Addictive Steve's "30-Day" Therapy (Please Play Along)

Patience, tis Monday.

thanks for your comments, echizento ...

=> wow, Decius died in battle => although he didn't die of natural causes, death on the battlefield sounds like a far more noble and desirable death than some of the other options, right?

jwharper => sorry, I wasn't trying to nag you ... I have merely become trained to receive your slick-responses (sadly, I've become a bit like Pavlov's dog ... drooling for people's responses immediately after posting my daily coin!!) ...

anyway ... hopefully this thread isn't dragging-on too much? (on the bright-side, it is stopping me from purchasing more coins ... so job well done!!)

Have a great day, ancient coin dudes!!

Nice => very sweet looking coin, ValiantKnight ...

... does anybody else have any fine examples?

Turkey is for Thanksgiving, on Easter, you're supposed to eat 50 hard boiled eggs and wash then down with rabbit's, too.

Oh, and next year I'll try your Cool Hand Luke Easter recipe => 50 hard boiled eggs, with rabbit's too!!

Very nice details of the emperors image. Will give others a chance to comment.

Marcus Julius Philippus rose from obscure origins to rule for five and one-half years as Rome's emperor. Only sketchy details of his life and reign have survived in the historical record. One of those details -- his ethnicity -- was latched onto by later historians, who called the emperor by the name Philip the Arab.

Philip the Arab was born in the Roman province of Arabia, in what today is the village of Shahba, roughly 55 miles south-southeast of Damascus. The village was obscure at the time of Philip's birth, though once he became emperor, Philip renamed the community Philippopolis and embarked on a major building campaign. Little is known of Philip's father, save the name Julius Marinus and must have been locally prominent. At some point, probably in the 230s, Philip married Marcia Otacilia Severa. A son was born by 238 and named Marcus Julius Severus Philippus. Philip's early career is also obscure, though it was undoubtedly helped by that of his brother, Julius Priscus. Priscus was appointed praetorian prefect by Gordian III and had previously served as prefect of the Roman province of Mesopotamia. If a fragmentary inscription from Rome can be connected to Priscus, Philip's brother rose quickly during Gordian III's reign through a variety of equestrian offices, including procurator of Macedonia, vice prefect of Egypt, and judge at Alexandria.

Priscus' appointment as praetorian prefect probably came at the beginning of the Roman campaign to reconquer upper Mesopotamia in the spring of 242. The success of the campaign must have reflected well on Priscus, and when his colleague Timesitheus (who was also Gordian III's father-in-law) died the following year, Priscus' brother Philip joined him as praetorian prefect. The brothers remained the young emperor's most powerful deputies during the disastrous campaign against the Persians in the winter of 243-44. On the retreat back up the Euphrates after the Roman defeat at Misikhe, Gordian was killed sometime during the winter months of 244. Most sources state that Philip was involved in Gordian's death; some claim that Philip engineered a mutiny by diverting the grain that was supposed to feed Gordian's troops.

Philip was acclaimed the new emperor and was firmly in control by late winter 244. Like his predecessor Macrinus, Philip faced, as his first important task, the problem of ending a war in the East. Philip was more fortunate in his negotiations than Macrinus had been. Philip made a peace treaty with the Persian king Shapur in which Philip agreed to pay the equivalent of 50 million sesterces, and possibly an annual tribute. The treaty enabled the new emperor to travel westward to Rome. It remains unknown why Philip was displayed before the soldiers as their new emperor instead of his more accomplished brother Priscus, but Priscus went on to have extraordinary power in the East during the new regime. Priscus is described in one inscription as rector Orientis, and he exercised supreme authority over armies and provinces from his headquarters in Antioch.

Philip faced revolts and upheavals in several corners of the empire. He was able to overcome these challenges for half a decade. The empire remained fundamentally sound and stable during his reign. The great disruptions of the third century were yet to come. To restore discipline among the Danubian troops, Philip sent as the new commander Decius, a native of the region. The appointment proved a dangerous blunder. The disgruntled soldiers, still eager for decisive leadership and decisive victories, revolted yet again in the late spring of 249 and proclaimed Decius emperor. Philip marched out from Rome to face the approaching troops of Decius. In late summer, the two armies met outside Verona. Philip's troops were bested, and the emperor either died in the battle or was assassinated by his troops. When news of Philip's defeat and death reached Rome, the praetorian guard murdered Philip's son.