Project start: The structure of the Imperial Roman coinage of Elagabal (218-222 AD)
As part of a DOC scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, David Burisch has been working on his dissertation on the reconstruction of the Imperial Roman coinage of Emperor Antoninus IV (218-222 AD), known as Elagabal, since the beginning of October.
Although Elagabal's reign was limited to just four years, his reign played a significant role in the coinage of the Roman imperial period. With three imperial Roman mints instead of the previous two, numerous interventions in monetary policy and six members of the imperial family for whom coins were minted, Elagabal is an excellent candidate for in-depth scholarly study.
The aim of the dissertation is to reconstruct Elagabal's coinage system in the form of a so-called “Aufbauarbeit”. The core of such a study is the evaluation of all the material that has to be compiled until a chronology can be recognised and the minting plan of the respective mints can be traced. This makes it possible to clarify questions about the mint attribution of individual types, to date undated types or to critically scrutinise dubious pieces. The material to be analysed provides new specimens, variants, types and dating, which consolidate or redefine the current state of research. The intensive examination of Elagabal's coinage should not only make an important contribution to the understanding of this emperor in numismatics, but also provide new approaches with regard to the development of the Elagabal cult, iconography and necessary dating.
Image: Antoninus IV (Elagabal), Aureus, 220 AD, RIC IV.2, 61d
