Rome vs Persia, 260 AD.

 

In 260 AD, the unthinkable happened. The Roman Emperor Valerian I was captured alive by the Sasanian Emperor Shapur I, following the Battle of Edessa and marking the first time a Roman Emperor was taken prisoner, a moment that sent shockwaves through the ancient world. Rome, the unstoppable superpower, brought to its knees and Persia, rising in dominance, immortalizing victory in stone and coin. 

                      

 Roman Empire, Valerian, AD 253-254, gold Binio                     

                    

Sasanian Empire, Shapur 1, AD 240-272, Silver.

These aren't just coins. They are two sides of one of history's most dramatic turning points. Power, defeat and legacy, all struck in metal nearly 1,800 years ago.

                           

A bas relief of Emperor Valerian standing at the background and held captive by King of Kings Shapur 1 found at Naqsh-e Rustam, Shiraz, Iran. The kneeling man is probably Philip the Arab.

                          

Cameo of Shapur 1 capturing Valerian at the Battle of Edessa

                          

The Humiliation of Emperor Valerian by Shapur 1, pen and ink, Hans Holbein the Younger, AD 1521, Kunstmuseum Basel. 

                             

Valerian, AV Binio, gold, AD 253-254, Lyons, Obverse: draped bust right, Reverse: Fides standing left, holding two standards.  

                          

Valerian, AR antoninianus, AD 256, Antioch mint, silver, weight 3.8 gm, Obverse: draped and cuirassed bust right, Reverse: Laetitia standing left, holding purse and anchor. Eauze hoard 1563.

                          

Sasanian Empire, Shapur I, AD 240-272, Dinar, silver, weight 4 gm, Obverse: Bust right wearing mural crown with korymbos decorated with pellets surrounded by ring of pellets, Reverse: Fire altar, flanked by two attendants wearing diadems and mural crowns.  

                           

Roman Emperor Aurelian: Restorer of the World.

 

Aurelian born near Byzantium (now Istanbul) in AD 214, was a Roman emperor from 270 - 275 AD. By reuniting the empire, which had virtually disintegrated under the pressures of invasions and internal revolts, he earned his self-adopted title restitutor orbis (restorer of the world). Aurelian was an Army officer in AD 260, when the frontiers of the empire suddenly collapsed. 

                        

Aurelian Antioch, AD 270-275, gold, weight 5.9gm

With his compatriot Claudius, Aurelian led the cavalry of the emperor Gallienus (253-268 AD). Upon Gallienus's assassination in 268 AD, Claudius became the emperor. The new ruler quickly suppressed the rebellion of the usurper Aureolus, but after a reign of 18 months, Claudius died. His brother Quintillus, who ruled about three months, died or was killed, and in September 270 AD, Aurelian succeeded as emperor.

                       

Bust of Aurelian, Museo di Santa Giulia, Brescia.

Aurelian quickly started to restore the Roman authority in Europe. First, he turned back the Vandals from Pannonia (present day central Europe. After a series of battles, he expelled the Alemanni and Juthunngi across the Danube. He ordered the construction of a new city wall around Rome, which still stands and bears his name.

                         

The Aurelian Walls, Rome, via Colosseum Rome.

In 271 AD, he sought to recover the eastern provinces which for 10 years had obeyed the rule of the princes of Palmyra. He captured Palmyra, and when Palmyra revolted a second time in 273 AD, Aurelian recaptured and destroyed the city. 

                         

An illustration depicting the Roman soldiers of Aurelian's Army by Nikolay Zubkov.

In 274 AD, he returned west to confront Tetricus, the rival emperor, who controlled Gaul, Spain and Britain. Beset by a German invasion and by internal conspiracies, Tetricus concluded a secret treaty with Aurelian, deserting to him at the battle of Chalons. The leaderless army of the Rhine was swiftly defeated. Thus, the vast empire was again ruled by a central authority. 

                          

Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus with Romans fighting the barbarians, mid 3rd century CE, Museo Nazionale, Rome.

Aurelian was an outstanding general and an uncompromising administrator. He attempted to reform the silver coinage, debased for more than 40 years. Early in 275 AD, while marching to open a campaign against Persia, Aurelian was murdered by a group of officers who had been misled by his secretary into believing themselves marked for execution. The government continued in the name of Aurelian's widow, Ulpia Severina, till the next six months, till the appointment of Marcus Claudius Tacitus to the throne. The empire remained divided until Diocletian's ascension in AD 284. 

