Domitius Domitianus, usurper, 297-298. Follis (Bronze, 27 mm, 10.46 g, 12 h), Alexandria, late 297 or early 298. IMP C L DOMITIVS DOMITIANVS AVG Laureate head of Domitius Domitianus to right. Rev. GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI / ALE Genius, nude but for chlamys over his left shoulder, standing front, head to left, holding patera in his right hand and cornucopiae in his left; at feet to left, eagle standing left with spread wings, head to right; in field to right, Γ. Cohen 1. RIC 20 var. (wreath in beak of eagle). Rare and with a very old pedigree. Slightly porous and with minor deposits, otherwise, about extremely fine.



Historical evidence for the Egyptian revolt of 297 (or possibly 296) is scant. Literary sources name Aurelius Achilleus as the leader of the uprising, but surviving papyri and the numismatic record suggest that the dominant figure was, in fact, an otherwise unknown L. Domitius Domitianus. The revolt began in the ancient city of Thebes, but the rebels quickly seized control of Lower Egypt and Alexandria, where Domitius issued a rare series of imperial aurei, folles, and a few Roman provincial coins. Whether he was still alive when Diocletian suppressed the revolt in early 298 remains a matter of debate. Some historians have attempted to reconcile the conflicting sources by proposing that Domitius died in late 297 and was succeeded by Aurelius Achilleus, whose name was subsequently preserved in the literary tradition as the usurper slain by Diocletian after the fall of Alexandria.