Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor from Africa

Septimius Severus, AD 193-211 (struck AD 194-195) Rome Mint. AE Sestertius: 24.58 gm, 32 mm, 6 h. Obverse: Laureate, cuirassed bust facing right, L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP IIII. Reverse: Goddess Africa with elephant skin headdress, standing right, drawing fold of drapery from bosom, lion at feet facing right, AFRICA S C. RIC IV 676. Ex CNG Inventory 861656, January 2010.

I became thoroughly engrossed with this emperor after reading the biography by Anthony R. Birley, Septimius Severus, The African Emperor, in the late 1990s, and ended up by buying a copy the revised edition (1988) several years ago. The revised edition has information on new discoveries & added information from literary sources. After reading the revised edition I set a goal of acquiring a sestertius of Septimius Severus with an image of the goddess Africa on the reverse. Nice looking examples are hard to find & expensive, high-grade examples exceed the limit on my Visa Card . So, when the above coin came up for auction again, I was determined to add it to my collection . The coin is well struck & centered, with visible inscriptions. The coin has a pleasing patina too. I've seen denarii with images of Africa on the reverse that aren't so expensive, see examples pictured below, but I wanted a coin larger than a denarius.


Photo courtesy of VCoins, Mark Breitsprecher.


Photo courtesy of Numismatica Ars Classica.

Collectors often overlook the importance of Roman Africa for supplying the empire with food, oil, & other commodities. Without these imports the empire could not have survived. Augustus Caesar, Tiberius, & Vespasian understood the importance of Africa, & helped to rebuild the province after it's decimation during the Punic Wars. Emperor Hadrian also understood the importance of Africa, & had beautiful gold aurei struck to commemorate his visit to that province, see example below.

Hadrian, AD 117-138 (struck circa AD 130-133), Rome Mint. AV Aureus: 7.11 gm, 19 mm, 12 h. Reverse: Goddess Africa reclining, with her left arm on a basket of produce her right hand stroking the mane of a lion. Stalks of grain can be seen to the right of the basket. She is wearing her typical elephant skin headdress. Photo courtesy of CNG Triton XXIII, Lot 732.

The ancestors of Septimius Severus settled in the province of Tripolitania (the cities of Oea, Sabratha, & Leptis Magna), & Severus was born & raised in Leptis Magna, AD 145. He was son of P. Septimius Geta & Fulvia Pia. Severus was given the name of his paternal grandfather: Lucius Septimius Severus, but was deified 50 years later as Marcus (Antoninus Pius), in place of Son of Publius. This was done to deflect his Punic ethnicity, whom patricians looked down on. He believed by falsely claiming adoption into the Antonine dynasty he would be given higher status. His grandfather was a wealthy knight & landowner, & Severus was destined to enter Roman politics after moving to the city of Rome at the age of 15. Thus, the adventure began.

Pictured below are photos of ruins from Leptis Magna, from Wikipedia.


Arch of Septimius Severus


Outdoor Theater


Temple Remains



I urge anyone with a serious interest in the life & times Septimius Severus to get a copy of Birley's book, it's a great read .

CT members with thoughts on Roman Africa & coins of Septimius Severus are welcome to share them on this thread .

 

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I thought only Hadrian had the "Africa" in his Travel Series. Now I see
the Septimius Severus coin. Are there other coins in the ancient series
that have recognizable locations?

 

Great writeup!

There is some disagreement as to Septimius Severus's appearance. Cassius Dio describes him as a short, thin, very lively and taciturn man, while the Historia Augusta says he was huge. Most sources however will agree that he had a very nice beard. He is said to have been a small eater, and often went without meat in his meal, though once in Nicaea he craved for mullet. He was also very fond of his "native beans". Several authors claim Septimius Severus spoke Latin with an African accent. Anthony Birley in his book suggests that 'Sheptimiush Sheverush' is how he may have pronounced his name.

Don't have a Sestertius of Septimius Severus, but a few denarii.

Rome 209 AD
17 x 18 mm, 3.329 g
RIC IV Septimius Severus 230; Cohen 531;

Ob.: SEVERVS PIVS AVG Head of Septimius Severus, laureate, right
Rev.: P M TR P XVII COS III P P Salus, draped, seated left, feeding out of patera in right hand snake coiled in lap

​

 

Not too great, but....

Septimius Severus. 193-211 AD. AR Denarius (19mm; 2.97 gm; 6h). Rome mint. Struck 207 AD. Obv: Laureate head right. Rev: AFRICA, Africa reclining left, holding scorpion and cornucopia; modius at feet. RIC IV 254; RSC 31.

 

I enjoy looking at history in unusual ways. It's fun to think that for a time, the Roman Empire was ruled from Britain by an African emperor.

