THE YEAR OF FIVE EMPERORS

By the end of 192 CE, it was clear to everyone in Rome that emperor Commodus was dangerously insane. Plots began to form. His favorite concubine, Marcia, slipped poison into his wine but he threw it up. Plan B: a wrestler named Narcissus strangled him. The next morning (New Year’s Day, 193), the Praetorian Guard proclaimed Pertinax, the elderly city manager (praefectus urbi) as emperor. The Senate joyfully confirmed him and declared the dead Commodus a public enemy, revoking his decrees and tearing down his statues.

So began the Year of Five Emperors, a chaotic period that would keep the coin die engravers at Roman mints very busy indeed. Some of the rarest Roman coins were struck during the next few months, along with many available to collectors today at surprisingly modest cost.

Pertinax
Most historians agree Pertinax was implicated in the death of Commodus, but he probably saw this as a last resort to save Rome, not as a personal power grab.

Considering that he ruled for just 87 days, his coinage is remarkable: six issues of gold, 11 of silver and 14 in bronze or copper at Rome, and several at Alexandria including rare types honoring his young wife Titiana and son Pertinax Junior. He raised the silver content of the denarius from 74% to 87%. His powerful, bearded portrait conveys a sense of gravitas – that untranslatable Latin term that combines seriousness, authority, and the power to command respect.

It wasn’t enough to prevent his overthrow, however. On March 28, Pertinax tried to quell a mutiny of the unruly Praetorian Guard. He was killed by a javelin to the chest.

Didius Julianus
He may have been implicated in the mutiny that led to the death of Pertinax; sources uniformly treat him as a scoundrel and a coward. Julianus wasted no time in issuing coins promoting his imperial reign and honoring his wife, Manlia Scantilla, and daughter, Didia Clara. On one reverse, he holds a globe and proclaims himself RECTOR ORBIS – “master of the world.” Nervous about the loyalty of his troops, his most common reverse type is CONCORDIA MILITUM – “Consent of the Army.” As his enemies closed in, Julianus grew desperate. Attempting to conciliate his main rival, he added the name “Severus” to his own nomenclature on the coinage, even as he dispatched assassins (unsuccessfully) to kill him. Held in contempt by the senate and people of Rome, Julian us "…was conducted into a private apartment of the baths of the palace, and beheaded as a common criminal..."

Pescennius Niger
Born in Italy c.135 – 140 CE, Gaius Pescennius Niger rose to the rank of consul in 190. Commodus appointed him governor of Syria in 191. His unusual cognomen, or nickname, means “black”, and is supposedly based on the fact that he had very dark skin on his neck. When news of the murder of Pertinax arrived, nine legions in the East proclaimed him emperor*.

His coinage was struck at Antioch in Syria, Alexandria in Egypt, and Caesarea in Cappadocia (“Caesarea” was a popular Roman place name; like “Springfield” in the USA). Issued in haste to pay the troops, the coins often have blundered inscriptions and crude workmanship. But some are impressive, like the rare debased silver tetradrachm of Antioch.

Clodius Albinus
Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus, whose cognomen refers to his extremely light complexion, was born about 140 CE at Hadrumetum, in Tunisia. He rose to the rank of consul in 187 and was appointed governor of Britain by Commodus. After Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by his legions in April, 193, he quickly offered Albinus the empty title of “Caesar” (in theory the emperor’s designated successor).

Severus issued coins at Rome in the name of Albinus as Caesar, but the portrait is similar to that of Severus himself, and the engravers might have lacked a realistic image to work from. Coinage in the name of Albinus as Caesar included at least five types in gold (very rare), seven in silver, and 10 in bronze.

Defeated in a great battle near Lugdunum, he killed himself to avoid capture.

Septimius Severus
When news of the murder of Pertinax arrived, the three legions based at his headquarters in the town of Carnuntum acclaimed Severus as emperor. He immediately marched on Rome, made short work of Didius Julianus, and disbanded the treacherous Praetorians after executing the men who killed Pertinax. He then added “Pertinax” to his own name, to honor the former emperor’s memory (elite Romans seem to have changed their names about as often as they changed their togas).

The coinage of Severus’ 18-year reign is vast in quantity and variety, but his initial issues from 193 include a handsome “Victory” aureus and a series of denarii to honor–and to pay–the 16 legions that eventually supported him.

To read the complete article, see:
193: The Year of Five Emperors (www.coinweek.com/featured-news/193-year-five-emperors/)

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