Coins of the Roman Revolution

The long revolutionary age, which culminated in the autocracy of Octavian-Augustus, is one of Roman history's most richly documented periods - and most misrepresented. From Roman to modern times, hindsight has dominated. The theme of Augustus' rise overshadows all. His rivals are commonly defamed (Antony), belittled (Sextus Pompeius), or eclipsed to the point of being barely recognisable (Domitius Ahenobarbus, Cornificius). Seldom in history has the mentality of historians so diverged from the attitudes of contemporaries, the Romans and provincials - all of them - who did not know that Octavian would win, let alone that his regime would survive for decades.0This work privileges a class of neglected evidence which colourfully expresses the uncertainty, and the hopes, not of historians but of contemporaries: coinage. Here an international team of young scholars examine the ideals expressed, and the fears reflected, in the coins issued by warring chiefs during Rome's, and the provinces', long conflicts. There results a subtle and lively characterisation of individuals and ideas which even Augustan ideology could never efface.

Year

2018

Language

English

Publisher

Classical Press of Wales, The

Editions

1

Pages

238

ISBN

9781910589762

Data source: Wikidata