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The ancient city of Alexandria Troas was named after the greatest conqueror the world had ever known. The surrounding fertile plains, once known as the Troad, cover northwest Asia Minor from Mount Ida to the Dardanelle Strait and the Aegean Sea. The region abounds with historical significance, notably the epic Trojan War that devastated its most legendary city.
For the ancient Romans, the Troad held special interest. Beyond its strategic location, the Troad was birthplace of Aeneas, the Grecian hero who fled burning Troy to eventually settle Italy, and whose descendants, Romulus and Remus, founded Rome herself. Rome’s most famous dictator, Julius Caesar, considered Alexandria Troas as a worthy alternative location to seat his realm’s power. Caesar’s adoptive son and successor, Augustus, also held Alexandria Troas in esteem, and confirmed its privileges as an independent Roman colony. Thenceforth, many Augusti, notably the philhellene Emperor Hadrian, invested in the glorification of the city and its demesnes.
Under Rome’s influence, Alexandria Troas prospered, and its mint produced interesting semi-autonomous coinage, as well as issues in the name of Roman Emperors and Empresses. One such example is this ancient bronze bearing the obverse inscription IVL MAXIMVS C, denoting Gaius Julius Verus Maximus (216? – 238 AD), son and Caesar of Augustus Maximinus.
Maximinus intended for the twenty-year-old Maximus to follow in his footsteps, even though the son was nothing like the father. Maximinus was barbarian born. Maximus grew up in the fashion of a Roman aristocrat. Maximinus never set foot in Rome. Maximus spent at least enough time in the eternal city to nearly marry one of her noblewomen. Maximinus’ was imposingly large, and his barbarian bearing evidenced by the prominently engraved brow, nose, and jaw on much of his coinage. Maximus, youthful and handsome, appears on Rome’s coins with relatively softer physiognomy. On this ancient bronze, Maximus’ bare-headed, draped, and cuirassed bust is evocative of his father’s predecessor, Severus Alexander.
On the coin’s reverse, a horse elegantly extends its neck downward to feed on Troad’s lush grasses. Encircling the scene, the inscription COL AVG TRO conveys the mint’s homage to Augustus, rather than - no offense intended - Alexander the Great. In any case, the equine was a popular motif on ancient Troad’s coinage, reflecting the region’s famous association with horses. The connection even transcended into the mythical realm, evidenced by the stratagem that decided the epic Trojan War.
The imagery of the grazing horse seemingly befits Maximus, who was reportedly keen on enjoying Rome’s splendor. In this regard, he once again differed from his father Maximinus, who focused on defending Rome’s glory in battle. Although he probably did not relish the prospect, Maximus evidently campaigned for at least two years alongside his father on the Empire’s frontier.
By 238 AD, the military exploits of Maximinus and Maximus were draining Rome’s coffers. The Senate, disgruntled over excessive taxation and disgraced after supporting a failed rebellion in Africa, decided to take action. They outlawed the Maxima, and instead chose a pair from their own ranks as Rome’s new co-Emperors. The imperial controversy reached a climax at the Siege of Aquileia, where Maximus shared in his father’s final fate. Both father and son were assassinated, and their severed heads were placed on poles and delivered back to Rome.
Besides the grisly outcome at Aquileia, there were four additional imperial murders in 238 AD, as the Empire suffered (what today is called) the Crisis of the Third Century. Even the prosperous Roman colony of Alexandria Troas eventually came under pressure, and was sacked several decades later by marauding Gothic tribes. At the time, the Empire was ruled by the Valerian dynasty, the last Roman rulers to ever adorn Alexandria Troas’ coinage. A century after the sacking, the city retained at least sufficient status that Constantine the Great considered it a candidate for relocating the Empire’s capital. Instead, Constantine chose Byzantium, renaming it as Constantinople; Alexandria Troas’ diminution continued.
Over the next millennia, Alexandria Troas’ once busy harbors filled in with silt, and its majestic structures decayed into ruins. By mid fifteenth century AD, the Ottoman Turks overran the region, famously scavenging it for building materials. The mighty Turks, led by Memhet II, even conquered nearby Constantinople, effectively ending the great Empire once rooted in Rome. In a pilgrimage echoing Alexander the Great, the victorious Memhet II toured the Troad’s ruins, having finally achieved revenge for Troy’s annihilation.
Coin Details: TROAS, ALEXANDRIA, Maximus as Caesar, AE21 (21 mm, 4.32 g, 6h), Struck circa 236-238 AD, NGC Grade: Ch VF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Bare-headed, draped, cuirassed bust right, G IVL VER MAXIMVS C, Reverse: Horse grazing right, COL AVG TRO, References: Bellinger A377, SNG Cop 173; BMC 136.