studies in constantinian chronology / by patrick bruun

8/22/2019 Studies in Constantinian chronology / by Patrick Bruun

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R U U N

NNU M SMAT CSO C E T

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E S R V E D Y

NNU M SMAT CSO C E T

G R MAN

N .G U C ST AD T

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T S AN D M O NO G R A H S

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T S AN D M O NO G R A H S

eatiseson sub ectsrelating

y medalsanddecorations.

N CO M M T T E

E L L I NG R Ch ai rma n

.B U TTRE Y R .

O TT

STA F

S S R d it or

D E L S O N A s so ci at e d it or

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. . . . .. . . . .. . - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - --

O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .

T O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E O F T H E M L V I A NB R I D G . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..

L L U M C B A E N S . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . ..

N M N TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E S S A O N C A . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

N A N M N T S . . . . . . . .. . . . - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - -

R Y O F T H E T R A V E L L I NG M N T .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .

F T H E T H E O D O S A NC O D E . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. .

N O L O G O F TH E G O L D C O I N S. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .

R TO C B A A . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .

A T O C H R Y S O P O L I S . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . -- -

S O P O L I S TO T H E NA U GU R A T O N O F

. . . . . - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -

N AU G U R A T O N O F C O N ST AN T N O P L E T O T H E

N ST AN T N - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - -

S O N S .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . -- -

H O A R D O F CO N ST ANT N A NB R O N Z E R O M D E L O S

S T O N O F T H E H O A R D . . .. . .. . .. - -- -- -- -- -

A B A C G R O U N D . . . . . . . .. . - -- - -- - -- - -- - --

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S MA T C C H R O N O L O G

. . . . . . . . . . 8 9

O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 9 8

M E R I A C O NS T T U T O N s. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .- -- -- - O O

AR Y O F CO NSTANT N ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. O 2

V E R S E G ND S .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. O 5

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A H Y

C S

n Am m ia n us M a rc e ll i nu s I I I e c l. J . C . R o l f e L o e b

ed . G ol d ba c he r C S L 3 4 2 V i e nn a 1 88 8 .

.Mommsen MonumentaGermaniaehistorica

B e r l i n 18 9 2.

c r ip t io n um L a t in a ru m .

st in ia nu s ed . P . K r g er .

. C u s t .

CTh.

olitanacf.Chronicaminora.

sianused.Mommsen-Meyer.

oneslatinaese lectaeed. H. D essau B erlin1892 1916.

antini Werk e I ed. Heik e l. DiegriechischenSchrif t-

ahrhunderte L e ip ig1902.

hesisI ed. Kro ll-Sk utsch I I ed. Kro ll-Sk utsch-

mentaV aticanaed. Mommsen. C o llectio librorumiuris

erlin1884.

ed.B urckhardt.

o s P a r i s 19 2 6 3 7 .

buspersecutorumed. B randt C S L 27 2.

eck B erlin1876.

atinied. Galle tier.

rcanaed. Haury .

tP a p yr u s de T h a d el p hi e P a r i s 1 9 11 .

l Papy ro logicaLugduno-B atava2 E inigeWiener

k e l L eyden1948.

clesiastica ed.P armentier-Scheidweiler.D iegrie-

ftstellerdererstendrei J ahrhunderte.Berlin 1954.

A R CH

r e l i gi s e H a l t un g K a i s er K o n st a nt i ns . S t ud i a P a t r is t ic a

othesecondinternationalconferenceonP atristicStudies

Te teundUntersuchungenzurGesch. dera ltchrist l.

95 7 p p. 5 4 9 6 0 o.

ieD onaubr ck eKonstantinsdesGro enundverw andte

n a uf s p t r m i sc h en M n e n . Z N 1 9 2 6 p p. 1 6 1 1 7 5.

nd a ti o n of C on s ta n ti n op l e. A F e w N ot e s. J R S 1 9 4 7 p p. 1 0 1 6 .

C onstantinew iththeC hrist ianMonogram. J R S 19 2

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TheI nit ialso fC hristontheHelmetofC onstantine .

nC hesterJ ohnson1951 pp. 30 - 11.

MariaR . A lf ldi: D ieconstantinischeGoldpr gung

N um . u. G e ld g es c hi c ht e I X , 1 9 58 p p . 99 1 9 .

L i ci ni us i n R u gg ie ro D i . E p i gr . I V f as c. 3 1 3 3 ,

arlyC hrist ianWorldbyF . vanderMeerC hr. Mohrman

w ley L ondon1958.

v. A c ha i a.

e late= TheC onstantinianC o inageofA re late . Diss.

heMilv ianB ridge: TheDateR econsidered. H ermes

6 1- 7 0.

anceofSolf romtheC oinsofC onstantine . A rctos1958

.

B r o n e C o in s o f Co n st a nt i ne t h e Gr e at . E r a no s L I I I ,

a reC o insof theLateR omanEmpire . B rit ishMuseum

1 9 57 p p . 44 f f.

r g er i es . N C 1 95 8 p p . 47 5 8 .

A O S = R . A . G . Ca r so n J . . C. K e n t: C o ns t an t in i an

udies. NC 1956pp. 8 161.

iptionhistori uedesmonnaiesf rapp essousl E mpire

I . P a r is 1 88 0- 92 .

iconso laridell I mperoR omano. R ome1952.

a v ie p ri v e d es D l ie ns . T ra va u e t m m o ir es c o l eF r a n .

P a r i s1 94 8.

i n F u nd r m is ch er G ol dm n e na us B o r a . N Z 1 9 0 p p. 9 4 6.

r m i sc h er M n m t e r i n I V J a h rh . . n. C . M i t t . d. n u m.

p . 1 6 .

G a br i el l e F a b r e- M on i u e M ai n o n et : L e s t r s o rs d e

u pp l . X I I e 1 9 58 p p . 12 1 2 7 1.

nA nniversary I ssues. C ambridge1949.

' a u th e nt i ci t e t l h i st o ri c it d e l a V i t a C on s ta n ti n i at t ri b u e

e . B u l l . A ca d . B e l gi u e 1 95 p p . 46 2 -4 7 9.

d e C on s ta n ti n . R e v . de l U n i v . d e B r u e l le s 3 6 2 1 9 1

I V s . v. M a e nt iu s.

menvonA cha ia . Diss. Pannonicae I 14 B udapest1946.

u r G es c hi c ht e d es K a i se r s K o n s ta n ti n . H e r m e s 86 3 1 9 58

h e D a t e a n d V a l ue o f t he V e r o n a L i s t . J R S 1 9 5 4 p p. 2 1 2 9 .

eat T . C .: NotesontheGenuinenessof theC onstan-

u s e bi u s s L i f e of C on s ta n ti n e. J E H V , 1 9 54

nc . = E . H . K a s e: A P a p yr u s R o l l i n th e P r i n c et o n Co l le c ti o n.

G o ld C oi n ag e i n th e L a t e r R o m a n E m p ir e . E s s ay s i n R o m an

aroldMattingly1956 pp.190204.

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. . C. K e n t: T h e P a t t er n o f B r o n e C o in a ge u n de r C on s ta n -

1 6 7 7 .

T h e Co n st a nt i ni a n Mi n ts 3 0 6 3 1 . A N S Mu s eu m N ot e s I X ,

n Mi n ts . N C 1 95 9 p p. 4 7 7 8 .

n R E V s . v. D i o e c es i s.

onstantinsre ligi seE ntw ick lung. B e itr gez urhistorischen

en1955.

i n M n s ch at a uf D e l os . N Z 1 9 10 p p. 5 0 5 .

announcementinB ull. Soc. F ran . Num. 1954pp. 292f .

' u s ur p a i o ne d i D o m i ti o A le s sa n dr o . N u m is m at i ca X I I I ,

o imperatoriodiC ostantinoMagno. A tt ide llaP ont. A ccad.

21pp. 415-426.

m is ch e St aa ts ve rw al tu ng I I I I . ( H a nd bu ch d er r m .

a rd t -M o mm s en I V - V I ) . L e i p i g 1 88 1 5 .

manC oins . L ondon1951.

sm a ti u e Co n st a nt i ni e nn e I I I I . P a r i s 1 90 8 1 2 .

melteSchrif tenI I 2 B erlin1905.

eGoldpr gungdesD iocletianusundse inerMitregenten. NZ

mperia lC o inageed. Mattingly -Sydenham.

F o o tn o te t o t he C i vi l W a r o f A .D . 3 2 4 . J E A 3 1 1 9 4 5 p. 1 1 .

nagecf . R I C .

enta iredesinscriptionsdeDomitiusA le ander. B ull. vande

ringderk ennisvandeantiek ebeschavingX X I X ,

74.

amenstell ingvandenR omeinschenSemaatindeI V *

nt194 ( intypescriptonly .

htedesUntergangsderantikenWelt . B erlin1921.

C ur s us p u bl i cu s .

ttoSeeck : R egestenderKa iserundP pste . Stuttgart1919.

onf rencedeCarnuntumetle diesimperiideLicinius.

de r s t er r ei c h I I I , 1 9 5 6 pp . 1 75 1 8 6.

lachronologiedur gnedeC onstantinleGrand. R E A

2 18 .

A s u rv e y of t h e Co n st a nt i ni a n pr o bl e ms . R e l a i o ni d i X

a lediscien estoriche1955 V I pp. 785ff .

chtedessp tr mischenR eichesI . V ienna1928.

m p ir e I e d . J . - R . P a l an u e P a r is 1 9 59 .

: T h e F o l l e s of T i ci n um A . D . 3 0 5 - 0 7 . N C 1 95 4 p p. 6 8 7 5 .

a u p g P o u \ x w N ou t au t o v. J o u rn a l in t er n at i on a l d a r ch o l og i e

, 1 9 10 p p. 1 5 1 9 .

hor sP urposeintheV itaConstantini. StudiaP atristica

5 7 1 6 7.

heL oheH oard.AContributiontotheMethodologyof

8pp. 188 2O4.

omaandConstantinopolisinL ateAnti ueArtfrom

S 1 94 7p p. 1 5 - 4 4 .

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nMedallions.( ANSNumismaticStudies5 , NewY ork1944.

usebiusa lsV erfasserderV itaC onstantini. R he in. Mus.

7 .

ieNumismati ueC onstantiniennevonJ ulesMaurice . NZ

4 2.

stantinderGrof fe . Munich1949.

tstufenk lassischerJ uristen. G ttingen1960.

