FLAVIAN FAMILY TIES

I present the Flavian collection, collected recently. There is such a joy in finally finishing a set



The Emperors


Vespasian


Vespasian came to power in 69 CE, inheriting an empire in chaos. He possessed revolts across the Empire. He came forth with a raising of taxes, allowing him to be able to obtain the estimated 40,000,000,000 sesterces required to rebuild the empire. Some of his notable taxes include the Tax on Jews; a tax of two denarii on every male Jew to rebuild the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline, mocking the Jewish temple tax of two shekels, and the tax on urine; the taxing of urine which was used by launderers, leading to the famous expression by Vespasian that "Money doesn't stink." He was able to gain enough money to even build his own forum, the Forum of Peace, as well as construct the Colosseum, designed by Augustus many years before. He was a humble and humorous man, mocking attempts by his supporters to create a pedigree for him, but nevertheless slightly authoritarian, exiling his detractors. But he was still a kind person, with Suetonius recording that Vespasian attempted to turn back his assassins from one of his enemies. He died in 79 CE, a year before the opening of the Colosseum. He was succeeded by his sons, as he had wanted with him being recorded as having said, "My sons succeed me or none."


Titus


Titus was thought to be the next Nero. He was a lover of an exotic princess, Beatrice of Judea, as well as a violent man, having killed a traitor Caecina after having had dinner with him. He had conquered Jerusalem in 71 CE, destroying the Great Temple for a final time, followed by a great triumph in Rome. During his father's reign, he had taken many responsibilities as opposed to his brother Domitian, relatively neglected. When he took power, he proved those doubts wrong, showing himself as kind and generous, helping deliver aid after the Great Fire, as well as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He also presided in the opening of the Colosseum, actively interacting with the crowd. Tragically, he died soon after in 81 CE from disease, with some commentators suggesting Domitian had a part in the death, jealous over his lack of authority. The Jewish Talmud suggests that a fly had entered Titus' brain through his nose as conquest for his destruction of the Temple, saying the fly had slowly killed him in revenge.


Domitian


Domitian was the younger Flavian son, neglected in his childhood. His mother had died at a young age, and while his father and brother were off in Judea, he was stuck in Rome with his uncle, barely escaping death when angry Vitellius supporters attacked the Temple of Jupiter where he was hiding. When he became Emperor, with his summoning of the Praetorian Guard soon after Titus' death, he quickly showed his authoritarian tendencies. He gave large bonuses to the troops and to the people, lavishing them with great games. He raised taxes significantly to pay for this, enough so that he was able to raise the denarius from 90% to 98% in purity, and then back to 93 5 after an economic crisis. The empire's income was very high during his rule, estimated at over 1.2 billion sestertii. He also built another forum, the Forum Transitorium, now known as Nerva's Forum, and expanded the palace on the Palatine. He also added the role of censor to the Emperor, and personally interfered with mundane matters, with with him ignoring the Senate and not acknowledging their "power" as his father and brother had done, angering the nobles and causing him bad PR for eternity from the senatorial historians. This increase in imperial authority allowed future emperors such as Trajan to expand Rome and increase its power. He fought the Chatti, giving himself the title of Germanicus, a move mocked by those who saw it as ostentatious, as it was a relatively minor victory in comparison with the previous holders of the title. He later fought with the rising Dacians, losing only because of a revolt by Saturninus that was quickly put down, causing him to sink into paranoia and seek new measures against the aristocrats. He was devoted to Minerva, causing him to depict her on many of his coins. He died in 96 CE, victim to a plot that installed his advisor Nerva in power.

Thanks for reading, I really do love those crazy Flavians.

 

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Some really nice iconic Flavians you have there. Congrats!

I noticed you are mixing old and new RIC II catalogue numbers and misattributed the Domitian. For consistency, here are the new RIC II.1 numbers for your coins:

Vespasian RIC 702. Titus RIC 115. Domitian RIC 722.

 

Nice set, congrats.

 

Sweet!

 

Very cool elephant reverse and nice coins! I liked your synopsis of their rules also. I have only this lone Flavian:


Vespasian, AD 1 Jul 69-24 Jun 79
AR, Denarius, 3.09g, 18mm; 6h; Rome, Jan-Jun AD 70
Obv.: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; laureate head right
Rev.: COS ITER TR POT; Pax seated left on chair without back, branch in right hand, caduceus in left

 

Great write up and the presentation of your coins ""Deacon style"" love it.

Emperor Vespasian and his sons as Caesar:

 

Wow!


Thanks,
Jacob

 

Congrats on completing the lovely trio of Flavian denarii!!

I blame @David Atherton for the 'mini-hoard' of Flavians I've accumulated.
Most of mine are 'budget' examples but this is my best example---Titus:

 

Wow! A thousand congratulations on completing the Flavian set. Those are some beautiful coins.

 

Great coins and the write-up is stellar as well. When I collected modern coins (and I still do, but not at the same level since this forum sucked me into ancients), it was always about the history. The 1883 V nickel, 1964 Kennedy half, etc, etc. Coins that had a good story behind them.

That is what makes ancients soooooo much fun. They all have a history and an epic history at that.

Coins here have "write up" that cover the history of the specific issue. Few of the modern coins can match the history of the least desirable ancient.

The OP is really good stuff.

 

WOW! Love the ELEPHANT!

My Flavian Dynasty representatives:


RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AE Dupondius Felicitas stdg caduceus cornucopia sinister left



RI Titus 79-81 CE AR Denarius Sow piglets

He loved his Minerva...

RI Domitian AR Denarius 81-96 CE Minerva spear shield COS XVI CENS PPP 22nd Imperial acclamation minted Sept 93-Sept 94 RIC 761

For Uncle Dom...

RI Julia Flavia Titi Diva 90-91 CE d-Titus concubine-uncle Domitian AE Sestert 33mm 20.4g - Carpentum mules SPQR - SC

 

Beautiful presentation, @Pompeius ! I'm always inspired when I see a forum member putting extra effort into their posts!

 

Beautiful Flavian elephant, @Mikey Zee !

 

Superb gallery, David! Your gallery sets a high standard and model for moderately experienced beginners such as myself to aspire to!

 

Thank you for the kind words. It's nice to know all the time that goes into the gallery isn't in vain.

 

FLAVIlicious coins!

My coins of the gang...

 

I have a sestertius of Vespasian

 

Nice sestertius PAX , Terence , I have a PAX dupondius of Vespasian