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<p>[QUOTE="Limes, post: 3782880, member: 101013"]For some reason I am drawn to Roman coins depicting chariots. Sadly for me, those coins, combined with the specific era I seem to be more and more focussing on, are most of the time way out of my financial league. But every now and then one appears within financial reach and luckily I was able to obtain a very special one, shown below. Thank you for reading in advance. (NB, I'm not a professional in history, or native speaker. So i don't have access to lots and up-to-date literature, get most of my information online, and my English is not the best. If you have anything to comment on the content, feel free to post it.)</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin that started my homework is my latest addition to my collection: a denarius struck under Nero, for Divus Claudius, in Lugdunum in 54/55 AD. It was struck just after the death of Claudius. The reverse shows a Roman tensa. It looks like a small temple on wheels, and is pulled by four horses. On the top of the tympanum are four little horses and two victories left and right. I can’t figure out what exactly is displayed on the sides of the tensa, but on a <a href="https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=278&lot=136" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=278&lot=136" rel="nofollow">sharply struck aureus</a> of this type I found on acsearch (which, unfortunately but not unsurprisingly is way out of my budget) there seem to be figures and discs, and on the tympanum there seem to be a simpulum and more discs. According to one auction house that comments on this type (very briefly though), the coin was struck to commemorate the triumph of Claudius in AD 44, being the conquest of Britain. Interesting here to note is that in Republican times, the tensa (tensae) were used in a circus parade (pompa circensis) to carry the statues of Gods and their attributes to the circus. During the reign of Caesar the pompa circensis were altered in route and appearence and images and the sellae of members of the imperial family were carried a long as well. It evolved to the situation that images of the family members of the emperor joined the images of the Gods, and, since the route became similar to that of a triumph, so did the appearence. It’s here that you can see the two elements (or so it seems to be) combined in the reverse of the coin: Claudius, deified, having his place with the other deities and the images on the carriage itself likely showing his succesful campaign in Britain. </p><p>It’s a rare coin according to the auction house i got it from. It’s not the most prettiest coin, compared to the other few examples I found on acsearch. Nevertheless, I am very happy with it and it’s a big step towards finalizing my 12C set in silver.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1010305[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Next is the chariot driven by Tiberius as triumphator. I have shown this one here before, so I will be brief. Tiberius only struck two denarii: the tribute penny and this one. Both types were used by Augustus as well, so it reflects an attempt by Tiberius to create a connection between his reing and that of his predecessor. So I wonder, why these two specific types? I could not find a complete explanation online, so here is my theory: about the tribute penny; I think it is fair to state that the obvious line here would be the Livia-connection: she was the wife of Augustus and the mother of Tiberius. For the second denarius type (the type below) it is good to note that the denarius was struck only in 15/16 AD, and Augustus died in 14 AD. The triumph depicted on the reverse of the denarius was held in 13 AD, commemorating the victories over the Germans. According to Suetonius, during this triumph it was suggested that Tiberius was to be given honorable 'nicknames', like Pius, or Pannonicus. This was refused by Augustus, stating that the name Tiberius was to be given after the death of Augustus (i.e. ‘Augustus’) would suffice. Things evolved quickly for Tiberius after this triumph, and the Senate passed a law stating Tiberius and Augustus would control the provinces together and both exercise the high and honorable position of censor. Hence, I think that this reverse might also have the purpose initially to remind the people of Rome of that specific occassion, the moment he was ‘officially’ named heir of Augustus, by Augustus himself. The denarius depicting Augustus on the obverse and the same reverse of the Tiberius denarius was struck in 13/14 AD under Augustus. It seems not unlikely that those two denarii circulated in 15/16AD together, making this 'link' much stronger. To me this coin is much more symbolic than just a denarius merely depicting Tiberius as triumphator celebrating the victory over the Germans.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1010306[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The last one is a denarius of Augustus. The denarius is struck in 18 BC. It is not a portrait coin, but that is what made it very appealing to me. The reverse shows a 4hp chariot, but without a driver. The obverse and reverse refer to the succesful campaign of Augustus in Armenia (Tiberius as general) and the return of the standards Crassus lost to the Parthians in 53 BC at <a href="http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2017/04/09/crassus-parthian-campaign/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2017/04/09/crassus-parthian-campaign/" rel="nofollow">the battle of Carrhae</a> (see also the denarius of Augustus, <a href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1603.html#RIC_0288" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1603.html#RIC_0288" rel="nofollow">RIC 288</a>). So, what I was wondering is why no one is driving this triumphal quadriga. I could not find much information about this, but it seems that on return, Augustus refused a triumph, but nevertheless received the accompanying attributes. An army standard (aquila) is shown which may refer to the lost standards, as well as the attributed awarded to a triumphator (toga picta, laurel crown). The reverse (or obverse?) shows the chariot driven by the four horses to the tempel of Mars where the retrieved standards (also the ones lost to Parthia by Mark Antony) were placed. Losing the standards was extremely humiliating to the Romans and Augustus was under pressure by the populace to wage war for their return. One can image that chosing for the route of diplomacy was not without risk and the fact that his decission led to one of Augustus’ most significant diplomatic accomplishments had to be emphasized, but perhaps not in the form of a parade for the triumphator. Interesting to note is that this accomplishment is als shown on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_of_Prima_Porta" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_of_Prima_Porta" rel="nofollow">Augustus of Prima Porta</a>! </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1010309[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Post your chariots and anything else you think is relevant. