Sponsianus
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Sponsianus is the name of an obscure Roman military commander or Roman usurper who may have been active during the Crisis of the Third Century, most likely in the province of Dacia. Sponsianus is not mentioned in any ancient documents; he is only known through coins bearing his name which were discovered in the 18th century.
Scholars have proposed several theories as to who Sponsianus may have been. One theory suggests he may have proclaimed himself emperor in the 260s, after Dacia was cut off from the rest of the Empire during the reign of Gallienus.[1] Another puts the date of his activity earlier, during the reign of Philip the Arab or his son.[2] However, scholars have traditionally rejected the authenticity of the coins bearing his name, and hence his own historical reality. In 2022, a study led by Paul Pearson arguing for the coins' authenticity[3] attracted media interest and relaunched the debate on Sponsianus.
Evidence
The sole evidence found for the existence of Sponsian is his name on a few double-aurei. The coins were uncovered in a coin-hoard 1713 in Transylvania and gradually dispersed among several collections.[note 1] One was kept in the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University, which also held three other coins from the original hoard.[4][3] Another entered the bequest of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal, a Habsburg Governor of Transylvania.[4] The hoard included other coins bearing the names of Philip the Arab and Gordian III.
The traditional opinion of numismatists has been to regard the coins as non-authentic: In 1868, the French numismatist Henri Cohen dismissed them as "very poor quality modern forgeries".[5][4] The problems with the aurei are twofold: firstly, the obverse (face) side of the coin is "barbaric and strange" according to the findings of the Roman Imperial Coinage (a British catalogue of Roman Imperial currency), and the reverse (tail) side of the coin appears to be a copy of a Republican denarius struck in 135 BC.[6] The coins are also unusually heavy (10.02g, compared to Philip's 4.30), appear to have been cast (instead of the more usual stamping process), and the inscriptions themselves do not follow the conventions of the time.[1] However, according to the ancient numismatist Wayne Sayles, as the usurpers and emperors of the time were often ephemeral, the lack of further coins and the unusual qualities of those that are extant should not be seen as evidence that Sponsianus did not actually exist.[7]
After further study in 2022, scientists reported that scratch marks on this coin, visible under an electron microscope, proved that it was in circulation about 2,000 years ago.[4] Professor Paul Pearson of University College London led the research and said that he was astonished by the confirmation that the coin had been used.[3] Jesper Ericsson stated that a chemical analysis of the earth deposits found in the coin's recesses showed that the coins had been buried in soil for hundreds of years.[4][8]
On the basis of the above analysis, another coin bearing Sponsianus' name, in the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu in Transylvania, has also been reclassified as genuine.[4]
Theories
Scholars have put forward several theories as to when and where Sponsianus was active. One theory, based upon the other coins found with the aurei, would date Sponsianus' activity to the 240s.[9] It is thought that this would have taken place within the rule of Gordian III (238–244 AD) or Philip the Arab (244–249 AD).[10] Based upon the location of his aurei, some scholars posit that he may have staged a revolt in Pannonia.[11] Historian Ilkka Syvänne places the revolt early in Philip's reign, and identifies Sponsianus with the obscure Severus Hostilianus mentioned in later Byzantine histories (though he notes the evidence is circumstantial).[12]
Another possibility is that he was a military commander who crowned himself as emperor when Dacia was cut off from the rest of the empire around 260. With an ongoing pandemic and civil war, and the empire being fragmented at the time, Sponsianus may have assumed supreme command to protect the military and civilian population of Dacia until order was restored. The Romans eventually evacuated Dacia between 271 and 275.[4][1] According to Jesper Ericsson:
Our interpretation is that he was in charge to maintain control of the military and of the civilian population because they were surrounded and completely cut off. In order to create a functioning economy in the province they decided to mint their own coins.[4]
The Roman Empire in this period was highly unstable; many peripheral areas were likely left to fend for themselves. Sponsianus may have found himself responsible for thousands of people, without support from the central regime of the empire, and surrounded by hostile tribes; in this context, Sponsian's taking the title of emperor may be considered an attempt to maintain order. No evidence has been found of Sponsianus' rule elsewhere, and this would seem to indicate that Sponsianus was not interested, or not successful, in expanding his territory.[13]
See also
Notes
- ^ (Pearson et al. 2022) catalogues the provenance of the coins found in the hoard: there appear to have been seven coins depicting Sponsian, but only four are now extant; the study included only a single coin depicting Sponsian alongside others found in the same hoard.
References
- ^ a b c Pearson 2022.
- ^ Hartmann 1982, p. 63.
- ^ a b c Pearson et al. 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ghosh 2022.
- ^ Cohen 1868, p. 254.
- ^ Vagi 2000, p. 331.
- ^ Sayles 2007, p. 121.
- ^ Pearson 2022, p. 227.
- ^ Hartmann 1982, p. 121.
- ^ Mennen 2011, p. A1.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2009, p. 427.
- ^ Syvänne 2021.
- ^ Knapton 2022.
Sources
- Cohen, Henri (1868). Description historique des Monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain, communément appelées Médailles impériales. Vol. 7 supplément.
- Devlin, Hannah (2022-11-23). "Coins study suggests 'fake emperor' was real, say scientists". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- Ghosh, Pallab (2022-11-24). "Gold coin proves 'fake' Roman emperor was real". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- Goldsworthy, Adrian (2009). How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300155600.
- Hartmann, Felix (1982). Herrscherwechsel und Reichskrise : Untersuchungen zu den Ursachen und Konsequenzen der Herrscherwechsel im Imperium Romanum der Soldatenkaiserzeit (3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.). P. Lang. ISBN 978-3820461954.
- Knapton, Sarah (2022-11-23). "Long lost Roman emperor revealed as coins give up their secret". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- Mennen, Inge (2011). Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284. Brill. ISBN 9789004203594.
- Pearson, Paul N.; Botticelli, Michela; Ericsson, Jesper; Olender, Jacek; Spruženiece, Liene (2022-11-23). "Authenticating coins of the 'Roman emperor' Sponsian". PLOS ONE. 17 (11): e0274285. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0274285. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 36417346.
- Pearson, Paul N. (2022). The Roman Empire in crisis, 248-260. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-39909-097-1.
- Sayles, Wayne G. (2007). Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World. KP. ISBN 9780896894785.
- Syvänne, Ilkka (2021). Gordian III and Philip the Arab: The Roman Empire at a Crossroads. Great Britain. ISBN 9781526786753.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Vagi, David L. (2000). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 9781579583163.