Claudius II - Roman Emperor: 268-270 A.D.
Posthumous Deification Issue under Constantine I
Bronze AE4 16mm (1.1 grams) Struck at the mint of Thessalonica 317-318 A.D.
Reference:RIC 26 (VII, Thessalonica)
DIVO CLAVDIO OPTIMO IMP - Veiled, laureate head right.
REQVIES OPTIMO RVMMERITORVM Exe: TSЄ - Claudius II seated left, raising hand and
holding scepter.
The primary reason for Constantine issuing these coins
probably is political propaganda: Constantine tried to legitimize and
consolidate his power by turning to his distinguished family tree of famous
imperial relatives.
First, in this period of time, the real basis for imperial power was the support
of as many legions as possible. No one could become (and stay) emperor solely
based on his ancestry, no matter how many distinguished forebears he could boast
of.
On the other side, the Roman legions did value the concept of hereditary
imperial power. This was perhaps one of the major reasons why Diocletian's
Tetrarchic system (in which the next 'Augustus' was chosen based on his personal
merits, rather than on his descent) failed. After the death of Constantius in
306 AD, his legions applauded his son Constantine as the new emperor,
circumventing the rightful successor, Severus. In other words, Constantine did
not require an extensive line of famous forefathers, dressed in purple, to
'legitimize' his imperial power. He had his legions to serve that purpose. But
it certainly did not hurt his position to stress his descent from 'the best
emperors' the Empire had known, emperors who became divinities also. Certainly
this would not have fallen on deaf ears as far as the legions were concerned.
Constantine, apart from being a ruthless politician, was very aware of the
divine world, and more specifically, of divine wrath. The issue can also be seen
in this perspective. 'To honor thy father and thy mother' was one of the
commandments of the Christian God, and the coins were issued after Constantine's
conversion to Christianity. Moreover, this idea of respecting and honoring one's
parents was also one of the most important virtues of the Romans. It was called
'pietas' and the issue of commemorative coins can be seen as a 'pious' act (as
to this the Historia Augusta relates that Antoninus Pius got his surname because
he had deified his 'father', the emperor Hadrian).
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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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