Carausius II

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Carausius II is the name given by historians to a possible imperial usurper in Roman Britain between the years 354 and 358. The suggestion of Carausius' existence comes exclusively from the study of approximately twenty extant coins, all of which were found in the United Kingdom. [1] No other evidence of Carausius II is known, although Roman Britain at the time was an unstable and dangerous place and pretenders to the throne were likely.

The first coin, found near modern-day Richborough, was published by Arthur J. Evans in 1887. [2] Evans suggested that this coin, bearing the garbled legend DOMINO CARAVƧIO CEƧ, represented that of a junior emperor reigning sometime in the 5th century AD. Specifically, Evans suggested that Carausius II controlled Britannia under Constantine III while he was away suppressing the revolt of Gerontius and Maximus in Hispania.

C. H. V. Sutherland was among the first to challenge Evan's suggestions, in 1945. [3] All of the coins (five more coins had been discovered since Evan's publication) bore recreations of designs seen on Constantinian coinages, and none resembled official coinage of Constantine III. Furthermore, Sutherland noted that the imperial title of Caesar fell out of common usage following the reign of Julian, far before the suggested dating of 409 AD. Sutherland then suggests that the usurpation of Carausius II may have occurred during or after the usurpation of Magnentius, when the incumbent Constantius II had lesser control over Britain.

C. E. Stevens expanded upon this thought, suggesting that Carausius' usurpation may have been similar to (or inspired by) that of Vetranio. [4] John Kent refuted this claim the following year, stating that a coin that Stevens had cited was a tooled coin of Constantius Gallus. [5]

It is still highly contested to what capacity, if at all, Carausius II existed. Coins bearing his inscription, or those stylistically related, can be dated with some certainty to between 354 and 358 A.D. Beyond this, no contemporary evidence for or against Carausius' existence has surfaced.

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References

  1. "'Carausius II': An Unknown British Usurper?". The Classical Association in Northern Ireland. 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  2. Evans, Arthur J. (1887). "On a Coin of a Second Carausius, Cæsar in Britain in the Fifth Century". The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society. 7: 191–219. ISSN   2054-9172.
  3. Sutherland, C. H. V. (1945). ""Carausius Ii", "Censeris", and the Barbarous Fel. Temp. Reparatio Overstrikes". The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society. 5 (3/4): 125–133. ISSN   0267-7504.
  4. Stevens, C. E. (1956). "Some Thoughts on 'Second Carausius'". The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society. 16: 345–349. ISSN   0267-7504.
  5. Kent, J. P. C. (1957). "Carausius Ii—Fact or Fiction?". The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society. 17: 78–83. ISSN   0267-7504.