Magnentius AD 350-353 Bronze Follis Lyon

Magnentius AD 350-353 Bronze Follis

Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right/ Magnentius with Victory and standard

Lyon

RCV18792; 22mm, 6.77g

Magnentius was a usurper who brought the rule of the unpopular Constans to an abrupt end in AD 350 when he was proclaimed emperor at a birthday party being held by Constans for his finance minister Marcellinus. Magnentius suddenly appeared at the party dressed in imperial robes causing Constans to flee although he was soon overtaken and killed by supporters of Magnentius.
Magnentius was born around AD 303 to a British father and Frankish mother. He joined the Roman army rising through the ranks to head one of the elite legions. With the removal of Constans the western provinces quickly aligned themselves with Magnentius. With no plans to contest mastery of the Eastern provinces Magnentius had hopes of becoming the legitimate colleague of Constantius II. Ventranio, also a military officer but loyal to Constantius, was proclaimed emperor by the sister of Constantius and directly to deal with Magnentius however when Constantius returned to the west later in AD 350 Ventranio formally abdicated.
Constantius and Magnentius proceeded to war but when hostilities began Magnentius was initially victorious defeating Constantius at the Battle of Atrans in AD 351. Refusing to negotiate Magnentius advanced towards the Danube capturing Siscia and advancing as far as Sirmium establishing himself at Mursa Major. In September he suffered a major defeat losing much of his army. This was a crippling blow not just to Magnentius but also for the Roman army which lost in excess of 50,000 men. This and the Battle of Adrianople in AD 378 were probably responsible for the terminal decline of Roman military power over the next century. Magnentius retreated to Gaul and was unable to control Italy. Here at Mons Seleucus he suffered his final defeat before committing suicide at Lugdunum afterwards.
The coinage of Magnentius is of interest. Initially much of the coinage was struck in the name of Constantius. Later he issued coins in his own name but after his defeat at Mursa a lightweight solidus was introduced. A large bronze coin depicting the Chi Rho monogram was also introduced although this too was rapidly reduced from around 9 grams firstly to around 7grams and eventually to only 4 grams. The portrait of Magnentius is also normally depicted as bare headed.