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Carinus - Roman Emperor: 283-285 A.D. -
Bronze Antoninianus 22mm (4.1 grams) Struck 284 A.D.
Reference: RIC 238c, C 8
IMPCMAVRCARINVSAVG - Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
AEQVITASAVGG - Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopia.
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Guarantee of Authenticity.
 Marcus
Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was
Roman
Emperor (283 – July, 285) and elder son of the Emperor
Carus, on whose
accession he was appointed governor of the western portion of the empire.
Reign
He fought with success against the
Quadi tribes,[1]
but soon left the defence of the Upper
Rhine to his
legates and returned to
Rome, where he abandoned himself to all kinds of debauchery and excess. He
also celebrated the ludi Romani on a scale of unexampled magnificence.[2]
After the death of Carus, the army in the East demanded to be led back to
Europe, and
Numerian, the younger son of Carus, was forced to comply.[3]
During a halt at
Chalcedon,
Numerian was found dead, and
Diocletian,
commander of the body-guards, who had claimed that Numerian had been
assassinated, was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers.[4]
Carinus at once left Rome and set out for the East to meet Diocletian. On his
way through Pannonia he put down the usurper
Sabinus Iulianus, and encountered the army of Diocletian in
Moesia.[1]
Carinus was successful in several engagements, and at the
Battle of the Margus River (Morava),
according to one account, the valour of his troops had gained the day, when he
was assassinated by a tribune whose wife he had seduced. In another account, the
battle is represented as having resulted in a complete victory for Diocletian,
for Carinus' army deserted him: this second account is also confirmed by the
fact that Diocletian kept Carinus' Praetorian Guard commander in service.[1]
Carinus has the reputation of having been one of the worst of the emperors.
This infamy was possibly supported by Diocletian himself. For example,
Historia Augusta has Carinus marrying nine wives, while neglecting to
mention his only real wife,
Magnia Urbica, by whom he had an only son, Marcus Aurelius Nigrinianus.
After his death, Carinus'
memory was condemned and his name, along with that of his wife, was erased
from inscriptions. |