Aurelian's most significant achievement is the one he was completely unaware of. He introduced a new deity to the Romans, a solar god, Sol Invictus, the invincible Sun. This paved a way for the oriental cult towards emergence of Christianity as an official religion decades later. The birthday of Aurelian's god is December 25th, the same day celebrated as Christmas today.

                       

Christ as the Sun God, in Tomb of Julii in the Vatican necropolis, 3rd century CE. Rome.

Aurelians Coins.

                       

Aurelian, Antioch, AD 270-275, gold, weight 5.9 gm, Obverse: bust of Aurelian facing right, Reverse: Sol holding whip and raising right hand, walking left between two seated captives. 

                         

Aurelian, AR Denarius, weight 2.9 gm, AD 273, Obverse: Laureate draped bust left, holding spear and shield decorated with Victory between two bound captives, Reverse: Sol, radiate naked except for chlamys over shoulder, walking left holding whip and raising right hand.

                          

   

Aurelian, Milan mint, AD 272, Obverse: draped and cuirassed bust right, Reverse: Emperor standing right, holding vertical spear and globe, receiving Victory from soldier, standing left, holding traverse spear, mintmark T.

                          

   

Aurelian, antononianus, weight 2.9 gm, Obverse: cuirassed bust of Aurelian facing right, Reverse: Sol walking left, chlamys flying behind, holding whip and raising right hand, mintmark dot A dot L.

                          

    

Aurelian, antoninianus, Rome, AD 270-275, weight 2.5 gm, Obverse: Cuirassed bust of Aurelian facing right, Reverse: Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm branch, captive at foot left, Mintmark B.

The Thirty Pieces of Silver

 

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said to them, what will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver". Mathew (26, 14-15) 

                       

Shekels of Tyre, Silver, Phoenicia, 110 BC, (Blood Money)

 

There can hardly be doubt that the " thirty pieces of silver," said to have been received by Judas Iscariot in payment for his betrayal of Jesus, consisted of tetradrachms or shekels. Because the betrayal took place when and where it did, we can deduce the identity of the coins rather easily.

                       

Arrest of Christ (also called Kiss of Judea), by Giotto, 1303-1305, at Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.

One important way in which the Phoenician coins differed from their Seleucid predecessors is that they reverted from being based on the coins of Athens (the Attic standard) to a standard first instituted by the Ptolemies, which is the Phoenician standard. A tetradrachm under Attic standard weighs 17.5 gm, but 14.5 gm under the Phoenician standard. This trivial statistic makes these coins important in the Bible.

                       

Zechariah 11:12-13, thirty pieces of silver.

 

In ancient Jewish tradition, when payments of Shekels were made to the priests, the rabbis specified that these shekels must be of Tyrian weight. As these coins had silver content of 94 percent, they met the biblical requirement of being pure. Most of the other coins from Macedon, Thrace, Egypt and Syria did not meet these standards. 

These coins were also used to pay the annual half shekel tax or tribute to the Temple in Jerusalem. There was a stipulation of pure silver. It is instructive that the famous reference to the thirty pieces of silver is the last in the Bible. In fact, the number 30 has some historical relevance going as far back as Exodus (21:32) where this was the amount that had to be paid to an owner on the account of the accidental death of a slave, Also, Zechariah (11:12-13) mentions thirty shekels as the price of blood.                      

Shekel of Tyre, year 159 =33/4 CE, silver, weight 13.9 gm, Obverse: Laureate head of Melqart, Reverse: Eagle with foot and palm branch over shoulder and date 159=33/4 CE, in field KO and NAP monogram. Struck in the year of crucifixion. 

                         

Tyrian half Shekel, silver, weight 6.7 gm, Obverse: Head of Melqarth facing right, Reverse: Eagle standing facing left on beak of ship.

Reference: Coins of The Bible, by Arthur Friedberg.

The Alupa Dynasty and Coins

 

The Alupa dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled from 200 AD to 1444 AD. in Southern India. They were local feudatories at different times under major dynasties such as the Kadambas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas and later Vijayanagar. 

                         

Alupa Dynasty, Gold Gadyana, 11 century AD, in the name of Pandya Dhananjaya. 

The kingdom they ruled was known as Alvakheda Arusasira, and it spanned the coastal districts of the modern Indian State known as Karnataka, including Kasaragod district of present-day Karnataka. The Alupas played a significant role in the political, cultural and religious history of coastal Karnataka.

                       

The Alupas and their neighbouring polities, 600 AD. 

                               

The term Alvakheda could be seen in several ancient inscriptions of the Alupas. The region encompassed modern Tulunadu, northern and central part of Udupi district and parts of north Kannada.

