Domitianus
| Domitianus II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurper of the Gallic Empire | |||||
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| Reign | c. 271 | ||||
| Predecessor | Victorinus | ||||
| Successor | Tetricus I | ||||
| Died | c. 271 | ||||
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| Full name | |
|---|---|
| Imperator Caesar Domitianvs Pivs Felix Avgvstvs |
Domitianus was probably a Roman soldier of the mid-third century AD who was acclaimed emperor, probably in northern Gaul in late 270 or early 271 AD, and struck coins to advertise his elevation. It is now generally assumed that this man is to be equated with the ‘Domitianus’ who is twice mentioned in the literary sources as a significant figure in the politics of the age, but on neither occasion as an outright contender for the Imperial throne.
Given that his reign lasted for, at best, only a few weeks after his acclamation and he does not seem to have secured significant military or political support Domitianus is more properly categorized as a Roman usurper rather than an emperor. His attempted ‘’coup’’ should also be understood in the context of the troubled later history of the ‘Gallic Empire’ rather than that of the Empire as a whole.
The only evidence for the existence and rule of an Imperial claimant named Domitianus derives from two coins. The first was part of a hoard discovered at Les Cléons, in the commune of Haute-Goulaine in the Loire area of France in 1900. The authenticity/significance of this particular item was much debated and as late as 1992 Domitianus was widely considered "at best a conjectural figure",. The other coin was found fused in a pot with some 5,000 other coins of the period 250-275 — thus providing incontrovertible provenance — in the village of Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, England, in 2003. The hoard was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum in 2004.
The design of both coins is typical of those associated with the ‘Gallic Empire’. They are of the "radiate" type and depict Domitianus as a bearded figure wearing a spiky or radiate crown representing the rays of the sun, in reference to Sol Invictus (i.e. the sun perceived as a deity lit. ‘the Unconquered Sun’). The representation is not realistic, but standardized and stereotypical and is very similar to that of the later coins of the "Gallic Emperor" Victorinus (269-271 AD) and the earliest of Tetricus I, the last "Gallic Emperor" (271-274).
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