O NS

maticSociety

c r ip t io n um L a t in a ru m

ptorumEcclesiasticorumL atinorum

g y pt i an A r ch a eo l og y

of E c c le s ia s ti c al H i s t o r y

o m a n S tu d ie s

cle

e itschrif t

k lop diederk lassischenA ltertumsw issenschaf tened.

t u de s A nc i en n es

m p er i al C o in a ge

rNumismatik

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R S D E SCR I P T O NS

wning

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- y

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T O N 1

wayswrittenbythevictors bythe

teritytreadsthelaboriouspathto truthin

eseigentlichgewesen toq uotethe

greatdifficultieslieahead.Thewritten

ywhenconceived leadsusastray.The

ginativelistsofsundryevents andofficials

erksandcivil servants hadalongway

he presentdayeditions.Therecordwhich

tofmanyroundsofmechanicalcopying

eretheeyeofa monkalltooeasilymissed

hronologicalconfusion.

o fC onstantinetheGreat oneof thegreat

outofwhichwasto emergeWesternChristian

sestudies werepresentedintwolecturesat the1960

mericanNumismaticSocietyofNewY ork.I am

iety andparticularlytoitsformerpresident

to itsE x ecutiveDirector Mr. SawyerMcA. Mosser

epreparationof thesestudiesforpublication

nge perience I ga inedattheSeminar. P ro f . A . R .

o f theA NSP ublications C ommittee hasreadthrough

ncewith keeneyedcriticism.I ammuchobliged

stionsarisingout ofhisfamiliaritywiththesub ect

rlucidity inpresentation.Mr.GeorgeK ustasof

k indly readthemanuscriptandcorrecteditsE nglish.

pressmysinceregratitude. How ever itgoesw ithout

olelyresponsiblefortheviewse pressedandthe

ume.Mythanksare alsoduetothestaff ofthe

onduringtheprocess offinishingthetypescript

Mr.R .A.G.Carsonof theB ritishMuseumhas

searchworkbutalso assistedinprovidingcasts

erencestotheactua lco inshavebeenmadethrough

of the itemslistedinthe I nde o fR everseL egends

o insonly . I l lustrationshavebeenindicatedby inserting

ogetherw iththenumberof therev . leg. e . g. P L A T I V ,

nthebron eco insil lustratedhavebeenaccorded

.Thecorrespondingreferencewillaccordingly

I a . A ll t h e br o n e c o in s i ll u st r at e d ar e f ro m t he A N S

o m it i us A l e a n de r c oi n ( R a t t o D e c e m be r 1 9 2 7 2 2 .

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acedw iththeseverydif f icult ies. Y etthere is

sandine haustiblewhentreatedproperly

futethe eulogiesofthepanegyrists

e-rulershipcovereda periodofeighteen

rday in306w henhisfather sfa ithful

gustusinY ork totheSeptemberday

atC hrysopolis defeatedhislastopponent

erandrivalduringthirteenof theseyears.

eindubitablywasthetriumphof

heq uestionwhethertheChurchwould

paganismchampionedbyavictorious

hfullyanswered.Theschool oftheB elgian

eniouslycla imingL iciniusasthetruedefender

disputingtheauthenticityofEusebius V ita

mainsources forthehistoryofthe Con-

bynow suf fereddefeat. Neverthe less it

t theirfacevalueallthe accusations

sbythesupportersof Constantine.During

cinianruletherupturebetw eenE astand

periodintheE asthasbeennamedthe

thoughonfeeblegrounds. A dmittedly the

ascurta iled C hrist iancourtiers civ ilser-

ed and possiblyow ingtoover- ea lous

omeadherentsoftheChurchkilled.B utthis

iciniusapersecutor. Thereligiouspolicy

recedingthefinalclash wasanintrinsic

o f theE mperors L icinius indifferentin

twellhaveappearedasasponsorand sup-

thewheeloffortuneturned theotherway.

de l U n i v. d e B r u e l l es X X X V I , p p. 2 1 -2 72 l at el y in

e 19 5 p p. 4 66 4 8 .

J E H V , p p . 19 6 ff . f u r t he r A la n d St u d. P a t r. I , p . 5 6 4

R h e i n . Mu s . 19 5 , p . 3 7 a n d Te l fe r S t ud . P a t r . I

tti se haustivestudy inR uggiero sD i ionarioE pigraf ico

3 , p p. I o 8f f.

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E O F T H E M L V I A NB R I D G

ntine sprogresstosupremepower the

eandC hrysopo lis. Thef irstgavehimI ta ly

thethirdtheentireE ast. Now letusfo llow

fromabarelyacceptedCaesarshipwithin

chicsystemtoacknowledgedsovereignty

endor inthewholeR omanempire.

e mayassumethatConstantinefromthe

methingmorethanasubordinaterankin

heprecariouspositionofConstantineand

ersofGaulandI ta ly together andthe

oughtheagencyofthe oldH erculiuswhen

marriedtoF austaandencouragedtoassume

earlaterMa imian ambitiousofpow er

entius w ase pelledf romR omeand

Constantine. Therelationsbetween

oken butaboutthesametimeMa entius

omtheGallicscene bytheusurpationof

A f rica .

aybedescribedas atimeofgathering

rokenw hen asthestorygoes theo ld

asfoundresponsibleforanattempton

seeventsisnotundisputed.I havehereacceptedthe

ston( L aconf rencedeCarnuntumetlediesimperii

. F o r s ch . i n Ni e de r s t er r ei c h I I I , 1 9 56 p p . 17 8 ff . w h ic h

dit iona ladherencetoLactantius account more

andenablesustorestrictthenumberofMa imian s

rdingtoSestontheconferenceat Carnuntum a

ngwithD iocletianthanhasusuallybeenbelieved

enL iciniusw aschargedw iththerecon uesto f I ta ly

tuswasconferreduponhim onlyayearlater.

rgumentsinNC 1957 pp. 21f f . A ndreotti op. cit . p. 982

ston stheory butconcedesthatpreliminarydiscus-

cebeforeNovember3 08 thoughnotearlierthan

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Chronology

10hew ask il led ork il ledhimself inbesieged

esignalfor ama orchangeinthe

efilialdevotionofMa entiusflaredup

ngto literarysources hew asreso lvedto

ath. TheA f ricanusurper how ever pre-

tantaction.I nthesecircumstances

usAle andernaturallyformedanalliance

be foundontheAfricanmilestonemen-

only . A tthesametime possiblya litt le

earstohavebrokentheisolationofGaul in

usandDa aaredepictedonthecoinobverses

ntofL iciniuswasofparamountimportance

gedinawarfor supremacyinI taly.

7 de iuresince3 08 andspecif ically charged

ta ly " L iciniusmightinordinarycircum-

nttoacceptConstantine sinterference

n310Galeriusw astak enseriously il l and

sE astwerehigherthanthosein theW est.

aconcentratedonthefuturediv isionof the

ndtheWestw aslef ttosettle itsdisputeson

ethedeathofGaleriusD a acaptured

porusandw asha ltedonlyby thearriva lo f

showfar-sightedL iciniushadbeen.

entiusmadethefirstmoveandin

edR uf iusV o lusianustocopew iththerebell ion

u B a s - m p ir e I I , p p . 86 f . p a r t ic u la r ly I 2 p . 4 54 w i th

ces.

ntinew ereoverthrow ninI ta ly ( Seeck U ntergangI * ,

H i s t o ir e I I p . 8 7 w h o do e s no t e c l ud e t he p o ss i bi l it y

dw ithMa entiushadactedaga instC onstantine .

2 21 8 = D e ss au 89 76 .

tinthe iraccountof theMontbuoyhoard(Gall ia Suppl. X I I ,

w asiso latedf romtheresto f theEmpireatleastinthe

esnotshow thesubse uenttrend. Onew ouldhave

havebeenreflectedin thehoardsomeyearsearlier.

notaccepttheEasternconsulso f theyears3 09- 1o.

p. 985.

, 1 f f . a l so A n dr e ot t i o p .c i t. p . 9 85 .

. 2 .

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ridge5

timethattensiongrew intheEast Ga lerius

eriorating. I nthespringof3 I C onstantine

uin uennalia inTrierandstruck among

c ep ti on al t yp e S Q R O P T M O P R I N C P I i n go ld

, 2 01 2 .

canbeestablishedwitha highdegree

erangoldportraitsof Constantineare

aftertheveryfirst coinsnamingCon-

getaseriesofso lidio f smallmodule thick f lan

gof thiskindofsoliduscomes toanend

decisivev ictoryatPonsMilv ius Trierdis-

d Constantiniangoldmintingisconcentrated

meandOstia la teratT icinum. Goldco iningw as

ardstheendof3 1 possiblynotbefore

ithco insofdist inctly thinnerf lansandlargermodule .

onstantinianobversescanbe classified

esystematicarrangementshowsthecoins

C O N S TA N -T N V S P F A V G ( P L A T I , 2 0 1

eco insw iththeobverse legendC ONSTA NT -

L A T I , 2 02 t o be l at er . B y a st ro ke o fl uc k th e ch ro n-

eenthesetwokindsof obversebreaks

ine sq uin uennia lyear becauseapart

e V O T S v MV L T S X / V I C TO R I A A V G h as

T I , 3 1 2 , a no th er p ar t th e br ea k l- N ( P L A T I ,

th e ty pe S Q R O P T M O P R I N C P I c a n be g ro up ed

nt e nt i on ( A p r op o s de L ' u s ur p at e ur a f ri c ai n L . D o m it i us A l e -

nvandeV erenigingtotbevorderingderk ennisvandeantieke

nhageX X I X , 1954 pp. 72f . thattherebell ionofDomitius

sedverysoonaftertherupturewith theoldH erculius

onagrossmisinterpretationof theco inevidence. He f inds

s s t ud y of t h e A u i le i an b r on e s N u mi s ma t ic a X I I I ,

o r a c or r ec t e va l ua t io n o f th e c oi n s c f . Ca t hy E . K i n g T h e

NC 1959 C onspectusonp. 78.

i e c o n st a nt i ni s ch e G ol d pr g u ng i n T ri e r J h r b. f . Nu m is -

e I X , 1958 pp. 102f .

ow .

e o f th e M il v ia n B r i d ge H e r m e s 1 9 60 p p . 3 6 6 f. W h e n

y1960 anddiscussingtheproofsofthat paperwith

nt the latterinformedmethathehadarrivedatthe

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Chronology

whentheConstantinianq uin uen-

epointofdepartureforthe reckoningof

simperiiof theruler regardlessofthe

his ascenttothethrone.W ithregard

nisunusuallycomplicated.H isoriginal

ce lebratedinlateryears w asJ uly25th.

aknessofhis position the veryfactwhich

ya ll iancew ithMa imianandMa entius

tentdependentonhisallies.Thushe appears

ofAugustusfromMa imianontheoc-

austa a lthoughheseemstohavedelayed

March31 3 07w asthusconsideredhis

con uesto f I ta ly w hentheR omansenate

teofMa imusA ugustus hecanbe

dhisoriginalnatalisand diesimperii.H is

w ever w ouldhavebeence lebratedaccordingto

n M ar c h 3 1 3 I I a n d 3 1 2 .

en d S Q R O P T M O P R I N C P I . T he r ea d-

ithadscarcelybeen inusesincethe days

rev ivedaf ter200yearsisnotcommonplace but

onalfactsenableus toappreciatethetrue

hefirst isthatthesametype wasstruck

s A le a n de r ( P L A T I , a i n A fr i ca . T h is c a n

earlywehavehere anotherpieceofevi-

eenGauland Africa.B utletustake the

t he t yp e S Q R O P T M O P R I N C P I w as s tr uc k

thage outofreachofthe Senate.The

rdtothe chronologicalsignificanceoftheobserve

Marenowarrangedaccordingly.

