Even someone with a superficial knowledge of Roman history knows that the third century was not a pleasant time for the empire. In fact, during most of the century, the empire stood at the brink of oblivion. The
Crisis of the Third Century, as this series of hardships is generally known as, was caused by external strife, as Sasanian Persia rose to a legitimate rival superpower in the East and Germanic tribes invaded the West; internal civil war as general after general squabbled for central control at the expense of the frontiers; and economic calamity. By 260 AD, the provinces of Britain, Gaul, and Hispania in the West broke from central control, as did Syria, Palestine, and Egypt in the East. Indeed, 260 AD marks perhaps the lowest point in the Roman Empire’s history, as in that year the emperor
Valerian was taken prisoner by the Sasanians and was rumored to be used as the Sasanian king
Shapur I’s stepping stool for 10 years before he was flayed alive and his skin was used as a palace decoration.
Valerian's son Publius Licinius Egnatius
Gallienus (r. 253-268 AD) was his co-emperor, serving from 254 AD as administrator of the western half of the empire. He was the sole Augustus of the empire after his father’s humiliating capture and, after news of that defeat spread, Gallienus had the unenviable task of dealing with inevitable consequences: the Germans stepped up their incursions into Roman territory, Roman troops revolted and governors acclaimed themselves as emperor, and the aforementioned provinces broke away in rebellious offshoots.
It is largely through the efforts of emperors such as Gallienus (and later
Claudius Gothicus and
Aurelian) that the empire did not descend into total anarchy. Despite the dire situation, Gallienus was actually quite energetic in exercising his imperial authority and rising to meet the myriad challenges of his reign. He created a new rapidly deployable strategic cavalry corps which would rival the Praetorian Guard and portend future reorganization of the Roman army (this force is commemorated on his coinage with reverse type legend CONCORD EQVIT.) He met, and crushed, several rebellions out of Pannonia and Moesia. Gallienus recognized Odenathus of Palmyra in the East as a de facto governor, bringing stability to Syria, while he himself went on to deal with Postumus, the rebel governor of the so-called Gallic Empire. He twice inflicted serious defeats upon the Gallic usurper. He was unable to secure the return of the Gallic Empire to the Roman center when in 267 AD he was forced to deal with a massive Germanic incursion into Greece. In 268 AD, Gallienus met the largest Germanic force ever assembled to that date at the
battle of Naissus. The Romans were victorious, slaughtering nearly 50,000 Germans. The victory was not total, however, for as soon as he defeated the Germans, Gallienus had to deal with the revolt of his cavalry commander Aureolus. Despite his energetic defense of the empire, Gallienus went the way most Roman emperors of the third century did: assassination at the hands of his own troops.
The inflation that had plagued Rome since the reign of Septimius Severus had gotten much, much worse during Gallienus's reign. The already debased silver coins were debased further as precious metals were scarcer and scarcer, yet there was an even greater need to produce more coins to pay the soldiers. Because of this, more and more coins were struck, meaning the coins of Gallienus are usually abundant in the modern market. As his reign was a time of turmoil, his coinage depicts some fine Roman propaganda themes. The protection of the emperor was one such theme, as Gallienus issued a series of coins that honored deities as Conservator Augusti, including Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Jupiter, Juno, Liber Pater, Mercury, Neptune, and Sol. Sometimes the reverses depict animals that represent the attributes of the deity. For example, Hercules is represented by either the lion or the boar. The series was issued probably to both secure the protection from these said gods, but also to commemorate games (like his Decennalia in 262 AD) meant to divert the citizens' attention from all that plagued the empire.
The coinage of Gallienus is both plentiful and varied in reverse types, making the series an interesting area for new collectors. Gallienus reigned during a chaotic time, but his victories were many, and this is evident in his coinage. The above coin is a billon antoninianus 22.1mm in diameter and weighing 3.5g. It features a radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gallienus facing right on the obverse with the legend IMP C P LIC GALLIENUS AVG. Look closing at the obverse image, there's a small dot beneath the bust - RIC makes no mention of this dot. The reverse features Victory standing right handing palm and handing wreath to the emperor standing opposite. The reverse legend reads VICTORIA AVG. The coin was struck 255/256 AD at the Asia mint. What's really interesting about this coin is that it dates from, and is in the style of, the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus. Yet the reverse legend VICTORIA AVG indicates only one emperor. It should read VICTORIA AVGG to indicate more than one Augustus. We know that Gallienus sought to forge his own imperial personality after his father was captured by the Persians. Perhaps this coin suggests he did this even during his father's lifetime.
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