 

Great coin. Small world: that first denarius you posted is my coin! I posted it most recently on Sept. 6 in the Septimius September thread.

 

There are many Roman coins, especially provincial issues, that spotlight their city. In fact, some collectors focus on coin types of that nature.

 

You raise some good points about the actual appearance of Severus.

Grumpy Old Man posted a photo of the famous painting in the Berlin Museum that goes to the hart of the points you raise. In this family portrait (with Geta erased), Severus is dark skinned compared to the rest of the family. If you take perspective into account, he is no taller than his wife Julia Domna, so he's certainly no giant . Many nuts on the internet have postulated that Severus was negroid because of his dark skin in this painting, however, this seems very unlikely.

 

@Al Kowsky where can I find a list, link or more information? I don't remember seeing any provincials that hi lite a town, country or continent the way the op coin has "Africa " hilited. Thank you in advance.

 

You're right about ancient coins being a "small world" . Coins that are attractive & unusual leave indelible images on the internet . I see many of my coins posted on the internet too. Ancient coin collectors are a miniscule population compared to collectors of other coins....

 

I think the series of books by David Sear would be a good place to start. CNG archive would be another good place to browse. Maybe even a simple Google search would yield good results .

 

Pete, That coin is a great example with just a slight bit of weakness on the reverse .

 

While this is true, many more Provincials use the genitive plural of the city name making the reverse 'of the people of the city' rather than just the city itself. What is unusual is a reverse with a scene from the city rather than a goddess/personification sacred to that city. Most of these are temples. Slightly out of the ordinary are the coins below which, I hope, missed being posted in our Sheptember Sheverathon.
Perinthus, Thrace, did well at the Actian and Pythian games so they made coins showing their trophies. How many coins do you see featuring furniture without someone sitting on it? AE30


Amasia, Pontus, AE32, city walls and tree with large eagle


Most common are the mountain (Argaeus) of Caesarea, Cappadocea.


Dekastyle (10 column) temples are less common. AE26 Heliopolis, Syria. Missing from my collection is the same temple shown in 3/4 perspective view. That coin is more common than my flat on front view but is hugely more popular and tends to be out of my price range.


Septimius was a massive man in many ways not measured in inches.

 

I posted all my Septimius Severus coins in the recent thread Septimius September so I won't post them again here.

I read a book called "Roman emperors portraits" written by a Romanian historian. Most likely it's not translated in other languages. It just lists all the Roman emperors with a brief life history, important events in their reigns etc.

I remember that in the Septimius Severus chapter it is indeed written that he didn't eat too much meat. The author also claims that his Punic accent was heavy and he couldn't correct it his entire life.
His sister, Lepitana, spoke Latin that badly that the emperor was embarrassed and when she visited Rome, Septimius offered her many gifts ... waiting for her to leave to Leptis Magna. Quickly.

 

Nice thread and great looking coins, some I've never seen before!
Septimius Severus RIC IV#261

 

I've read that Septimius Severus marched at a fast pace at the head of his army, eschewing his horse, on the way to Rome to avenge Pertinax' death, to stir up the ardor of his troops. He also was reputedly the emperor who enrolled Maximinus Thrax into the Army after seeing the poor shepherd wrestle and defeat the strongest soldier amongst his legionaires.

Here's one commemorating his voyage to Britain, hailing Neptune as his protector.

Septimius Severus, A.R. Denarius, Rome mint, 210 C.E.

3.3 grams, 19.1 mm

Obverse: Laureate head right, SEVERVS PIVS AVG

Reverse: PMTRP XVIII COS III PP

Neptune standing left, nude but for cloak over left shoulder and right arm, right foot on rock, right arm resting on right knee, trident vertical behind in left hand.

 

In terms of appearance, I think that Septy was dark, but not incredibly dark, especially when looking at the Severan Tondo. Women and children were often depicted with lighter skin as a matter of course.
Man probably looked something like Gaddhafi, but with a much better beard.

 

That's a nice selection Doug, thanks for posting . The 1st coin you posted seems odd at 1st glance but the Greeks used this this formula before. The coin posted below shows the thunderbolt of Zeus on a fancy stool.

Seleukis & Pieria, Seleukeia, Dated year 18 (92-91 BC). AR Tetradrachm: 15.00 gm, 34 mm, 12 h.

 

Ozie, Those are interesting points that Birley also points out in his book . The aristocratic class scorned & mocked Severus & his family but the plebeians & army held him in high esteem. Severus was a shrewd man with a pretty hefty "pair", & he changed the face of Roman history.

 

Spaniard, That's a handsome denarius with attractive toning .