Bronze Coin of Emperor Gratian - C.4466 Origin: Minted in Antioch Circa: 367 AD to 383 AD Collection: Numismatics Style: Roman Medium: Bronze Flavius Gratianus was the son of the Emperor Valentinian I and his wife Severa. While still a young boy, he was bestowed the rank of Augustus by his father in 367 A.D. When his father died in 375 A.D., he became sole emperor in the West at the age of fifteen. Shortly thereafter, he proclaimed his four-year old brother Valentinian II co-Augustus. After Valens' disastrous defeat by the Goths at Adrianople in 378, Gratian asked Theodosius the Great to become emperor in the East. Though Theodosius' father had been executed after falling out of favor with Valentinian I, Theodosius accepted the job and immediately began to put his wide military talents to strengthen up the East. In 383, the British troops rebelled and invaded Gaul, led by Magnus Maximus. Gratian was not adequately prepared to meet this threat and his soldiers deserted him as well. Gratian had never been very popular with the army because he preferred hunting and sports to leading men into battle. Unable to escape his mutinous army, Gratian was murdered in Lugdunum on August 25th, A. D. 383.

Antique Coins
Ancient coins