Diocletian appointed Constantius Chlorus and Galerius Caesars and created the tetrarchy. This statue, from St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice and having been looted from Constantinople in 1204, reflects the new artistic style of the Dominate, as featured on coins and public monuments. Please feel free to post your interesting coins of the period. Constantius Chlorus' small change (quarter follis) of Siscia, 23 mm 4 grams.
Nice find @ancient coin hunter . Nice goober-green patina, like it! DIOCLETIAN RI Diocletian Ӕ Quinarius 1.46g 16mm Rome AD 284-305 IOVI CONSERVAT AVGG, Jupiter stndng thunderbolt sceptre RARE RIC 193
That is an interesting statue and a great little quarter follis! Here is my most interesting Tetrarch: Constantius I. AE Follis. Carthage. 298-299 AD. CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head right (large head type) / SALVIS AVGG ET CAESS FEL KART, Carthago standing facing, head left, in long robe, holding fruits in both hands. Mintmark Γ.
..members coins of the tetrarchy...by Diocletian doing that share, it might have extended his life a bit...
Here is one of each Caesar from the Trier mint. Galerius as Caesar, AD 293-305. Roman silvered billon follis, 8.62 g, 27.2 mm, 6 h. Trier, AD 302-3. Obv: MAXIMIANVS NOBIL C, laureate and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing facing, head left, wearing modius, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; S/F//IITR. Refs: RIC vi, p. 196, 508b; Cohen 65; RCV 14348. Notes: Some numismatists postulate that the S F in the fields of these coins from Trier is an abbreviation for SAECVLI FELICITAS. Constantius I, Caesar, 293-305. Roman billon follis, 9.95 g, 26.6 mm, 11 h. Trier, AD 296-97. Obv: CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head right. Rev: GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI, Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, holding patera and cornucopiae; A/Γ//TR. Refs: RIC vi, p. 183, 218a; Cohen 61; RCV 14035.
The coin pictured below I won at AMCC 3, & is probably the most interesting coin of Constantius I in my collection because of a spelling error in the obverse inscription. Constantius I as Caesar, AD 293-305 (struck AD 297/8), Alexandria Mint, 3rd Officina. Obverse: Laureate head facing right; FAL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES. Reverse: Genius holding cornucopia & pouring contents from a patera; GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, in exergue ALE, Greek letter Gamma in right field. Die shift on reverse. RIC VI Alexandria 27a. Ex Caesar Augustus Collection. Photo courtesy of Tom Callaway "Very pleasing natural patina. A scarce issue in the first place, this coin is rare and special due to a spelling error initiating the obverse legend: "FAL". The engraver no doubt got confused between "GAL VAL" for Galerius, and "FL VAL" for Constantius."
Here's some coins appropriate to the occasion. I apologize for the poor quality photos - just took them a second ago with my iPhone. In 285 AD when Diocletian had first expanded from the "monarchy" to "diarchy" by appointing Maximianus co-augustus, he still retained the senior role, styling himself as "Iovius" and Maximianus as "Herculius" (Hercules being Jupiter's son), and recording this new partnership on a variety of coins such as these Antioch antoniniani: Obv: IMP C G VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG Rev: IOV ET HERCV CONSER AVGG RIC 323 Obv: IMP C M AVR VAL MAXIMIANVS PF AVG Rev: IOV ET HERCV CONSER AVGG RIC 584 In 293 AD, with the further addition of the caesars Galerius and Constantius to form the "tetrarchy" (modern name), Antioch welcomed the caesars with a similar "Jupiter + Hercules" type. Obv: GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES Rev: IOVI ET HERCVLI CONSER CAES RIC 719 Obv: FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES Rev: IOVI ET HERCVLI CONSER CAES RIC 673 Galerius now joined Diocletian in the eastern "house of Jupiter", with Constantius joining Maximianus in the western "house of Hercules". To help ensure the loyalty of the new caesars, Galerius was married to Diocletian's daughter Galeria Valeria, Constantius married to Maximianus' daughter Theodora, and Constantius's son Constantine (now approx 20 yr old) by his previous partner Helena, was moved to the court of Diocletian...
I love that porphyry sculpture in Venice! Surprisingly tender poses. Shortly after the tetrarchy was declared, Diocletian reformed the coinage, introducing the famous nummus/follis. I'm trying to build a set of the first issue from each mint - preferentially of Diocletian - which is very tough. Here's what I have so far. (For some mints I only have a second issue. London didn't start production until 297 when Constantius recaptured the island from Allectus.)
S.A., That's a great idea for a set, & not an easy one to complete ! The London nummus with a mintmark has eluded me for a long time, they are very pricey . I managed to score a nice looking 1st issue nummus of Siscia .
I like the foot from this statue that is in an Istanbul museum. I have a few coins from this period. My favorite is - Diocletian AD 284-305, AE silvered Follis Obv - IMP DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; Laur. bust r. Rev - SACR MONET AVGG ET CAESS NOSTR; AQS in ex.; VI in r. field; Moneta standing l. holding scales and cornucopia Mint: AQS = Aquileia Mint Date: 302 - 303 AD I like the dainty way Moneta holds her scale.
