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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 6358057, member: 75937&quot;]For much of the early 170s, Faustina II accompanied her husband Marcus Aurelius on campaign to the northern front, probably in what is now modern Hungary. This was not unprecedented. Livia is said to have traveled with Augustus during his trips to the eastern and western parts of the empire,[1] and with him in Gaul.[2] During Augustus&#039; reign, Julia and Antonia traveled outside of Italy with their husbands (Julia first as wife of Agrippa, then as the wife of Tiberius; Antonia as the wife of Drusus).[3] Agrippina, pregnant with Caligula, was with Germanicus and the first and twentieth legions at Ara Uborium,[4] and across the Rhine the following year when they battled the Cherusci.[5] Agrippina later traveled with Germanicus to the East.[6] Plotina was with Trajan when he died on campaign in Cilicia.[7] Sabina accompanied Hadrian on his first great provincial tour and later in Egypt.[8]</p><p><br /></p><p>Although not the first imperial woman to accompany her husband in his travels, Faustina II was the first to be awarded the title of <i>Mater Castrorum</i>, &quot;the mother of the camps.&quot; The title may have been awarded fleetingly to Crispina, the wife of Commodus.[9] It was awarded to Julia Domna by her husband, Septimius Severus, and appears on coins of all three metals.[10] Julia Domna&#039;s sister, Julia Maesa, held the title,[11] as did her niece, Julia Mamaea, the mother of Severus Alexander.[12] Herennia Etruscilla, the wife of Decius, and Magnia Urbica, the wife of Carinus, also bore the title.[13]</p><p><br /></p><p>Cassius Dio[14] provides the most detailed description of how Faustina was awarded the title of <i>Mater Castrorum</i>. Dio describes a ferocious encounter between Marcus Aurelius&#039; troops and the Quadi. The desperate Romans, hemmed in by the Quadi and kept from water in blazing heat, were losing until a sudden, drenching rainstorm brought the Romans water and struck the Quadi with thunderbolts. This &quot;miracle of the rain god&quot; brought victory to the Romans, and the soldiers saluted Marcus Aurelius as <i>imperator</i> for the seventh time. At the end of Dio&#039;s long excerpt, we read &quot;Moreover, Faustina was given the title &#039;Mother of the Camp.&#039;&quot;[15] Faustina&#039;s title would thus date to June of 174,[16] the date of the battle and of Marcus Aurelius&#039; seventh acclamation as <i>imperator</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, the <i>Historia Augusta</i>[17] reports that Faustina received the title from Marcus Aurelius at the time of her death. This cannot be the case, however, based upon the numismatic evidence; several coins issued in Faustina&#039;s lifetime bear the title of <i>Mater Castrorum</i>. One intriguing possibility is an inscription discovered in Carnuntum in Upper Pannonia and published in 1983.[18] This inscription has been dated to 172 and reconstructed as reading &quot;[I. O. M. K.] / [Pro s]alu[te] / [uxo]ris Aug(usti) / [Faustinae] Aug(ustae) mat[ris] / [ca]stror(um).&quot; This would seemingly attest to Faustina&#039;s presence in Carnuntum in 172 as well as imply that she had already been bestowed the title of Mater Castrorum by that date. However, both the reconstruction and dating of this inscription have been called into question.[19]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>A posthumous denarius reading MATRI CASTRORVM</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1251683[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina II, AD 147-175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius, 2.80 g, 18.1 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, third posthumous issue, AD 176 and later.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVAE FAVSTINAE PIAE, veiled and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: MATRI CASTRORVM, Faustina II seated left, holding phoenix on globe in right hand and transverse scepter in left hand; before her, two standards.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 753 corr.; BMCRE 705; Cohen 161 corr.; RSC 161; RCV 5220; MIR 49-4/19; CRE 175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Notes: Cohen (corrected by Seaby in RSC), cited without correction by RIC, reports Faustina&#039;s portrait as diademed as well as veiled -- an error, probably caused by the added prominence the die engravers give to the front edge of the veil. </font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>For an excellent review of Faustina&#039;s lifetime and posthumous coinage as <i>Mater Castrorum</i>, I highly recommend Thirion&#039;s excellent paper.[20] See also a paper by Aleksander Bursche[21] describing a previously unreported aureus of this series bearing the dative obverse legend FAVSTINAE AVGVSTAE, previously known only on sestertii (RIC 1661) and asses (RIC 1662) of that reverse type.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Post comments, Mater Castrorum coins of other empresses, or anything you feel is relevant!</i></p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>Notes:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Tacitus <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D34" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D34" rel="nofollow"><i>Ann</i>. 3.34.6</a></p><p><br /></p><p>2. Seneca <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Of_Clemency/Book_I#IX." target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Of_Clemency/Book_I#IX." rel="nofollow"><i>Clem. </i>1.9.2 and 6</a></p><p><br /></p><p>3. Halfmann, Helmut. <i>Itinera Principum: Geschichte Und Typologie Der Kaiserreisen Im Romischen Reich</i>. Steiner, 1986, p. 90.