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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SwK, post: 2361716, member: 22309&quot;][ATTACH=full]481835[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><font size="5"><b>Theodahad, King of the Goths and Italians, Migration of the </b></font></p> <p style="text-align: center"><font size="5"><b>German tribes – Mint Rome</b></font></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>The last SESTERTIUS</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>OSTROGOTHS. Theodahad. 534-536</b>. Æ 40 Nummi – Follis. Rome mint. D N THEO - DAHATVS REX, moustached and mantled bust right, wearing ornate Spangenhelm (closed crown ornamented with jewels and two stars) and robe decorated with jewels and large pectoral cross / VICTORIA-PRINCIPVM Victory standing r, Victory standing right on prow of galley, holding palm across left shoulder and wreath in extended right hand; S C across field. Natural green patina.</p><p><br /></p><p>VICTORIA PRINCIPVM, or “Victory of the <i>Principes</i>”; Augustus employed the term <i>princeps</i> to navigate the treacherous waters of adopting imperial titulature: the term innocuously emphasized his special powers, but avoided the use of the actual title <i>rex</i>, a word which the Romans considered anathema for their leaders. His assumption of the title Augustus provided a convenient solution by emphasizing his specific status and subsequent emperors continued to employ this title. By the time of Theodahad, only the emperor in Constantinople could be designated as Augustus;</p><p><br /></p><p>Though they had become <i>de facto</i> rulers of Italy by the late fifth century, the Ostrogothic kings were compelled still to recognize the overlordship of the emperor in Constantinople. Consequently, beginning with Theoderic, Ostrogothic coin types and legends followed a prescribed formula. Many of the coins were either copies of Byzantine types, coins struck in the name of the reigning emperor with a monogram of the local king on the reverse, or an “Invicta Roma” type, featuring the bust of Roma on the obverse. On the reverse of this latter type, the name of the Ostrogothic king forms the legend and follows a specific pattern to express the royal position. The D N or<i>Dominus Noster</i> which precedes the ruler’s name is a typical Late Roman convention, denoting the special status of the ruler in an exalted position as master over his subjects, while the title REX, or king, was a title allowed for Roman client-kings, or local rulers, who were subject to Roman dominion and sympathetic to the Roman cause. At no point prior to the reign of Theodahad did the Ostrogothic kings adopt any other Roman-style regnal title on their coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Theodahad was the nephew of the first Ostrogothic king, Theoderic. Although he hoped to establish a strong relationship with Constantinople, he was apparently unsuccessful, in part due to his political ineptitude demonstrated on this coin. This issue, featuring his crowned bust on the obverse and Victory on the reverse has two legend varieties. any other ruler using this title would be not only overstepping protocol, but also usurping the imperial position as well. As he was now ruler in Italy and a descendant of Theoderic, who was himself compared to past great Roman emperors, Theodahad felt he was in a position to shake off Byzantine overlordship and adopt the imperial title of Augustus on his coinage. This bold first step clearly caused political fallout, for he was immediately forced to replace the AVGVST with the less direct PRINCIPVM. Theodahad’s troubles did not end there; his apparently high-handed practices in Italy compelled the emperor Justinian I to restore direct Byzantine rule in Italy. In 536, Justinian’s general, Belisarius, defeated the Ostrogothic king in battle, and Theodahad was subsequently murdered on the orders of his successor, Witiges.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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