Tacitus
275-276 AD
There is little reliable information about Marcus Claudius Tacitus. It does appear that after the murder of Aurelian, the soldiers of the Illyrian army, wishing to dissociate themselves from the assassins, sent a request to Rome that the Senate should nominate the new ruler, and pledged themselves to support their choice. After some delay, the Senate selected Tacitus, an elderly Senator who claimed descent from the great historian by the same name. Tacitus was thereby proclaimed Augustus.
One of the first acts of the new Emperor was to have Aurelian deified. He also apointed Aurelian’s half-brother, Florian, to be his Prefect of the Praetorian Guard.
Tacitus was seventy-five years of age at the time he assumed the throne. The new ruler soon joined the army in Thrace with Florian at his side. Together they succeeded in repelling a Gothic invasion of Asia Minor. For this great victory, Tacitus took the title “Gothicus Maximus.” However, the exertions of this campaign and the inclement climate proved too much for the aged Emperor, and he died in Cappadocia in June, 276 AD.
MONETARY SYSTEM
Double Aureus (Bino)
Mints: Rome; Lugdunum; Arelate (?); Ticinum; Siscia; Serdica; Cyzicus; Antioch; Tripolis.
Obverse legends:
IMP C CL TACITVS AVG
IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG
IMP C M CLA TACITVS AVG
IMP C M CL TACITVS P F AVG.
AE Antoninianus with full Silver wash intact
DENOMINATIONS
AU Double Aureus (6.54 grams)
AU Aureus (4.61 grams)
AE Antoninianus
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