Antoninus Pius isn't the most well known and didn't win any impressive battles but I think peace and stability are really more important than those things! Whats your favorite roman emperor/empress?
This could very well change as I learn more about Roman history, but my favorite Roman Emperor I know of would be Constantine the Great. Not just because he is the only ancients I have, but because he made Christianity the official religion of Rome. I'm still learning about Roman history and ancient coins though so I don't know nearly as much as a bunch of you guys on here.
I was having an argument with a friend of mine. she was saying constantine was a bad emperor, I was saying he was a good emperor ( well, an okay emperor). She pointed out that he boiled his wife alive. I thought that couldn't be true... I look it up, seems like it very well could be true :O
These two! Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 21.36 g, 29.5 mm, 12 h. Rome, AD 173. Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, head of Marcus Aurelius, laureate, right. Rev: RESTITVTORI ITALIAE IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius, in military dress, standing left, holding vertical spear in left hand and clasping right hands with Italia kneeling right before him, holding globe in left hand; SC in exergue. Refs: RIC 1077; BMCRE 1449-1450; Cohen 538; RCV 4997; MIR 259. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman oricalchum sestertius, 22.36 gm, 33.7 mm, 12 h. Rome, December AD 160. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: FECVND AVGVSTAE S C, (Faustina as) Fecunditas standing left, between two children (thought to represent Faustina III and Lucilla), holding two infants in her arms (thought to represent Fadilla and Cornificia). Refs: RIC 1635; BMCRE 902-904; Cohen 96; Strack 1336; RCV 5273; MIR 10.
Gallienus My favorite coin of many. Gallienus (253 - 268 A.D.) AR Antoninianus O: IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate and cuirassed bust right. R: IOVI CONSERVA, Jupiter standing left, head turned right, holding scepter in right and thunderbolt in left. 5.1g 24mm RIC 143F (Rome) Sear 10237
Marcus Salvius Otho. There were others that served shorter reigns, but he didn’t do too bad, considering that he wanted Nero’s woman for himself. https://www.ancient.eu/Otho/
Well, I have a few favorites, here are some of them. Antoninus Pius is a great choice. He spent his time building roads and aqueducts and keeping the food supply stable. And of course his true love Faustina Senior, who seems to have been quite popular and a patron of education. Here is Diva Faustina: Vespasian is probably the emperor I would most like to meet personally. If I am to believe Suetonius he had a great sense of humor and could even take a joke at his own expense. He would also have crazy war stories from all his campaigns. Diocletian is another favorite, I don't care for everything he did, but the fact is he was handed an impossible situation where it would be extremely difficult to even survive. Yet he did survive and he did more than anyone else to end the Crisis of the Third Century. He had to turn the empire into basically an armed camp to do it, and many of his reforms probably were awful for ordinary people, but he at least he ensured the survival of Roman culture, law, and administration. And from my avatar you can tell that I also like Maxentius, although in his case it's more amusement at his grand ambitions and shameless propaganda campaigns than any sort of admiration of effective rule (some of his building projects were cool though).
Aurelian! If not for him, the Roman Empire would’ve never seen the light of the 4th century, let alone the 1000 more years of Byzantine empire, and Christianity without being recognised would’ve disappeared just like yet another cult!
Marcus Aurelius would be my vote for most personally admirable, a true philosopher-emperor. His only flaw would be leaving the empire to his worthless son Commodus instead of choosing a worthy successor while he still lived: But the emperor I would most want to meet is still Vespasian, for his sense of humor:
I like marcus aurelius' character ( I even have his book) but I cant let the commodus part go I mean that should be one of your top priorities as a leader.. finding a good successor. and his not doing this was arguably the beggining of the end.
For me it's not even close - Vespasian all day, every day. One day to sit with him and just talk would be incredible, and he seems like someone who would be more than happy to oblige, and enjoy it just as much. When he became emperor, he was just what Rome needed at that time.
I find Decius and Carus and their respective sons the most interesting due to their inovative but tragically shortcut reigns and promising dynasties ending under mysterious circumstances. Herennius Etruscus as Caesar Sestertius, 250/251 A.D. 28,67 mm / 15,70 gr Q HER ETR MES DECIVS NOB C / PIETAS AVGG S C RIC 167a corr.(draped); Cohen 12; Sear 9531, Banti 1
Domitian! He smacked down the conservative Senate and didn’t put up with bs. Beloved by the people and army. Efficient. Educated. Warrior. Handsome. Made the coins we all love to collect more valuable. What’s not to love!
For me, it's a tie between Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. The former consolidated the empire, stopped the wasteful expansionism of his predecessors, and stimulated a renewal of Greek philosophy, scholarship and art. The latter reigned more than twenty years in peace while Rome thrived both culturally and economically – probably the greatest success that any ruler should wish for. Hadrian, Roman Empire, AE as, 125–128 AD, Rome mint. Obv: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS; bust of Hadrian, laureate, r. Rev: COS III; Salus, draped, standing r., feeding snake out of patera; in fields flanking, SC. 26mm, 10.2g. Ref: RIC II Hadrian, 669c. Antoninus Pius, Roman Empire, denarius, 155–156 AD, Rome mint. Obv: [ANTO]NINVS AVG PIVS PP [IMP II], head of Antoninus Pius, laureate, r. Rev: TR POT XIX [CO]S III, Annona standing l., holding corn ears, resting l. hand on modius standing on prow with rudder leaning on it. 18mm, 3.27g. Ref: RIC III Antoninus Pius 249.
VINDEX With the courage to stand up to the Julio-Claudian dynasty, without an army, per se, and precipitate a civil war to stop them. RI Civil War VINDEX 68-69 CE AR Denarius 3.22g Gallic mint SALVS GENERIS HVMANI Victory l globe - SPQR in wreath RIC 72 BMCRE 34-36 RSC 420 R VESPASIAN - A new kind of Emperor, not an "entitled" Patrician: RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius Victory seated wreath palm RIC 802 Rare TRAIANUS Trajan, AD 98-117. Æ As, 26mm, 11.0g, 6h; Rome mint. Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P; Laureate and draped bust right. Rev: SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS; Victory, draped, advancing right, holding wreath in right hand and palm frond in left; S-C Reference: RIC 675 And the ANTI-EMPERORS trying to stop the man from stealing the government of the Republic: LIBERATORS CASSIUS GAIUS CASSIUS LONGINUS & PUBLIUS CORNELIUS LENTULUS SPINTHER Proconsul and Imperator AR silver Denarius. Struck circa 42 BC, at a mobile military mint moving with Brutus & Cassius, probably located in Smyrna. C CASSI IMP LEIBERTAS, veiled & draped bust of Libertas right. Rev: - LENTVLVS SPINT, jug & lituus. 18mm, 3.3g. Craw 550-5, Sydenham 1305. Sear, Imperators 223. Cohen 6 (4 Fr.) Ex: Incitis BRUTUS Roman Republic 54 BCE AR Denarius, 18.3mm, 3.7g Moneyer: Marcus Iunius Brutus (aka Quintus Servillius Caepio Brutus) Obv: Bare hd of L. Iunius Brutus (Consul 509 BCE), Bearded r, BRVTVS behind Rev: Bare hd of C. Servilius Ahala (Master of the Horse 439 BCE), bearded r, AHALA behind Ref: Sear 398, Crawford 433/2, from collection W. Esty CKXSUB 613