Break-away Emperor of Brittania
- sulla80
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
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. However, he allowed the raids to happen, intercepted the plunderers on their return voyage, and was keeping the recovered goods for himself rather than returning them to the treasury. Maximian’s response was to issue a death warrant for Carausius.
An Empire in Crisis
To appreciate how a fleet commander could proclaim himself emperor and survive for seven years, we mustr look at what the Roman Empire had become by AD 286. The Crisis of the Third Century, roughly AD 235–284, had seen rapid change in rulers as power went to whoever held the loyalty of the nearest army.
If we count only those who held the title Augustus and exercised at least some recognized authority, the tally for AD 235–284 runs to approximately twenty-six: from Maximinus Thrax through Gordian I, II, and III, Philip I, Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, Valerian, Gallienus, Claudius II, Aurelian, Tacitus, Probus, Carus, and the short-lived successors between them. If we add Caesars - designated junior co-emperors such as Herennius Etruscus, Valerianus II, Saloninus, and Nigrinianus - the figure rises to around thirty-five. If we include the major regional usurpers who held power, most notably the Gallic emperors (Postumus, Laelianus, Marius, Victorinus, Tetricus I and II) and the Palmyrene rulers (Odaenathus, Vaballathus, Zenobia), and the roster approaches fifty.
Of the roughly twenty-six men who held the title Augustus in this period, twenty-four died violently or in captivity, and the other two died of the plague. The average reign was under two years. Assassination was the most common cause of death. It was into this vacuum that Carausius moved.
The Seizure of Britain
Carausius's response to the death sentence was to seize Britain. He moved quickly. The legions in Britain - the II Augusta, the VI Victrix, the XX Valeria Victrix - declared their support for him. His fleet controlled the Channel. The Gallic port of Gesoriacum (Boulogne) came under his authority. Before Maximian could mount a credible counter-offensive, Carausius had declared himself Augustus and was striking his own coins. A separate Roman-British empire had begun and would last seven years.
Mints & Coins
Carausius maintained the frontier, kept his legions loyal, and constructed one of the most sophisticated propaganda operations in late Roman history - conducted mostly through his coinage.
Carausius established his primary mint at Londinium (London), with secondary operations at Camulodunum (Colchester) and, while he held it, at Rotomagus (Rouen) on the Continent. The London mint was his most important - well organized and prolific.
Roman Empire, Carausius, AD 286-293, Billon Radiate Antoninianus (1h, 26mm, 4.03g), London (P.J. Casey (1994 assigned F-O, ML issues to 289 AD)
Obv: IMP CARAVSIVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: PAX AVG, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre; F-O across fields, ML in exergue.
Ref: RIC V.2-101; Webb-128.
The obverse legend claims of imperial authority: IMP (Imperator), AVG (Augustus) ; P F (Pius Felix, "dutiful and fortunate"). The formula is identical to the titles of Diocletian and Maximian, and the mirroring is deliberate: Carausius presented himself as a co-equal colleague - not a rebel. Casey places the portrait style on this coin in his mid-reign phase, consistent with the F-O/ML dating of c. 289 AD
Pax on the reverse asserts that the Carausius was the rightful source of order in the northwest, not a disruption to it. The goddess stands left, olive branch in the right hand, sceptre in the left - conciliation backed by authority, the visual grammar of Augustan peace.
ML refers to Moneta Londiniensis, the Coin of the London mint and F-O is speculatively translated as faciunda officina, the producing workshop. Sheil puts the F-O / ML sequence as the "most prolific" production phase for Carausius at the London mint, dating to approximately 289 AD.
Other issues reveal an intellectual ambition: direct quotations from Virgil's Aeneid rendered as coin legends - EXPECTATE VENI ("come, awaited one"), INVIA VIRTVTI NVLLA EST VIA ("no road is impassable to valour") - an erudite literary gesture without parallel.
At 4.03 grams, this coin is heavier than the contemporary norm. Diocletian's reformed radiates of the early 280s typically ran 3.0-3.8 grams. Carausian radiates from the London mint, particularly earlier issues, consistently meet or exceed 4 grams, and a silver fraction of 5–15 percent compared to the near-zero silver of many late-crisis state issues.
Betrayal and Erasure
In AD 293, Carausius was murdered by his finance minister, Allectus. The sources give us no detail on the conspiracy - only the bare facts of the murder. The ML in exergue on his final issues appear also on the initial issues of Allectus, proving administrative continuity in the London mint despite the violent political coup.
Allectus ruled for three years, AD 293-296, before Constantius's praetorian prefect Asclepiodotus crossed the Channel in fog, evading Allectus' fleet, and landed in the south. Allectus was killed in the ensuing battle, reportedly somewhere in Hampshire. His troops, many of them Frankish mercenaries, fled toward London and were intercepted and cut down before they could sack the city.
Carausius does not appear in the Historia Augusta. Eutropius disposes of him in a clause. But the numismatic record tells a different story: the volume, variety, quality, and intellectual ambition of his coinage are significant in the coinage history of Roman Britain.
Constantius was celebrated with a medal showing the emperor on horseback, welcomed at the gates of London, with the legend REDDITOR LVCIS AETERNAE - restorer of eternal light. In September 1922, at a clay pit in Beaurains, near Arras, workers struck a ceramic vessel. It contained a massive treasure of Roman gold, including "multiples" (medallions worth several aurei) that had never been seen before. Some of the most spectacular pieces, including the 10-aurei medallion of Constantius I entering London, were stolen or dispersed shortly after discovery.
References
Bourne, Richard. “‘The Coinage of Carausius and His Colleagues’ Numismatic Circular 117 (2009) Pp.198-206,” n.d.
Casey, P. J. Carausius and Allectus: The British Usurpers. London: Batsford, 1994.
Hutchinson, Walter, ed. Hutchinson’s History of the Nations. Vol. 2. London: Hutchinson, 1910.
Mattingly, Harold, and Edward A. Sydenham, eds. The Roman Imperial Coinage. Vol. 5, part 2. London: Spink, 1933.
Shiel, Norman. The Episode of Carausius and Allectus. British Archaeological Reports 40. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1977.
Webb, Percy H. "The Coinage of Allectus." Numismatic Chronicle 4th ser., no. 6 (1906): 127–181.
Webb, Percy H. "The Coinage of Carausius." Numismatic Chronicle 4th ser., no. 7 (1907): 156–218.
Zosimus. Historia Nova: The Decline of Rome. Translated by James J. Buchanan and Harold T. Davis. San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 1967.
Excellent article & example of a Carausius antoninianus ☺️. What a shame the original Arras 10 aurei medallion disappeared (probably melted for bullion) 🥹. Attached are two photos of Constantius I nummi I recently sold.