Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, AD 114-117. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIM AVG GER DAC PARTHICO▾, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / REGNA • ADSIGNATA, emperor seated to left on platform, two attendants standing behind him; before platform, three kings standing to right. RIC II 367; BMCRE 614-5; Woytek 564f; Calicó 1079 corr. (obv. legend). 7.26g, 19mm, 6h.
Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
From the Pinewood Collection.
This historically significant type proclaims Trajan's assignment of rulers to the freshly conquered kingdoms of Armenia, Parthia and Mesopotamia following his victories in the East. In his campaign of AD 114-116 Trajan expanded the territories of the empire to what was then the greatest extent of Rome's borders; her dominion now stretched from the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean to the waters of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Trajan had his statue set up on the shore of the latter, and sent the Senate a laurelled letter declaring the war to be at a close but bemoaning that he was too old to go on any further and repeat the conquests of Alexander the Great, to whose conquests this expedition was widely compared. The admiration and respect in which Trajan held the Macedonian king was evidenced by his determination to return to Babylon where he intended to offer sacrifice to Alexander in the house where he had died in 323 BC.
The successes referenced on this coin were to be short-lived however, as shortly after his death revolts erupted in Armenia, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and Cyrene, as well as in North West Africa and along the Northern borders of Europe, prompting his successor Hadrian to abandon much of the newly gained territory in favour of a smaller but more defensible empire.
Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
From the Pinewood Collection.
This historically significant type proclaims Trajan's assignment of rulers to the freshly conquered kingdoms of Armenia, Parthia and Mesopotamia following his victories in the East. In his campaign of AD 114-116 Trajan expanded the territories of the empire to what was then the greatest extent of Rome's borders; her dominion now stretched from the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean to the waters of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Trajan had his statue set up on the shore of the latter, and sent the Senate a laurelled letter declaring the war to be at a close but bemoaning that he was too old to go on any further and repeat the conquests of Alexander the Great, to whose conquests this expedition was widely compared. The admiration and respect in which Trajan held the Macedonian king was evidenced by his determination to return to Babylon where he intended to offer sacrifice to Alexander in the house where he had died in 323 BC.
The successes referenced on this coin were to be short-lived however, as shortly after his death revolts erupted in Armenia, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and Cyrene, as well as in North West Africa and along the Northern borders of Europe, prompting his successor Hadrian to abandon much of the newly gained territory in favour of a smaller but more defensible empire.