Claudius II Gothicus 268-270AD Authentic Ancient
Roman Coins for Sale Online
Buy ancient coins of Claudius II Gothicus, or conqueror of the Goths
from circa 268-270 A.D. Read his biography and see authentic coins
available for sale online from a trusted ancient coin seller on eBay.
Claudius II conquered the Goths and was tough soldier-emperor of
non-aristocratic birth that helped bring the empire back from the Crisis
of the Third Century. The reverses on coins of this emperor are numerous
and very interesting. He also had a brother Quintillus whom seized power
for a little while after his death of small pox in 270 A.D. Buy coins of
this emperor today from a trusted ancient coin dealer, enthusiast and
numismatic expert, Ilya Zlobin today. Every coin comes with it's own
custom-made, unique certificate of authenticity $50-$100 value,
absolutely free, a lifetime guarantee of authenticity, professional
research photograph and history. With the service, COA, selection and
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Example of Authentic Ancient
Coin of:
Claudius II - Roman Emperor: 268-270 A.D.
Billon Antoninianus Antioch mint. 268 A.D.
Reference: RIC 214. Cohen 183. Sear 5 11353.
IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate bust right.
NEPTVN AVG, Nude Neptune standing left with dolphin and trident.
Neptune (Latin:
Neptūnus) is the
god of water and the sea in
Roman mythology, a brother of
Jupiter and
Pluto. He is analogous with but not
identical to the god
Poseidon of
Greek mythology. The Roman conception
of Neptune owed a great deal to the
Etruscan god
Nethuns.[2]
For a time he was paired with
Salacia, the goddess of the salt water.
[3] At an early date (899 BC) he
was identified with
Poseidon, when the
Sibylline books ordered a
lectisternium in his honour (Livy
v. 13).
[4] In the earlier times it was
the god
Portunes or Fortunus who was thanked
for naval victories, but Neptune supplanted him in this role by at least
the first century BC when
Sextus Pompeius called himself "son of
Neptune."[5]
Neptune is associated as well with fresh water, as opposed to
Oceanus, god of the world-ocean. Like
Poseidon, Neptune was also
worshipped by the Romans as a god of
horses, under the name "Neptune Equester,"
patron of horse-racing.[6]
The planet
Neptune was named after the god, as its
deep blue gas clouds gave early astronomers the impression of great
oceans.
Marcus Aurelius Claudius (May
10,
213 - January, 270), often
referred to as Claudius Gothicus or Claudius II, was a
Roman Emperor. He ruled the
Roman Empire for less than two years
(268 - 270), but during that brief time he managed to obtain some
successes. He was later given divine status.
Life
Origin
and rise to power
Claudius' origin is uncertain. He was either from
Sirmium (Syrmia;
in
Pannonia Inferior) or from Naissus
Dardania (in
Moesia Superior); both areas are
located in
Serbia.
Claudius was the commander of the Roman army that
decisively defeated the
Goths at the
Battle of Naissus in September 268; in
the same month, he attained the throne, amid charges, never proven, that
he murdered his predecessor
Gallienus. However, he soon proved to
be less than bloodthirsty, as he asked the
Roman Senate to spare the lives of
Gallienus' family and supporters. He was less magnanimous toward Rome's
enemies, however, and it was to this that he owed his popularity.
Claudius, like
Maximinus Thrax before him, was of
barbarian birth. After an interlude of failed aristocratic Roman
emperors since Maximinus's death, Claudius was the first in a series of
tough soldier-emperors who would eventually restore the Empire from the
Crisis of the third century.
Claudius
as emperor
At the time of his accession, the Roman Empire was in
serious danger from several incursions, both within and outside its
borders. The most pressing of these was an invasion of Illyricum and
Pannonia by the
Goths. Not long after being named
emperor (or just prior to Gallienus' death, depending on the source), he
won his greatest victory, and one of the greatest in the history of
Roman arms.
The Roman Empire in 268 A.D
At the
Battle of Naissus, Claudius and his
legions routed a huge Gothic army. Together with his cavalry commander,
the future Emperor
Aurelian, the Romans took thousands of
prisoners, destroyed the Gothic cavalry as a force and stormed their
laager (a circular alignment of wagons long favored by the Goths). The
victory earned Claudius his surname of "Gothicus" (conqueror of the
Goths), and that is how he is known to this day. More importantly, the
Goths were soon driven back across the
Danube River, and a century passed
before they again posed a serious threat to the empire.
While this was going on, the Germanic tribe known as
the
Alamanni had crossed the
Alps and attacked the empire. Claudius
responded quickly, routing the Alamanni at the
Battle of Lake Benacus in the late fall
of 268, a few months after the battle of Naissus. He then turned on the
Gallic Empire, ruled by a pretender for
the past fifteen years and encompassing
Britain,
Gaul, and the
Iberian Peninsula. He won several
victories and soon regained control of Spain and the Rhone river valley
of Gaul. This set the stage for the ultimate destruction of the Gallic
Empire under Aurelian.
However, Claudius did not live long enough to fulfill
his goal of reuniting all the lost territories of the empire. Late in
269 he was preparing to go to war against the
Vandals, who were raiding in
Pannonia. However, he fell victim to
the
Plague of Cyprian (possibly
smallpox), and died early in January
270. Before his death, he is thought to have named Aurelian as his
successor, although Claudius' brother
Quintillus briefly seized power.
The
Senate immediately deified Claudius as
"Divus Claudius Gothicus".
Links
to Constantinian dynasty
The
Historia Augusta reports Claudius
and Quintillus having another brother named Crispus and through him a
niece. Said niece Claudia reportedly married Eutropius and was mother to
Constantius Chlorus. Historians however
suspect this account to be a
genealogical fabrication intended to
link
Constantine I's family to that of a
well-respected emperor.
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