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Sources used: Sear 2000, Suetonius 2010 (Dutch), acsearch, wikipedia (of course...) bible-history.com, wildwinds.com, turningpointsoftheancientworld.com, several auction house sites, such as NAC</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Limes, post: 3782880, member: 101013"]For some reason I am drawn to Roman coins depicting chariots. Sadly for me, those coins, combined with the specific era I seem to be more and more focussing on, are most of the time way out of my financial league. But every now and then one appears within financial reach and luckily I was able to obtain a very special one, shown below. Thank you for reading in advance. (NB, I'm not a professional in history, or native speaker. So i don't have access to lots and up-to-date literature, get most of my information online, and my English is not the best. If you have anything to comment on the content, feel free to post it.) The coin that started my homework is my latest addition to my collection: a denarius struck under Nero, for Divus Claudius, in Lugdunum in 54/55 AD. It was struck just after the death of Claudius. The reverse shows a Roman tensa. It looks like a small temple on wheels, and is pulled by four horses. On the top of the tympanum are four little horses and two victories left and right. I can’t figure out what exactly is displayed on the sides of the tensa, but on a [URL='https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=278&lot=136']sharply struck aureus[/URL] of this type I found on acsearch (which, unfortunately but not unsurprisingly is way out of my budget) there seem to be figures and discs, and on the tympanum there seem to be a simpulum and more discs. According to one auction house that comments on this type (very briefly though), the coin was struck to commemorate the triumph of Claudius in AD 44, being the conquest of Britain. Interesting here to note is that in Republican times, the tensa (tensae) were used in a circus parade (pompa circensis) to carry the statues of Gods and their attributes to the circus. During the reign of Caesar the pompa circensis were altered in route and appearence and images and the sellae of members of the imperial family were carried a long as well. It evolved to the situation that images of the family members of the emperor joined the images of the Gods, and, since the route became similar to that of a triumph, so did the appearence. It’s here that you can see the two elements (or so it seems to be) combined in the reverse of the coin: Claudius, deified, having his place with the other deities and the images on the carriage itself likely showing his succesful campaign in Britain. It’s a rare coin according to the auction house i got it from. It’s not the most prettiest coin, compared to the other few examples I found on acsearch. Nevertheless, I am very happy with it and it’s a big step towards finalizing my 12C set in silver. [ATTACH=full]1010305[/ATTACH] Next is the chariot driven by Tiberius as triumphator. I have shown this one here before, so I will be brief. Tiberius only struck two denarii: the tribute penny and this one. Both types were used by Augustus as well, so it reflects an attempt by Tiberius to create a connection between his reing and that of his predecessor. So I wonder, why these two specific types? I could not find a complete explanation online, so here is my theory: about the tribute penny; I think it is fair to state that the obvious line here would be the Livia-connection: she was the wife of Augustus and the mother of Tiberius. For the second denarius type (the type below) it is good to note that the denarius was struck only in 15/16 AD, and Augustus died in 14 AD. The triumph depicted on the reverse of the denarius was held in 13 AD, commemorating the victories over the Germans. According to Suetonius, during this triumph it was suggested that Tiberius was to be given honorable 'nicknames', like Pius, or Pannonicus. This was refused by Augustus, stating that the name Tiberius was to be given after the death of Augustus (i.e. ‘Augustus’) would suffice. Things evolved quickly for Tiberius after this triumph, and the Senate passed a law stating Tiberius and Augustus would control the provinces together and both exercise the high and honorable position of censor. Hence, I think that this reverse might also have the purpose initially to remind the people of Rome of that specific occassion, the moment he was ‘officially’ named heir of Augustus, by Augustus himself. The denarius depicting Augustus on the obverse and the same reverse of the Tiberius denarius was struck in 13/14 AD under Augustus. It seems not unlikely that those two denarii circulated in 15/16AD together, making this 'link' much stronger. To me this coin is much more symbolic than just a denarius merely depicting Tiberius as triumphator celebrating the victory over the Germans. [ATTACH=full]1010306[/ATTACH] The last one is a denarius of Augustus. The denarius is struck in 18 BC. It is not a portrait coin, but that is what made it very appealing to me. The reverse shows a 4hp chariot, but without a driver. The obverse and reverse refer to the succesful campaign of Augustus in Armenia (Tiberius as general) and the return of the standards Crassus lost to the Parthians in 53 BC at [URL='http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2017/04/09/crassus-parthian-campaign/']the battle of Carrhae[/URL] (see also the denarius of Augustus, [URL='http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1603.html#RIC_0288']RIC 288[/URL]). So, what I was wondering is why no one is driving this triumphal quadriga. I could not find much information about this, but it seems that on return, Augustus refused a triumph, but nevertheless received the accompanying attributes. An army standard (aquila) is shown which may refer to the lost standards, as well as the attributed awarded to a triumphator (toga picta, laurel crown). The reverse (or obverse?) shows the chariot driven by the four horses to the tempel of Mars where the retrieved standards (also the ones lost to Parthia by Mark Antony) were placed. Losing the standards was extremely humiliating to the Romans and Augustus was under pressure by the populace to wage war for their return. One can image that chosing for the route of diplomacy was not without risk and the fact that his decission led to one of Augustus’ most significant diplomatic accomplishments had to be emphasized, but perhaps not in the form of a parade for the triumphator. Interesting to note is that this accomplishment is als shown on the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_of_Prima_Porta']Augustus of Prima Porta[/URL]! [ATTACH=full]1010309[/ATTACH] Post your chariots and anything else you think is relevant. [I]Sources used: Sear 2000, Suetonius 2010 (Dutch), acsearch, wikipedia (of course...) bible-history.com, wildwinds.com, turningpointsoftheancientworld.com, several auction house sites, such as NAC[/I][/QUOTE]
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