Maximinus I Thrax 235-238 AD. Silver Denarius "Fides Holding Ensigns.High grade

Description: Please check the pictures to determine the grade. Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus"Thrax" ("theThracian";c.173 238) wasRoman emperorfrom 235 to 238.His father was an accountant in the governor's office and sprang from ancestors who wereCarpi(aDaciantribe), a people whomDiocletianwould eventually drive from their ancient abode (inDacia) and transfer toPannonia. Maximinus was the commander of theLegio IVItalicawhenSeverus Alexanderwas assassinated by his own troops in 235. The Pannonian army then elected Maximinus emperor. In 238 (which came to be known as theYear of the Six Emperors), a senatorial revolt broke out, leading to the successive proclamation ofGordian I,Gordian II,Pupienus,BalbinusandGordian IIIas emperors in opposition to Maximinus. Maximinus advanced on Rome to put down the revolt, but was halted atAquileia, where he was assassinated by disaffected elements of theLegio IIParthica. Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary exceptHerodian'sRoman History. He was a so-calledbarracks emperorof the 3rd century; his rule is often considered to mark the beginning of theCrisis of the Third Century. Maximinus was the first emperor who hailed neither from thesenatorial classnor from theequestrianclass. The names "GaiusJulius" suggest that his family acquiredRoman citizenshipduring the reign of theJulio-Claudian dynasty, as freedmen and newly integrated Romans always adopted the names of their former masters. Herodianwrites that Maximinus was ofThraco-Romanorigin.According to the notoriously unreliableAugustan History, he was born inThraceorMoesiato aGothicfather and anAlanicmother;however, the supposed parentage is a highly unlikely anachronism, as the Goths are known to have moved to Thrace from a different place of origin much later in history and their residence in theDanubianarea is not otherwise attested until after Maximinus' death. British historianRonald Syme, writing that "the word 'Gothia' should have sufficed for condemnation" of the passage in theAugustan History, felt that the burden of evidence fromHerodian,Syncellusand elsewhere pointed to Maximinus having been born inMoesia. The references to his "Gothic" ancestry might refer to a ThracianGeticorigin (the two populations were often confused by later writers, most notably byJordanesin hisGetica), as suggested by the paragraphs describing how "he was singularly beloved by the Getae, moreover, as if he were one of themselves" and how he spoke "almost pure Thracian".On the contrary, Bernard Bachrach suggests that theHistoria Augustause of a term not used in Maximinus time "Gothia" is hardly sufficient cause to dismiss its account. After all, the names it gives for Maximinius' parents are legitimate Alan and Gothic appellations. Hence, Bachrach argues, the most straightforward explanation is that the author of theHistoria Augustarelied on a legitimate third century source, but substituted its terminology for that concurrent in his own day.Accordingly, Maximinus' ancestry remains an open question. His background was, in any case, that of a provincial of low birth, and he was seen by theSenateas a barbarian, not even a true Roman, despiteCaracallas edict granting citizenship to all freeborn inhabitants of the Empire.According to theAugustan History, he was ashepherdandbanditleader before joining theImperial Roman army, causing historianBrent Shawto comment that a man who would have been "in other circumstances aGodfather, [...] became emperor of Rome."In many ways, Maximinus was similar to the later Thraco-Roman emperors of the 3rd5th century (Licinius,Galerius,Aureolus,Leo I, etc.), elevating themselves, via a military career, from the condition of a commonsoldierin one of theRoman legionsto the foremost positions of political power. He joined the army during the reign ofSeptimius Severus. Maximinus was in command ofLegio IVItalica, composed of recruits fromPannonia,who were angered by Alexander's payments to theAlemanniand his avoidance of war.The troops, who included theLegio XXIIPrimigenia, elected Maximinus, killing Alexander and his mother atMoguntiacum(modernMainz).ThePraetorian Guardacclaimed him emperor, and their choice was grudgingly confirmed by theSenate,who were displeased to have a peasant as emperor. His sonMaximusbecamecaesar. Maximinus began his rule by eliminating the close advisors of Alexander.His suspicions may have been justified; two plots against Maximinus were foiled.The first was during a campaign across theRhine, when a group of officers, supported by influential senators, plotted to destroy a bridge across the river, in order to strand Maximinus in hostile territory. They planned to elect senatorMagnusemperor afterwards, but the conspiracy was discovered and the conspirators executed. The second plot involvedMesopotamianarchers who were loyal to Alexander. They planned to elevateQuartinus, but their leader Macedo changed sides and murdered Quartinus instead, although this was not enough to save his own life. Defense of frontiers The accession of Maximinus is commonly seen as the beginning of theCrisis of the Third Century(also known as the "Military Anarchy" or the "Imperial Crisis"), the commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284 caused by various simultaneous crises. Maximinus' first campaign was against the Alemanni, whom he defeated despite heavy Roman casualties in a swamp in theAgri Decumates.After the victory, Maximinus took the titleGermanicus Maximus,raised his son Maximus to the rank ofcaesarandprinceps iuventutis, and deified his late wife Paulina.