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All details of this ancient coin lead to Rome: the draped, cuirassed, and helmeted bust of Roma, the female personifying the ancient city since the Republic; the inscription, INVICTA ROMA, advertising her invincible nature, and; the highly esteemed eagle, representing a variety of heraldic themes, the emblem of which (the Aquila) was proudly carried by each Roman legion. Not surprisingly, Rome’s inhabitants struck this ancient coin. However, at the time, namely early 6th century AD, the city no longer formed part to the ancient Roman Empire, but rather a newly established Ostrogoth Kingdom.
This particular Gothic tribe originated in lands north of the Black Sea around 3rd century AD. The Ostrogoths migrated south, increasingly coming into conflict with Romans, and by 4th century AD established a powerful state in Dacia. Later that century, they came under dominion of the Huns. After the Huns' demise, the Ostrogoths recovered, and by late 5th century AD rose in prominence to rival the declining Western Roman Empire.
In 493 AD, the Ostrogoth leader Theoderic the Great was recruited by Augustus Zeno and the Eastern Roman Empire to kill and replace Odoacer, the Germanic barbarian who fancied himself King of Italy. This event marked the dawn of the Ostrogoth Kingdom, effectively a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, rather than the latter's transformation or termination. Theoderic retained much of the political staffing structures of the previous Empire, including an active cooperation with the Roman Senate. In fact, the Empire’s laws were still recognized, even though the Ostrogoths were ruled under their own traditional laws. The city of Ravenna, which served as the Western Roman Empire's capital since 402 AD, remained the site for the royal court of the Ostrogoth Kings. Military positions remained the purview of Goths, who settled northern Italy, segregated from the Rome’s urban population. This division was also religious: the Goths mostly followed Arian Christianity, while the native Romans largely held Chalcedonian views, in alignment with Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire had not really fallen; it just came under new management.
Ostrogoth royalty entered into marriages with their counterparts among neighboring states, for instance with the Visigoths, Burgundians, and the Franks. These relationships fostered greater alliances, and the Ostrogoth Kingdom grew, at its height stretching from Gaul in the west to Dacia in the east. However, the effect proved temporary, and did not address the major issue: the Eastern Roman Empire, also referred to by modern historians as the Byzantine Empire. The Ostrogoth Kings were officially under the suzerainty of Constantinople, however, relations were often strained. Despite the west's numerous assurances of its loyalty to Constantinople, Augustus Justinian I invaded Italy in 535 AD. Although Justinian defeated the Ostrogoths by mid 6th century AD, his ambitious goal to restore the Empire proved ephemeral. After Justinian’s death in 568 AD, the Lombards resumed their own invasion into Italy, and the Empire lost control, this time for good.
Rome - the once busy hub of Europe’s roads and home to more than a million - became relatively deserted, and, along with the rest of the continent, eventually plunged into the Dark Ages. More than millennia passed until the city’s population recovered. Despite the ravages of her conquerors, many of Rome’s constructions still survive – even if in ruins – attracting up to ten million tourists annually, proving Rome truly is the eternal city.
Additional Reading: "Lest Darkness Fall" (an alternate history science fiction novel) by L. Sprague de Camp, 1939.
Coin Details: OSTROGOTHS, 493-534 AD, Theoderic, 493-526 AD, AE 40 Nummi / Follis (10.08 gm, 25mm), Rome mint, 3rd officina, NGC Grade: VF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust of Roma right, INVICT A ROMA, Reverse: Eagle standing left on ground line, headright, with wings displayed; XL (value) to left; [•] Γ •, References: COI 76b; MIB 74a.