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I recently read an article on a numismatic site written by Julius Gemanicus. He described his recent visit to the site of the Harzhorn battle of approximately 228 CE in his native Germany. It inspired me to delve more deeply into the history of this interesting site. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/visit-to-the-harzhorn-battlefield-and-göttingen-coin-cabinet.316487/ I had vaguely remembered this topic being discussed years ago on this site. (See link below.) My new-found interest about this battlefield coincided with my reading the excellent book by Paul N. Pearson, “Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome.” In his book Professor Pearson dedicates an entire chapter on the battle. The interesting finding is the distance into hostile German territory that the battlefield was found. The battlefield is found farther north and east than anyone had predicted. The battle also occurred much later than anyone would have imagined. In the book, Pearson writes, "Hence the late date surprised just about everyone because the Romans were not supposed to have penetrated this far into Germany after the first century" [after the Varus disaster at Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE]. "Radiocarbon dating of wooden artifacts tied the battle [at Harzhorn] unequivocally in the first half of the third century." Numismatic evidence includes denarii of Severus Alexander and Julia Mamaea "advancing the terminus post quem [the earliest possible date for something] to 228." The battle is now believed to have occurred during the reign of Maximinus Thrax in about 235 CE. (Replica of coin found) (Actual coin from battlefield) This coin of Julia Mamaea on display (with the enlarged photo of the coin behind) is one of of the important pieces of evidence that the battle at Harzhorn occurred no earlier than 222 CE. (Her son Alexander Severus was emperor 222-235 CE. Both mother and emperor were murdered by disgruntled troops in 235 CE.) "The battlefield is no less than 350 kilometers across barbarian territory ... and would have taken a Roman legion the best part of a month to approach ...." "And the layout of the battle suggests the Romans were engaged on their return journey." So, the Harzhorn battlefield is significant for three reasons: 1) It shows a significant incursion by the Romans deep into German territory more than two centuries later than previously known. 2) The numismatic evidence almost certainly confirms this theory. 3) Despite the chaos and crisis of the third century, the Roman Empire was still able to project its power despite its internal turmoil. Professor Pearson notes that an axe-head was found at the battlefield with the inscription leg IIII SA on one side and FAV on the other. This identifies the legio IIII flavia felix. The symbol of the unit was a lion. The initials SA probably signifies severinae alexandrinae (Severus Alexander). (Actual axe-head found at battle site) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_IV_Flavia_Felix (Coin unrelated to battle site that shows the lion on the reverse of legio IIII FL.) By sheer coincidence, the unit commanded by Russel Crowe in the movie Gladiator during the battle in Germania set more than a half century earlier was legio III, felix legion (also the symbol of the lion). guy also known as gaius