Ophelia

In an uncanny act of synchronicity Peter Hammill's Ophelia was playing in my ears as I walked past the statue of John Everett Millais on the way from Pimlico Station to Horsferry Road this morning.

Millais’ painting, Ophelia, was completed in 1852 and shows Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, singing while floating in a river just before she drowns. The scene is described in Act IV, Scene VII of the play in a speech by Queen Gertrude. The episode depicted is not seen onstage, but exists only in Gertrude's description. Ophelia has fallen into the river from a tree overhanging it, while gathering flowers. She lies in the water singing songs, as if unaware of her danger.

The Percy memorial, Bramham Moor

Having driven past it on a daily basis I finally took a photo of the remnants of a monument that marks where Henry Percy fell at the battle of Bramham Moor (albeit relocated slightly from its original location).

The Battle of Bramham Moor on 19 February 1408 was the final battle in the Percy Rebellion of 1402 – 1408, which pitted the Earl of Northumberland, leader of the wealthy and influential Percy family, against the usurper King of England, King Henry IV. The Percy’s had previously aided Henry IV in his coup d'etat against his cousin, King Richard II in 1399.

Silver penny, Richard II, York mint

At Bramham Moor, south of Wetherby, Percy’s army was met by a force of local Yorkshire levies and noble retinues which had been hastily assembled to meet the force, led by the High Sheriff of Yorkshire Sir Thomas Rokeby. The exact sizes and compositions of the contending armies are not known, but the armies were far smaller than the thousands who had gathered at Shrewsbury, the rebels failing to gain widespread support or receive aid from other rebellious factions, such as Wales, where Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion was collapsing.

Percy was defeated, and the Earl himself died fighting a furious rearguard action as his army was routed. His severed head was subsequently put on display at London Bridge.

His position as a character in the Shakespearean canon may have inspired the character of Lord Percy Percy, Duke of Northumberland, played by Tim McInnerny in the first series of the historical sitcom The Black Adder that is set during the very late Plantagenet era.

Caracalla assassinated 1797 years ago!

On April 8th 217 AD the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (better known these days from the nickname or agnomen Caracalla, which, according to Aureius Victor refers to a Gallic cloak that Caracalla adopted as a personal fashion, which spread to his army and his court) was assassinated.

While travelling from Edessa to continue the war with Parthia, he was assassinated while urinating at a roadside near Carrhae on 8 April 217 (4 days after his 29th birthday), by Julius Martialis, an officer of his personal bodyguard. Herodian says that Martialis' brother had been executed a few days earlier by Caracalla on an unproven charge; Cassius Dio, on the other hand, says that Martialis was resentful at not being promoted to the rank of centurion. The escort of the emperor gave him privacy to relieve himself, and Martialis then ran forward and killed Caracalla with a single sword stroke. While attempting to flee, the bold assassin was then quickly dispatched by a Scythian archer of the Imperial Guard.

Caracalla was succeeded by his Praetorian Guard Prefect, Macrinus, who (according to Herodian) was most probably responsible for having the emperor assassinated.

The coin at the start of this post is a silver denarius of Caracalla from Rome with Jupiter holding a thunderbolt on the reverse. It was struck during the last year of his reign.

The Eagle of the Ninth Legion

Mark Antony (or Marc Antony)
Denarius
Patrae Mint(?)
Obv: ANT AVG III VIR RPC
Galley right with rowers, mast with banners at prow
Rev: LEG VIIII
Aquila (legionary eagle) between two legionary standards
Crawford 544

Legio Nona Hispana (Ninth Spanish Legion) was a Roman legion which operated from the 1st century BC until mid-2nd century AD.

The legion was raised, along with the 6th, 7th and 8th, by Pompey in Hispania in 65 BC.

Caesar's Ninth Legion fought in the battles of Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus (48 BC) and in the African campaign of 46 BC. After his final victory, Caesar disbanded the legion and settled the veterans in the area of Picenum.

Following Caesar's assassination, Octavian recalled the veterans of the Ninth to fight against the rebellion of Sextus Pompeius in Sicily. After defeating Sextus, they were sent to the province of Macedonia. The Ninth remained with Octavian in his war of 31 BC against Mark Antony and fought by his side in the battle of Actium. With Octavian as sole ruler of the Roman world, the legion was sent to Hispania to take part in the large-scale campaign against the Cantabrians (25–13 BC). The nickname Hispana ("stationed in Hispania") is first found during the reign of Augustus and probably originated at this time.

The legion's fate is unknown but has been the subject of considerable interest and research. It was based in York in 108. The theory that it was destroyed in action north of Hadrian's Wall around 117 was popularized by a 1954 novel, The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff, but was somewhat discredited when tile stamps later found in Nijmegen show that the legion was still based there between 121 and 130. Dio Cassius records that a legion was destroyed in Armenia by the Parthians in 161; it was possibly the Ninth Legion. In any event, the Ninth does not appear in a list of legions compiled in 165.

The above coin is for sale and can be purchased by following the link to Mauseus on Ebay HERE.

New site - Architectura Numismatica

 

TYRE in PHOENICIA- Temple of Astarte

Elagabalus, AE 29mm, BMC 393, Rouvier 2363 

Using this blogger software I've started to construct some pages about buildings and monuments on ancient coins, something that interests me (as you might have gathered from some of my previous posts here). I've added the link to the list of blogs on this site.