AAH Augustus Den "IMP XII" V RARE

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Ancient Auction House presents a GENUINE ANCIENT COIN OF *AAH* Augustus Den "IMP XII" V RARE *AAH* Augustus Den "IMP XII" V RARE Augustus Caesar 27 BC - AD 14 Silver Denarius "Emperor in 12th period" Obv: AVGVSTVS DIVI F - Laureate head right Rev: IMP XII – Apollo standing left holding lyre left Lugdunum mint 11-10 BC = RIC I, 189a (r2) very rare, page 54 - CBN 1422 /3.71 g. Augustus restored unity and orderly government to the realm after nearly a century of civil wars. He presided over an era of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement known as the Augustan Age. Originally named Gaius Octavius, Augustus was born in Rome on September 23, 63 BC; he was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar, whom he succeeded as ruler of the Roman state. Caesar was fond of the youth and had him raised to the College of Pontifices—a major Roman priesthood—at the age of 16. When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Octavius was in Illyria, w he had been sent to serve; returning to Italy, he learned that he was Caesars adopted heir. He consequently took the name Gaius Julius Caesar, to which historians have added Octavianus; in English, the name is usually shortened to Octavian. Caesars assassination plunged Rome into turmoil. Octavian, determined to avenge his adoptive father and secure his own place, vied with Mark Antony, Caesars ambitious colleague, for power and honor. After some preliminary skirmishes, both political and military, during which Antony was driven across the Alps while Octavian was made senator and then consul, Octavian recognized the necessity of making peace with his rival. In late 43 BC, tfore, the two—joined by Antonys ally, the general Marcus Aemilius Lepidus—met and formed the Second Triumvirate to rule the Roman domains. The alliance was sealed by a massive proscription, in which 300 senators and 200 knights—the triumvirs enemies—were slain. Among those killed was the aging orator Cicero. Octavian and Antony next took the field against the leaders of Caesars assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, both of whom committed suicide in 42 BC, after being defeated at Philippi in Macedonia. By 40 BC the triumvirs had divided the Roman world among them. Octavian was in control of most of the western provinces and Antony of the eastern ones; Lepidus was given Africa. Although Antony and Octavian clashed over the control of Italy, they patched up their differences, and Octavian gave Antony his sister, Octavia, in marriage. In 36 BC, Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey the Great and the last major enemy of the triumvirs, was eliminated. Octavian then forced Lepidus from power, while Antony was in the east fighting the Parthians. The triumvirate was now breaking up. Having sent Octavia back to Rome, Antony soon married Cleopatra, whom Caesar had installed as queen of Egypt, and recognized Caesarion, her son by Caesar, as her co ruler. This undercut Octavians position as the only son of Caesar, and war was inevitable. He defeated Antony and Cleopatras forces in a naval battle off Actium in 31 BC; they both killed themselves the following year. Caesarion was murdered. In 29 BC Octavian returned to Rome in triumph, at age 34 the sole master of the Roman world. In 27 BC the Roman Senate gave Octavian the title Augustus (consecrated, or holy) by which he is known, and his reign has often been considered a diarchy because of the Senates participation in it. The Senate bestowed on him a host of other titles and powers that had been held by many different officials in the Republic. In 36 BC he had been given the inviolability of the plebeian tribune, and in 30 BC he also received the tribunician power, which gave him the veto and control over the assemblies. In addition, the Senate granted him ultimate authority in the provinces; together with the consulship, which he held 13 times during his reign and which gave him control of Rome and Italy, this vested in him paramount authority throughout the empire. After the death of Lepidus he also became Pontifex Maximus (chief pri... read more

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