ARABIA PETRAEA. Bostra. Severus Alexander, as Augustus (AD 222-235). AE (31mm, 13.24 gm, 5h). NGC Fine 5/5 - 3/5. ...
(click for full-size image)
|
|
|
|
|
ARABIA PETRAEA. Bostra. Severus Alexander, as Augustus (AD 222-235). AE (31mm, 13.24 gm, 5h). NGC Fine 5/5 - 3/5. IMP CAES M AVB SEV-ALEXANDER AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Severus Alexander right, seen from behind / N TR A-LEXANDRIANAE / COL BOSTR, the Emperor as founder ploughing right with two oxen, raising right hand; motab altar with staircase above, supporting three piles of holy stones. RPC VI online temporary 9336. From the Eyeappealing Collection. The reign of Severus Alexander presents the last relatively tranquil interlude before the mid-third century storm swept away the Pax Romana. He was born Marcus Julius Gessius Bassianus Alexianus, in AD 208, into a clan of Syrian nobility from the caravan city of Emesa. His maternal grand-aunt, Julia Domna, was married to the Emperor Septimius Severus, making him part of an Imperial family that was largely dominated by a clique of strong-minded and clever women, all named Julia. His grandmother, Julia Maesa, engineered the Severan dynasty's return to power in AD 218, by fomenting the military coup that placed Alexander's cousin Varius Avitus, known to history as Elagabalus, on the throne. Once ensconced in Rome, however, Elagabalus' behavior grew ever more erratic and outrageous. In AD 222, fearing for the dynasty's future, Maesa engineered the murder of Elagabalus and his replacement by her other, more docile grandson, Alexander. Handsome and affable, the youth was really never more than a figurehead ruler, first for Maesa and then, after her death in AD 225/6, for his mother Julia Mamaea. HID07901242017 www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice
|
Enter the message you would like to email to this Dealer
(click for full-size image)
(click for full-size image)
|
|