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Tacitus <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D39" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D39" rel="nofollow"><i>Ann. </i>1.39-44</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Tacitus <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D69" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D69" rel="nofollow"><i>Ann. </i>1.69.1-4</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Tacitus <i>Ann</i>. <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D54" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D54" rel="nofollow">2.54.1</a>, <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D57" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D57" rel="nofollow">2.57.4</a>, <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D75" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D75" rel="nofollow">2.75.1</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>7. <a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Hadrian/1*.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Hadrian/1*.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Hist. Aug. Hadr. </i>4.10</a><i>.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>8. <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Hadrian/1*.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Hadrian/1*.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Hist Aug. Hadr. </i>11.3</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>9. A sestertius of Crispina under Commodus, <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1902-1205-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1902-1205-2" rel="nofollow">BMCRE 418</a>, about which Mattingly writes, &quot;The B.M. coin is in sad condition, and has considerably been altered. There is, however, just a chance that it is a genuine ancient piece.&quot; Mattingly, Harold, <i>Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. </i>London, BMP, 1968, p. 766, n. 418. RIC3 notes the coin has been &quot;probably tooled and altered.&quot; Mattingly, Harold and Sydenham, Edward A. <i>The Roman imperial coinage, vol. 3: Antoninus Pius to Commodus</i>, London, Spink, 1986, p. 442. note.</p><p><br /></p><p>10. For example: BMCRE5 <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1882-0407-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1882-0407-1" rel="nofollow">56</a>, <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-15247" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-15247" rel="nofollow">57</a>, and <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1938-0207-155" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1938-0207-155" rel="nofollow">774</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>11. Calabria, Patrizia. &quot;La Leggenda &#039;Mater Castrorum&#039; Sulla Monetazione Imperiale.&quot; <i>Miscellanea Graeca e Romana</i>, vol. 14, 1989, pp. 225–233.</p><p><br /></p><p>12. &quot;Julia Avita Mamaea.&quot; <i>Wikipedia</i>, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2021, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Avita_Mamaea" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Avita_Mamaea" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Avita_Mamaea</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>13. Calabria, <i>op. cit</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>14. Cassius Dio <i>Hist. Rom</i>. <a href="https://www.livius.org/sources/content/cassius-dio/dio-on-the-rain-miracle/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.livius.org/sources/content/cassius-dio/dio-on-the-rain-miracle/" rel="nofollow">71.8-10<i>.</i></a></p><p><br /></p><p>15. Cassius Dio <i>Hist. Rom</i>. <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html" rel="nofollow">71.10.5</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>16. Mattingly, Harold and Sydenham, Edward A. <i>op. cit.</i>, pp. 206, 211.</p><p><br /></p><p>17. <i>Hist Aug. Aur.</i> <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Marcus_Aurelius/2*.html#26.4" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Marcus_Aurelius/2*.html#26.4" rel="nofollow">26.4-9</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>18. Knibbe, D. &quot;I(uppiter) O(ptimus) M(aximus) K(arnuntinus). Kaiser Marcus, Faustina, Commodus und der 11. Juni 172 n. Chr.&quot;&nbsp; <i>ÖJh</i> 54, 1983, pp. 138-140.</p><p><br /></p><p>19. Boatwright, Mary T. &quot;Faustina the Younger, &#039;Mater Castrorum&#039;&quot; in <i>Les Femmes Antiques Entre sphère privée Et sphère Publique: Actes Du Diplôme D&#039;Etudes Avancées, Universités De Lausanne Et Neuchâtel, 2000-2002</i>, Bielman, Anne, et al., eds. Peter Lang, 2003, pp. 249-268.</p><p><br /></p><p>20. Thirion, M. &quot;Faustina augusta, mater castrorum : un aureus inédit.&quot; <i>GNS</i> 17, pp. 41-49. <a href="https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=smb-001:1963:13::1120" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=smb-001:1963:13::1120" rel="nofollow">https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=smb-001:1963:13::1120</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>21. Bursche, Aleksander. &quot;A UNIQUE AUREUS OF FAUSTINA II WITH THE LEGEND MATER CASTRORUM FROM A LATE ROMAN AREA OF HOARDS IN THE SOUTHERN BALTIC REGION.&quot; <i>JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY</i>, vol. 7, no. 1_SI, 2020, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343479517_A_UNIQUE_AUREUS_OF_FAUSTINA_II_WITH_THE_LEGEND_MATER_CASTRORUM_FROM_A_LATE_ROMAN_AREA_OF_HOARDS_IN_THE_SOUTHERN_BALTIC_REGION" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343479517_A_UNIQUE_AUREUS_OF_FAUSTINA_II_WITH_THE_LEGEND_MATER_CASTRORUM_FROM_A_LATE_ROMAN_AREA_OF_HOARDS_IN_THE_SOUTHERN_BALTIC_REGION" rel="nofollow">doi:10.14795/j.v7i1_si.478</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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