Valentinian I the Great Roman Emperor 364-375 A.D. Biography Authentic
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Example of Authentic Ancient
Coin of:
Valentinian I - Roman Emperor: 364-375 A.D. -
Bronze AE3 Siscia mint: 364-367 A.D.
Reference: RIC 7a.1 (IX, Siscia), LRBC 1271
DNVALENTINIANVSPFAVG - Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
SECVRITASREIPVBLICAE Exe: K/P/Q/ΓSISCV - Victory advancing left, holding
wreath and palm.
In
Roman mythology, Victoria was
the personification/Goddess of victory. She is the Roman version of the
Greek goddess
Nike, and was associated with
Bellona. She was adapted from the
Sabine agricultural goddess
Vacuna and had a
temple on the
Palatine Hill. Her name (in Latin)
means victory. Unlike the Greek Nike, Victoria (Latin
for "victory") was a major part of Roman society. Multiple temples were
erected in her honour. When her statue was removed in 382 AD by emperor
Gratianus there was much anger in Rome.
She was normally worshipped by
triumphant generals returning from war.
Also unlike the Greek Nike,who was known for success in athletic
games such as chariot races, Victoria was a symbol of victory over death
and determined who would be successful during war. Appearing on Roman
coins, jewelry, architecture, and other arts, Victoria is often seen
with or in a
chariot. An example of this is her
place upon the
Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
Flavius Valentinianus, known in English as
Valentinian I, (321
-
November 17,
375) was
Roman Emperor from 364 until his death.
Valentinian is often referred to as the "last great western emperor".[1]
Both he and his brother Emperor
Valens were born at
Cibalae (modern days
Vinkovci,
Croatia), in
Pannonia, the sons of a successful
general,
Gratian the Elder.
Life
He had been an officer who served under the emperors
Julian and
Jovian, and had risen high in the
imperial service. Of robust frame and distinguished appearance, he
possessed great courage and military capacity. After the death of
Jovian, he was chosen emperor in his forty-third year by the officers of
the army at
Nicaea in
Bithynia on
February 26, 364, and shortly
afterwards named his brother
Valens colleague with him in the
empire.
The two brothers, after passing through the chief
cities of the neighbouring district, arranged the partition of the
empire at
Naissus (Nissa) in Upper
Moesia. As Western Roman Emperor,
Valentinian took
Italia,
Illyricum,
Hispania, the
Gauls,
Britain and
Africa, leaving to
Eastern Roman Emperor Valens the
eastern half of the
Balkan peninsula,
Greece,
Aegyptus,
Syria and
Asia Minor as far as
Persia. They were immediately
confronted by the revolt of
Procopius, a relative of the deceased
Julian. Valens defeated his army at
Thyatira in
Lydia in 366, and Procopius was
executed shortly afterwards.
During the short reign of Valentinian there were wars
in Africa, in
Germany, and in Britain, and
Rome came into collision with
barbarian peoples, specifically the
Burgundians and the
Saxons.
Valentinian's chief work was guarding the frontiers
and establishing military positions.
Milan was at first his headquarters for
settling the affairs of northern Italy. The following year (365)
Valentinian was at
Paris, and then at
Reims, to direct the operations of his
generals against the
Alamanni. These people, defeated at
Scarpona (Charpeigne) and Catelauni (Châlons-en-Champagne)
by Jovinus, were driven back to the German bank of the
Rhine, and checked for a while by a
chain of military posts and fortresses. At the close of 367, however,
they suddenly crossed the Rhine, attacked Moguntiacum (Mainz)
and plundered the city. Valentinian attacked them at Solicinium (Sulz
am Neckar, in the
Neckar
valley, or
Schwetzingen) with a large army, and
defeated them with great slaughter. But his own losses were so
considerable that Valentinian abandoned the idea of following up his
success.
Later, in 371, Valentinian made peace with their
king,
Macrian, who from that time remained a
true friend of the
Romans. The next three years he spent
at
Trier, which he chiefly made his
headquarters, organizing the defence of the Rhine frontier, and
personally superintending the construction of numerous forts.
During his reign the coasts of Gaul were harassed by
the Saxon pirates, with whom the
Picts and
Scots of northern Britain joined hands,
and ravaged the island from the
Antonine Wall to the shores of
Kent. In 368
Count Theodosius was sent to drive back
the invaders; in this he was completely successful, and established a
new British province, called
Valentia in honour of the emperor.
In Africa,
Firmus raised the standard of revolt,
being joined by the provincials, who had been rendered desperate by the
cruelty and extortions of
Comes Romanus, the military
governor. The services of Theodosius were again requisitioned. He landed
in Africa with a small band of veterans, and Firmus, to avoid being
taken prisoner, committed suicide.
In 374, the
Quadi, a
Germanic tribe in what is now
Moravia and
Slovakia, resenting the erection of
Roman forts to the north of the
Danube in what they considered to be
their own territory, and further exasperated by the treacherous murder
of their king,
Gabinius, crossed the river and laid
waste the province of Pannonia. The emperor in April, 375 entered
Illyricum with a powerful army. But during an audience to an embassy
from the Quadi at
Brigetio on the Danube (near today
Komárno in Slovakia), Valentinian suffered a burst
blood vessel in the skull while angrily
yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on
November 17, 375.
Reputation
A.H.M. Jones writes that though he was
"less of a boor" than his chief rival for election to the imperial
throne, "he was of a violent and brutal temper, and not only
uncultivated himself, but hostile to cultivated persons", as
Ammianus tells us, 'he hated the
well-dressed and educated and wealthy and well-born'. He was, however,
an able soldier and a conscientious administrator, and took an interest
in the welfare of the humbler classes, from which his father had risen.
Unfortunately his good intentions were often frustrated by a bad choice
of ministers, and an obstinate belief in their merits despite all
evidence to the contrary."[2]
According to the
Encyclopædia Britannica 1911, he was a
founder of schools, and provided medical attendance for the poor of
Rome, by appointing a physician for
each of the fourteen districts of the city.
Valentinian was a
Christian but permitted liberal
religious freedom to all his subjects, proscribing only some forms of
rituals such as particular types of sacrifices, and banning the practice
of magic. Against all abuses, both civil and ecclesiastical (excepting,
of course, his own excesses), Valentinian steadily set his face, even
against the increasing wealth and worldliness of the clergy. His chief
flaw was his temper, which at times was frightful, and showed itself in
its full fierceness in the punishment of persons accused of witchcraft,
some kinds of fortune-telling or magical practices."
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