SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Time of Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ Trichalkon (21mm, 6.48 g, 12h). Issued by P. Quinctilius Varus, legatus Augusti pro praetore. Dated year 25 of the Actian Era (7/6 BC). VF.

Electronic Auction 536
Lot: 366. Estimated: $ 100

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Time of Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ Trichalkon (21mm, 6.48 g, 12h). Issued by P. Quinctilius Varus, legatus Augusti pro praetore. Dated year 25 of the Actian Era (7/6 BC). Laureate head of Zeus right / Tyche seated right on rock outcropping, holding palm; EK (date) to left; at feet, river-god Orontes swimming right. McAlee 85; RPC I 4242. Red-brown patina. VF.

From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection.

Up until his final battle, Publius Quinctillius Varus was one of the most celebrated of Augustus’ generals. He had been consul in 13 BC (along with the future emperor Tiberius), governor of Syria from 7-4 BC, where he had sent two legions into Judaea to quell local unrest after the territory was converted to a Roman province, and subsequently governor of Germania. By AD 9, Augustus had decided to straighten (and thereby shorten) Rome’s borders by conquering the vast region of Germania beyond the Rhine. He assigned Varus to develop the region without war, but the mixed Gauls and Germans living there were not prepared to accept Romanization. The Cherusci, under their king Arminius, along with other allies, ambushed Varus in the Teutoburg Forest of northwest Germany, and there annihilated the XVII, XVIII, and XIX Roman legions in a pitched battle that lasted for three days. Varus, sensing doom, committed suicide, and when Augustus heard of the disaster, he tore his clothes and screamed, “Varus, give me back my legions.” No further attempts were made to subdue the Germans beyond the Rhine until the reign of Domitian, and Varus was blamed for the collapse of imperial policy in Germany.

Closing Date and Time: 12 April 2023 at 12:01:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 20% buyer’s fee.