Licinius, Last Rival of Constantine
Licinius I. AD 308-324. AV Aureus (20mm, 5.28 g, 12h). Siscia mint. Struck AD 316. LICINI VS P F AVG, laureate head right / IOVI CON SERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe right in outstretched right hand and veritcal scepter in left; at feet to left, eagle standing left, head right, holding wreath in beak; –|X//SIS. RIC VII 18; Depeyrot 16/1; Calicó 5108A; Biaggi –. Lightly toned and lustrous, minor deposits. EF. Very rare.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 135 (21 November 2022), lot 388; Tkalec (24 October 2003), lot 411.
The son of a Moesian peasant, Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius was born in the AD 250s or early 260s. Little is known about his early life, but like many other young men of low birth, he joined the Roman Army seeking escape from poverty. He rose quickly through the ranks and befriended Galerius, who became Caesar in AD 293, and then Augustus upon Diocletian’s retirement in AD 305. When Maxentius revolted against the Tetrarchs in AD 306, Galerius sent Licinius to Rome in a fruitless attempt to negotiate with the rebel. The failure did not reflect poorly on Licinius, for at the Conference of Carnuntum in November, AD 308, Galerius appointed him as Augustus in place of the deceased Severus II, thus leapfrogging the legitimate Caesars Constantine I and Maximinus II. Both had themselves proclaimed Augusti in reaction. The death of Galerius in AD 311 left four men claiming the supreme title of Augustus—Licinius in the Balkans, Maxentius in Italy, Constantine I in Gaul and Britain, and Maximinus II in Asia Minor and Egypt. Another round of civil wars in AD 312-313 saw Constantine defeat Maxentius and Licinius victorious over Maximinus. After adding Asia and Egypt to his realm, Licinius launched a massacre of all potential rivals, including Maximinus’ children, Galerius’ son, and Diocletian’s daughter. Yet he grudgingly accepted Constantine’s edict of toleration toward Christians and came to a modus vivendi with his western counterpart. To seal the pact, Licinius married Constantine’s half-sister Constantia. The peace was uneasy and short-lived, with a border skirmish in AD 314 slowly escalating into full-scale war two years later. Constantine got the better of it, and Licinius was forced to cede most of the Balkans in AD 317. Now Licinius began to suspect that the Christians within his realm were a subversive fifth column working for Constantine, and resumed the persecutions. Tensions rose, with a final civil war erupting in AD 324. Again, Constantine landed a series of crushing blows, and Licinius retreated with the remnants of his army to Nicomedia for a final stand. His wife Constantia intervened and negotiated an honorable surrender. Constantine at first allowed him to retire to Thessalonica, but Licinius began plotting a return to power, and Constantine executed him in AD 325. Although a competent soldier and administrator, his many murders paint him as an unattractive character.
This gold aureus, struck at Siscia in AD 316, depicts him in the almost Art Deco style of the Tetrarchic era. The reverse image of Jupiter shows his devotion to the traditional gods of Rome, while in the West, Constantine’s coinage was already beginning to show Christian influence.
