Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVIII 29 Sep 2019
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Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, late summer - autumn AD 114. IMP TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / AVGVSTI PROFECTIO, Trajan on horseback to right, transverse spear in right hand, preceded by a soldier holding spear and shield and followed by a further three soldiers. RIC 297 var. (bust type not listed); C. 40 var. (same). BMCRE 512; Calicó 986 (this coin); Biaggi 465 (this coin); Woytek 496f = Münzen & Medaillen 13, 675 (this coin). 7.32g, 20mm, 7h.
Very Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 49, 21 October 2008, lot 199;
Ex Münzen & Medaillen AG, Auction 13, 17 June 1954, lot 675.
The 'profectio' type refers to the departure of Trajan from Rome in the Autumn of AD 113, an occasion that marked the opening of the Parthian campaign. It was no small feat to embark on such an expedition and setting off was alone an occasion that involved much pomp and ceremony. In a new innovative composition seen here on this coin, Trajan, in military dress, clasping a lance, rides on horseback surrounded by soldiers. Whereas traditional coin reverse types typically featured two figures, here the emperor is seen accompanied by and interacting directly with his subjects in a much larger compositional scene (Elizabeth Wolfram Thill, 2014, The Emperor in Action: Group Scenes in Trajanic Coins and Monumental Reliefs).
This was Trajan's last campaign, provoked by troubles with Parthia over the kingship of Armenia. He had just assumed his sixth and final consulship and dedicated his new Forum and Basilica before he embarked on the journey. Osroes despatched an embassy from the Parthian court which finally met the emperor in Athens, by which point it was too late for him to turn back, and as R. P. Longden so eloquently writes, 'their apprehensive humility would have no doubt only sharpened his zest for the enterprise'. (Cf. Longden, R.P., Notes on the Parthian Campaigns of Trajan, The Journal of Roman Studies 21, (1931), pp. 1-35). The following year, Trajan invaded Armenia, deposed its king Parthamasiris, and annexed it as a Roman province. In 115, Trajan also annexed Northern Mesopotamia, and later the same year he captured the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. Trajan's glory was short-lived, however, since in late 116 revolts broke out in Armenia and Northern Mesopotamia, forcing Trajan to abandon his campaign to increase the territory of the Rome and consolidate that which he had already gained. Dio Cassius relates that on looking out towards India, Trajan lamented that his age prevented him from following in the footsteps of Alexander (LXVIII 28.1).
Very Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 49, 21 October 2008, lot 199;
Ex Münzen & Medaillen AG, Auction 13, 17 June 1954, lot 675.
The 'profectio' type refers to the departure of Trajan from Rome in the Autumn of AD 113, an occasion that marked the opening of the Parthian campaign. It was no small feat to embark on such an expedition and setting off was alone an occasion that involved much pomp and ceremony. In a new innovative composition seen here on this coin, Trajan, in military dress, clasping a lance, rides on horseback surrounded by soldiers. Whereas traditional coin reverse types typically featured two figures, here the emperor is seen accompanied by and interacting directly with his subjects in a much larger compositional scene (Elizabeth Wolfram Thill, 2014, The Emperor in Action: Group Scenes in Trajanic Coins and Monumental Reliefs).
This was Trajan's last campaign, provoked by troubles with Parthia over the kingship of Armenia. He had just assumed his sixth and final consulship and dedicated his new Forum and Basilica before he embarked on the journey. Osroes despatched an embassy from the Parthian court which finally met the emperor in Athens, by which point it was too late for him to turn back, and as R. P. Longden so eloquently writes, 'their apprehensive humility would have no doubt only sharpened his zest for the enterprise'. (Cf. Longden, R.P., Notes on the Parthian Campaigns of Trajan, The Journal of Roman Studies 21, (1931), pp. 1-35). The following year, Trajan invaded Armenia, deposed its king Parthamasiris, and annexed it as a Roman province. In 115, Trajan also annexed Northern Mesopotamia, and later the same year he captured the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. Trajan's glory was short-lived, however, since in late 116 revolts broke out in Armenia and Northern Mesopotamia, forcing Trajan to abandon his campaign to increase the territory of the Rome and consolidate that which he had already gained. Dio Cassius relates that on looking out towards India, Trajan lamented that his age prevented him from following in the footsteps of Alexander (LXVIII 28.1).