9 p p . 56 f . a l so n o te 5 a n d AN S M us e um N o te s I X , 1 9 60

0 1 6maintainingthatC onstantinecouldnothaveassumed

oeJ uly25 3 07.

9 7 p p. 19 7f f. K e nt P a tt er n A pp en di I I , p p. 74 7 7.

n Co i ns p . 1 5 , G r an t R o m a n A nn i ve r sa r y I s s u e s p . 1 49 .

, I n d e p . 4 6 r e co r ds a l so S Q R c o i n s of S e pt i mi u s Se v er u s

u s ty p e ( R I C I V , p p . 82 1 1 , 1 4 7 a n d of G a ll i en u s

. C ohenV * nos. 998f f . recordsthemallasbe ingof thereverse

w reath. Thetypewith3 standards how ever w as

of T r a a n ( M a ri a A lf l d i T r ie r p . 1 07 .

r n n o . 5 8 9 c f . a ls o G ra n t l o c . c it .

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ridge7

hattheSenatepayshomagetoan E m-

le ander onthevergeofw aroractua lly

mastero f theSenate( Ma entius There-

ayofinterpretingtheevidenceofthecoins

and accordingly hisA f ricana lly had

withtheSenateorwith anopposition

nitse lf thisisnotsurprising forw e

orialdiscontentwiththetyrant of

nsof thetypeS Q R O P T MO P R I N-

stheramif icationsof the I ta liancampaignof

ed thedate: thespring3 I I insteadof the

12.W econcludethatthebattleof the

htoneyearearlierthan traditionallyhas

nalnumismaticevidencecanbebrought

ysources oftheeventsoftheseyears is

rt ibuspersecutorum. Lactantiusremarks I mmine-

usimperiumceperat quiesta . d. se tumKalendas

uennalia terminabantur. Now theq uin uennia l

dedin3 I I ; Mommsen how ever escaped

ngthatthestartingpointfor thereck-

egnalyearsmusthavebeenOctober3 07w hen

manscholar heassumedthetitleof

notthedayofhisusurpation shouldhave

simperii Mommsenmaintained.I nthe

oncerningtheMa entianco inages his

tsCarthagewasclosedbeforeConstantine

fAugustus butonthetwolast issuesof

V , c ol .2 45 4.

he literaryev idence inmyTheB attleof theMilv ian

s 19 60 p p. 3 6 1 - 6 5.

h i l oc a lu s C al e nd a r C L I , p . 4 05 .

e F o l le s o f Ti c in u m N C 1 95 4 p p . 68 f f. C a rs o n- e n t

pp . 1 06 1 1 7 K e n t P a t te r n p p . 1 9 f f. a n d K i n g o p .

6 1 6 7 6 9.

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Chronology

earsasA ugustus( onthe" : : f irst

. Sim ilarly theco-ordinatedissuesofT icinum

ow therulersasMa entiusA ugustusand

espectively . Thesubse uentissuesf rom

astbeforethebreakbetweenH erculius

nehandandMa entiusontheother and

ustus. ThemintofCarthagewasclosed

syetbeenreopenedinO stia . Wecansee

thageclosedinSpring3 07 Ma entius

stusforsometime( thedurationofalmost

a in thisproveshisnata lisimperiitohave

sMommsenbelieved.

plythatMa entiuswasdefeatedin3 I I .

coinssuggestthepresenceofConstantine

Ma rc h 3 1 2 n am el y t he V I C TO R I A L A T A

, c o in s o f th i ck f l an a n d sm a ll m o du l e wi t h e c l us i ve l y

T I , 2 74 in R ome V O T X ( 2 75 and V O TP R ( P L A T I ,

eV O TX co insmusthavebeenstruck inthe

q uin uennia lyearwhichendedinthe

nsthatthe votaweresuscepta.Toregard

accordingly theco insashav ingbeenstruck

b le b e c au s e co i ns v o t i s x ( s o lu t is m u l t i s x x

ydifferentmoduleandfabricwerestruck at

edecennialyear( P L AT I , 212 I I I , 214 ,

yprecededby coinsofsimilarlylarge

ni ne s f o ur t h co n su l sh i p in 3 1 5 ( P L A T I I I ,

e re f or e i nt e rp r et t h e ev i de n ce o f t he V I C T O R I A

N C P E R P s o li d i as f o ll o ws : T he t y pe w as c r ea t ed a t

onthevotashield i.e. priortotheinitial q uin-

6 1 C a rs o n- e n t p . 1 1 6.

. 69hesitatestoacceptthese issuesasco-ordinated. The

uiteclear.

p. 5 , 5 6f . 6 9f .

p . 61 .

f t he M i lv i an B r i d g e p . 3 6 6 .

S 1 9 2 p . 1 7 al s o re a li e d t hi s a l th o ug h h e di d n ot e v al u at e t he

ation cf . TheB attleof theMilvianB ridge p. 3 66.

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ridge9

asaparto f thebil lontriadce lebratingthe

betw eenDa a L icinius andC onstantine "

ancampaign. Shortlyaf terthew arinI ta ly

r.B ythattimethefirst Constantinian

atR ome.Theinterestingpointisthat

ototypeswereused( thesameappliestothe

nly inearly3 12w erethef irstsolidistruck at

heV I CTOR I A L A TA P R I NCP E R P , before

uin uennia lyearw ithV O TX , a f terC on-

w ithV O TP R . Whetherthego ldco insof

onstantine spresenceinNorthernI taly

ay butit isq uite like ly . Theothercon-

omererepetitionsofearlierR omanre-

gee tentnew creations. A ftertheconference

ssueswerediscontinued Constantine

oncemorebecamethemintresponsible

ofthe metalliccontentsofthesesocalled billon

edatthemomentofwriting suggeststhepossibility

sanormalbron eseries. TheI ov iconservatoriaug

eprincperpw ouldhavebeenstruck af terC iv ilWarI ,

nsof therev . So li inv ictocomitishouldberegarded

eMid- 1 . I tshouldbenotedthatthetw oformer

off icinae the latterinoneof f. only andthatthe

tobestruck intw oof f . A ndthen untilw ella f terC iv il

emark edA andB , w hereasthe I ov iconservatoriaugand

perpbothhavetheof f . mark P andS. I f thissuggestion

ictoriaelaetaeprincperpwouldhavebeena creation

dthisw ould infact strengthenmycontentionthat

inthecourseof thedecennialyear.I proposeto

ntheforthcomingvo lumeofR omanI mperia lC o inage

a l so n o te 1 p . 4 9 b e lo w .

dg e p . 3 6 6 a n d pp . 4 8 f. b e lo w .

Trier pp. 105 111mistak enlyassumesasteady f low of

intatthist ime a lthoughshe(p. 102 remark sfor

ntiniangoldcoiningthatD ieGoldpr gungerfolgte

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L L U M C B A E NS

N M N TS

theB ellumC iba lense. I ntheseventeenth

arwasestablishedbyGothofredusas3 14.

eco insofA relatesomeyearsago I f ound

datingbecauseoftheevidenceofthe

tobeamuchmore like ly timeforthef irstw ar

icinius.Astudyof theliterarysources

houghnotunanimously otherscho larshave

attheyear 3 16inactualfact istheonly

esources.

coinageI hadanopportunityofworking

othermints.Therefore I proposetodem-

nosinglemintspeakagainstthe redating

andinseveralinstancespermitno other

e . Wek now thatthemintw ascreatedasa

ndthatthepersonnelo f theO stianmintw as

w iththepossiblee ceptionofsomeskil led

. Thetimecanbeestablishedroughlyas

lationsbetweenConstantineandL icinius

aontheother i. e . any timeaf terthecon-

1 . Thee acttimewhenthemintofOstia

s 1 95 8 p . 3 6 0 .

onageofA re late pp. 17 22 themaindif f iculty

onsulariaC onstantinopo litana(C hron. I , p. 2 1 .

ch t H e r m e s 19 5 8 p p . 3 6 0 3 7 0 . An d re o tt i o p .c i t.

gtheva lidityof theassumptionofaconflict in316

brok eoutforthef irstt imein3 14. The j o intcon-

iciniuswouldthushavebeena signofatemporary

ear315.

nit ialso fC hristontheHelmetofC onstantine Studies

erJ ohnson1951 pp. 30 - 11obv iously iswrong

stof thedie-cuttersweretransferredtoR ome

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I

erta ined butDa a isade uately represented

Now myB rit ishco lleagueshavearguedthat

workinginmid- 14 immediatelybefore

dit ionally f i edtothesameyear. Thusthew ar

mpactonthe coinageofthismint.Their

bethatabout ayearwasre uiredforthe

thagetoO stiaandthatanopeningdate of

presupposesanoperationalce leritynotev incedinthe

how ever q uiteclearthatMessrs. Carsonand

edthedurationof thetransfero f theA f rican

yE . K inghaspointedoutinherclosely

entianmintsthattheclosureof Carthage

ntheB rit ishteamsupposed andthatthe

stia took placea lmostsi monthsearlier

AppliedtoArelatethis meansthatminting

eforetheNew Y ear sD ay in3 I 4 noteven

shouldbeconsideredimpossible .

n ecturebasedonanestimateofthe duration

tianmint.Thecoinsthemselvesaremuch

inlistspp. 58f f. Messrs. C arsonandK entaccordingly

thavebeenw ork inginMid-A pril( p. 117 . They

ustine( E p. 88 2 not82 2asgivenbyCarson-

how ever recordsa letterby theproconsulA f ricae

antine datedA pril15 3 1 , inC arthage(astothe

cf . H . K raf t K a iserK onstantinsre ligi seE ntw ick lung

p. 33 , note2 . B utthe letterisnotva lidev idence in

nly show sthatthenew sof the impendingw arhadnotreached

fthisweretheonly evidenceandtheargument

iamighthaveceasedco ininginMarch ifnotearlier.

versyregardingthe timeofthetransferofthe O stian

ofacademicinterestonly . ThefactthatDa a

llissuesprovesthatcoining easilycouldhavebeen

a sdisappearancef romtheobv . butnotla terthan

acanbeattestedasA ugustus ack now ledgedinthe

1 i n t he i n sc r ip t io n C L V I , 5 0 7 pr e se r ve d b y Cy r ia c us

ndrecordingthethirdconsulshipsof Constantineand

6f .

