Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVIII 29 Sep 2019
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Procopius AV Solidus. Constantinople, September - 31 December AD 365. D N PROCOPIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / REPARATIO FEL TEMP, Procopius, in military dress, standing facing, head right, holding spear in right hand and resting left hand on shield set on ground; CONS in exergue. RIC 2a.1; Depeyrot 14/4; Biaggi 2271 (same dies); Kent & Hirmer 699. 4.52g, 21mm, 12h.
Good Extremely Fine; highly lustrous. Very Rare.
From the inventory of a UK dealer.
During the fourth century there was only one major usurper in the east: Procopius, a maternal cousin of Emperor Julian, who rebelled against Valentinian and Valens at the beginning of their reign in September 365. When Julian was proclaimed emperor, Procopius became a comes in his retinue and in 363 was placed in command of 30,000 soldiers. He was ordered to join forces with the allied king of Armenia, Arsaces, and to then meet with Julian in Mesopotamia to assist in his campaign against the Sasanian Empire. However, by the time Procopius reached Thilsaphata in the south of Mesopotamia, Julian was dead and his general Jovian was emperor.
According to Zosimus (Historia Nova 4.4.1-3), prior to this Julian had entrusted an imperial robe to Procopius. When Jovian became emperor, Procopius quickly handed the robe over, requesting that he be allowed to retire from his military command and live with his family on his private estates. His request was granted and Procopius moved to Cappadocia in Caesaraea. In contrast to this, Ammianus' account (26.6.2) does not include the earlier discussion of succession but reports that following Julian's death Procopius became aware of a rumour that Julian had ordered Procopius to assume the purple with his dying breath, making him a threat to the new emperor Jovian. Driven by fear of Jovian following the latter's execution of another potential rival, Jovianus, Procopius removed himself and his family to Cappadocia where he lived in hiding, awaiting his chance to seize the purple.
Following the abrupt death of Jovian a few months later, Valentinian and his brother Valens became emperors in the West and East respectively. The ancient sources agree that it was at the point when Valens departed from Constantinople for Syria that Procopius moved to set himself up as emperor. Ammianus tells us that "Procopius, worn out by long-continued troubles, and thinking that even a cruel death would be more merciful than the evils by which he was tormented...tempt[ed] the legions of Divitenses and the Younger Tungricani..." (26.6.12) and was able to bribe them into proclaiming him emperor. We are told that he attempted to garner further support through linking himself to the emperor Constantius II whose widow and daughter were present when Procopius received the insignia of the imperial rites. In an attempt to secure support in Illyricum, Procopius sent men with gold coins bearing the image of the new 'princeps' however, these efforts proved to be inadequate.
While the revolt was seemingly easy to begin, it was impossible to maintain and Procopius' support faded while Valens was able to group together his forces and crush Procopius in a battle at Nacolea in May 366. Ammianus tells us that the usurper was beheaded on the spot (26.9.9) however a more gruesome account is recorded by Socrates (Hist. eccl. 4.5), Sozomenus (Hist. eccl. 6.8) and Theophanes (AM 5859) who say that two trees were bent and Procopius tied to them so that when they were released they ripped him apart.
The exceptional portrait on this coin depicts Procopius with a close beard, which has been interpreted as a symbol of pagan sympathies, assuming that Procopius followed the sentiments held by his cousin Julian. Since Procopius' numismatic evidence makes use of Christian imagery (some of his coins displayed the Chi Rho monogram - cf. RIC 7 of Heraclea and RIC 10 of Nicomedia), we cannot say with any certainty whether Procopius was himself a Christian or not. An alternative interpretation is that the beard is a display of mourning following the death of his cousin.
Good Extremely Fine; highly lustrous. Very Rare.
From the inventory of a UK dealer.
During the fourth century there was only one major usurper in the east: Procopius, a maternal cousin of Emperor Julian, who rebelled against Valentinian and Valens at the beginning of their reign in September 365. When Julian was proclaimed emperor, Procopius became a comes in his retinue and in 363 was placed in command of 30,000 soldiers. He was ordered to join forces with the allied king of Armenia, Arsaces, and to then meet with Julian in Mesopotamia to assist in his campaign against the Sasanian Empire. However, by the time Procopius reached Thilsaphata in the south of Mesopotamia, Julian was dead and his general Jovian was emperor.
According to Zosimus (Historia Nova 4.4.1-3), prior to this Julian had entrusted an imperial robe to Procopius. When Jovian became emperor, Procopius quickly handed the robe over, requesting that he be allowed to retire from his military command and live with his family on his private estates. His request was granted and Procopius moved to Cappadocia in Caesaraea. In contrast to this, Ammianus' account (26.6.2) does not include the earlier discussion of succession but reports that following Julian's death Procopius became aware of a rumour that Julian had ordered Procopius to assume the purple with his dying breath, making him a threat to the new emperor Jovian. Driven by fear of Jovian following the latter's execution of another potential rival, Jovianus, Procopius removed himself and his family to Cappadocia where he lived in hiding, awaiting his chance to seize the purple.
Following the abrupt death of Jovian a few months later, Valentinian and his brother Valens became emperors in the West and East respectively. The ancient sources agree that it was at the point when Valens departed from Constantinople for Syria that Procopius moved to set himself up as emperor. Ammianus tells us that "Procopius, worn out by long-continued troubles, and thinking that even a cruel death would be more merciful than the evils by which he was tormented...tempt[ed] the legions of Divitenses and the Younger Tungricani..." (26.6.12) and was able to bribe them into proclaiming him emperor. We are told that he attempted to garner further support through linking himself to the emperor Constantius II whose widow and daughter were present when Procopius received the insignia of the imperial rites. In an attempt to secure support in Illyricum, Procopius sent men with gold coins bearing the image of the new 'princeps' however, these efforts proved to be inadequate.
While the revolt was seemingly easy to begin, it was impossible to maintain and Procopius' support faded while Valens was able to group together his forces and crush Procopius in a battle at Nacolea in May 366. Ammianus tells us that the usurper was beheaded on the spot (26.9.9) however a more gruesome account is recorded by Socrates (Hist. eccl. 4.5), Sozomenus (Hist. eccl. 6.8) and Theophanes (AM 5859) who say that two trees were bent and Procopius tied to them so that when they were released they ripped him apart.
The exceptional portrait on this coin depicts Procopius with a close beard, which has been interpreted as a symbol of pagan sympathies, assuming that Procopius followed the sentiments held by his cousin Julian. Since Procopius' numismatic evidence makes use of Christian imagery (some of his coins displayed the Chi Rho monogram - cf. RIC 7 of Heraclea and RIC 10 of Nicomedia), we cannot say with any certainty whether Procopius was himself a Christian or not. An alternative interpretation is that the beard is a display of mourning following the death of his cousin.