Domitian, 81-96. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 35 mm, 22.78 g, 7 h), Rome, 85. IMP CAES•DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS POT P P Laureate head of Domitian to right, with aegis on his left shoulder. Rev. GERMANIA CAPTA / S C Trophy of arms; on the to left, Germania seated left in attitude of mourning; on the right, German captive standing right, head to left, his hands bound behind his back; around, arms. BMC 325. Cohen 136. RIC 351. Minor deposits and light scratches, otherwise, very fine.


Contemporary and modern historians have long cast doubts on the proclaimed successes of Domitian in Germany, which Tacitus commented with a dismissive 'in recent times we have celebrated triumphs rather than won conquests over them [the Germans]' (Tac. Germ. 37.5). It is true that Domitian's campaigns of 83-85 against the Chatti led to a massive output of triumphal coins, which clearly follow the example set by Vespasian's Iudaea Capta-issues and certainly pursued propagandistic goals. On the other hand, we have to take into account the notorious hostility of the senatorial historiography towards the last Flavian emperor, which resulted in most of his achievements being downplayed. The fact that the upper Rhine region and the agri decumates saw no serious barbarian invasions in the century after his reign indicates that Domitian's campaigns and measures must have been quite successful, and they actually permitted his successors to relocate considerable forces to the Danube and Syrian frontiers.