Maximinus Thrax´ Victoria Germanica - The Battle at the Harzhorn

It was about July, 235. After building a ponton bridge over the Rhine, Maximinus the Thracian led the majority of the Roman field army, maybe around 40.000 men, into Germany, something that had not been seen since Germanicus´ campaigns 220 years before.

Burning the resident´s villages, devastating their fields, slaughtering their cattle, and capturing many as slaves, Maximinus led his huge force deep into enemy territory, penetrating further than any Roman general had since Augustus´ attempt to turn Germania Magna into a province two and a half centuries ago. Maximinus most probably followed the path Drusus had used, heading to the Elbe river and reaching it in the vicinity of modern Magdeburg, being the fourth and last Roman general to have seen this river after Tiberius, Drusus, and Ahenobarbus.

After turning north, and, according to the Palatine Codex version of the Historia Augusta, having coverered a total distance of some 300-400 roman miles into enemy territory, Maximinus´ army had reached the marshes of northern Lower Saxony. It was here (and not, as assumed until the recent discoveries were made, somewhere in the Agri Decumates in southwestern Germany), where the Germans decided to hide or retreat no further. This led to the so-called „Battle of the Bog“, which according to the ancient sources saw Maximinus bravely leading his troops into the barbarian forces and personally killing many of them until the swamp was drowned in blood.



The barbarians had lost a battle, but not most of their strength. The need to feed his large army forced Maximinus to avoid the territory already plundered, stripped of crops, and burned by his troops. So he chose a northern path which forced the army to pass through a bottleneck at the Harzhorn near the modern village of Kalefeld.
Here, a German army of more than a thousand tribesmen positioned themselves upon the cliffs of Harzhorn hill, immediately north of the pass, no doubt hoping to trap the Roman forces on their way home and repeat Arminius victory over Varus.
They were wrong. The Romans massacred the attackers with rapid artillery fire from wagon-mounted ballista catapult machines and stormed the hill.

The Harzhorn battlefield was miraculously discovered intact in late 2008 with all metal remnants still in place. The Romans had not found the time to collect their weapons, the Germans had, for whatever reasons, decided to leave everything like it was, and the hill has never been built over or used for agriculture in the past two millennia.

To this day around 3000 metal artifacts have been found: more than 1.700 lost roman shoe hobnails (the remnants of close combat), several hundreds of ballista bolts, javelin- and arrowheads (still preserving their orientation), also chain armor, parts of wagons, bridles, horse-sandals, shovels, axes (including a dolabra signed by the 4th Legion), helmet fittings, belt buckles, tent pegs, but also the handcuffs of a slave, the lid of an inkpot, and dividers probably used for geographic survey.

According to the Historia Augusta, Maximinus had brought all of Germania under Roman rule, had the Germans not fled into the swamps and woods.

Meanwhile in Rome the first emission of Maximus from the imperial mint had introduced the new emperor to his subjects, albeit showing a portrait resembling an older version of Severus Alexander (around Mid March to mid April, 235), as no statues or painting seem to have been available to the celators in the capital. Revers motifs were VOTIS DECENALIBUS, INDVLGENTIA AVG, MARTI PACIFERO, and LIBERALITAS AVG.

The second emission (around mid April until the End of December 235), in accordance with the preparations of the German campaign, replaced these types with PM TRP PP, FIDES MILITVM, PAX AVGVSTI, PROVIDENTIA AVG, SALVS AVGVSTI, and VICTORIA AVG, the obverse showing the new emperor with a just slightly protruding chin, just slightly hinting at his true physique.

His full blown facial features were only made known to the puplic with the third emission (from January, 236) which also introduced two new varieties of VICTORIA AVG and PM TRP II COS PP.

Half a year into the third Emission, around August 236, after the news of Maximinus´ safe return from his successful German campaign had reached Rome, a new reverse appeared to celebrate this: VICTORIA GERMANICA.

While VICTORIA AVG implied the hope of a future victory (showing the winged personification of Victory advancing to the right, carrying her usual attributes, a wreath and a palm branch), VICTORIA GERMANICA celebrates a victory that has already been accomplished, namely the „conquest“ of Germany culminating in the battles in the swamps and at the Harzhorn.

VICTORIA GERMANICA coins of this emission, which still features the early obverse legend IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG are quite rare, as this second phase of Maximinus´ third emission came to an end in September 236, when the Senate had bestowed the title Germanicus on him.

Consequently, the obverse inscription changed to MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM for the fourth emission which lasted from late September until the end of December 236.

Apart from a unique bronze medallion (showing Maximinus on horseback, led by Victory) there are two principal varieties of the VICTORIA GERMANICA type: the more common type shows Victory left, raising her wreath over a bound german captive. On Sestertii (RIC 90) it is outnumbering the rarer second variety (RIC 93) about eight to one as suggested by the number of coins offered on Sixbid.com and VCoins.com. It can be found on Denarii and Quinarii also.

The more complex reverse type is limited to the bronze coinage (Sestertius RIC 93, Dupondius RIC 91, As RIC 94). It shows Maximinus himself, pointing his spear at the bound captive at his feet, being crowned by Victoria. I could only locate 25 Sestertii of this type from around 10 pairs of dies so far, so one might estimate that a total of around 50 to 75 of them may exist.



MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM – Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximinus I facing right
VICTORIA GERMANICA, S C in exergue – Maximinus, in military attire, standing facing, head left, raising his right hand, holding spear in left, bound German captive seated at his feet, crowned by Victory standing left behind him, holding a laurel wreath in her right hand and a palm branch in her left
Sestertius, Rome ca. September-December 236
21,65gr / 31 mm
RIC 93, BMCRE 198, Cohen 114, MIR 26-5

 

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This is an excellent re-cap of the last major incursion of the romans east of the Rhine. The best I have read in the english language. Congratulations J-G!
Your new pictures show your sestertius to full advantage. It is a very nice coin.

 

Excellent writeup! I concur with everything Eduard said.

Here's a VICTORIA GERM denarius.

 

Great write up about the giant from Thrace, many thanks Julius

 

Beautiful example and good info.

 

WOW!!! The history and numismatics were perfectly woven together and capped with a fantastic coin!!! I LOVED the post!!

I'll throw in an old practice photo of a denarius of Thrax......At the time I purchased it----late 1980's--- a large hoard had just been discovered.....

 

Great looking coin and cool write up @Julius Germanicus !

I don't have much from this cat...


MAXIMINUS I, As, (Æ 25) 235-238 AD

O: IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG Bust laureate , draped and cuirassed, R: VICTO -RI -A AVG / S | C Victoria ( Victory ) walking right, holding a wreath in her right hand and a palm of the left hand, Rome mint, RIC 69, 25 mm 10.6 g

Yeah, I know...but it was only 4 bucks.

 

Here's an interesting article about the chain mail of a Roman soldier that was excavated at Harzhorn. It's one of the best examples of such armor ever found.

http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/presse/informationen/fup/2013/fup_13_232/index.html

 

@Julius Germanicus great write up, great coin!

My Max Thrax:


RI Maximinus Thrax 235-238 CE AR Denarius Victory stndg

 

Thanks everybody for showing you Thracian Giants!

My coin helped me to convince my girl to visit the Harzhorn Battle site next year which is only a couple of hours drive away from here.

For further reading, I can recommend the new standard works on the subject, Maximinus´ Biography by Paul N. Pearson and the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum´s Exhibition Catalogue (in German, but featuring dozens of groundbreaking scientific studies):