Bronze AE2 of Constantine the Great, Antioch - Syria
Title
Bronze AE2 of Constantine the Great, Antioch - Syria
Subject
Coinage--Rome
Description
Obv. bust of Constantine I laureate and with cuirass r.; around [CONSTANT]INVS IVN NOB C; border of dots
Rev. two soldiers on either side of a standard, each with helmet and holding spear in outside hand; around GLORIA EXERCITVS; below SMANE; border of dots
Weight: 1.6g
Diameter: 16.2mm
Constantine I was emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 CE. He was campaigning against the Persians when he was called to Britannia in 305 to fight alongside his father, Constantius I. When his father died in 306 in York, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by the armies. Considering the empire was currently ruled by a tetrarchy, this was controversial. Constantius had been a ruler in the tetrarchy with Severus as his junior emperor. This led to conflict, mainly with Maxentius and Galerius. By 324, Constantine had defeated everyone else and was the sole ruler of Rome, bringing the tetrachy system established by Diocletian to an end. Upon his ascension, he separated civil and military authorities and disbanded the Praetorian Guard, who had backed Maxentius. In 313, he passed the Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Rev. two soldiers on either side of a standard, each with helmet and holding spear in outside hand; around GLORIA EXERCITVS; below SMANE; border of dots
Weight: 1.6g
Diameter: 16.2mm
Constantine I was emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 CE. He was campaigning against the Persians when he was called to Britannia in 305 to fight alongside his father, Constantius I. When his father died in 306 in York, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by the armies. Considering the empire was currently ruled by a tetrarchy, this was controversial. Constantius had been a ruler in the tetrarchy with Severus as his junior emperor. This led to conflict, mainly with Maxentius and Galerius. By 324, Constantine had defeated everyone else and was the sole ruler of Rome, bringing the tetrachy system established by Diocletian to an end. Upon his ascension, he separated civil and military authorities and disbanded the Praetorian Guard, who had backed Maxentius. In 313, he passed the Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Date
335-337 CE
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