6 2.

cf . C onspectusonp. 78.

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anChronology

dlessofthefactthat oftheearlyseriescom-

e ty p es M A R T C O N S R V A T O R I a n d SO L

T t h e da t e of t w o co i ns o n ly c a n be d e fi n it e ly a s -

l y t w o co n su l ar c o in s m ar k ed P A R L a n d S F . 1

e uenceofmintmarksisestablishedbeyond

L T . T : f o ll o we d b y th e t hr e e is s ue s

A R L

he f i el d . A g ai n t h e th r ee ( ? ) i s su e s ma r ke d

singthef irstco insof theC aesarsaref irm lycon-

eries theveryseriesillustratingtheconf lict

usdisappearsfromtheobversesinthe course

sentfromthe twofollowing.Thisconflict

enominationoftheCaesars( officiallycon-

tSerdicaonMarch1 3 17 . Theabsenceof

riescannotbeduetopurechance asthe

sare fairlynumerous.O fthe#marka

sknownagainst27Constantinian forthe

y ma t er i al c o nt a in s 6 f o r th e M m a rk 3 1

TheratioofConstantiniantoL icinianob-

17marksis

5 /7 6 / 2 4

issuewehaveasubstantia lrepresentationof

mingforthesakeofargumentthat Arelate

14 andthatC iv ilWarI w asfoughtin3 14

6 4 6 6.

. C a rs o n- e n t p p . 1 1 7 f.

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3

ontend w earefacedw iththe ine plicable

ughoutthewarandthe preliminariesto

eredhisadversaryonthecoins buta

henpeaceruledtheE mpire ignoredhis

resofPA R co ins(w ithlargef lansandw ith

M C C O N S TA N T N V S F A V G u n do u bt e dl y

rco insof3 15markedP A R L , " actuallyhave

nobversesthanthesecondpartof thisissue

s( 15/ 7and6 / 24 respectively .

ateandcontinuetotheotherWesternmints.

yenough remainedcompletelyunaffectedby

lycoinedL icinianobversesuptothesettle-

mostasanaf terthoughttheLiciniidonot

thewaratall obviouslyanindicationof

eB rit ishI sles.

epolitical development.L iciniusdis-

the coinagewiththeCaesars toreappear

I C TO R I A L A T A P R I N C P E R P c o in ag e

ghlycomplicatedsystemofcoiningmakesit

actpo intatw hichLiciniusw ase lim inated

thedeathofDa aL iciniusisw ellrepresented

nd# ( thef irst2-o f ficinae issue . A n

eriesw ithT inthef ie ldandtheoff icinae

ealsahighlye laboratesystem andprovesthe

atelyprecededthenominationofthe

of issuesw as

s t pa r t co m pr i si n g

S o l s tg . l . ( P L A T I , c - d

a rs s t g. r . ( P L A T I I , e f

L A T I I , g h L i c in iu s

er n p p. 3 7 f.

beenoutlinedingenera ltermsinmy TheDisappearance

N . S . I I , p p . 1 7 f f.

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anChronology

t So lstg. l. globe low

i C on st an ti ne

atori Marsstg. r. look . l.

S o l ad v . l. ( P L A T I I , j ) S o ns o f C on s ta n ti n e

rystage f irstpartcomprising

blicae So ladv . l.

lcae So lstg. r. look . l.

f f. : A S o l st g . l. ( P L A T I I , k

. l. ( P L A T I I , 1

o f f. . A u n br o ke n r ev . l eg . ( P L A T I I , m

I - V )

o ff . A B S ol s tg . l. ( P L A T I I , n o

t L iciniusdisappearsfromthecoinage

heCaesars i. e . thesonsofC onstantine

nofthetheorythatConstantineelevatedhis

vanceofthesettlementatSerdica.

alsocontributestoourunderstandingof

hisanalysisof thepoliticaldevelopmentof

anscholarC hr. Habicht concludesthattheplot

ult imate ly ledtotheCiv ilWarI , w ascontrived

lce lebrationsonJ uly25 3 15. Now the

antine sdecennaliafollowtwodifferent

theraplura lityo fA ugusti( 28 -5 orsimply

. A lthough atthepresentstateofk now ledge

g definitelytheinternalorderofthesevota

oassumethat thedecennaliawerecelebrated

earslaterf irst inNicomedia theninR ome and

ra lA uggw erestruck in315 thosewiththe

hewarwasimminent.

c e of S o l p . 3 6 A r el a te p p . 25 f f. c f . al s o H a b ic h t H e r me s

p p . 3 7 4 f.

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5

sofLugdunum w ef indaminte tremely

icinius a ltogetherI haverecordedfourco ins

N O P O P R O M m ar k ed # w it h t he a i d of

coinsdateableto3 15. Thustheygiveno

ewar.

tutenoma orproblem.Ticinumstrikesa

withthetypesSoli invictocomitiandMarti

ecreasingmodule commencingwiththe

ndingwiththe longobverselegendI M

F A V G. The lastissuebeforethenominationof

andcomprisedno obverseofL icinius.

t durationand obviously beforethe

rsededbythemarkP T whichintroduces

P I A I V V E N TV T S and C A R I TA SR E I P V B L I CA f or

onstantine I I , respective ly ( early317 .

eof R omeislargelysimilar.Aftera

ol coinagedepictingbothConstantineand

dthe lastmark sbeforetheappearanceof theC aesars

erses:#withtheunusualreverselegend

C O M T D N ( a nd c u rt ai le d S O L I N V I C TC O M D N *

V I C T O C O M T , S o l w it h c ap t iv e . Th e f ac t t ha t

na fewcoinsonlyofthe firstandverysub-

sofCrispusand ConstantineI I oncemore

enominatedhissonsCaesarspriorto the

ontinuouslyduringtheyears3 1 3 17 one

withoutany bearingonourchronological

vebeen acontinuationoftheSoltype with

lywithobversesofallthe threeAugusti

er n p . 44 t he c on su la r co in s c f. M au ri ce I I , p p. 1 9 f . r ev . I V 1 7.

c e of S o l p p . 2 1 f . c f . K e n t P a t te r n p . 4 7 .

c e of S o l p . 2 1.

er n p p . 5o f.

c e of S o l p p . 20 f .

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anChronology

andL icinius. Theonlyunusualfeatureatthis

eofobversesofL icinius averysurprising

rlyinamintsituatedon theborderofthe

pire .

E S SA O N C A

tantinea lmosta lltheL icinianterritory in

mintcit ies SisciaandThessa lonica . The

htforward thelastL iciniangoldissues

antine theverylastactuallystressingthe

demonstratingthattheW esternrulerwas

s.

inagesimilarlyendswitha shortissuewith

ne. This how ever doesnotconclusive ly

enfoughtin316. I fw edatethew arto314

ntinuanceofcoining forthetwoyearsbe-

ementin Serdica asolutionsuggestedby

cannothavebeenthecase isshow nby themint

fortunesweredifferentfromSisciainthat it

iciniusthroughoutthewar.Afterthe out-

a aw ehavefourseriesofbron eco ins

er n p p . 58 f.

hlastL icinianprewarissuesingo ldis:

N S R V A TO R I , E m p. h ol di ng V i c t or y on g lo be m . m .S S C

N V S P F A V G ( 1 1 ) w it h ob v. o fC on st an ti ne a ls o.

N S R V A TO R I , a spr evi ou s m . " : obv .L I C N V S P F A V G

eofC onstantine .

N S R V A TO R A V G E m p . ho ld in g th un de rb ol t m . m. | X

N V S P F AV G ( 1 15

S AV G V STV S ( 1 16

c e of S o l p p . 24 f .

er n p p . 6o f.

r n p . 6 . D a a a c tu a ll y w as e l im i na t ed f r om t h e co i na g e in

I C O N S R V A TO R I A V G G is su e.

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7

N S R V A TO R I AV G GNN

NS R V A TO R I A V GG ( P L A T I I , p q )

NS R V ATO R I A V G( P L AT I I , r

NS R V ATO R I ( P L A T I I , s u

s q uiteclear ande uallyclearisthe fact

oriaugissuewasstruckduringthe hostilities

Licinius. Thepu z lingfeatureof these-

servatoriwiththeConstantinianobversesdom-

histypeto3 17andpresumesadiscontinuance

4and3 17.

eswerestruckinthe namesofbothCon-

thLiciniusdominating asisnatura l. The

icinianobverses w hereasthefourthhadboth

anobverses theformerbeingpredominant.

ethroughout J upiterstandingholding

eaglecarryingawreathathis feet.

roftheI oviconservatoriissuecallsforan

inthe lighto f theeventsinthetheatreofw ar

nbe interpretedinfourdifferentways:

n3 14 Thessa lonicacededtoC onstantine

1 4 T h es s al o ni c a ce d ed i n 3 1 7

16 Thessa lonicacapturedduringthewar

1 6 T h es s al o ni c a ce d ed i n 3 1 7

f irsthypothesisandremark sthatnobron e

hessa lonica intheyears3 14 3 17. This

ncorrectas isshownbythegold multiple

A TA A V G N/V O T X / MV L X X ( P L A T I V , 2 72 s t ru ck

nalia.TheimmediateprototypewastheTic-

T R I A L A T A A V G G N N/ V O T X / MV L X X o f

er y ( P L A T I I I 2 7 ) . N ow s up po si ng t ha t bo th

wereinthehandsof Constantineduring

15/ 16 , w hyshouldtheE mperorhavechosen

eAugustiatTicinumbut notinThessa-

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anChronology

alsobenotedthatscarce lyanyothergoldpiecesare

caatsoearlya j uncture. Nosatisfactory

traordinarycircumstancescanbefound.

beaccepted w ecanf indnoreasonforL icinius

rthewar inoneofhis chiefmints.Thefact

soonasitfell intothehandsofConstantine

t beenevacuated.Twoyearsofinactivity

ntsappearsimpractica landine plicable . The

shouldhavestrucktheI oviconservatoridom-

hessalonicaduringtheseyearsis negligible.

surmisetopoliticalreality hypothesis( ii

sible.I fmilitaryoperationshadceasedin

dthepeacetreatywassignedtw oyearsaf ter-

sthavewithdrawnhistroopsfromL icinian

ationsforpeace.I tshouldberemembered

eadvancedveryfar intoL icinianter-

ppopolis thuscuttingof fhisadversary w ho

hw estinthedirectionofB eroea f rom

a.Now canwereallybelievethatConstantine

sposition hissoleguaranteeofgainingany-

tlement Theansw erisanemphaticNo

singarmiesin thetheatreofwarshould

ussingthetworemainingpossibilities( iii

w hichimply thatthewarw asfoughtin3 16. I n

ouldhavebeenisolatedfromtheL icinian

whiletheConstantinianfleetthreatened

tssovereign. I nactualfactthe problem

isthecorrectso lutionbo ilsdow ntotheq uestion

avinggainedpossessionofThessalonica con-

anI oviconservatoriastheAugustancounter-

es ar s ( P R I N C P I A I V V E N T V T S C A R I T AS

C A , V I R T V SM L I T V MD D NN .

thebron eco insshow sthatthepatronof

yyearsearlierbrokeawayfromthetetrarchic

n dr e ot t i o p . ci t . p p . 10 0 5 1 o o8 .

