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 may have controlled Britannia while the incumbent Constantine III was in Hispania, suppressing the revolt of Gerontius and Maximus in 409 AD.
C. H. V. Sutherland was among the first to challenge Evan's suggestions, in 1945. [3] All of the coins (five more similar 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 suggested 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 Sutherland's work in 1956, suggesting that Carausius' usurpation may have been similar to (or inspired by) that of Vetranio. [4] He cited a single coin [5] whose legend proved that Vetranio had declared himself Caesar in order to ally with Constantius II. John Kent refuted this claim in a paper published the following year, stating that the unique coin that Stevens had cited was not genuine. [6] [7]
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.
Constantius II was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, and usurpations. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death.
Flavius Julius Constans, also called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of caesar from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great.
Constantine II was Roman emperor from 337 to 340. The son of the emperor Constantine I, he was proclaimed caesar by his father shortly after his birth. He was associated with military victories over the Sarmatians, Alamanni and Goths during his career, for which he was granted a number of victory titles. He held the consulship four times – in 320, 321, 324, and 329.
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the augusti, and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the caesares.
The 350s decade ran from January 1, 350, to December 31, 359.
Flavius Valerius Constantius, also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 to 305 and then ruling as augustus until his death. Constantius was also father of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome. The nickname "Chlorus" was first popularized by Byzantine-era historians and not used during the emperor's lifetime.
Maximian, nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In late 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he launched a scorched earth campaign deep into Alamannic territory in 288, refortifying the frontier.
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian Postumus was ended in 273. He held power for seven years, fashioning the name "Emperor of the North" for himself, before being assassinated by his finance minister Allectus.
Allectus was a Roman-Britannic usurper-emperor in Britain and northern Gaul from 293 to 296.
Magnus Magnentius was a Roman general and usurper against Constantius II. Of Germanic descent, Magnentius served with distinction in Gaul under the emperor Constans. On 18 January 350 Magnentius was acclaimed Augustus. Quickly killing the unpopular Constans, Magnentius gained control over most of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperor Constantius II, the brother of Constans, refused to acknowledge Magnentius' legitimacy and led a successful campaign against Magnentius. Ultimately, Magnentius' forces were scattered after the Battle of Mons Seleucus, and he died by suicide on 10 August 353.
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus was a statesman and ruler in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire from 351 to 354, as Caesar under emperor Constantius II, his cousin. A grandson of emperor Constantius Chlorus and empress Flavia Maximiana Theodora, and a son of Julius Constantius and Galla, he belonged to the Constantinian dynasty. Born during the reign of his uncle Constantine the Great, he was among the few male members of the imperial family to survive the purge that followed Constantine's death. Under Constantius II, Gallus served as deputy emperor, based in Antioch and married to Constantius' sister Constantina. He dealt with a Jewish revolt in the years 351-352. Gallus ultimately fell out of favor with Constantius and was executed, being replaced as Caesar by his younger half-brother Julian.
The bes was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic. Valued at two thirds of an as, it was only produced in 126 BC by C. Cassius in combination with the dodrans, another very rare denomination which was valued at three quarters of an as. The obverse head displayed the god Liber facing to the right.
The end of Roman rule in Britain occurred as the military forces of Roman Britain withdrew to defend or seize the Western Roman Empire's continental core, leaving behind an autonomous post-Roman Britain. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew troops from northern and western Britain, probably leaving local warlords in charge. In 407, usurper Constantine III took the remaining mobile Roman soldiers to Gaul in response to the crossing of the Rhine, and external attacks surged. The Romano-British deposed Roman officials around 410 and government largely reverted to the city level. That year Emperor Honorius refused an appeal from Britain for military assistance. The following decades saw the collapse of urban life and the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement.
Vetranio was briefly an imperial usurper and emperor in the Roman Empire in 350, during which time he controlled Illyricum between the rival emperors Magnus Magnentius and Constantius II, eventually capitulating to the latter.
The Battle of Mursa was fought on 28 September 351 between the eastern Roman armies led by the Emperor Constantius II and the western forces supporting the usurper Magnentius. It took place at Mursa, near the Via Militaris in the province of Pannonia. The battle, one of the bloodiest in Roman history, was a pyrrhic victory for Constantius.
Flavia Valeria Constantina, later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great and his second wife Fausta, daughter of Emperor Maximian. Constantina may have received the title of Augusta from her father, and is venerated as a saint, having developed a medieval legend wildly at variance with what is known of her actual character.
The Carausian revolt (AD 286–296) was an episode in Roman history during which a Roman naval commander, Carausius, declared himself emperor over Britain and northern Gaul. His Gallic territories were retaken by the western Caesar Constantius Chlorus in 293, after which Carausius was assassinated by his subordinate Allectus. Britain was regained by Constantius and his subordinate Asclepiodotus in 296.
The English three halfpence, a silver coin worth 1+1⁄2d, was introduced in Elizabeth I's third and fourth coinages (1561–1582) as part of a plan to produce large quantities of coins of varying denominations and high silver content. The obverse shows a left-facing bust of the queen, with a rose behind her, with the legend E D G ROSA SINE SPINA – Elizabeth by the grace of God a rose without a thorn – while the reverse shows the royal arms with the date above the arms and a mintmark at the beginning of the legend CIVITAS LONDON – City of London, the Tower Mint.
Maria Millington Lathbury, Lady Evans (1856–1944) was a classical scholar, archaeologist and numismatist. An alumna of Somerville College, she campaigned for Oxford University to award degrees to women. Along with Ethel Abrahams, she was one of the first female scholars of classical Greek dress. She married the archaeologist John Evans, and their daughter was art historian Joan Evans.
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