[gothic-l] Re: $ SUEVIC COINAGE $

[faltin2001]

Hi Francisco,

you are quite right. After the Vandals were driven out of Spain, it
looked for a while as if the Suevi would become masters of all of
Spain. From their mountainous base, the Suevi raided widely, even
taking Merida in 439 and Seville in 441. The Romans commissioned the
Visigoths to attack the Suevi and curtail their expandion. In 456AD
they were defeated near Astorge. The Suevic kingdom continued its
independent existence until the end of the 6th century, when it was
finally incorporated into the Visigothic kingdom.


The Suevi started imitating Roman solidi (largest regular gold
denomination) of Honorius from the early 5th century. The name of
Honorius (in various barbarized forms) was continued on Suevic coins
into the 6th century. Suevi tremisses (one-third solidi) copy the
Roman tremisses of Valentinian III. All Suevic coins are easily
recognizable by their distinct style.

Silver was only very rarely minted in the Suevic kingdom. However, an
extremely rare siliqua shows the full name of the king Reckilar,
making him the first Germanic king ever to put his name on a coin
(mid 5th. cent.).

cheers,
Dirk














--- In gothic-l at y..., "Francisco Santos" <fringosa at c...> wrote:
> The fall of the Roman Empire in the west dates from the end of the
year 406,
> when barbarian armies, after intense fighting, forced their way
across the
> Rhine. They overran the Gauls, and in September - October 409
crossed the
> pyrenees into the Iberian Peninsula, where they were soon afterwards
> assigned land. The Sueves received the Conventus Braccarensis, which
> included the cities of Oporto and Braga, and were the only ones of
these
> first invaders to remain permanently where they settled. Unlike the
nomadic
> Alans and the destructive Vandals, they were Germanic peasants who
had been
> established near the borders of the Empire. Like other barbarian
peoples,
> they were illiterate and pagan. Their kingdom lasted a little more
than 170
> years, until 586, when it was suppressed by Leovigild, that is to
say, not
> much less than half as long as the four centuries of the Roman
Empire
> itself.
>
> http://www.fringosa.com/numismatica.htm
>
>
> Francisco


You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/