VABALATHUS
Usurper, 268-272 AD

with AURELIAN

Antoninianus 20 mm, 3.29 g). Antioch mint, Antioch mint, First officina. 1st emission, November AD 270-March AD 272.

VABALATHVS V C R IM D R. Unabridged legend: Vabalathus Vir Clarissimus Rex Imperator Dux Romanorum. Translation: Vabalathus, most illustrious (senatorial rank), king, supreme commander, duke of Rome. laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.

IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG. Unabridged legend: Imperator, Caesar, Aurelianus Augustus. Translation: Supreme commander, Caesar, Aurelian, emperor. Radiate and cuirassed bust right, A (First Officina) below.

Ref. RIC V 381 corr. (switches obv. and rev.); BN 1238-40. Very Fine some original silvering.

VABALATHUS (Lucius Iulius Aurelius Septimius Vabalathus Athenodorus) was the son of the Palmyran king Odenathus.
In 271 A.D. Vabalathus was declared Augustus but Aurelian defeated his forces. Early in his reign Aurelian had granted the Palmyrene rulers Zenobia and Vabalathus the lofty titles they desired, and he even struck coinage jointly with Vabalathus at Antioch and Alexandria. But by the spring of 272 he led his army east, liberating one city after another in Asia Minor and causing the surrender of Zenobia and Vabalathus in 272.

Aurelian returned to Rome for a spectacular triumph at which the captured king and queen were displayed in golden chains before hundreds of thousands of cheering citizens. At this time Aurelian claimed the well-earned title "restorer of the orient" (restitvtor orientis). In the near future Aurelian would score an equally important victory when he recovered the westernmost provinces, by which he returned the empire to its healthiest state in recent memory. After achieving this greatness, Aurelian styled himself on coins as "restorer of the world" (restitvtor orbis) and "God and Lord" (deus et dominus), and even described himself as having been "born God and Master" (deo et domino nato).
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