Fides Militum

I was inspired to compose this thread by the growing tension in eastern Europe between Russia & Ukraine. After completing a one-year tour of duty in Viet Nam (summer of 1967 to the summer of 1968) I was given orders to support the 7th Army headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. I was keenly aware of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August of 1968, & feared becoming part of that mess . The Warsaw Pact of 200,000 troops & 5,000 tanks, led by the Soviet Union (renamed Russia) invaded this communist country because they wanted to become a democratic country. In the fall of 1968 I received orders, along with a comrade PFC Edward Singleton, to join a German NATO unit on the Czech border to setup a communication van . I was chosen because I had a rudimentary knowledge of the German language & knew how to repair teletype equipment, & PFC Singleton was chosen because he knew how to setup these vans. We received very little help from the German "rag-tag" Army . It was a grueling experience but we were successful .

Getting back to the topic at hand, FIDES MILITVM was the goddess of loyalty of the military. She was usually depicted as standing or sitting while holding two military standards (signum).


Maxentius, AD 307-312, Ostia Mint, 3rd Officina. Billon Nummus: 7.08 gm, 25 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Laureate head of Maxentius. Reverse: Fides standing & holding two signum, FIDES MILITVM AVG N, in exergue M OST T. RIC VI 45. Photo by Curtisimo.


Constantius I as Augustus, AD 305-306, Ticinum Mint, 3rd Officina. Billon Nummus: 10.67 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. Obverse: Head of Constantius laureate. Reverse: Fides seated, holding a signum in each hand, FIDES MILITVM, in exergue T T. Sear 14170.

The Roman Army had no equal in ancient history. It had the best fighting force, the best weapons, the best engineers, & the best leadership. One requisite it demanded of all members was LOYALTY, & this requisite was emphasized over & over again on the money it paid its troops. Anyone who disobeyed an order, deserted his post, retreated without authorization, or committed a serious crime was met with punitive punishment or execution. Discipline & blind obedience were paramount for an effective army. Like the Japanese samurai, the Roman legionnaire often faced death & was expected to never fear death. Therefor fleeing the battle field was considered the most heinous crime, & could bring about the most feared & cruel punishment, decimation. This punishment was not only for the fleeing soldiers but was applied to the whole legion. The legion to be punished was divided into squads of 10 soldiers each, & every member had to draw straws. The soldier picking the shortest straw was the one to be executed by the remaining 9 soldiers in the squad. The unlucky soldier was beaten to death by clubs. The other 9 soldiers were expelled from the legion for several days & had to sleep outside the walls of the compound. Instead of eating wheat products they were given raw barley to eat. Decimation was rarely used but there are several well known cases where it was applied. General Crassus ordered decimation when he was defeated by Spartacus in 71 BC, & Mark Antony ordered decimation when he was defeated by the Parthians in 36 BC. The most infamous example of decimation was ordered by Maximian Herculius in the province of southern Gaul.


Maximian Herculius, AD 286-310 (struck AD 305), Aquileia Mint, 1st Officina. Billon Nummus: 11.98 gm, 28 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Laureate bust of Maximian, with helmet, cuirassed & holding a spear & decorated shield. Reverse: Fides standing & holding signum in each hand, FIDES MILITVM AVGG ET CAESS NN, in exergue AQ P. RIC VI 61b. Rare.

In AD 286, Maximian ordered decimation of his Christian Theban Legion from Egypt because their Commander Mauritius refused to take part in the Christian persecutions ordered by Diocletian, & his troops refused to worship Roman deities. After the first decimation the soldiers still refused to comply with the orders, & another decimation was ordered. The decimations continued until 6,600 troops were slaughtered. The town in modern-day Switzerland where this atrocity took place later changed its name to Saint Maurice, to honor Commander Mauritius, who was given sainthood by the Catholic church.


Coat of Arms of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, featuring Saint Maurice.

References:

The coins pictured in this thread are in the Al Kowsky collection. The Maxentius nummus is pictured in an article by NGC Ancients: Mints of the Roman Empire.

Coins and History of the Roman Empire, Volume One: History. David L. Vagi. Copyright 1999.

Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume IV. David R. Sear. Copyright 2011.

Essay by Peter Preskar: Decimation, the Cruelest Punishment in the Roman Army, Copyright 2020.

Wikipedia: Photos & historical info.

CT members are welcome to post Roman coins depicting Fides Militum or anything that seems relevant .

 

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Nice writeup, here a Fides militum type from an emperor who didnt have much luck in trusting his army (or atleast his bodyguards):
Emperor Antoninus "Elagabalus" - Antoninianus - FIDES MILITVM

 

Here's FIDES on a sestertius of Gallienus:

Gallienus (253-268) AE Sestertius 28 mm 14.8 grams, squared flan, struck between 253 and 260.

Obverse: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, with the legend IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS P F AVG

Reverse: Fides standing left, holding two standards, with the legend FIDES MILITVM, S C in field

Reference: RIC 214, Cohen 240, Göbl 74s

 

Very nice and detailed coins Al. I have two Victorinus with the FIDES MILITVM reverse, one from the first issue of Treveri with the long legend and a 2nd issue with the shortest legend.

IMP CM PIAVVONIVS VICTORINVS PF AVG
Treveri 20mm 2.35g
Mairat 560 Cunetio 2515


IMP C PIAV VICTORINVS PF AVG
Treveri 19mm 3.2g
Mairat 562 Cunetio 2522

 

Very nice group Al. I especially like the left-facing Maximian with the excellent military-style bust, great coin!