I like the porphyry statue of the Four Tetrarchs. It sends a clear message about the new nature of the imperial power. It is in porphyry, a purple stone which is imperial monopoly. Porphyry means imperial. The imperial college is composed of two Augusts and two Caesars, each Caesar is supposed to be his August's adopted son. This is what we see : the two Augusts, supposed to be fathers, are bearded, and clutch their respective Caesar son, which is identical but unbearded (supposed to be younger). There is zero individualisation in this icon : the four wear exactly the same uniform, there is no other rank insignia than bearded (= August) or not (= Caesar). Even more significant, the four have the same features, their faces look identical. Their foreheads are conspicuously wrinkled, which is a conventional feature of Herakles - Hercules (we can see it on Alexander coins as soon as the 4th c. BC and it is the way Caracalla wanted to be depicted). They are not four emperors, but one single and unique imperial (thus divine) authority composed of four persons who cannot be dissociated. In the following years the Christian theological concept of Holy Trinity would be much influenced by the political and juridical construction of the Tetrarchy elaborated by Diocletian.
Certainly it was a change from the Principate (where the emperor was supposed to 'first citizen') to the Dominate, where visitors to the palace were expected to prostrate themselves before the emperor. Similarly the ethereal nature of the art and coins beginning with the Tetrarchy is a complete change from the Greco-Roman practice of realistic portraiture.
I've always thought that porphyry statue is gorgeous, @ancient coin hunter. I wonder if anyone has tried to figure out which pair of tetrarchs is which in the statue. Although I guess part of the point was to portray the two pairs and four individuals as looking basically alike (as @GinoLR points out). I have recently posted my five Diocletian coins in another thread (see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/february-23rd-diocletians’s-shameful-day.393457/page-2#post-8227910), so I'll limit myself here to these two: Diocletian, silvered AE Follis [Nummus?], 294-295 AD, Nicomedia Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP CC VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG/ Rev. Genius standing left, pouring out patera & holding cornucopiae, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, mintmark SMN (Nicomedia). RIC VI 27a p. 556), Sear RCV IV 12788, ERIC II 539, Cohen 106. 27.8 mm., 8.6 g. Diocletian, AR Argenteus, ca. AD 295, Heraclea Mint (1st Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, DIOCLETI-ANVS AVG / Rev. The four tetrarchs [the Augusti Diocletian and Maximian, and the Caesars Constantius Chlorus and Galerius], draped, sacrificing over a tripod altar, two of them on each side, before military camp gate with six turrets (four in front and two in rear), VICTORIA-SARMAT [referring to victories over the Sarmatians*]; in exergue, H A [Heraclea, 1st Officina]. RIC VI Heraclea 6 [see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.6.her.6], RSC V Diocletian 488j, Sear RCV IV 12612. Purchased from Kenneth W. Dorney, Oct. 2021. Ex. Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 90, 2 Feb. 2016, Lot 3274. 19 mm., 2.70 g. *See Stephen Williams, Diocletian and the Roman Recovery (Routledge, 2000) at p. 76 (preview at Google Books): “In 294 Diocletian launced a fresh offensive against the main body of the Sarmatians. . . . By the latter half of 294 they [the Sarmatians] had sustained such a defeat that they ceased to be a threat for many more years. Sarmatian warriors were taken into the Roman armies in large numbers, either as mercenaries or under treaty, and later fought well under Galerius against the Persians.” Here are the three other tetrarchs of that tetrarchy (although the only coin I have of Galerius is a later one from when he was Augustus): Maximian, silvered AE Follis [Nummus?], 297-98 AD, Heraclea Mint (1st Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C MA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG / Rev. Genius standing left holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; HTA in exergue. RIC V-2 Heraclea 19b, Sear RCV IV 13265. 28 mm., 10.26 g. Constantius I Chlorus Caesar (father of Constantine I), Billon Follis [Nummus?], 296-297 AD, Heraclea Mint (3rd Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES / Rev. Genius wearing modius on head, standing left, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI; mintmark HT Γ[gamma] [Γ= 3rd Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Heraclea 18a (p. 531), Sear RCV IV 14061. 29 mm., 9.91 g. Galerius, AE Follis [Nummus?], 305-306 AD, Cyzicus Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG/ Rev. Genius, wearing modius on head, nude, chlamys draped over left shoulder, standing left, holding cornucopiae in left hand and pouring libation from patera in right hand, GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI; mintmark K Δ [K = Cyzicus, Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC VI Cyzicus 21b & 25a (pp. 582, 584), Sear RCV IV 14546, Cohen 81. 27.8 mm., 9.65 g. 12 h. Ex. Giovanni Dattari Collection (before 1923); Ex. Jesus Vico 2018. Each large follis/nummus of the four is between 27.8 and 29 mm. in diameter.
I think it is one of the most interesting statues in art history @DonnaML - and thanks for sharing your outstanding coin examples!
