Domitianus II: Unknown Gallic usurper

[guy]

The Romano-Gallic Empire lasted fourteen years and was ruled by five accepted rulers:
Postumus (AD 260-269)
Marius (269)
Victorinus (269-271)
Tetricus I (271-274) with his son Tetricus II as Caesar (273-274)

An important usurper was Laelianus (AD 269) who was unsuccessful against Postumus. Another usurper, until recently unrecognized and relatively unknown, was Domitianus (271).

It is recent numismatic evidence that has confirmed the existence of Domitianus. The background story is fascinating.

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No ‘Domitianus’ is securely attested in the historical record. The Historia Augusta (which is itself a historiographical minefield)[1] mentions a soldier ‘Domitianus’, a dux Aureoli fortissimus et vehementissimus – “a formidably bold, impetuous commander under Aureolus” (Aureolus was a general under Gallienus who also eventually rebelled). He was involved in putting down the revolt of Macrianus in the Balkans in the 260s. A second potential ‘cameo appearance’ for this figure is found in the Byzantine historian Zosimus, who in passing mentions a conspirator Domitianus, whom Aurelian executed in AD 271.

 

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The historical consensus on the Gallic Empire remained stable until a shock find in 1900. Agricultural work in a vineyard at Les Cléons in the Haute-Goulaine region of France unearthed a few coins. An excavator was called in, and a hoard of 1,456 coins was found, dating from between the reigns of Gordian II (AD 238) and Aurelian (270–5). The coins were largely uninteresting antoninianii – a rather miserable denomination that had been introduced in AD 215 by Caracalla as double-denarius silver coin, yet by the 260s it had become so severely debased that it amounted to a mere copper coin containing less than 5% silver. But in this hoard, one coin stood out.

The first coin of Domitianus II was discovered.

 

This is the original Domitianus coin found in 1900. This was the first coin of this emperor and its authenticity was questioned. It was thought to be a retooled forgery. In fact, it was soon "misplaced" at a local museum in Nantes, France. It was only rediscovered more than a century later.

So, the debate about the existence of Domitianus II was unresolved ... until a second example was found a century later in an unrelated hoard in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire:

Second Domitianus coin found in 2003 in the Calgrove hoard:

 

Eventually, even a third example of a coin of this emperor was found in a hoard in Bulgaria. This is a very readable article below on this mysterious emperor.

 

Domitian II – the Lost Roman Emperor – Antigone (antigonejournal.com)

 

 

Here is a previous post of about the numismatic evidence of this emperor from more than a decade ago:

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by guy