The name of the dynasty is recorded in inscriptions as Alupa, Aluva, Alva, Aluka and Alpa. Ptolemy, the 2nd century geographer and historian identifies the Alvakheda as Olokhoira, widely believed to be a corrupted term Alva Kheda, the land of the Alvas.

                         

The Vaddarse. Old Kannada inscription of King Aluvarasa 1, (650 AD)

 

Their influence over coastal Karnataka lasted for about 1200 years. They ruled initially from Mangalore and at other times from Udyavara in Udipi and later from Barkur. Their first regular full-length inscription, the Vaddarase in Kannada, is dated to early 7th century. They maintained marital relations with their overlords over the centuries. Their royal emblem was the double fish.

                           

Royal Emblem of the Alupas depicting upright double fishes and twin moons under a royal umbrella.

The descendants of this dynasty still survive to this day and have spread in the karavali region and are widely referred to as the Bunt. They can be identified with their surnames such as Shetty, Rai, Hegde, Alva, Chowta etc. Even though most Bunt are Hindus by faith, sections of the community follow Jainism and are called Jain Bunt. 

Coinage. The Alupas, as a feudatory of the Western Chalukyas in coastal Karnataka, issued coins with Kannada legends minted in Mangalorem and those in Nagarai legends at the Udupi mint. Kannada was their language of administration. The Pagodas and Fanams were the common coinage of all the Alupa kings. The obverse of the coins carried the royal emblem " Two Fishes'' and the reverse had the legend '' Sri Pandya Dhanamjaya'' either in Nagari or old Kannada. They were one of the three dynasties that issued gold coins as early as 8th century AD. The gold used to come from trade with Romans, Arabs and the kingdoms of Gangas. 

                          

Alupa Dynasty, Gold gadyana, in the name of Pandya Dhananjaya, early type, 11 century AD, weight 3.7 gm, Obverse: Dynastic emblem of two fishes under a royal umbrella, Reverse: legend '' Sri Pandya Dhananjaya" in Hale Kannada in three lies.

                         

Chalunka Dynasty, Gold Pagoda, 1200-1300AD, Weight 3.58 gm Obverse: Two figures with symbols around, conch, lamp and general design, large umbrella above all, Reverse: writing describing the King. 

 

Crossing the Rubicon and Coin

 

The phrase " crossing the Rubicon " is an idiom meaning "passing the point of no return" or, for making irrevocable decisions or embarking on significant new paths.  The event known as Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon occurred on 10 January, 49 BC, and marked a pivotal moment in Roman history.                       

Julius Caesar, Denarius, 49-48 BC.

                       

A statue of Julius Caesar in Rimini, Italy.

   

At this time, he was a prominent general and statesman who had expanded Roman territories through military campaigns in Gaul and beyond. The Rubicon River served as a legal boundary and crossing it with an army was considered an act of insurrection against the Roman Senate, which had forbidden him from entering Italy with his legions. This river was one of the two rivers that marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the north and areas controlled directly by Rome to the south. This bold move ignited a civil war against his rival, Pompey. 

                          

The Rubicon River (ft Rubico) on an originally 4th Century CE roman map.

                          

A map of the Rubicon (dark blue), believed to be the same river crossed by Caesar.

Alea iacta est (The die is cast) is another Latin phrase attributed to Julius Caesar by Suetonius on 10 January, 49 BC as he crossed the Rubicon. Caesar probably borrowed the phrase from Menander, the famous Greek writer of comedies. Caesar declared in Greek with a loud voice to all those who were present " Let a die be cast" and led the army across.

                          

A painting showing Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon River, 

Following his crossing, Caesar quickly took control of Rome and the wider Italian peninsula, eventually pursuing Pompey to Egypt, where he was assassinated. Caesar's consolidation of power marked a transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, as he began to adopt titles and roles that defied traditional republican norms. His reign culminated in his appointment as dictator for life, a position that attracted admiration and resentment, leading to his assassination on 15 March, 44 BC, which ended his dramatic rise and significantly impacted the course of Roman history.

                         

An image of Caesar's solitary indecision from a 19th Century French book of education.

"Crossing of Rubicon coin" refers to a Roman silver Denari struck by Julius Caesar around 49-48 BC, notably the iconic "elephant denarius" minted to fund his army as he famously crossed the Rubicon River.        

Julius Caesar Denarius, 49-48 BC, silver, weight 4.16 gm, Obverse: elephant walking right, trampling dragon, or a snake in exergue, inscription, Reverse: Emblems of the pontificate, simpulum, aspergillum, axe and apex (cap).