Pacatian AD 248-249. Viminacium
Antoninianus AR

25 mm, 3,23 g

IMP TI CL MAR PACATIANVS P F AV, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Pacatian to right / PAX AETERNA, Pax standing left, holding olive branch in upraised right hand and transverse sceptre in left hand.

good very fine

cf. RIC IV 5; cf. Cohen 6.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Live Auction 3, 25 October 2018, lot 823 (hammer: GBP 1,800).

Tiberius Claudius Pacatianus, commonly known as Pacatian, was a Roman usurper who declared himself emperor during the reign of Philip the Arab around AD 248–249. His rebellion took place on the Danube frontier, a region prone to unrest due to increasing pressure from barbarian invasions and dissatisfaction with Philip's rule. Pacatian’s brief claim to the throne was part of a broader period of instability, as the Roman Empire faced external threats and internal challenges, which led to several usurpations. Pacatian’s revolt was quickly suppressed, and he was killed by his own troops before Philip the Arab could intervene directly. His brief reign is emblematic of the political fragmentation that characterized the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century, where multiple claimants to the throne rose and fell in rapid succession, highlighting the empire’s growing instability at the time.