Term Card - Hilary 2025

Baptiste Dupeyré (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris): The coinage of the Roman emperor Macrinus and his son, Diadumenian

My research, under the supervision of Prof Antony Hostein, focuses on the reign and coinage of the Roman emperor Macrinus and his son, Diadumenian. The rationale for my talk stems from the scarcity of studies dedicated to this emperor, as well as the need to counterbalance the negative perception and general disinterest towards his reign. 

To address this, I shall conduct a historiographic analysis to highlight the negative legacy of ancient sources' portrayal of Macrinus and the disinterest of the modern historiography for this coinage. In addition, I shall move beyond the senatorial vision of the reign by examining how Macrinus represented himself and his son, Diadumenian, particularly through portraiture. This analysis focuses particularly on coinage, given the exhaustivity of imperial portraits preserved in this medium.

A significant part of my talk is dedicated to the production and circulation of coins during Macrinus’s reign. I will share my die-link study of Macrinus's gold coinage, utilizing an almost exhaustive corpus of available specimens. Following this, I will perform a brief analysis of the ten most significant coin hoards from Macrinus' reign to explore the reception of the emperor's messaging and to balance the imperial perspective conveyed by coinage. One particular focus of my study is the detailed analysis of the Karnak hoard, the most important for the gold coinage of Macrinus.

The final section aims to propose a reclassification of Macrinus's coinage, based on the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The current edition of the Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC) for Macrinus, first published in 1938, is outdated. My work seeks to address this by revisiting the organization of the mint and the production of coins, presenting new reflections and resolving uncertainties about these aspects.

Denise Miebach (University of Oxford): The issue of Late Hellenistic monograms on royal coinage in central Asia minor - interpreting
monograms and their historical context

During the Late Hellenistic period many new dynasties and kingdoms emerged in the local territories of Asia Minor. The power vacuum left behind by the defeat of Mithridates VI led them to seek Roman support through military alliances and ’friendship‘. Many of them participated in the civil war between M.Anthony and Octavian and are mentioned in passing by the literary sources. Today, these kingdoms have become known to modern readers as so-called Roman ’client kingdoms’. Still, especially the smaller kingdoms of central Asia Minor are not well understood. For many of them neither reign dates nor the extend of their territories are certain. To gain a better understanding of these kingdoms scholars are highly reliant on archaeological evidence, most importantly coinage. Many of the kingdoms in central Asia Minor minted coins in bronze and some in silver. In typical late Hellenistic fashion nearly all of the coins make use of monograms, Greek letters and royal iconography.

The increasingly unique designs of monograms makes it possible for them to be read in several ways. However, few of the current interpretations have been questioned although they can have important historical implications and are far from certain. Hence, this talk will consider in depth whether a reading of the monograms is possible and if so if there is a sensible historical context to interpret the monograms in a specific way. For this talk, I will be presenting my own ongoing research into the royal coinages minted in Cilicia, Galatia, Cappadocia and Pamphylia during the Late Hellenistic period.

Pietro Scudieri (Universidad de Málaga): The Kings of Rome and Gentile propaganda: Royal images and Coins in Late Republic

The monarchical period, though shrouded in legend and limited by the surviving literary sources, had a profound impact on the Roman Republican tradition. The legacy of Rome’s early kings, from Romulus to Tarquin the Proud, was perpetuated not only through literature but also through the urban landscape, topographical features, festivals, symbols, and institutional frameworks. In the 1st century BCE, a significant shift occurred in the use of Rome's foundational myths, particularly in the iconography of coinage. Roman elites, including plebeian families such as the Aemilii, Pomponii, Calpurnii, and Marcii, began to trace their genealogies to early monarchs like Ancus Marcius and Numa Pompilius. Although this practice began in the 2nd century BCE, it became more pronounced after the Social War. Consequently, numismatic evidence reveals how royal imagery was strategically appropriated to assert the political legitimacy and prestigious lineage of magistrates. As a result, coins served as a medium for promoting genealogical claims and reinforcing the social status of political elites. For example, in 89 BCE, L. Titurius Sabinus featured the bearded effigy of Titus Tatius on a denarius, while Cn. Calpurnius Piso, in 49 BCE, minted a denarius depicting Numa’s likeness. These coins demonstrate how royal iconography was harnessed to enhance personal and familial prestige. Similarly, in 49 BCE, Cn. Calpurnius Piso depicted the bearded likeness of Numa on the obverse of a denarius during his tenure as proquaestor. This study aims to explore how the appropriation of royal symbols, particularly in coinage, functioned as a means of political legitimization. Despite the Roman rejection of monarchy, the manipulation of royal imagery by elites reveals the paradoxical relationship between republican ideals and the use of monarchical symbols to assert power and lineage. Coins, thus, offer critical insight into the intersection of myth, genealogy, and political strategy in the Roman Republic.