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Denarius (Coin) Portraying Galerius Maximianus

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

307-310

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the Emperor Galerius Maximianus facing right and wearing a crown of laurels. On the back (reverse) is a gate comprised of three towers.

The fourth century was a time of tremendous political, social, and religious strife within the Roman Empire, but the imagery on these coins tells a story of an unbroken chain of powerful rulers. Diocletian (reigned 284–305) enacted a series of administrative, military, and monetary reforms that brought an end to the chaos of the third century. He divided the vast empire into western and eastern halves and assigned their administration to
four men, the Tetrarchy. Galerius was one of these four men (called tetrarchs) who together ruled the Roman Empire at this time. Each half was governed by two tetrarchs, one senior and one junior in status. Portraits of these rulers are generic-looking, without individualized features, to reinforce the unity of their joint rule.

Status

On View, Gallery 153

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Denarius (Coin) Portraying Galerius Maximianus

Place

Rome (Minted in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

307 CE–310 CE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANUS P F AVG Reverse: VIRTVS MILITVM

Dimensions

Diam.: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

Reference Number

1922.4902

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/96051/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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