I 4 p . 16 .

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9

arha iledJ upiterhistute larygod. F orC onstantine

ndswereusedinthe courseoftheI ovicon-

y I m p C o ns t an t in u s pf i n v au g ( P L A T I I , s a n d

g ( P L A T I I , u . O f t h e s e ob v er s e le g en d s th e

prewartimesConstantinehadbeendepicted

man( theportraitemployedwasprobably

theearlierpartof the I ov iconservatoriissuew e

rait ofayouthfulmanwithoutbeard in

portraitwithbeardis connectedwiththe

nstantinuspfinvaug.Thisportrait issub-

byanew narrow C onstantinianportra it the

eronthefirst Constantiniangoldcoinsof

T I V , 2 5 , ande ceptforafew instancesofthe

ge n d ( P L A T I I , s , a l l th e se p o rt r ai t s ar e c ou p le d

ge n d pf a u g ( P L A T I I , u .

ThessalonicaanewportraitofCon-

traditionalstyle andissuedtogetherwith

eobverselegendforthis partoftheissuewas

aug.B eforetheobverselegendwascurtailed

inianportraitwascreated thistimean

breakingawayfromthetetrarchictradition.

tthishappenedwhenConstantinetookpos-

esettlementatSerdica.Atthe sametime

sappeared. Ex pressedintermsofpo lit ica l

stantinedidnot captureThessalonica

atthemintcity itse lfduringthewartrieda

onstantine( namedinvictus anditslegiti-

averynatura lreactionforacity insuchan

onasThessalonica s.Afterthewarthe city

stantine thetetrarchicportraitwassuper-

o ldco iningstartedandL iciniusdisappeared

ge. Thushypothesis( iv provestobethecorrect

the I ov iconservatoriasstruck byC onstantineaf terthew ar

tythat theJ upitertypewascontinuedasan

nthesamewayas anachronisticgoldtypeswere

ntofficialhavetaken theresponsibilityforthisif

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anChronology

o inagethere isonemoredeta iltoe pla in

C TO R I A L A T A A V G N . I p ro po se h ow -

piece later.

thebron eissuesof theE asternmints it

egardsgo ld Siscia istheonlymintmirroring

iciniango ldissueI ov iconservatoriaugwas

Constantine whereastheprecedingissue

Thee actdateof thego ldissuesis how -

blish.

N AN M N TS

stmintsC y icusandA le andriaareof

seof thebron eco insofV a leriusV a lens

. I narecentstudyMr. C arsonhasshow n

forgeriesknown onecoinofeachmint

wnappearstobegenuine. Dr. K ent dating

andreali ingthediff icult iesinvo lvedif these

ne preferstodisregardthementirely.

nsideredChristianoranardentchampionofthe

ouldalsonotethatConstantinewasinThessalonica

mentatSerdica andthattheI oviconservatori

struck forsometime.Thematerialisabundant

obv . legg. ( pfaug appeartobetw iceascommon

.I fweassumethatthe pfinvaugwerecontem-

nianobv. allofthemstruckat Thessalonicaduring

east2 3 months thenumericalstrengthofmymateria l

a instabout70of theobv. leg. I mpC onstantinuspfaug ,

nservatori almostliterallystruckunderthevery

annothavelastedashortertime thantheprevious

weshouldnotethatthepresenceof theE mperor

tynaturallyincreasedthe localneedofcash

yofstrik ing. A ga in thetheory thatthe Iov icon-

ntinueasan emergencyfindslittlesupportin

menewtypeswereintroducedboth forgoldand

sthereforeveryunlik ely thatJ upiterappearedonthe

heintentionsof theE mperor.

g er i es N C 19 5 8 p p . 4 7 5 8 .

er n p p. 3 1 6 8 7 . S es to n R e l a i on i di X C o ng re ss o in te r-

oriche( 1955 V I , p. 782 note3 isinerrorw henassum-

o ldco inofV a leriusV a lens cf . a lsoHabicht op. cit .

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clusive lyprovethedateof thewartobe3 16.

rlyclearlyinAle andria wheretwoseries

themintmark K| A

riaugforL icinius

atoriauggforL iciniusandV alens

ggforC onstantine L icinius C rispus

cinius oncehavingbrokenhisre lationswith

arsa loneontheco ins( aug ) , thenappo ints

augg , and f ina lly a f terthepeacetreaty

dthetwooldestCaesars( coinsofCon-

tbefound otherw isetheabsenceof theyounger

eflectalate stageinthenegotiationsbe-

iciniuswhenthelatterhad deposedV alens

oneofthesonsof ConstantineasCaesar

eory threemembersof theHouseofC on-

ntheWestama ority inthe imperia l

e andrianissuecouldpossiblybeconnected

chshow sthatL icinius ready tocompromise

sulso f3 17beforeC onstantine . The

ftheeventsisprovenby theuseofa single

s.

sless e plicitalthoughtheissuewith

cedesthepostwarserieswithobversesof

ddthatwhereastheNicomedianand

nocluesas tothechronologyofCivilW ar

r n p . 7 p u bl i sh i ng b o th p a rt s o f ( i i a s o ne i s su e ( s i c .

p . 3 6 6.

ht sinterpretation( pp. 365f f . tak esnoaccountof

a faurie inB ull. Soc. F ran . Num. 1954 p. 29 .

s ti f o r F e b r ua r y 17 3 1 7 ( D e g r a ss i I F a s ti C o ns o la r i

L a faurie loc. cit.

er n p .6 8.

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nChronology

e uenceofmark sandobversesconformstothe

y icusandA le andria . A f terthefa llo f

riseof theC aesarsw ehavethreemark sand

_ A b o t h I o v i co n se r va t or i a ug g o b v . h ea d l au r . r.

atoriauggnn bustlaur. drap. r. withcurta iled

C N V S A V G a nd f in al ly ( d I o vi c on se rv at or i

obv. leg. andabustrad. drap. ho ld.

pa.Thisbustis latertobeused withthe

n eissuesof thismint a llo fw hichincluded

ianandL icinianH ouses andentit led

o ne ta .

erngoldcoinagesonlyNicomediasheds

se ofevents.Nicomediaappearstohave

fL icinius. I n3 15/ 16L iciniuscomme-

fC onstantineby issuingthetypeV I C TOR I A

M V L X X s h or t ly a f te r wa r ds o b vi o us l y be f or e

onservatoriw ithoutanyC onstantinianobverseswas

stoco incidew ithCiv ilWarI .

er n p p . 7o f.

I showsthem. m. tohavebeeninuseaf ter

re c ed i ng i s su e o f th e s am e m .m . wa s a I O V C O N S R -

anyobv. o fC onstantine .

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R Y O F TH E TR A V E L L I NG M N T

smatistGeorgE lmeroncemadethe

atthelateR omangoldmintwasatra-

natelythepaperinwhichhedevelopedthis

nfull ithasthereforebeenimpossible

etail. NeverthelessDr. K entof theB rit ish

samelineofthoughti nhisstudyof the

nage andinasurveyof thetetrarchic

inkhintedata similarphenomenonby

ravity withregardtothecoiningc hanged

tivityof theE mperor.

nstratethatthetravellingmintwas a

to il lustratehow theorgani ationwork edin

onotpretendtobe abletogivemorethan

fullyaw areof thefactthatfutureresearch

details.

int iscloselyconnectedwiththefact

rticularlybeforethefoundationofConstanti-

ead uartersandnof i edcapita lasanad-

m i sc h er M n m t er i m I V J a h rh . . n. C . M i t t .d . n um .

p . 1 6 . T he e p r es s io n t h e t r av e ll i ng m i nt t h ou g h no t

eusedinthese uelasamattero fconvenience. I n

ibleto ascertainatpresenttowhate tentthe

whate tentthemobilityofthe mintscoincided

mperor.Thoughthegeneralruleprobablywasthat

minting w erestationaryandthattheEmperor( or

employedtheservicesofthesemints therearecertain

alof mobilityamongthemintemployees signs

thDr. K ent stheoryof thefourthcenturybron e

butinspasmodicoutburstsofintense activity

.

heL aterR omanE mpire inEssaysinR omanC oinage

ttingly1956 p. 198.

ng d e s D i o cl e ti a nu s u nd s e in e r Mi t re g en t en N Z 6 4 1 9 1

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nChronology

tbecomesofprimaryimportanceto

againthishaspreviouslylargelybeendone

tion hisedicts rescriptsandsoon grouped

unanimouslyfi edgeographicallyandphysi-

s.Y etthemilestonesavailablearefew

mainedlarge lycon ectura l. I t ismy

ysisof thegoldcoinageenablesusto

heI mperialchronologywithanaccuracy

vedfroma studyofthelegislation.The

urse emergeoutofanefforttoreconsiderthe

ghtofnumismaticresearch. I nthisconte t

houghtitwisesttotouchuponthese lega lmatters

veaffectedthearrangementofthe gold

isionofthe datesoftheTheodosianCode

fora studyofConstantinianlegislation

thecompassof thispaper.

ussionofdetails afewwordsshouldbe

dcoinageasa whole.Astrikingcharac-

ftypesemployed particularlyinthe

Constantine contrarytothepractice

co inage. Whereasthebron eco inage at

trictedareas generallyspeaking was

geclearlywashighlydifferentiated.Certain

oldata ll( L ondinium L ugdunum , others

e A r el a te A u i le i a C y i c us H e r a c le a . O n l y

lyparallelsetsofgold typesinanytwo

ume clusivelystrikingthevotasuscepta

( 2 6 , P L A T V , 2 64 2 66 2 67 o f th e Ca es ar s

commemoratingthefifthconsulshipof

astrik ingvotisx ( i. e . soluta caessnn(3 15

votisx caesn( 3 14 o fe actly thesamere-

e lieve isanindicationthatmanyof thego ld

neousbutsuccessive.

shouldbestressedthatinmostcasesthe

henstrikinggold retaintheirparticular

ndicationthatthemintsremainedstationary

orcontrollersweremobile.

