Hannibalianus 335-337 AD - AE Follis - RIC-147
Reference Description
Hannibalianus 335-337 AD
AE Follis, 336-337 AD, Constantinople Mint
Obv. FL HANNIBALIANO REGI
Draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev. SE-CURITAS PVBLICA CONSS
Euphrates reclining right, leaning on scepter; urn at side; reed in background.
RIC-147
Image shown: Heritage Auction 3026 Lot 23436
AE Follis, 336-337 AD, Constantinople Mint
Obv. FL HANNIBALIANO REGI
Draped and cuirassed bust right.
Rev. SE-CURITAS PVBLICA CONSS
Euphrates reclining right, leaning on scepter; urn at side; reed in background.
RIC-147
Image shown: Heritage Auction 3026 Lot 23436
Notes
Hess Divo Auction 334 Lot 137
Hannibalianus was the son of Delmatius, stepbrother of Constantine I. In AD 335 Constantine reorganized the competences for the empire. To protect the peripheric regions in the East against the Sasanians, he established a new kingdom consisting of parts of Armenia, Cappadocia and Mesopotamia and he placed Hannibalianus on the throne and married him with his daughter Constantia. After the death of Constantine I in 337, Hannibalianus was murdered in Constantinople on the orders of Constantius II.
Heritage Auction 3026 Lot 23436
The position of young Flavius Claudius Hannibalianus in the succession arrangements of Constantine I the Great (AD 306-337) remains obscure and mysterious. Rather oddly named in honor of Hannibal, one of Rome's greatest enemies, Hannibalianus was the son of Constantine's half-brother and thus the great Emperor's nephew. In AD 335 he was included in an elaborate five-way succession scheme along with his brother Delmatius and the three surviving sons of Constantine, who were all named Caesar. Hannibalianus, however, received a very different title-- Rex Regum et Pontiacarum Gentium, or "King of Kings and of the Pontic Peoples." Constantine apparently foresaw Hannibalianus as the eventual ruler of territories beyond the formal boundaries of the Empire, including the vast Sasanian Persian kingdom then ruled by Shapur II (AD 309-379). Indeed, Constantine spent his last years preparing a massive campaign against the Persians, but fell ill and died in May of AD 337, before it could be launched. The five-way succession scheme abruptly collapsed as Constantine's three sons seized control of the army and ordered the executions of their cousins. Coins of Hannibalianus were struck only at Constantinople and remain the only pieces struck to give the title "king" (REGI) to a Roman ruler. The reverse type, a reclining personification of the River Euphrates, supports the view that Constantine's eventual aim was to invade the Sasanian Persian Kingdom and install Hannibalianus at its head, thus ending the centuries-old conflict between East and West.
Hannibalianus was the son of Delmatius, stepbrother of Constantine I. In AD 335 Constantine reorganized the competences for the empire. To protect the peripheric regions in the East against the Sasanians, he established a new kingdom consisting of parts of Armenia, Cappadocia and Mesopotamia and he placed Hannibalianus on the throne and married him with his daughter Constantia. After the death of Constantine I in 337, Hannibalianus was murdered in Constantinople on the orders of Constantius II.
Heritage Auction 3026 Lot 23436
The position of young Flavius Claudius Hannibalianus in the succession arrangements of Constantine I the Great (AD 306-337) remains obscure and mysterious. Rather oddly named in honor of Hannibal, one of Rome's greatest enemies, Hannibalianus was the son of Constantine's half-brother and thus the great Emperor's nephew. In AD 335 he was included in an elaborate five-way succession scheme along with his brother Delmatius and the three surviving sons of Constantine, who were all named Caesar. Hannibalianus, however, received a very different title-- Rex Regum et Pontiacarum Gentium, or "King of Kings and of the Pontic Peoples." Constantine apparently foresaw Hannibalianus as the eventual ruler of territories beyond the formal boundaries of the Empire, including the vast Sasanian Persian kingdom then ruled by Shapur II (AD 309-379). Indeed, Constantine spent his last years preparing a massive campaign against the Persians, but fell ill and died in May of AD 337, before it could be launched. The five-way succession scheme abruptly collapsed as Constantine's three sons seized control of the army and ordered the executions of their cousins. Coins of Hannibalianus were struck only at Constantinople and remain the only pieces struck to give the title "king" (REGI) to a Roman ruler. The reverse type, a reclining personification of the River Euphrates, supports the view that Constantine's eventual aim was to invade the Sasanian Persian Kingdom and install Hannibalianus at its head, thus ending the centuries-old conflict between East and West.
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Citation
“Hannibalianus 335-337 AD - AE Follis - RIC-147,” Armenian Numismatic Research Organization, accessed May 4, 2024, http://armnumres.org/items/show/1109.