|
HOME :
Intaglio Jewelry :
Loose Intaglios : Roman Jasper Seal Depicting the Bust of Emperor Pertinax
|
 |
|
|
|
Roman Jasper Seal Depicting the Bust of Emperor Pertinax - OS.057
Origin: Europe
Circa: 126
AD
to 193
AD
Dimensions:
1.4" (3.6cm) high
x 1.2" (3.0cm) wide
Collection: Jewelry
Style: Roman Period
Medium: Jasper
Additional Information: F
£9,800.00
Location: Great Britain
|
|
|
| Description |
Publius Helvius Pertinax, (born Aug. 1, 126, Liguria
[now in Italy]—died March 28, 193), Roman emperor
from January to March 193.
The son of a freed slave, Pertinax taught school, then
entered the army, commanding units in Syria, in
Britain, and on the Danube and the Rhine. He earned
distinction during the great invasion by German tribes
in 169. Given senatorial rank and command of a
legion, he was soon promoted to the consular
commands of Moesia, Dacia, and Syria, but under the
emperor Commodus (reigned 180–192) he fell from
favour, together with the future emperor Septimius
Severus, during the ascendancy of the praetorian
prefect Perennis (182–185). In the last years of
Commodus’s life, Pertinax became prefect of the city
of Rome, while Severus commanded the armies of
the upper Danube. When Commodus was murdered
on Dec. 31, 192, the Senate met before dawn and
proclaimed Pertinax (then senior marshal of the
empire) emperor. He tried to enforce unpopular
economies in both civilian and military expenditure
and was murdered by a small group of soldiers after
less than three months in power. When Severus
became emperor later in the year, he decreed divine
honours for the slain ruler and took the name
Pertinax.
- (OS.057)
|
| |
|
