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Domitian was the younger son of the emperor Vespasian. Although his older
brother Titus occupied the throne from A.D. 79 to 81, while Domitian was
growing up, he was not given any real political power. Because of this, Domitian
always felt a certain amount of resentment towards his elder brother, spurring
the rumors that Domitian poisoned Titus, although these are generally believed
to be false. Like Tiberius and Caligula before him, Domitian sought to be
absolute ruler. He scandalized the Senate and the rest of the Roman aristocracy
by having statues of himself erected and by insisting that people refer to him
as "Lord and God.” The Senate grew to loathe and fear Domitian, hatching
numerous plots against his life, and he, in turn, became increasingly suspicious
towards them. In the last three or four years of Domitian’s reign, the senators
lived in fear of their lives, reaping the fruit of their conspiracies. In the end, it
would be this backstabbing and mistrust on both sides that would doom
Domitian. In 95, he eliminated his two praetorian prefects. The two men who
replaced them, Petronius Secundus and Norbanus, fearing that they too would
soon be eliminated, decided to form a successful conspiracy to assassinate
Domitian.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or purse? What eras and
lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach
into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who
might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after it
leaves our hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck
them, of a specific time and location, whether active currencies in the age we
live or artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck coin
reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often
lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. This coin commemorates
Rome’s victory against the Jewish rebellion. While Rome’s occupation of the
Holy Land was short-lived, artifacts like this coin live one: concrete remnants of
ancient empires passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation.
- (C.0396)
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