Watch List notes:

Phoenicia, Berytus. Augustus. 27 B.C.-A.D. 14 Æ (19 mm, 4.50 g, 12 h). 6-4 B.C. P. Quinctilius Varus, legate. Bare head of Augustus right / Two aquilae. RPC 4535; AUB 35-6; Rouvier 493; BMC 55. Scarce and popular type. Earthen green patina, a few light scratches, minor porosity. Very fine.

P. Quinctilius Varus, a close friend of Augustus and associate of Tiberius, was given Syria as his province in 7 B.C. While serving as the governor of Syria, Varus guarded the borders against the menace of Parthia and violently suppressed revolts in Judaea and Samaria, when it was learned that they had been apportioned to Herod Archelaus in the will of Herod the Great. The military operations in these regions are sometimes known as "Varus' War." Varus, however, is best known for his role in events after he returned from Syria and took up a command in Germany in A.D. 6. In A.D. 9, he led three legions against the German tribes at the Teutoberg Forest. He was killed and the legions annihilated in one of the greatest military disasters of Roman history.