"Medaliony tryumfalne” cesarzy rzymskich (druga połowa III wieku)

Abstract

The bronze “triumphal” medallions, struck in the name of Probus (276–282) and Numerianus (283–284, caes. 282), became the object of the present considerations. Their reverses bear original inscriptions which pursue the idea of triumphus, a rare theme in the Roman coinage, and show an interesting iconography made up of the scenes typical for triumphal art. The Probus medallions IOVI CONSERVATORI PROBI AVG / VIRTVS AVG TRIVMFVM GOTTHICVM fall into the donative ("donativum") closing the 3rd emission of Ticinum (277 – the beginning of 278) and commemorate his victory over the Goths. The Numerianus medallion IMP NVMERIANVS P F AVG / TRIVNFV QVADOR falls into the 5th emission, issued in Siscia (at the end of 283), and refers to the successful battles of Carinus – his brother and co-ruler – fought against the Quadi. These medallions testify to the emperors pursuit to commemorate in the coinage the actual and ideological Roman victories. The Probus medallions supplement the information, provided by other sources, about the battles with the Goths while the Numerianus medallion is the only source of information about the war with the Quadi. However, the information provided by the triumphal medallions about the contemporary events, including triumphal ceremonies, is ambiguous, vague and laconic. It cannnot be excluded that in the second half of the 3rd century the idea of triumphus gained a specific meaning in the “numismatic vocabulary”. Apart from its narrow sense, it could acquire broader meaning: it designated not only a triumph itself, a victory holiday celebrated in Rome, but also a victory holiday in a more general sense. The introduction of the "triumphus" idea into the inscriptions on the triumphal medallions can also be interpreted as another figure of speech, aiming to justify the rule of a particular emperor as a winner and a triumpher.