AN EXAMINATION OF THE COINS OF THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE

Transcription

1 AN EXAMINATION OF THE COINS OF THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE By Hadrian Mâr Élijah Bar Israël The text of this article is 2016 All Rights Reserved by RIGHTEOUS ENDEAVOUR Background In our time there are a number of Christian groups who claim Constantine I among their saints. Those that do refer to him as The Believing King, and say that he is such because of the Act of Toleration which he signed together with his co emperor (and brother) Licinius in 321 A.D., which ostensibly allowed all religions to be freely practiced within the Roman Empire. But mere toleration isn t enough to declare sainthood, one must first convert to Christianity and live a Christian life in order to worthy of being held up as a guide in the path to perfection for future generations of Christians. It is a well attested fact that on his deathbed, Constantine I called upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia (+341 A.D.) to baptise him. Eusebius was originally the bishop of Berytus in Phoenicia, and then became the Arian bishop of Nicomedia and eventually court chaplain at Constantinople. He was one of Arius' most fervent supporters (Jones, page 121). He wrote a posthumous biography of Constantine I, in glowing terms verging on hero worship, wherein Constantine was proclaimed as next to the apostles. The Orthodox Church finally condemned Arianism and condemned the followers of Arius as heretics at the first Council of Constantinople (Canon 1), which reads: Canon I. The Faith of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Fathers assembled at Nice in 1

2 Bithynia shall not be set aside, but shall remain firm. And every heresy shall be anathematized, particularly that of the Eunomians or [Anomæans, the Arians or] Eudoxians, and that of the Semi Arians or Pneumatomachi, and that of the Sabellians, and that of the Marcellians, and that of the Photinians, and that of the Apollinarians. The fact, according to Eusebius that Constantine himself supported Arius and the Arian doctrine which denied the real divinity of Jesus, should be enough for him to be remembered as a heretic, rather than a Believing King. By this article we intend to examine values of Constantine I in relation to his putative Christianity, as expressed through the coinage minted during his reign as Emperor of Byzantium. Monarchies (even modern ones) more often than not depict their monarchs on the obverse (front) of their coinage; whereas the reverse (back) of such coins depict scenes which the people consider close to them, their culture, traditions, sport, native wildlife, et cetera. In more ancient times the reverse of coinage was also commonly, maybe even habitually used to depict religious scenes and events. This is the case with many, but not all Roman coins, and certainly the majority of Byzantine coins. But the decision or desire to depict religious scenes on their coinage wasn t universal, and in the end rested with the monarch themselves. Thus a number of ancient coins were printed with scenes and animals that lacked any particular religious significance other than to be close to the monarch s heart. And so we can see from the depictions they choose for the reverse of their coinage, are full of information expressing the relationship that the monarch has with their people, their nation, the world and even their religious values. Coins of Constantine I This first picture a bronze AE Follis Struck in 328 AD. at the Constantinople mint. The obverse shows Constantine, gaze turned upward, perhaps at the vision of the crosses he saw in the sky before killing his brother Maxentius, thus making himself Augustus of Rome. The reverse of this coin shows the goddess Victoria (Victory) seated left on a cippus, looking 2

3 away to the left, with a palm branch in each hand. At her feet is a pleading captive clearly spurned by Victory in a bragging manner, perhaps indicating Constantine s lack of remorse for killing all who had supported his brother s reign. (SEAR 16191) It is clear that Constantine embraced and glorified battle, war and death as a means to an end. Here is an undated (but late) ¾ AE coin of Constantine the Great, showing two soldiers standing on either side of an army standard, and the words GLORIA EXERCITAS, or Glorious Battle in Latin. (SEAR 3887) Even after his Declaration of Toleration, Constantine continued to mint coins depicting the Altar to the goddess Victoria, who was close to his heart. The following coin minted in the 3

4 middle of his reign as Augustus, depicts angels offering wreaths on Victoria s altar. (SEAR 3883) Here he is portraying himself in place of the Sun with the words: SOLI INVICTO COMITI ( Alone Exhalted King )... (SEAR 3868) The following coin has Constantine on the obverse, with the god Jupiter, the goddess Victoria, and an eagle together with the motto IOVI CONSERVATORI ( Patron of Jupiter ) on the reverse (Seal 3862). 4

5 This 3AE piece, minted at Trier in the year 322, the motto says "Blessed peace". The obverse has Constantine wearing the imperial mantle and holding the eagle mounted sceptre. The eagle mounted sceptre is significant, because in order to denote their Christianity, the heads of later Byzantine sceptres were mounted with crosses. The goddess Victory tramples the enemy of Constantine on this 3AE coin minted at Trier between commemorating the murder of his brother and thus the end of the co regency. 5

6 This Follis (Seal 3863) has the god Mars sporting a helmet, with the words: MARTI CONSERVATORI ( Patron of Mars ) on the reverse. This coin, from 321 A.D., the same year as the Act of Toleration shows a globe set upon a pagan altar. (Sear 16174) 6

7 Some have suggested that Constantine, like many men of his time, postponed his baptism, in order to die in a state of grace from the baptismal regeneration. He did after all give a great deal to the fourth century church and to western Christianity. However, there is no evidence of Christian symbols, saints, or themes of any kind associated with the coins of Constantine I. Absolutely no evidence showing that the Emperor experienced or embraced a Christian moral life or ethical values during his lifetime. And furthermore there is nothing indicating a conversion to Christianity or baptism, other than the Arian baptism at the end of his life. Constantine I founded Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) as his capital city. He made Arianism the state religion of the empire and favoured Arians for bureaucratic posts. He built a new Empire, the Byzantine Empire, which rose from the ashes of the old Roman Empire, bearing cross and shield, in it s violent and often genocidal war against its enemies. Later Byzantine Coinage The first Roman coins to bear Christian symbolism were actually those of Constantine II, the son of Constantine I and Fausta, he was born at Arles, and was brought up as a Arian, schooled in Arian morals and taught by Arian tutors; but allowed the Church to again embrace the true divinity of Jesus and thus became an Orthodox and believing king. This example is a bronze AE3 minted at Siscia between A.D. and depicts soldiers venerating the cross as the new symbol of Roman imperial might. 7

8 A little later come the coins of Basiliscus ( AD) complete with imperial mitre on the obverse is typical of the gold coins of the period, complete with an angel wielding the cross in the same pose in which earlier coins depicted angels holding swords. As time went on, crosses were supplanted by literal icons of Christ Pantocrator, as in this coin which was minted by both Basil II and Constantine VIII, between A.D. The reverse says "Jesus Christ, king of kings" in Greek. Conclusion In conclusion, the numismatic evidence does not support the modern view of Constantine as a Believing King, or even as an Arian, but instead that believed himself entitled to greatness as the result of Christ s favour for his successes in war an utterly pagan concept. His coinage pays homage to him as a true pagan, and very Roman Emperor, 8

9 faithfully committed to the old gods and pagan morals right up until the time of his death. 9

10 References A.H.M. Jones, Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division (December 1, 1978), ISBN David R. Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume IV: The Tetrachies and the Rise of the House of Constantine, AD , Spink & Son (April 1, 2011), ISBN The photos of coins used in this article are provided courtesy of Browsing Roman Imperial Coins of Constantine at ( which claims no copyright over their use. 10