Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 23563482, member: 128351"]This sum is mentioned on a monumental trilingual inscription of Shapur, at Naqsh-i Rustam near Persepolis. There is a Greek, a Persian and a Pehlvi version. In Greek it is π[ε]ντακοσίαν χειλιάδα δηναρίων, in Persian and Pehlvi dēnār panzsad-hazār, literally "five hundred thousand denarii". The first translators, André Maricq and Julien Guey, thought these "denarioi" or "dēnār" were mere denarii, and that it was a very moderate sum. But we now know that the coin the Greeks called denarios and the Persians dēnār was the aureus. In Latin its full name is denarius aureus... The simple silver denarius was called in Greek drachma, in Persian drahm. The Arabic language borrowed the terms from the Persian, and in Arabic the silver coin is a dirham, the gold coin a dinar. The ransom Philip paid amounted to 500,000 gold coins. The sum may seem enormous, but a Roman emperor could afford it. Usually, on their accession, new emperors gave a donative to the Praetorians who were 4,500 to 8,000 men. Claudius in AD 41 and Nero in AD 54 had given 150 aurei to each man: 150 x 4,500 = 675 000 aurei (heavier than in Philip's time). In AD 161 Marcus Aurelius gave 5,000 silver denarii to each man, that is 200 aurei, and the Praetorians were 8,000 men at that time, thus the AD 161 donative amounted to a total of 1,600,000 aurei ! In AD 193 each man of the 8,000-strong Praetorian Guard received 3,000 denarii from Pertinax and 7,250 from Didius Julianus, that is 410 aurei, an insane total of 3,280,000 aurei ! No wonder Didius Julianus reduced the weight of the aureus by 8%... 500,000 aurei was an astronomic sum for Shapur, but probably not for Philip who may have had much more in cash, thanks to the good management of the late Timesitheus...[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches