Such is the cycle of political revolution, the course appointed by nature in which constitutions change, disappear, and finally return to the point from which they started. -Polybius, Histories, 6.9.10

"Scholars commonly credit the ancient Romans with publishing the first newspaper, Acta Diurna, or daily doings, in 59 BCE. Although no copies of this paper have survived, it is widely believed to have published chronicles of events, assemblies, births, deaths, and daily gossip." - History of Newspapers, Chapter 2.1 from an Open Textbook used by Washington State University (and others) Roman Media From the 1st century BCE in the Roman Republic and into the empire, coins were

The Lupa Capitolina was thought to be Etruscan from the 5th century until an analysis by Capitoline Museums in Rome in 2006-2013 suggested that the bronze casting technique was consistent with medieval foundry methods (11th or 12th century AD) - not ancient ones. The twins Romulus and Remus crouching beneath her were always known to be a later addition, attributed to Antonio Pollaiuolo in the 1490s. Public Domain Image via Wikimedia Commons . Today's coin of interest takes us

In AD 286, the emperor Maximian learned that the commander of his Channel fleet, a Menapian officer named Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius, was partnering with pirates to build up his resources. He had been commissioned to clear the Channel of Saxon and Frankish raiders; according to Eutropius 9.22.

Over the last decade or so my collection has been growing from an interest in the late Roman Republican period - with Sulla and the events of the 80s BC as the seed for the collection. A portrait coin of Mithridates has been on my list for most of that time - and I haven't been willing to commit to the price for a tetradrachm of Mithridates VI. Today's coin fills that gap.

Coma Berenices is one of the 88 IAU constellations . The name means "Berenice's hair" in Latin and refers to Queen Berenice II of Egypt who sacrificed her long hair in the name of love. Today's post, inspired by a coin from Ptolemaic Egypt and the reign of Ptolemy III, takes us to 246 BC. The story starts with Ptolemy III headed off to the Third Syrian War to avenge his sister, Berenice Syra. Kyrenaika, Kyrene. temp. Magas (father of Berenice II). Circa 294-275 BC. AR Did

In the Spring of 251, the mint at Rome struck a sestertius for the young Caesar Hostilian. The reverse shows Apollo seated in calm dignity, lyre at his side, under the legend PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS - a promise of dynastic stability. Within months that promise was broken. Decius and Herennius Etruscus were dead after a battle at Abritus with the Goths. Hostilian too would die soon afterwards, perhaps by plague, perhaps by murder. Modern historians disagree over whether the the Pl

BM1877 Alexandria GORDIAN III laureate cuirassed AKMANTΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟCEV Homonoia stands left with double cornucopoia. LE to left. EF 3/3. Seaby (on reverse) The year AD 238 is often called the " Year of the Six Emperors ". The year began with Maximinus Thrax as emperor, a career soldier of humble background who relied heavily on the army and showed little patience for the Senate. To fund his military campaigns, he imposed harsh tax demands across the provinces. The strain was espe

It is said that there are three kinds of ancient coin collectors: Those who admit to having purchased fakes. Those who have purchased fakes and don’t admit it. Those who have purchased fakes and don’t know it.

The Deccan Plateau is the massive, elevated tableland that occupies the vast majority of the interior of the Indian peninsula. The word "Deccan" is an anglicized version of the Prakrit word dakkhin, which derives from the Sanskrit dakshina, meaning "south." Geologically, it is a staggering formation - a huge shield of ancient volcanic rock.Geologists call this region the Deccan Traps. It is one of the largest volcanic features on planet Earth.

With ancient coins, left facing portraits are not inherently more valuable than right facing, however for some issues the left facing version is a rarity that specialists will pay more for. Left facing Roman imperial female portraits are particularly rare. For Roman republican coins left/right portrait is not a way to tell price. Here's the first left facing portrait on a Roman Republican denarius. This coin from 137 BC is a relatively common coin and is one of the least expe

Odessos (modern Varna, Bulgaria) began as a Milesian apoikia (colony) on an older Thracian settlement in the late 7th-early 6th century BCE and became a leading member of the Pontic Pentapolis, trading between the Aegean world and inland Thrace.

Seneca (writing 62-65 AD) classifies the thunderbolt alongside torches and shooting stars as "fire squeezed out of the air" (ignis aere expressus). He views them as transient, fleeting events caused by physical "defects" or pressures in the atmosphere rather than spontaneous divine whims.

Palazzo Senatorio  (Senatorial Palace) with statues of Castor (left) and Pollux (right) at the top of the stairs to the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy. The giant sculptures of the Dioscuri were originally made in the 2nd century CE and discovered in 1561 at the Temple of Castor and Pollux near Circus Flaminius. They were restored in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII and placed here in 1582-1583. The year 96 BCE sat quietly between crises—but it should not be mistaken for calm. The death

Imagine a crisp, golden-fried pastry crescent, similar to a Karanji  or Gujiya , filled with a decadent mixture of crushed nuts, sugar, and rare perfumes like musk, served hot from the Sultan's kitchen. Maybe I am just hungry today - we will eventually get to a coin. The Dough:  Made from Rice flour and Ghee (for a melt-in-the-mouth texture). The Filling:  A blend of Almond flour, Charoli nuts, roasted Chickpea flour, Sugar, and spices (Cardamom, Fennel, Musk). Then deep fri

By the 3rd century BC, the geopolitical landscape had fractured. Alexander the Great was dead, and his Successors (the Diadochi) were tearing his empire apart. In this chaos, the independent city-state (polis) was no longer enough to ensure survival.

Ahilyabai Holkar (1725–1795) is a luminous figure in Indian history, a "Philosopher Queen" who ruled the Maratha state of Indore with a rare blend of piety and administrative genius. Born in a village in Ahmednagar, she married into the powerful Holkar dynasty but faced early tragedy, losing her husband Khanderao in battle in 1754. Khanderao Holkar was inspecting his troops in an open palanquin when he was struck and killed by a cannonball fired from the Jat artillery during

A genuine ancient coin that has survived from 90 BCE and the "Social War" serves as a truth from that time. Everything else we "know" about this coin is "knowledge": what we write down, argue about, and base decisions on - i.e. the story we tell about that truth....

All of today's coins are from the Rauceby Hoard or more precisely PAS Coin Hoard Unique ID: LIN-F6D516. For many of the coins in this collection, the questions of "where were the found & when" will never be known. For the coins from today's notes, we know a lot about them thanks the the UK Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) managed by the British Museum that records archaeological objects found by the public to advance historical ...

M. Antonius Polemon (active AD 50–54) was the grandson of Polemon I and a great-grandson of the orator Zenon. He remained in the family's home city of Laodicea. He was a high-ranking Priest (Hiereus) and city official. He is also the great-great-grandson of Mark Antony by way Polemon I (the magistrate's grandfather) who married Pythodoris (the magistrate's great grandmother), the daughter of Antonia who was the daughter of Mark Antony. The Coin Phrygia, Laodicea. Claudius (AD