Description:
Obverse: Elephant advancing right, trampling on horned serpent
Reverse: Emblems of the pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis, and apex
Label Text:
Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label Text:
An African King in the Roman Civil War
Juba I (r. 60–46 BCE) was ruler of the north African kingdom of Numidia. On this bilingual coin (2004.13.523), Juba I is identified as king in Latin on the obverse and neo-Punic on the reverse, demonstrating both his political connections to Rome and his autonomy as king of Numidia.
In the Roman civil war between the factions of Pompey and Julius Caesar, Juba supported Pompey, as did the Roman general Metellus Scipio; both were ultimately defeated by Caesar’s allies. Caesar’s coin may refer to his determination to defeat the Numidian king—the Latin version of Juba’s name, “Iuba,” is the same as the word for the crest of the snake that is shown being crushed by the elephant.
Elephants and African Victory
Elephants were commonly associated with Africa on coinage, as with these examples from Roman generals, a Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, and king Juba II.
Juba II (r. 25 BCE–24 CE), Juba I’s son, was installed by the Roman emperor Augustus as ruler of the kingdom of Mauretania in North Africa. Juba’s coin cleverly combines an elephant with another common image type: winged Victory holding a victor’s wreath. Here, instead of striding forward, driving a chariot, or crowning a triumphal emperor, Victory stands atop an elephant’s head as if riding it (2004.13.621). This imagery could have inspired later imperial Roman coins that placed Victory riding atop a ship’s prow.
[Displayed with 2000.2.4.INV, 2000.3.20.INV, 2000.4.7b.INV, 2004.13.2, 2004.13.15, 2004.13.65, 2004.13.81, 2004.13.523, 2004.13.621, 2013.24, 2013.L10, 2019.24]
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; numismatics Subjects:
Civilization, Ancient; archaeological objects; Numismatics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2013.24 |