Here are a couple of mine:


Probus, Antoninianus (23 mm, 3.65 g), Rome, 276. Radiate and cuirassed bust of Probus to r./ Rev.FIDES MILIT / XXIЄ Fides standing l., holding long scepter in her r. hand and transverse signum with her l. RIC 151 var.

This Valerian ant. has the reverse legend spelled incorrectly as “FIDES MLITVM”

 

Al - great coins as always and I especially enjoyed your personal history of 1968 on the Czech border.

The military could decide who the emperor would be, this antoninianus of Elagabalus calls for the loyalty of the army (FIDES EXERCITVS).
Elagabalus, AR Antoninianus, Rome, AD 218-219
Obv: IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, radiate and draped bust to right
Rev: FIDES EXERCITVS, Fides seated to left, holding eagle and standard; before her, another standard
Ref: RIC IV 67e

 

Just wondering: Of all the FIDES MILITVM issues, how many were by emperors killed by their own troops? Of the emperors NOT killed by their own troops, who issued a FIDES MILITVM? There could be an interesting 'batting average' calculated in these numbers.

 

Two emperors in a row, neither of whom had any luck at all in the end with the Fides of their Militvm:

Severus Alexander AR Denarius 225 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG. / Rev. Fides standing facing, head left, holding standard in each hand, FIDES MILITVM. RIC IV-2 139, RSC III 52, Sear RCV II 7864. 19 mm., 2.9 g.



Maximinus I Thrax AR Denarius, 236-238 AD. Obv. Laureate bust right, draped & cuirassed, MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM/ Rev. Fides stdg., facing, head left, holding standard in each hand, FIDES MILITVM. RIC IV-2 18A, RSC III 9, Sear RCV III 8307. 20 mm., 2.77 g.

 

wittwolf, The die engraving on this double denarius is exceptional . Elagabalus looks so happy on this portrait & Fides is beautiful.

 

a.c.h., This sestertius has a wonderful portrait for the period ! The odd shape of the flan raises some interesting questions . You have to wonder if the person receiving this coin felt he was getting "short-changed"....

 

Dominic, Those are two excellent examples . Victorinus was one of the usurpers who probably spent a lot of time at the altar of Fides, hoping the troops wouldn't turn on him like they did with Postumus .

 

Shea, Two great examples ! The "long neck" Probus has an attractive Fides. The Valerian antoninianus is a real prize with the MLITVM spelling ! The die error is a surprise considering how well made the coin appears .

 

Sulla, That's a very attractive double denarius, especially the finely engraved Fides on the reverse . The latest incident of aggressive Russian expansion is a Deja Vu experience for me . I clearly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 when the Russians were knocking at our back door . Sooner or later the Russian menace has to be confronted head-on....

 

Doug, Those are interesting questions . FIDES PVBLICA was a popular reverse type during the 2nd century of the empire, but FIDES MILITVM appears to be a common 3rd century reverse. The only emperor I can think of who used the image of Fides Militum on coins that didn't die at the hands of his own troops was Septimius Severus.

 

Donna, Those are two handsome high-grade denarii . The later style portrait of Maximinus I is exceptional .

 

I don't have an SS Fides Militum. Do they exist? He does have FIDEI LEG:

 

I have never seen a S.S. coin with the inscription FIDES MILITVM on it, only the image like the coin in your collection with FIDES referring to a specific legion. That type also exists in gold aurei.

 

I think this has to be Galerius, despite looking rather like the jowly Maximianus. This is the way RIC lists it (as part of the 2nd tetrarchy alongside Constantius I as augustus), and if it had been 1st tetrarchy then we'd expect to see Diocletian too, which we don't.

The type then continued under the "3rd tetrarchy" when Constantius died and was replaced by Severus II augustus who controlled the mints issuing this type (Aquileia and Ticincum) and continued it for himself and Galerius.

Here's my RIC 76b for Severus (28mm 10.63g). The FIDES MILITVM legend is rather poignant here, since it was exactly *lack* of FIDES MILITVM that caused Severus to be killed, or rather they were loyal to their old boss Maximianus (and his gold) rather than to the state and their actual boss Severus (+ Galerius).



A rare FIDES MILITVM type, RIC VI Aquileia 105, was subsequently issued by Maxentius for his father Maximianus after they'd wrested northern Italy away from Severus, now touting Maximianus as SEN AVG.

 

MAXIMINUS I
AE Sestertius
OBVERSE: IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: FIDES MILITVM S-C, Fides standing left, standard in each hand
Struck at Rome, 235-236 16.3g, 30mm
RIC 43

CARINUS
Antoninianus
OBVERSE: IMP CARINVS P F AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing left with a standard in each hand. KAEpsilon in ex.
Struck at Rome, 284-5 AD
2.9g, 22mm
RIC 253c, C 28

 

Great post, @Al Kowsky! Informative and entertaining.

Here's a Victorinus:


Victorinus, AD 269-271.
Roman billon antoninianus, 2.63 g, 20.1 mm.
Cologne (though CNG attributes this coin to Treveri), AD 269/70.
Obv: IMP C PIAV VICTORINVS PF AVG, radiate, draped bust, r.
Rev: FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing l., holding two standards.
RIC-109; Cohen-36; AGK-5b; De Witte pl. XXVI, 22; Sear-unlisted.