[19]Maximinus may have launched a second campaign deep into Germania, defeating a Germanic tribe beyond theWeserin theBattle at the Harzhorn.Securing the German frontier, at least for a while, Maximinus then set up a winter encampment atSirmiuminPannonia, and from that supply base fought theDaciansand theSarmatiansduring the winter of 235236. Infrastructure work In 2019 Israeli researchers translated a milestone found in the Moshav Ramot village in the Golan Heights. They were able to identify the name of Maximinus on the milestone. The roads themselves were much older, suggesting that a massive renovation project was undertaken during his rule on those roads. Gordian I and Gordian II Early in 238, in the province ofAfrica, a treasury official's extortions through false judgments in corrupt courts against some local landowners ignited a full-scale revolt in the province.The landowners armed their clients and their agricultural workers and entered Thysdrus (modernEl Djem), where they murdered the offending official and his bodyguardsand proclaimed the aged governor of the province, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus (Gordian I), and his son,Gordian II, as co-emperors.The Senate in Rome switched allegiance, gave both Gordian and Gordian II the title ofAugustus, and set about rousing the provinces in support of the pair.Maximinus, wintering atSirmium, immediately assembled his army and advanced on Rome, the Pannonian legions leading the way. Meanwhile, in Africa, the revolt had not gone as planned. The province of Africa was bordered on the west by the province ofNumidia, whose governor,Capelianus, nursed a long-standing grudge against the Gordians and controlled the only legionary unit (IIIAugusta) in the area.Gordian II was killed in the fighting and, on hearing this, Gordian I hanged himself with his belt. Pupienus, Balbinus, and Gordian III When the African revolt collapsed, the Senate found itself in great jeopardy.Having shown clear support for the Gordians, they could expect no clemency from Maximinus when he reached Rome. In this predicament, they remained determined to defy Maximinus and elected two of their number,PupienusandBalbinus, as co-emperors.When the Roman mob heard that the Senate had selected two men from thepatricianclass, men whom the ordinary people held in no great regard, they protested, showering the imperial cortge with sticks and stones.A faction in Rome preferred Gordian's grandson (Gordian III), and there was severe street fighting. The co-emperors had no option but to compromise, and, sending for the grandson of the elder Gordian they appointed himcaesar. Defeat and death Maximinus marched on Rome,butAquileiaclosed its gates against him. His troops became disaffected duringthe unexpected siege of the city, at which time they suffered from starvation.In May or June 238, soldiers of theIIParthicain his camp assassinated him, his son, and his chief ministers.Their heads were cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by cavalrymen. Pupienus and Balbinus then became undisputed co-emperors. However, they mistrusted each other, and ultimately both were murdered by the Praetorian Guard, makingGordian IIIsole surviving emperor. Unable to reach Rome, Thrax never visited the capital city during his reign. Politics Maximinus doubled the pay of soldiers;this act, along with virtually continuous warfare, required higher taxes. Tax collectors began to resort to violent methods and illegal confiscations, further alienating the governing class from everyone else. According to early church historianEusebius of Caesarea, the Imperial household of Maximinus' predecessor, Alexander, had contained manyChristians. Eusebius states that, hating his predecessor's household, Maximinus ordered that the leaders of the churches should be put to death.According to Eusebius, this persecution of 235 sentHippolytus of RomeandPope Pontianinto exile, but other evidence suggests that the persecutions of 235 were local to the provinces where they occurred rather than happening under the direction of the Emperor. According toHistoria Augusta, which modern scholars however treat with extreme caution: The Romans could bear his barbarities no longer the way in which he called up informers and incited accusers, invented false offences, killed innocent men, condemned all whoever came to trial, reduced the richest men to utter poverty and never sought money anywhere save in some other's ruin, put many generals and many men of consular rank to death for no offence, carried others about in waggons without food and drink, and kept others in confinement, in short neglected nothing which he thought might prove effectual for cruelty and, unable to suffer these things longer, they rose against him in revolt. Appearance Ancient sources, ranging from the unreliableHistoria Augustato accounts ofHerodian, speak of Maximinus as a man of significantly greater size than his contemporaries.He is, moreover, depicted in ancient imagery as a man with a prominent brow, nose, and jaw (symptoms ofacromegaly).Histhumbwas said to be so large that he wore his wife'sbraceletas a ring for it. According toHistoria Augusta, "he was of such size, so Cordus reports, that men said he was eight-feet, one finger (c. 2.4 metres) in height".]It is very likely however that this is one of the many exaggerations in theHistoria Augusta, and is immediately suspect due to its citation of "Cordus", one of several fictitious authorities the work cites. Although not going into the supposedly detailed portions ofHistoria Augusta, the historian Herodian, a contemporary of Maximinus, mentions him as a man of greater size, noting that: "He was in any case a man of such frightening appearance and colossal size that there is no obvious comparison to be drawn with any of the best-trained Greek athletes or warrior elite of the barbarians." Some historians interpret the stories on Maximinus' unusual height (as well as other information on his appearance, like excessive sweating and superhuman strength) as popular stereotyped attributes which do no more than intentionally turn him into a stylized embodiment of the barbarian banditor emphasize the admiration and aversion that the image of the soldier evoked in the civilian population

Price: 254.99 USD

Location: Reading, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-01-09T00:34:35.000Z

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