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gMint25

echrono logica lse uenceof thego ldissues

gthe travelsoftheE mperorandasfar

hereaboutsthroughouthisreign.O nthe

odothiswithoutthea idof thenumismaticma-

e sit inerary isw orkedout thene tstep

thegoldmintingcoincideswith thetem-

mperor.O ncethegeneralprincipleis

wemaybeentitledtoinfer thatcertain

resupposeavisit ofthecourtto the

yaimisto reconstructtheitineraryandto

arysources mainlytheI mperialcon-

ismaticmaterialcanbecorrelated.

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F T H E TH E O D O S A NCO D E

owledgeofthetravelsoftheE mperor

AgreatnumberofI mperialconstitutions

m andplaceof issue. Theyearisindicated

manyinstanceseitherthedate orthe

ssing.

ptionsoftheconstitutionsstatealso or

and/ ortheplacewheretheyw ererece ived

perlye hibitedorproposed( propositum . I fnothing

situmhas beenpreserved wegetater-

tutionsassuchbut o fcourse no indication

sue. If how ever w ek now f romother

constitutions theEmperor stemporary resi-

toca lculatetheappro imatetimebetw een

mor propositum.I ftheplaceof thedatum

theacceptumorpropositum avery

eelapsedbetweentheoneandtheother.

uncertainsources oftheTheodosian

tesaretoa highdegreeconflicting.Thisis

yMommsen sendeavourtow ork outthe

rsinhisintroductionof hiseditionofthe

anscholarwascompelledtoconfinehimself

chas( fortheyear3 19A . D. D ehoc

nobisutil ianonsuppeditat. C onstitutiones q uae

t ducuntadI l ly ricumpotissimum. Ne ueR o-

annoConstantinusadiit.

ontradictorystatementsaboutdates

ationoftheprinciplesunderlyingthecom-

peria lconstitutionshavebeenpreservedelsewhere in

ourcesandthe like.Apartof theconstitutions

odosianCodearenow preservedintheCode

eplacesco incide tw ow eek scouldpassf romdatum

rtherfortnighttopropositum(Seeck R egesten p. 10 .

monthsbetweendatumandpropositumseemsacceptable

ine traordinarycases.

emporaetloci.

I I .

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sianCode27

mmsen o fcourse la idaf irmfoundation

dOttoSeeck usinghisintimatek nowledge

mpireandthe legisla tiveproceduref ina lly

logical andconsistentarrangement. Any

arilyinvolvesagreatdealofemendation

ngprincipleis tomakecertaindates

yoftheconstitutions pointsofdeparture

titutionswhichby theirdatesand/or

ict withotherevidence.Thusweare

possiblesourcesoferrors occurringinthe

e150pagestoane cellentanalysisofall

isconte t.

ustoofartorecapitulateSeeck sargu-

ortanceforthesubse uentdiscussion

mentioned.

ortheinaccuracieswithregardto the

mperorTheodosius instructionsthatinany

tionsthechronologicallylatershould be

f theCodeshouldthereforebearrangedin

eachbookandtitle.I nadditioneach

din aneasilyrecognisableway according

howsconclusivelythatthesubscriptionsfre-

nsbasedontheF asti andmoreregularly

heperiodcoveredby theTheodosianCode

h e re s ul t i s t o q u o t e hi s w or d s: W i r h a be n h ie r du r ch

sat gew onnen daf fDatierungen dieden

en mindervertrauenswiirdigsindalssolche

mirgendwieabweichen.

methedatesof thesubscriptionsthere-

pondtotheF astie ceptfor k le ineTe t-

ssungoderE ntstellungderI terations if fern V er-

tendenNamen 2.B .ConstanteundConstantio

ursanone istentconsulate andtheonly

se r u nd P p s te S t ut t ga r t 1 9 19 .

1 1mak esanyundatededictorconstitutionnull

r Te tstufenk lassischerJ uristen p. 3 9 a lsonote68.

onsulariaC onstantinopolitanaasrecordedbyHydatius .

b i d.

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nChronology

goftheF astiisthe useoftheformula

nss w hichoccursthreetimes. Thisw ordingis

eclosecorrespondencetotheF astiisalso

senceofpostconsulates( tobediscussed

2 3 3 6 .

nto f importance isaccordingly thattheconsular

periodfre uentlyareinterpolations that

efaulty andthataconfusionbetween

C onstantine I andI I , C onstantiusand

pectedtooccur. Thesame ofcourse appliesto

nsulshipsofprivatepersonscanbe e -

ologicalconsiderationsisrenderedby

istso fo f ficia ls particularlyby the listo f

ct astudyofLateR omanprosopography is

anye aminationoftheTheodosian

egestenasa V orarbe itz ue inerP rosopo-

a iser e it andheconsistently triedtore-

oldersofI mperialoffices.When the

theaddresseesoftheconstitutionsfre-

uesasto thedate.

o into f importance isthereforethatw ehaveto

s(asindicatedby theconsularyearsinthe

toftheprosopographicaldataavailable

raphicaldatesgiveninthesubscriptionsare

ronologicalcriteriathanthe consulates

mallgemeinengiltf rdieK a iserk onsulateder

daf f siesichbisaufdieZ eitdesV a lensherab

rvertauschenlassen.Welches inj edemein-

hlenist dar berentsche idenw enigerdie I terations-

2 2.

anperiodSeeck notesthato f33 constitutionsthe iteration

1cases possiblybutnotprobablycorrectin

wrongin14cases( p. 3 6 . F orthesonsofC onstantine

.

p. 67.

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sianCode29

rnamen a lsOrtundA dressat m itunternochauch

es.

erconception whichshouldbemen-

ostconsulateswasemployedwhenthecon-

cceptable. Seeckstatestwoimportant

ostconsulates ( a thattheydonotoccur

nningofayear(w henconce ivably theauthor-

ennotifiedof theconsulsoftheyear ,

compilersdidthe irutmosttoe lim inatethepost-

arreckoninginthe Code. Another

fcourse theunconsciousomissionofapost-

ntisthusthataseemingly incorrectdatemay

letedpostconsulate.I nthesecasesthe

ayearearlier orla ter thansuggested

n if thesubscriptionrecordsI mperia lcon-

everalstartingpointswhencountingback-

attheacceptaandpropositahave little

withregardtoourparticular purpose.The

anCodeappeartohaveheldthe same

constitutionsrecordingso le ly thenoteof

reincludedinthe Code thisappearsto

c f . al s o p. 1 D i e g r o e M e hr a h l de r D a t i er u ng e n sc h ei n t

dochmischensichdarunterso vieleerweislichfalsche

mmenauf142F ragmente36fa lschedierte . .. dassMommsen

gef rsicherbeglaubigtundj edebeliebigeA nderungf rerlaubt

e lteSchrif tenI I , p. 401 .

s . A go o d e a m p l e is g i ve n b y K e n t P a t te r n p p . 24 f .

onsularreckoningsinthe dominionsofConstantine

sD a a - i c in i us r e sp . i n t h e y ea r s 3 0 6 3 1 .

4f f . cf . a lsop. 22. Thiswasdonetoavo idconfusionin

nsulate( inthesubscriptionnotedas p.c. was

hecompilersthereforetriedto restorethedating

onsulates mitderse lbenI nk onse uen undL ieder-

nstbeiihnenbeobachten ( Seeck p. 66 .

68f. 155.

76 1 5 5.

l i ne s 3 3 f f .

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anChronology

erecordsof the I mperia llegisla tion. C on-

sole lyacceptaorpropositaw ereaddedasak ind

forttoreconstructtheorigina lte tanacc.

fre uentlyappearstohavebeensubstitutedbya

uidingprincipleseemstohavebeen thatpre-

erecordedrather thantheacceptumor

ndproposituminthesamete tareclearly

emergingoutofSeeck se aminationis

maybea substitutioneitherforanaccep-

however appliesonlytoconstitutions

positumislocatedintheadministrative

ceptinthecaseofhighcourto f f icia ls. I n

yenablesusto dateaconstitutionayear

ete t.

esgivingthetime oftheyear( month

ethanthe consulates.Dubious pointscan

ordinaryphilologicalmethods.Asthe e act

w asre uired w emaye pecttoencounter

sconte t too . Theplaceof issueorof

ver ofsecondaryimportancetothecompilers.

prisingthatthispartof thesubscriptionin

itted. Ontheotherhand w emayassume

ytohavebeen renderedcorrectly.Seeck

emosttrustworthypartofthesubscrip-

esdooccur. Dubiouspo intscanusuallybee -

ilologicalanalysis.Mostcasessuggest a

re uentlyoccurringnameswithlittleknown

ingnames.

wordsaboutthepreamblesofthecon-

f tw oparts ( a thenameof the legisla tor

antinopleobviouslyweretheforemostsource

onofthe materialofearlydateshowsthata

econsitutionswerenotto befoundinthecapital.

mustthereforebebrought together andthe

esmostcertainlyhad tobesatisfiedwithincomplete

pp. 2f f . .

e ec k p . 8 1. * S e ec k p . 8 o.

S e ec k p p . 96 f f. 7 P . I O 6 .

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sianCode3 I

ssee. Theformermustf re uentlyhavebeensupplied

ryearnotedinthe subscription.The

beene.g.idemA oridemAA.This had

of theC ode andconse uently thisca lled

mputer. O ccasionallythenamesofthe

identifyingtheI mperialconsulshipsre-

.

esecondparto f thepreamblemaybe

stworthiestpassagesoftheconstitution

ccur.Thisconcernsthe names whereas

onsoftheofficesheldby theaddressees

ortedor confused.

emaynotethat ( a thedatesof theC alendar

raphica lnames and( c thenamesof theaddressees

epartsofthepassagesof theconstitutions

ses.

t isthatindubiouscaseslitt leheedshouldbe

ressees.

esofcerta inC onstantinianconstitutionsw illbe

cita imofestablishingtheE mperor sit inerary .

dconstitutionswith anindicationoftheplace

d.I nsofaras revisionsofthedatesofcertain

ssary thepictureofConstantine slegislation

staskwithoutdirect bearingonthechrono-

however bereservedforfutureresearch.

uentsurveyistheredatingof Constan-

ar proposedearlierbyme " furtherconf irmed

udies andrecentlywholeheartedlyac-

Therevisionof thedateof thisw araf fec-

onstitutions andHabichtw enteven

ted.Nowthe redatingofcertaincon-

S e e ck p . 1 12 . 3 I b i d.

f e .g . p r a ef ec tu s p r ae to ri o p r ae p o si tu s ( a lt er na ti ve ly

i o , p r a ef e ct u s u r b is a n d pr o c o n su l . T h es e f re -

wereoccasionallyinsertedinsteadofother more

pp. 115f f . .

f f . particularlyp. 18 note5.

p. 3 6 7 3 7 o .

