11-10-2011, 04:21 PM
Edward Gibbon famously claimed:
Hannibalianus was Constantine’s nephew, one of a large group of family members that were given a portion of the empire and later killed off in the familial bloodbath. But I’m curious about this “King” title. We know that in Greek the Emperors were called king, basileus, so there is nothing unusual about that. I assume Gibbon must be referring to Latin, rex.
Ammianus Marcellinus calls Hannibalianus “king” in Latin in XIV.1.2, I know.
Gibbon said that the title was used on medals, and I’ve Googled, but I can’t find anything resembling “Rex” that I can read.
I see here that his title was “Rex Regum et Ponticarum Gentium,” or “King of the Kings and of the Pontic People.” King of Kings is an translation from a Persian title, I think, but Pontus had been in the Empire since before it was an empire, over 300 years. So this is a rather odd title.
So my questions are: does anyone know of any coin or medal or inscription where “Rex” is used for an Emperor? Does anyone know of any other case where “Rex” was used in a literary context, like Ammianus Marcellinus? Was Hannibalianus really unique in this case?
Quote:But of the whole series of Roman princes in any age of the Empire, Hannibalianus alone was distinguished by the title of KING; a name which the subjects of Tiberius would have detested, as the profane and cruel insult of capricious tyranny. The use of such a title, even as it appears under the reign of Constantine; is a strange and unconnected fact, which can scarcely be admitted on the joint authority of Imperial medals and contemporary writers.
Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chapter XVIII.
Hannibalianus was Constantine’s nephew, one of a large group of family members that were given a portion of the empire and later killed off in the familial bloodbath. But I’m curious about this “King” title. We know that in Greek the Emperors were called king, basileus, so there is nothing unusual about that. I assume Gibbon must be referring to Latin, rex.
Ammianus Marcellinus calls Hannibalianus “king” in Latin in XIV.1.2, I know.
Gibbon said that the title was used on medals, and I’ve Googled, but I can’t find anything resembling “Rex” that I can read.
I see here that his title was “Rex Regum et Ponticarum Gentium,” or “King of the Kings and of the Pontic People.” King of Kings is an translation from a Persian title, I think, but Pontus had been in the Empire since before it was an empire, over 300 years. So this is a rather odd title.
So my questions are: does anyone know of any coin or medal or inscription where “Rex” is used for an Emperor? Does anyone know of any other case where “Rex” was used in a literary context, like Ammianus Marcellinus? Was Hannibalianus really unique in this case?
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
www.davidcord.com
