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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3097233, member: 81887&quot;]I won this a couple of months ago, but haven&#039;t gotten around to posting it until now:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]783029[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Empire.&nbsp; AR denarius (17 mm, 3.01 g).&nbsp; Emesa mint.&nbsp; Septimius Severus (193- 211 AD), issued 194-5 AD.&nbsp; Obverse: Laureate bust right, [IMP CA]E L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II.&nbsp; Reverse: Trophy of arms, INVICTO IMP.&nbsp; RIC 389; BMC 365; RSC 232.&nbsp; This coin: Triskeles 23 (VAuctions 329), lot 499, ex &quot;Maple Leaf&quot; Collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s my summary biography of Septimius Severus, quoted from my previous post at <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/severus-vs-the-parthians.303057/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/severus-vs-the-parthians.303057/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/severus-vs-the-parthians.303057/</a>&nbsp; :</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Septimius Severus was born in 145 AD in Leptis Magna (in what is now Libya), of mixed Italian and Punic (and possibly Berber) ancestry. Little is known of his early career, but in 191 he was appointed governor of Upper Pannonia by Commodus. Commodus was assassinated on the last day of 192 and Pertinax proclaimed emperor, but was killed by the Praetorian Guard just three months later. The Praetorians then blatantly auctioned off the emperorship to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus. Meanwhile, on hearing of the murder of Pertinax, Severus&#039; troops proclaimed him emperor, and he began a march to Rome. Julianus proved unable to raise the huge sums he had promised, and his support quickly fell away; he was killed after a reign of 66 days, and Septimius Severus entered Rome unopposed. Severus, realizing that the Praetorians were trouble, had Pertinax&#039; killers executed and dismissed the rest of the Praetorians, replacing them with men from his own legions whose loyalty he could trust. </p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Meanwhile, the legions in Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger as emperor, and he had received encouragement from Parthia and its allies, including Osrhoene. Severus first shored up his rear by proclaiming his commander in Britain, Clodius Albinus, as Caesar, then moved against Niger. He defeated Niger in 194, then fought in Mesopotamia against Niger&#039;s allies the Parthians, Arabs, and Adiabenians. As a result, Severus annexed most of Osrhoene as a Roman province. Albinus rebelled in 195, upset at being passed over as Severus&#039; designated successor in favor of Severus&#039; own son Caracalla. Albinus was killed in Gaul in 197, leaving Severus free to launch a more extensive war against Parthia. This went well for the Romans, including the sacking of the Parthian capitol Ctesiphon and temporary expansion of the Roman provincial border to the Tigris. However, he failed twice to take the key fortress town of Hatra and (like all Roman armies) made no headway into the Iranian heartland of Parthia. Content with the new territory in Mesopotamia, he moved on to other campaigns in North Africa and in Caledonia (Scotland). While campaigning in Britain he fell ill, and died at Eboracum (York) in 211 AD, leaving the empire to his two sons Caracalla and Geta. He left the Roman Empire with its greatest territorial extent ever, as well as founding the Severan Dynasty.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is attributed to the Roman branch mint at Emesa (now Homs, Syria), which I am sure [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] can tell you more about.&nbsp; It was issued some time in 194-195 AD, so the reverse inscription to the &quot;Undefeated Emperor&quot; and trophy of arms are intended to reference the recent defeat of Pescennius Niger and his Eastern allies.&nbsp; (A fairly extensive coinage series explicitly names the defeated Parthians, Arabs, and Adiabenians, but not Niger directly.&nbsp; It would have been unseemly to gloat over killing a fellow Roman.)&nbsp; If this coin was issued in 195, it may also be intended as a warning to Clodius Albinus and his men:&nbsp; You&#039;re going up against the undefeated champion, maybe you should just surrender now.&nbsp; I like the portrait style and reverse design, as well as the historical interest, and my winning bid was just $55, which I thought was rather cheap for this example.&nbsp; Post your related coins here.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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