ceremony in which he appointed a client puppet-king, Parthamaspates, a pro-Roman Parthian prince who pretended to be a son of Chosroes I. This coronation was announced in the official news of the war Trajan was sending the Senate on a regular basis. Immediately the Roman mint issued new sestertii like this one, with a reverse legend Rex Parthis datus (King given to the Parthians). Mission accomplished, Trajan had reshaped the East : after other coin emissions celebrating Arabia adquisita (in 111, for the annexation of Arabia), Regna adsignata (in 116, Trajan appointing three client-kings in Northern Mesopotamia), Armenia et Mesopotamia in potestatem P(opuli) R(omani) redactae (in 116), this Rex Parthis datus meant that all the East was now under Roman control. This being done, the Romans withdrew from Mesopotamia. Chosroes I immediately took back his kingdom and capital wile Parthamaspates was running for his own safety to Roman Syria. Chosroes resumed his reign until 127 (when he was evetually toppled by Vologases III who reunified the Parthian Empire). Trajan never came back to Rome, he died on the way in 117 and his successor, Hadrian, negociated peace with Chosroes.
What an interesting as, @David Atherton! We collect for the history, don't we all? Whether it was a hard-fought victory or a lopsided one, the Romans loved to celebrate sweet, sweet, sweet victory, yeah! And here's one issued in 166 in conjunction with the VIC PAR coins of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to celebrate the Roman victory over the Parthians. It features Venus Victrix on its reverse. It was issued only in the aureus and sestertius denominations. Faustina II, AD 147-175/6. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 27.25 g, 30.7 mm, 6 h. Rome, c. AD 166. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, Bust of Faustina II, draped, with band of pearls, right. Rev: VENVS VICTRIX S C, Venus standing facing, head left, holding Victory in extended right hand and resting left hand on shield set on helmet. Refs: RIC 1688; BMCRE 960-65; Cohen 283; RCV 5288; MIR 40-6/10b.
Nice coin and interesting background information, @David Atherton Here is my recent pickup with a Victory on the reverse side. A Trajan denarius with Victory inscribing shield. There is no "PAR" on other inscription on shield, so it may be a coin celebrating generic accomplishment by the Emperor. Trajan AR Denarius 98-117 . Rome. Obv: IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM. Laureate head right, slight drapery on farshoulder and behind neck. Rev: P M TR P COS IIII P P. Victory standing right, inscribing shield set on column, left foot set on helmet. 3.17g, 18.8mm; RIC 65; BMCRE 112; Acquired from Papillon Numismatic, September 2021.
My example of the Titus Victoria Navalis As, bought back in the days when i also suffered from Titus-Itis. It is also one of the better condition bronzes in my collection.
A pitiful example, but for Vespasian: Vespasian. 69-79 AD. Æ As (27 mm, 11.02 gm, 6h). Rome mint, struck 71 AD. Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P P COS III, laureate head r. Rev: VICTORIA - NAVALIS, Victory on prow r., holding wreath and palm branch; in field, S - C. RIC 503; C. 632.
