<="" font="" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Probus - Roman Emperor : 276-282 A.D. -
Bronze Antoninianus 20mm (3.61 grams) Rome mint: 282 A.D.
Reference: RIC 170, Cohen 252; LV 2655; LV 4666 pl.18; Guillemain 496
Rarity R1
PROBVS P F AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right.
FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing left between two ensigns. RIЄ in ex.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

Standards

Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa (first three on left) belong to centuriae of the legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards - whether spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the legion's aquila . The standard on the extreme right probably portrays the She-wolf (lupa) which fed Romulus , the legendary founder of Rome. (This was the emblem of Legio VI Ferrata , a legion then based in Judaea , a detachment of which is known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan's Column, Rome

Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs; imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum of commander (legatus) of Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix , with embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion

Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius. Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit's standard to the enemy was considered a terrible stain on the unit's honour, which could only be fully expunged by its recovery.

The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was borne by the unit's signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been suggested, originated as a symbol of the maniple (manipulus = "handful"), the smallest tactical unit in the Roman army of the mid-Republic . The poles were adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain). In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including, at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.^[194]

The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was known as a vexillum or banner. This was a square flag, normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio) would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum traditionally marked the commander's position on the battlefield.^[194] The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.

From the time of Marius (consul 107 BC), the standard of all legions was the aquila ("eagle"). The pole was surmounted by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying thunderbolts in its claws (representing Jupiter , the highest Roman god. Otherwise the pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found (doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold content).^[194] The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion's most senior standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching full-scale invasions of the enemy's territory, sometimes decades after the eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by Marcus Licinius Crassus against Genucla (Isaccea, near modern Tulcea , Rom., in the Danube delta region), a fortress of the Getae , to recover standards lost 33 years earlier by Gaius Antonius , an earlier proconsul of Macedonia .^[195] Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to recover the three eagles lost by Varus in AD 6 in the Teutoburg Forest .

Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines) of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an imaginifer.

From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an open dragon's mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it would make a strong hissing-sound.

Decorations

The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae were bracelets worn on the wrist; and torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest awards were the coronae ("crowns"), of which the most prestigious was the corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.^[196]

There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g. torquata ("awarded a torque") or armillata ("awarded bracelets"). Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..^[193]

In Roman mythology , Fides ("trust") was the goddess of trust . Her Greek equivalent was Pistis . Her temple on the Capitol was where the Roman Senate kept state treaties with foreign countries, where Fides protected them. She was also worshipped under the name Fides Publica Populi Romani ("trust towards the Roman state"). She is represented by a young woman crowned with an olive branch, with a cup or turtle , or a military ensign in hand. She wears a white veil or stola; her priests wear white.

Rome's second king, Numa Pompilius instituted a yearly festival to Fides, and directed the priests to be borne to Her temple in an arched chariot drawn by two horses and should conduct Her services with their hands wrapped up to indicate protection.

Marcus Aurelius Probus (c. August 19, 232–September/October, 282) was a Roman Emperor (276–282).

A native of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica , Serbia ), in Pannonia , at an early age he entered the army, where he distinguished himself under the Emperors Valerian , Aurelian and Tacitus . He was appointed governor of the East by Tacitus, at whose death he was immediately proclaimed his successor by the soldiers (276).

Florianus , who had claimed to succeed his half-brother Tacitus, was put to death by his own troops after an indecisive campaign. Probus moved to the West, defeated the Goths acquiring the title of Gothicus (280), and saw his position ratified by the Senate .

The reign of Probus was mainly spent in successful wars by which he re-established the security of all the frontiers. The most important of these operations were directed to clearing Gaul of German invaders (Franks, Longiones , Alamanni and Burgundians ), allowing Probus to adopt the titles of Gothicus Maximus and Germanicus Maximus. One of his principles was never to allow the soldiers to be idle, and to employ them in time of peace on useful works, such as the planting of vineyards in Gaul, Pannonia and other districts, in order to restart the economy in these devastated lands.

In 279–280, Probus was, according to Zosimus , in Raetia , Illyricum and Lycia , where he fought the Vandals . In the same years, Probus' generals defeated the Blemmyes in Egypt ; Probus ordered the reconstruction of bridges and canals along the Nile, where the production of grain for the Empire was centered.

In 280–281, Probus had also put down three usurpers, Julius Saturninus , Proculus and Bonosus . The extent of these revolts is not clear, but there are clues that they were not just local problems. In 281, the emperor was in Rome, where he celebrated his triumph .

Probus was eager to start his eastern campaign, delayed by the revolts in the west. He left Rome in 282, moving first towards Sirmium, his birth city, when the news that Marcus Aurelius Carus , commander of the Praetorian Guard , had been proclaimed emperor reached him. Probus sent some troops against the new usurper, but when those troops changed sides and supported Carus, Probus's soldiers then assassinated him (September/October 282).