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anChronology

thedatesofothers.Seeck sR egesten

finterpolationsbasedona brilliantana-

ningthe conceptionoftheTheodosian

E mperor sit inerary isad usted acha in

poseof thefollowingpagesistosee how

by theredatingofCivilW arI affects

tantinianChronologyasawhole.

aminationindicates withreference

etrave lsbySeeck datedto31 rea llybe long

rourstudyofthe datesoftheTheodosian

akethefactthat ConstantineleftMilan

iciniusinthespringof3 1 to f ightthe

inefrontier.

noproofsthatConstantinetookup

e c em be r 27 3 1 ( C Th X I 2 9 1 3 0 1 .

atTrierandby Seeckreferredtothe

inhisopinion C onstantine in3 I 4w ascampaign-

e al l y be l on g t o 3 1 4 n a me l y CT h V I 3 5 I ;

3 0 2 3 6 I ; I I 2 I . 3 ; V I I I I o I ; X 15 I ; X I I , 2

N e ve r th e le s s d e sp i te t h e wa r o pe r at i on s o n th e f ro n ti e r

tantinemadeTrierhishead uartersand

trationmuchearlier andaftertheGer-

re late inD ecember3 1 . H ispresence is

n J a n ua r y a n d on M a rc h 2 6 3 1 4 ( C T h I I I

eendof theyeartheTheodosianCodeshow shim

ctober29 November3 and8andonD e-

iously fortheconsularprocessionontheNew Year.

ediscussedinA relate itw asmostlyacaseofmain-

curately restoring thedatesrecordedinthesubscriptions.

p . 16 1 re fe rr in g to E u m en es P a n eg . X I I ( I X ) 2 1 5 .

pp. 78 162. Obv iouslyw ehavetoacceptSeeck sinsertion

etheconsularyearsunless wepreferMommsen s

relatedtothedatumofthe edict.

1 f. * H a b ic h t H e r me s 1 95 8 p . 3 6 9 .

p . 3 6 8 n ot e I .

a n ua r y 22 ( C u s t V I I 3 2 I o c a nn o t ha v e fo l lo w ed

f thedecree.

mentionedabove bySeeck referredto31 .

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sianCode3 3

ortstoshowthatConstantinestayed

hishead uartersuntilandpasthisinit ia l

efirstpartofthe in uiryconcernsthe

SeeckasshowingConstantinestaying

od.Thiswilltake usthroughthecontro-

theC iv ilWarin3 16 andactua lly to318

disagreementw ithregardtotheEmperor s

eof theyearofConstantine sfourth

ennia lcelebrations(3 15/ 16 suggeststhat

Gauluntiltheinitial decennialcelebra-

eConstantinianconstitutionsconfirmsour

ddecennialcelebrationsatR omeproveto

on ecture.Modernresearchhaswithout

m se n s v i ew s a s e p r es s ed i n C I p . 3 9 7

ptionibuscircailludtempusin urbemora-

C ode how ever giveslitt lesupporttohis

eof theCThV I I I 7 1hasbeendemon-

. T h e CT h I I 3 0 I i s su e d at S i rm i um w i th

I I I e tL icinioconssappearstobef romthe

readingcertainlyw asC onstantinoA I I I I I e t

ThatC onstantineshouldhavestayedinL icinian

te impossible .

k sR egestenismorecontroversial

1 d a t X V k al A ug A u il r ec it at a ap ut V e t ti um

onSeptC onstantinoA V etL icinioC conss.

logicalconsiderationsonthefact that

rbanprefectin3 15/ 16andconcludesthat

Thecorrect consulardatingaccording

A et L i c i ni o c on s s i . e. 3 1 2 3 1 o r 3 1 5 . B y

s forcedtoaltertheplace ofissue

sometwentymilesoutsideR ome because

sinterpretationoftheCalendarof P hilo-

8 p a rt i cu l ar l y no t e 5 H a b i c ht o p . ci t . p p . 3 6 8

p p. 3 6 8 3 7 o n ot e 1.

I o 8 1 6 .

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anChronology

sthaveenteredR omeeitheronJ uly18or

mentionmadeoftheurbanprefect

rw eretwocontemporaryV etti iR uf inii the

16 C . V ettiusC ossiniusR uf inus " andthe

w aspretorianprefectin3 19/ 20 andpossibly

tisfa irly corrupt. Atleastitvariesindif ferent

uscriticusrecords apuduettium( uittiumN

G , r uf in um ( o m . O ) , p u ( s i c P M S p pu H ,

C p po G p po u rb B , o m. O ) . I t i s th er ef or e

orrupt thattheof f icia linq uestionw as

pefectC . V ettiusC ossiniusR uf inus in

ro f fice orthepretorianprefectV ettiusR uf i-

nterpretationmakesthewords insenatu

d.Thatthedecreethus wasissuedon

1 9 i n A u i le i a ap p ea r s e t r em el y l ik e ly p r ef e ra b ly

tine spresence inA uile iacanbeestablished

g. V at. 274ofA ugust1 . Thesubscription

stisR omaeC onstantinoetL icinioauggconss.

pecified thetheoreticallypossibleyears

d 3 1 5 . I n 3 1 C on s ta n ti n e ha d l ef t I t a ly w he r ea s

R omein3 12.Thusourinterpretation

ntentirelydependsonourinterpretation

vents.

g. V at. 3 3 , hasthesubscription proposita

antinoetL icinioauggI I I I conss. Thatthis

orethanafew daysbeforeA ugust1 is

cyoftheV aticanfragmentsasregardsthe

akesitverydifficultto establishthecorrect

eproposesachoiceofanyoneof theyears3 12

1 9 ( C on s ta n ti n o A V e t L i c i n i o Ca e s co n ss . T h us 3 1 2

atealsoforthisfragment.

Samenste llingvandenR omeinschenSenaatindeI V e

G e nt 1 9 4 ( i n t yp e sc r ip t o nl y , n o . 77 6 .

77 7 c f . Se e ck R e g e s te n p . 1 4 . A s t o th e c or r ec t ed

accordingtoSeeck ( p. 167 establishinghimaspretorian

cf . be low p. 3 9.

R e g es t en p p . 8f . * R e g es t en p . 2 .

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sianCode3 5

heodosianCodeestablishConstantine

am el y X I 3 0 3 ( A ug us t 25 , I 2 2 ( p ro po si tu m

, I ( S e pt e mb e r 18 . T he d a ti n g ap p ea r s to

havetoacceptthemasproofsthat

omeatleastduringthetime August25

5 .

egativechronologicalargument weshould

ofhis stayingelsewhere.Thatis what

rwardtoshowhis movementsinthe

ourdatescanapparentlybeestablished March21

J uneI andA ugust3 inTrier. Thedate

ttoC abil lunumrestsonC ThI X 40 2. Seeck i

su l sh i ps C o ns t an t in o A I I I e t L i c i n i o I I I I

ccordingtohim C onstantinew asinThessa-

ntlyDr. H abichthasshownthedatere-

edbySeecktoF ebruary27 3 16 has

byme andthereadingsuggestedwaslater

cht.

ed inCThX I I I 5 2 whichgivesthe

tantineandL icinius.Seeck assuming

inI ta lyatthetime w asforcedtoa lter

urrev isionof theEmperor sit ineraryenables

dating.

C ThI 16 I recordingthefourthconsulates

ius.Seeck iscompelledtoalterthe dating

conssbecauseofthe supposeddecennial

thattime.Againthere isnonecessityto

arystep sincetheE mperorcannotbeproved

thattime.W emaythusconcludethat

sinitialdecennaliaatTrieron J uly25

August tobeinR omenotlaterthan

p .#

e g e s te n p . 9 8.

2 f . * R e g es t en p p . 55 1 6 1.

o te 5 .

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anChronology

nCodearehighly controversialfor

. Of f if ty -si decreesf if ty - twohavethedatingof

etL icinioC conss w hereasonlyoneisdated

poC conss. Seeck decidedthattw oseriesof

dandendeavouredtoreconstructthe

rw iththea idofaddressees actingunder

meofan addresseewaslesslikelytobe

on.

usB assus whoheldofficefromMay15

19 istheaddresseeofsevera lo f theconstitutions

thatnodecreedirectedtoB assusinhis

bicanbelaterthanA ugust31 3 19 thus

t he y ea r o f CT h I I 1 7 1 g i ve n a t A u i le i a

sim ilara lterationsof thedatesofsevera l

rnecessary itwouldbeunnaturalifno

3 18.O neparticularcaseillustrateshow

consulatemighthavebeenaltered.CThX I

oA V etL icinioC conss w hereasthecor-

I I I , 3 , f r om a d i ff e re n t so u rc e t ha n t he p r es e nt

cordstheprobablycorrectL icinioV etC rispo .

er thereconstructionof theE mperor sit iner-

withdueregardtotheprosopographical

asstayinginA uile iaonO ctober12 3 18

stheoryconcerningthedatesand the

ow i ng d e cr e es : C T h X I 3 0 9 ( J u n e 22

I , 6 ( J u ly 1 A u il ei a , V I I I 1 7 2 ( Se pt emb er 7

utionsbySeeckrecordedfrom theendof

6 2 ( O c t ob er 2 4 S i r mi um , V 2 I ( D e c em be r 1

2 5 1 ( D e c e m be r 1 2 S i r m iu m c r ea t e so m e

hatConstantinecelebratedhisprocessus

ntheNew Year3 19. Seeck sarrangement

rhadlef tI ta lyby theautumn3 18andw as

neof thesethreedecreesisC ThX I V 25 I ,

lAfricaeAconius Catullinus.Here Seeck

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sianCode3 7

recordedconsulardatingC onstantinoA I I I

c o ns s t o ip s o au g c on s . N o wt h e da t e in i t se l f is n o

istof Africanproconsulsneedstoberevised.

earlyConstantinianproconsulsin Africa

in ni ng o f Ap ri l O c t ob er 3 1 3 1 .

b ru a ry 1 5 N o ve mb e r 8 3 1 . 4. W e h a v e at l e as t

uslybelongingtothesamegroupand origi-

samelaw. O f thesef ive namelyC ThI

, X I 1 2 X I 7 1 ( b ot hNo ve mb er 1 ; V I I I I o I

thNovember8 , the lastbutone istheonlycomplete

iondatV I idNovTrev iris accX V k a l

in o A I I I e t L i c i n io I I I c o ns u li b us . T he

se re ferstotheacceptum " andthustheday

3 14. A sa llthesedecreesorigina llybe-

theacceptumactuallyreferstothemall

sagehasbeenomittedin someofthem.

wererecordedin alldecreesisonlynatural.

inallinstances 3 14.Thelatestdecree

onsulAfricaewasof November8 3 14.

cordshimas holdingthesameofficeon

robianus establishedasproconsulA f ricaeon

T h X I 3 0 3 ) . O n t h e s e co n d da t e re c or d ed b y

3 1 6 h i s ti t le o r o ff i ce i s n ot m e nt i on e d a n d th e t wo

nmustthereforebedisregardedinthis conte t.

inus. H e ismentionedinthreeconstitutionsof

C Th I X 4 0 1 X I 3 0 2 X I 3 6 1 b ut by na me

rebedisregardedhere . Hene tappearsin

o f D e c e mb e r 12 3 1 5 t h e de c re e me n ti o ne d a bo v e.

c f . al s o p. 5 6 .

e p . 47 7.

