 |
| Gold medallion of Libius Severus |
Technically this is not a coin, but a medallion.
Nevertheless, it has the record of being the largest Roman piece minted in gold
that has survived to this day. There was another even larger medallion of the
emperor Justinian, but it was stolen and molten in the 19th century.
The splendor of this gold medallion hides the
unexpected story of a weak emperor that was only a puppet in the hands of a
powerful general of Germanic origin, Ricimer, the true power behind the throne
of the Western Roman Empire.
An empire in crisis and a puppet emperor
By the middle of the 5th century A.D., the
situation of the Roman Empire differed radically from that of earlier times. It
was de facto divided into two states, the Eastern Empire with capital in
Constantinople and the Western Empire with capital in Ravenna. The former faced
a difficult situation, but the latter was immersed in a deep crisis that
threatened its very survival, with large tracts of its territory under the
control of Germanic Kings.
After the emperor Majorian was executed by the Master
of Soldiers Ricimer on August 461, the western throne lay vacant for several
months. His barbarian origin made it impossible for Ricimer to ascend the
imperial throne himself. Thus, at his instigation, the Roman senate proclaimed
Libius Severus emperor. He was a complete nonentity destined to fulfill only a
symbolic role while Ricimer held firmly the reins of power in his hands. Severus
should take care of the relationship with the Italian elites and the Christian church,
without interfering with the real exercise of power.
It was probably to mark the occasion of Severus’
coronation at Ravenna that this huge gold medallion was minted, a multiple of
12 solidi (53.62 gr.), with a diameter of 52 mm.
 |
| solidus of Libius Severus |
The obverse and reverse types
On the obverse we find the legend DN LIBIVS
SEVE-RVS AVG (Dominus Noster Libius Severus Augustus) and a bust of the emperor
with the head to the right and the body in three-quarter profile. An oversized
eye occupies a large part of his face. The emperor wears armor and a military cloak
attached with a large clasp on the right shoulder. He wears a headband adorned
with a large rosette in the center consisting of a broad band divided into
square fields, each with a large circular dot that surely represents a jewel.
Under the headband, just above the eyebrow, it is possible to see a laurel
wreath.
The legend of the reverse is PI-E-TAS AVG
N-OSTRI (Pietas Augusti Nostri, "the mercy of our emperor"). In the
exergue, the mintmark COMOB indicates that this medallion was struck by the comitatensian
mint that accompanied the imperial court. The place of minting is not indicated
but it was probably Ravenna. The emperor is represented standing and looking to
the left in military clothing, he holds a scepter or an inverted spear with in left
hand and with the right hand he holds the hand of a kneeling female figure. On
the left, another female figure in military suit presents the kneeling woman to
the emperor; she holds a large round shield on her left arm. To the right, a
winged Victory carries a palm branch and with her right hand places a wreath of
flowers on the emperor's head.
As we can see, in the mid-fifth century Western
Empire the figure of the emperor was only an empty shell with no real power.
Roman numismatic art, on the other hand, had not yet lost any of its expressive
potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment