Political Climate of the Late Empire |
|
|
View Entire Catalogue (with details of each coin) View Coins by Emperor Constantius II Gallus (Caes.) Julian II Valentinian I Valens Gratian Valentinian II Theodosius I Arcadius Honorius Theodosius II View Coins by Mint Appendix |
 The
period from the mid fourth the the mid fifth centuries was one
characterized by great instability. The empire had outgrown itself, its
size making it difficult for a single emperor to manage. More ofter, power
was shared by two or more Augusti, each one’s existence strengthening the
position of his colleague. As such, an emperor would likely mint coinage
both in his own name and in that of his peer. Of course, relations between
the two colleagues would often deteriorate, and the empire saw
considerable civil conflict.
Alternatively, occassionally a usurper would attempt to simply take control of a piece of territory, and hope to be acknowledged by the existing Augustus as a colleague. Procopius was one such usurper. The results of these threats were that the emperors
of this period were highly insecure. Threatened by foreign invasion,
conspiracy, and insurrection, popular support was both highly important
and remarkably capricious. The period Augusti generally used coinage as
best they could to validate their own legitimacy, and to communicate
images of military potency. This can be seen reflected on either side of
the coin. On the obverse, the portrait busts become uniform and idealized,
reflecting not only the
|
