c 222-235 AD - SEVERUS ALEXANDER - Ancient Roman Silver Denarius

$195.00

Silver Denarius, Ancient Rome, c. 222-235 AD

Ruler: Severus Alexander (Augustus)

Obv: Laureate bust of Severus Alexander, right

Rev: "PM TRP XIII COS III PP" Sol standing left, holding a whip

Mint: Rome (struck 234 AD)

Sear-R7916, 19mm, 3.06gm

Well centered & struck, toned.

Severus Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy.

Alexander was the heir apparent to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother by his own guards, who, as a mark of contempt, cast their remains into the Tiber river. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as emperor by the famous Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander's death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother. Severus Alexander was considered generally a wise ruler, except for bowing to the influence of his mother - somethng resented by the army. He and his mother were eventually murded by soldiers in 235 AD.

  • Inventory# PA-3320