Athalaric. The Teenage Ostrogoth King

It's been a good week for Ostrogoths as I also added this coin to my trays this week--





Theodoric
A.D. 493- 526
AE 10 nummi (17mm 3.1g) Ravenna mint.
FELIX R-AVENNA; crowned and draped bust of Ravenna right.
REV: monogram of Ravenna with cross above, all within wreath.
MIB 72b; MEC 150; COI 78b

Must confess I entered the late Roman period quite late in the 'game'
The Ostrogoth period even later !

Ravenna Æ "Municipal" issue
15-17mm 2.52 grams
MEC 150

Obv FELIX RAVENNA
Crowned draped bust of Ravenna right
Rv Ravenna Monogram in wreath cross above







That really depends on when you start counting .....
Doesn't it ?
Not a popular opinion but ...
Here goes
The Roman Empire (like all empires) was nothing more than a protection racket
"Nice city you got
Shame if something were to happen to it ?"
By the fifth century a rather 'glorified' protection racket
Rule by the "Sopranos" really
When trouble came the empire came to the rescue .....
Around six months after the Barbarians had plundered your city and after they had 'raised' an army
Then they expected you to pay the 'freight' charges involved !
So your Germanic criminal invaders took 1/2 of what you had
Then when the relief finally came your 'Roman' rescuers would brake your fingers until you coughed up the remaining half of your buried treasure
(to pay expenses !)

Kings like "Theodoric the Great" were looked on with favor by contemporaries
The Barbarians delivered !
For a mere fraction of the cost they provided the prompt relief (days not months) which a corrupt empire could not and would not provide !
The Ostrogothic Kings were popular !
Modern personages like Queens Victoria and Elizabeth don't trace their lineage back to Caesar (or Justinian)
They were the the descendants of 'Great' Theodoric and company
The so-called Barbarian horsemen who replaced the Romans
The "Great" General Balisaurius ravaged and sacked Rome and its environs reducing the locals to a century of misery
The Islamic North African conquests are best explained by the fact the Byzantines (post Belisaurius) were literally taxing the togas off of the local land owners
North Africans waved a fond farewell to the Byzantine navy
"have a nice trip ... Say hello to the emperor !"
The "Saracens" provided the security needed
And at a mere fraction of the cost !
One should note that Islamic/Byzantine coinage replaced the later
Not much change ... different mint mark
For a hundred years Greek continued as the language of administration
Pay your taxes on time and everything was just 'peachy'

And now I will 'batten' down the hatches !

The Ostrogoths were actually not bad rulers. They had a dual legal system that allowed Romans to use their laws while Ostrogoths had their own Gothic laws.

Here is another FELIX RAVENNA that was converted to a two tremissis weight with the reverse removed and blank surface inscribed IS (16) in series of points to denote weight.




Theoderic. AE Decanummium Converted to a weight (17mm 2.9 gm). Municipal issue. Ravenna mint. Struck A.D. 493-518. FELIX RAVENNA; Draped bust of Ravenna right, wearing mural crown / [Ravenna monogram in wreath; X (mark of value) at point of wreath ties]. COI 78a; MEC 145-9.

The Ostrogoths were in fact excellent rulers and were looked upon as a vast improvement over the prior administration
As my university professor put it too us nearly 50 years ago
"What happened the day after Odoacer deposed the last emperor (Romulus Augustulus) ?"

Nothing too much really
Hardly anyone actually noticed
The garbage still got collected
The pot holes repaired
The aqueducts maintained .
The one real change
Taxes went down !

Ostrogoth kings were perfectly happy to put the name and image of an emperor on the coinage just as long as he stayed put in Constantinople and kept his rapacious tax collectors to himself !
The Magna Carta which forms the basis of our modern US Constitution was founded on "Barbarian" law not Roman law
Barbarian kings received their legitimacy from those they ruled over
Kings were elected !
Roman emperors claimed their rights were handed down from 'above'
To impugn the emperor was an insult to the deity

So called "Barbarian" kings get a bad rap
To those that lived
They were a vast improvement over a corrupt and inept empire
People wanted protection !
Theodoric delivered it

Great new coins posted to this thread. Thx for keeping it going with your recent additions!

That Theodahad follis from a few days ago is a spectacular coin for that era. Congrats!

I posted this coin already; but I didn't mention how incredibly small it is; at 8mm this 2 (or 2.5) nummi is the smallest Ostrogothic coin.




Baduila (Totila)
A.D. 541- 552
2 or 2½ Nummi. 1/350 lb (8mm 0.6g). Rome mint.
D N B [...], Helmeted and mantled bust facing / Lion standing right.
COI 99; MIB -; MEC 1, -.


and for an idea of how small it is, here it is on a US dime. Imagine trying to keep up with a few of these while your out and about shopping.