1 A p r i l 26 3 1 5 a s r e co r de d b y Se e ck i b id .

f .

H a b ic ht p . 3 6 9.

12 1 cf . thecommentsintheMommsen-Meyer

Code.

commentstoC ThI 12 1.

e p . 47 7.

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anChronology

order buttheplaceof issue Sirmium is

uncture.Thisdifficultycanbeeliminatedby

pedientinanotherconte t o fcorrecting

miobeinglocatedatthe Gardalake.

ablishedinof f iceasearlyasA pril3 19 sincethe

nMay7 3 19presupposesadateof issue in

1 . H e i s f u r th e r es t ab l is h ed o n J u l y 27 3 1 9 ( C T h

houghtheconsulardatingappearstobecorrupt. ( C on-

t L i c in i o co n ss i n st e ad o f C on s ta n ti n o A I I I I I e t

herdecreesdonotrecordhistit leandoff ice .

shouldberecordedthat ofthetwocon-

ullinusatatimewhenP roculusalreadyhad

st C T h X I 1 6 1 o f A ug u st 2 7 3 1 9 i s a p ro -

sue impossibletoascerta in mustfallw ithin

eAfricanproconsulate.Theotherdecree

o f J u l y 28 3 2 0 i s ba d ly c o rr u pt . S ee c k in c or r ec t ly

houghthemss.recordpraefectoandpp.H e

ngto ipsoAet Cconssalthoughthems.

I etC onstanteconss. Themostlik e lydating

heyearofC onstantine sseventhandC onstantius

ntestandingforacorruptConstantio.

atConstantinespenttheendof theyear

here isnonecessity toconsiderthetw oconstitutions

rectedtoF e li , praesesC orsicae asbe longing

yev idenceofanof ficia lw iththattitle restsw iththe

F e l i ( C Th I 1 6 3 ; I I 6 2 . T h ec o ns u la r

rly corrupt C onstantinoA I I I I e tL icinio

n st e ad o f Co n st a nt i no A I I I I I e t L i c in i o Ca e s co n s "

correctconsulshipsof319. F ina lly forthe

ulshipsarecorrectly recorded andtheaddressee

finusisthefirst onerecordedfortheGallic

ventsusfromacceptingthe subscriptionof

ck scon ecture .

1 6 0 wh e n di s cu s si n g th e CT h V I I 2 2 1 .

on st an ti no A I I I e t L i c in io I I I I .

I n t ro d uc t io n p . CX C X .

msen-Meyer.

.

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sianCode3 9

w hereaboutsfortheendof3 19established

roposedby Seeckinvolvesomediffi-

oconstitutionsof J uly25 3 19 issuedat

5 I a nd I I 1 6 2 . T he l at te r d ir ec te d ad B a s su m

inferenceofSeeckandMommsen-Meyer

eurbanprefecto f3 17/ 19issupportedsole ly

( x onianusB odle ianusSeldenianusB 16 ms.

suminte llegepraefectumurbi. A sthems.

eurbanprefect thecompilernecessarily

ng forthisisthe onlyms.givingthe

noA I I I I e tL icinioconss probably instead

I e t L i c i n io C c o ns s . I n o t h e r ms s . th e c on s ul -

antinoA V I I I e tC onstantioC obv iously the

n ti n o A V I I I e t Co n st a nt i no C I I I I ) . T h us t h e

stantio( proConstantinoC .Mommsen-

othintheircommentsandinthe irintroduction

hevastma orityof themss. (NB G P M S

cessitatedby thefactthatC ThI I 16 I has

26.Theabovediscussionhasshownthat this

valid thatthecorrectdateofC ThI I 16 2

assusinq uestionw asthepretorianprefecto f

s w hosucceededA blabiusin3 29.

directed AdSymmachumvicarium

. O n f o r m al g r ou n ds n o o b e c ti o ns c a n be r a is e d ag a in s t

f r om F e b r u ar y 4 3 1 8 ( C Th I I 4 I ) , a n d

therofO ctober12of thesameyear( C ThI I I

ppearstobecorrect too . Neverthe less asw eare

I 16 2to3 29 thesameshouldbedonew ith

ecause itw ouldbehighlyunlik e ly thattheEmperor

ne actlythesamedayin suchasmall

espitethefactthatitw ashisbirthplace on

antinedoesnotseemto haveattachedmuch

.

abil ityof theOms. cf . Mommsen-Meyer pp. L X V I f .

f .

2o.

e p . 47 4.

1 6 6.

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nChronology

rcitieswererenamedafterhimor after

Cirta-ConstantinainAfrica Arelate-Con-

antium-C onstantinopo lis He lenopo lis thenew

ontis butnotNaissus , andbecauseC on-

ssofthesetwodecreesis knowntohavebeen

T h X I 2 7 1 o f M a y 1 ) . I n a d di t io n i t sh o ul d b e

usby3 29musthavebeena manofcon-

w asoneof theconsulso f3 3 0. Thecharactero f

15 1recordedw ithv icariusonly isuncerta in.

mperialconsulshipsrecordedisnoserious

ent particularlyifoneconsiders theun-

ncerningthe consulatesoftheI mperial

he C Th I X 3 7 i s su e d at S e rd i ca o n No -

toacerta inI anuarinus. F irsto fa lltheproper

totheC ThV I o I o fA ugust18 andthe

September29 bothissuedatSerdica . Thecon-

ectfor3 29e ceptfortheslighterrorC on-

e t C on s ta n ti o I I I I c o ns s i ns t ea d o fC o ns t an t in o

nt in o CI I I I . F o r ma ll y th e da te o fC Th I X 3 7 I

l ly it isimpossible fortheEmperortohave

ob e r 24 3 1 9 ( C T h I 1 6 3 ) , i n S er d ic a o n No -

rmiumonD ecember1( C ThV 2 1 . This

caseofanomittedpostconsulate . Thisw ould

theendofw hichtheEmperorspentinthisim-

w ehaveadecree( C ThI X 3 4 3 ) addressed

sandpostedonD ecember4 3 20inR ome

ber makesthe lik elihoodof thisarrangement

ore bothdealw ithactionsatlaw C ThI X

t or y w ri t in g s an d C Th I X 3 7 I w i th a n nu l me n ts

dshowthatConstantinespenttheentire

ceptontwopossibleoccasions May22( C ThI X

2 ( C T h X V I , 4 . N ow t h e co n su l ar d a ti n g of t h e

1 7 9.

1 6 8f .

cf . R egesten pp. 66ff .

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sianCode4

I etC onstantioC conss thecorrectformula

ars320and3 26areeasily confused , there

rana lterationinthiscase. I t istruethat

dtheaddresseeasMa imusp raefectus

Ma i m us ( V a l er i us M a i m us B a s i l i us h e ld t h at

3 19toSeptember12 3 2 . O ntheother

iablemss. B andN recordtheof f iceas

etori 0. Thisreadinghasnotbeenacceptedthoughit

f theproblemofthedecreethan either

teorthe insertionofap ost c onsulatum in

ow ever thedecreew asaccepted andaccord-

thisimpliesthatthepretorianprefectmust

iveheadofI taly.AccordingtoSeeck such

startingfromtheappointmentofR ufinus

3 18accordingtoSeeck f romthesameday in319

egetpretorianprefectsinA f rica I ta lyandGaul.

arstobeamisinterpretationofthe evidence

redtobySeeck musthavebeenofficialsof

et he r M en a nd r os ( J u n e 22 3 2 0 J u l y 6 3 2 2

s Se v er u s ( D e c em be r 1 8 3 2 2 - a n u a ry 2 , 3 2 4

sa nu s ( A u g u st 1 3 2 1 i n I t a ly i s a dd r es s ed a s

nstitutionin CTh.Theonlyofficialreferred

a llyV ettiusR uf inus andSeeck j ustly re-

fficeappearstocoincidewithCrispus first

eckarguesfurtherthatthe customofaddressing

efectbecamenecessarywhenthenumberof

andtheholderswereacting farawayfrom

hadbeenoneprefect onlytherehadbeen

se pressly tohim. Obv iouslyV ettiusR uf inus

ndw henaf terthedefeato fL iciniustheE ast

dthepretorianprefectsnecessarilymusthave

customadoptedduringhistenureofo f f icew asde-

Ma imusappearstohavebeentheWestern

n tr od uc ti on p p. C CX I V , C CX V I I I .

e r M o mm s en - Me y er p p . CX X X I I I f .

f . * C f . p . 3 9 a b o ve .

e p p. 4 7 f . * R e ge st en p . 14 .

raetorioOrientis cf . R egesten pp. 144f .

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nChronology

GaulandI ta ly andthisaccountsforthe

dinR ome a lthoughMa imuslaterappears

aefectuspraetorioGalliarum.

entioned( CThX V I , 4 ismoreeasily

hysicalimpossibilitythatConstantinestayed

3 2 0 i t i s mo r e na t ur a l to r e ga r d CT h X V I , 4

stconsulateanddateitas 3 21.Thesub-

corruptw ithC onstantinoA I I I e tC on-

onstantioA V I etConstantinoCconss.

ck recordstw oconstitutions( C ThI X 24 1

8 1 w h ic h i f c or r ec t ly d at e d wo u ld b e i n-

eC ThI X I , 5addressedtoU lpiusMa imus

dresseeofthelatteris B assus vicarius

gtheonlyconstitutionw hereheisreferredto inthis

mustbeI uniusB assus praefectuspraetorio

nsulin33 1. Theonlyevidencethathew as

X 8 1. Thustheotherdecreesmentioninga

tim iusB assus theformerurbanprefect donot

hisdecreeas3 18 w henC onstantine spre-

erwisef irmlyattested. The listo fv icarii I ta liae

sheadedby I uliusSeverus f irst inevidence

ThatI uniusB assusw asthef irstv icariusI ta liae is

gementimpliesthatthesubscription of

oredasL icinioA V etC rispoC conssfromthe

etC onstantioC aesconssinthepresentdayedit ions.

mperialconsulshipsasrecordedbyCTh

llybeforeandstressedbyall editors.An

criticus oftheMommsen-Meyereditiongoes

ncethe te tualtraditionis:

n ti o P M c o ns t . C ) a ( o m . H ) u i i

s i c V B E C c o ns t an t in o N G M S c o n-

s i c V H N o m.

studies in constantinian chronology / by patrick bruun

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