DOI issue:
Artykuły/Articles
DOI article:Okoński, Mateusz: Images of Central European "externae gentes" in Trajan's Monetary Iconography and Their Role in the Propaganda of the Imperial Era
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.57341#0109
[MAGES OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN EXTERNAL GENTES...
a triumph on the podium. In the case of these representations, it can be stated that
barbarians were only a backdrop for the Roman ruler here, representing the majesty of
the entire state. Prisoners of war, captured and humiliated, symbolized the power
of Rome, which had dominated her opponents militarily. However, the emperor
not only emphasized his own merits, but also the favor of the senate. In the case
of these coins (issues showing the tribute paid by defeated Dacian to the genius of
the senate) we can speak of the symbolic submission of Dacia to the domination
of the Roman people, represented by the assembly of senators. From the point of view
of creating imperial propaganda, it is also important to recall depictions of barbarians
in the company of Roman deities. Here the most important are those that relate to
military and triumphant themes, i.e. gods associated with the war - Mars and Victory.
The second group of gods who were imagined in the company of Central European
barbarians are the deity of peace - Pax, which extends its dominion over the already
conquered people, and Roma - the personification of Rome, which triumphs over
newly captured territory. The message of these coins is similar to the first group
discussed, except that it is not the emperor but the deities that symbolize the majesty
and power of Rome. Barbarians are in this case portrayed as defeated and dominated
by representatives of the Roman pantheon. However, depictions showing the new
provinces as civilized and organized in Roman fashion have a different meaning.
The whole range of these images creates a system expressing the power of the Roman
state, as represented by the emperor, the deities, or ultimately the genius of the senate.
It is necessary to consider here to what extent the coins from the period of the reign
of the Best Emperor, which depicted barbarians stood out against the background of
monetary issues in other periods, and whether they have any characteristic, unusual
types. Some of the motifs appearing in the coinage of the Trajan era have their
sources already in republican times. In the last century of the republic’s existence,
when the Roman state began its expansion into the Central European Barbaricum,
scenes referring to these campaigns appeared on coins. One of these types are coins
with the image of a Roman rider attacking a barbarian infantryman. An example
of such a coin is a denarius signed by R Fonteius Capito.74 Similar scenes occurred
also during the empire - even in the times of Vespasian and Titus,75 but above all
under the rule of Domitian. 6 We know this motif also from Trajan’s issues.77 Coins
minted both during and after the First Dacian War, which depicted the emperor in
the company of a barbarian who is sometimes identified as Decebelus, may refer
74 CRR 900; RRC 429.1.
75 RIC II. 1: 429, 430, 497 and 564.
76 RCV 2771. A detailed discussion of the history of this theme: OSTROWSKI 1985: 66-75.
77 Cf. e.g. WOYTEK 2010; 202, 203, 343.
.107
a triumph on the podium. In the case of these representations, it can be stated that
barbarians were only a backdrop for the Roman ruler here, representing the majesty of
the entire state. Prisoners of war, captured and humiliated, symbolized the power
of Rome, which had dominated her opponents militarily. However, the emperor
not only emphasized his own merits, but also the favor of the senate. In the case
of these coins (issues showing the tribute paid by defeated Dacian to the genius of
the senate) we can speak of the symbolic submission of Dacia to the domination
of the Roman people, represented by the assembly of senators. From the point of view
of creating imperial propaganda, it is also important to recall depictions of barbarians
in the company of Roman deities. Here the most important are those that relate to
military and triumphant themes, i.e. gods associated with the war - Mars and Victory.
The second group of gods who were imagined in the company of Central European
barbarians are the deity of peace - Pax, which extends its dominion over the already
conquered people, and Roma - the personification of Rome, which triumphs over
newly captured territory. The message of these coins is similar to the first group
discussed, except that it is not the emperor but the deities that symbolize the majesty
and power of Rome. Barbarians are in this case portrayed as defeated and dominated
by representatives of the Roman pantheon. However, depictions showing the new
provinces as civilized and organized in Roman fashion have a different meaning.
The whole range of these images creates a system expressing the power of the Roman
state, as represented by the emperor, the deities, or ultimately the genius of the senate.
It is necessary to consider here to what extent the coins from the period of the reign
of the Best Emperor, which depicted barbarians stood out against the background of
monetary issues in other periods, and whether they have any characteristic, unusual
types. Some of the motifs appearing in the coinage of the Trajan era have their
sources already in republican times. In the last century of the republic’s existence,
when the Roman state began its expansion into the Central European Barbaricum,
scenes referring to these campaigns appeared on coins. One of these types are coins
with the image of a Roman rider attacking a barbarian infantryman. An example
of such a coin is a denarius signed by R Fonteius Capito.74 Similar scenes occurred
also during the empire - even in the times of Vespasian and Titus,75 but above all
under the rule of Domitian. 6 We know this motif also from Trajan’s issues.77 Coins
minted both during and after the First Dacian War, which depicted the emperor in
the company of a barbarian who is sometimes identified as Decebelus, may refer
74 CRR 900; RRC 429.1.
75 RIC II. 1: 429, 430, 497 and 564.
76 RCV 2771. A detailed discussion of the history of this theme: OSTROWSKI 1985: 66-75.
77 Cf. e.g. WOYTEK 2010; 202, 203, 343.
.107