Poczet władców rzymskich. Imagines XXX tyrannorum w „Epitome thesauri antiquitatum” Jacopa Strady (1553)

Abstract

In the work entitled Epitome thesauri antiquitatum by Jacopo Strada, an antiquarian, collector and numismatist, old coins serve to illustrate the history of the life and reign of rulers and members of their families. The Epitome is interesting as an example which reflects the reception of ancient forms in the modern era, both through the copying of ancient monuments as well as through the representation of content drawn from ancient literature. In reference to the Roman rulers who reigned in the 3rd century, the source of numismatic commentaries featured in the Epitome was constituted by the biographies of the Augusti, Caesari and the usurpers contained in the collection entitled Historia Augusta. The compatibility of fragments of this work from Late Antiquity with fragments of the Epitome is presented by the author on the basis of the coins of ‘tyrants’ described by Strada: Cyriades, Postumus, Ingenuus, Ballista, Piso, Aemilianus and Zenobia.