TIBERIUS AND PAX
Legends:
Reverse: PONTIF MAXIM.
- Latin, expanded: Pontifex Maximus
- English translation: No direct translation. The title of Rome’s chief high priest.
Obverse: T. CAESAR DIVI AVG.
- Latin, expanded: Tiberius Caesar Divi Augustus
- English translation: Tiberius Caesar, (son of) Divine Augustus.
Tiberius:
Tiberius was born in 42 BCE under the reign of his stepfather, Emperor Augustus. His mother Livia Drusilla was Augustus’ second wife, who was likely pregnant from her previous husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero. Augustus forced Livia to divorce this man, and the resulting child, Tiberius, was adopted by Augustus in 4CE. Tiberius became one of Augustus’ possible successors for the position as emperor. After the deaths of Augustus’ sons-in-law and his grandchildren by Julia (the product of Augustus’ first marriage) Tiberius became the sole possible successor. By the time Augustus died in 14CE, Tiberius had accrued enough power and offices (including the all-important Tribunician Power [tribunicia potestas]) to
inherit the position of Emperor which Augustus had meant for him.Tiberius faces criticism and scandal in the way he is portrayed in the sources. He is known as an absent emperor, as he spent the last years of his reign out of Rome and thus out of the public eye, which left room for gossip and rumour. Although Tiberius can be seen to honour his mother in some ways, he also refused her any honours which the senate offered to give her, rejected her deification and delayed her funeral when she died. This, possibly, makes this particular coin all the more interesting.
Pax:
The Goddess Pax was the Roman version of the Greek Irene/Eirene – the goddess of peace. According to myth, she was the daughter of Jupiter and Justice – Justice being a deity who symbolized virtue and her eponymous attribute, and, significant to this coin, was introduced to Roman worship by Emperor Augustus. Pax (or the worship of Peace) was also introduced by Augustus to promote his cessation of Rome’s civil wars, making this goddess (and any references to her) inherently connected with the latter Emperor. When represented on coins, Pax is depicted holding a cornucopia in her left hand, and an olive branch or spear in her right hand. Although there is no cornucopia in this coin, the figure depicted does hold a staff (either an olive branch or a speak) in her right hand as is customary in depictions of Pax. Instead of a cornucopia, in this depiction she appears to be holding corn heads in her left hand. This is befitting, as the season which Pax was associated with was Spring, and corn was planted in mid to late Spring.
Livia:
Arguably, this depiction of Pax could also be a proxy depiction of Tiberius’ mother, Livia. Up until Caligula’s reign, Roman women were not given the honours of being directly depicted on coins. However, women such as Livia could be popular figures within Rome, and inferring their image could be politically useful. This now begs the question: why Livia? Livia was the second wife of Augustus, and was contemporaneously well-known to be upheld as a paradigm of Roman women; Livia was chaste and pious, bore sons, and generally displayed virtues which were endorsed by Augustus as virtues to be expected of a good Roman woman and a good Roman wife. This link with Augustus and his image propaganda may also explain why Tiberius would use Pax to represent Livia: Livia was the wife of Augustus, and Pax was the goddess whose cult was instigated by Augustus. Both positively connote Tiberius via connection; for Tiberius, emphasising his ties to Livia and implicitly, Livia’s connection to the great emperor Augustus, would have meant that he was much more likely to be accepted and supported by the people when he began his rule. However, this coin cannot be dated to a specific period within Tiberius’ reign ( 14CE-37 CE) so we cannot know if the coin was minted in the beginning of his reign to promote his own legitimacy or somewhere later in his reign for other reasons.
Coin Type:
This coin is a denarius, a small silver coin which was the major silver coin in the Roman Republic and in the Roman Empire. Being a high denomination coin, it is likely that any image on a denarius would be seen by more wealthy individuals, such as Senators. Reassuring these higher echelons of secured stability (via the depiction of Pax) would be an intelligent move for a new Emperor. Denarii were also commonly used to pay mercenaries on campaign with Roman armies, as traditional bronze coins were less desirable for foreigners. Thus an image of Pax promoting the idea of a unified Empire under a stable Emperor would find its way not simply throughout Rome or Italy, but throughout the entire empire (and perhaps further) on a coin. Therefore Tiberius, it seems, was able to cleverly spread his message of peace and stability as far as possible.
Coin Intent
Peace was a term strongly associated with the reign of Tiberius’ step-father, the previous emperor Augustus. Augustus came to power at a young age because of the assassination of Julius Caesar, and the beginning of his reign, was characterised by Roman blood shed by other Romans in civil wars. Despite his youth and the difficult period in which he came to power, Augustus managed to create an era of peace and prosperity – a Golden Age – in which art, morality and religion flourished. When Augustus died, and Tiberius took over as emperor, it was important for him to reassure the people that the peace set down by Augustus would not be upset because the empire had a new emperor. Moreover, it was important to legitimise himself in the eyes of the populace, even though he had been named heir in Augustus’ will, by associating himself as much as possible with his father and his reign. By minting coins with the image of Pax on the reverse, Tiberius may have invoked feelings of stability (that Augustus’ traditions would be perpetuated), and tied himself strongly with Augustus and the peace Augustus brought to Rome. He could also promote the idea that his reign would also be one of peace, and that the people need not fear another civil war in this new reign.