ROMAN.Gallienus AD 253-268 BI Double-Denarius / MARS NGC (15)

ROMAN EMPIRE

GALLIENUS 253-268 AD

BI DOUBLE DENARIUS

Roman Age of Chaos 

CERTIFIED BY NGC

Obverse: 
Gallienus  facing right, wearing a military style drape and a radiate
crown, framed by the inscription "GALLIENVS AVG," which simply means "Emperor
Gallienus."

Reverse : MARTI PACIFERO /  Mars standing left,
holding olive branch, spear, and shield

Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of
Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. He was the most
prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The
martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter (their main
god). His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. As the word
Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinised form of
the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially Mars was a Roman god of fertility
and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries and farmers. In
the second century BC, the conservative Cato the Elder advised "For your cattle,
for them to be healthy, make this sacrifice to Mars Silvanus you must make this
sacrifice each year". Mars later became associated with battle as the growing
Roman Empire began to expand, and he came to be identified with the Greek god
Ares. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled
Jupiter as the most honoured god. He was also the tutelary god of the city of
Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father of Rome's founder, Romulus, it
was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.

Gallienus was Emperor of the Roman Empire
from AD 253-268, sharing the throne with his father Valerian until AD 260, then
as sole ruler until his death in AD 268. Based upon the inscriptions, this
Billon Double-Denarius of Gallienus was struck during his solitary reign, AD
260-268. The Romans typically used doubled letters to indicate plurality.
Coinage of Gallienus minted during his joint reign are inscribed "AVGG" (two
emperors), while later coins bear the inscription "AVG."

Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus ( c. 218
– September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and
alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that
nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He won a number of military victories
against usurpers and Germanic tribes, but was unable to prevent the secession of
important provinces. His 15-year reign was the longest in half a century.



Born into a wealthy and traditional senatorial family, Gallienus was the son of
Valerian and Mariniana. Valerian became Emperor in September 253 and had the
Roman senate elevate Gallienus to the ranks of Caesar and Augustus. Valerian
divided the empire between him and his son, with Valerian ruling the east and
his son the west. Gallienus defeated the usurper Ingenuus in 258 and destroyed
an Alemanni army at Mediolanum in 259.



The defeat and capture of Valerian at Edessa in 260 by the Sasanian Empire threw
the Roman Empire into the chaos of civil war. Control of the whole empire passed
to Gallienus. He defeated the eastern usurpers Macrianus Major and Lucius
Mussius Aemilianus in 261–262 but failed to stop the formation of the breakaway
Gallic Empire under general Postumus. Aureolus, another usurper, proclaimed
himself emperor in Mediolanum in 268 but was defeated outside the city by
Gallienus and besieged inside. While the siege was ongoing, Gallienus was
assassinated, stabbed to death by the officer Cecropius, as part of a
conspiracy.

 Please check out my other listings and we will be happy to combine in one package !

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