Aurelian and Vabalathus Coins: Rome, Zenobia and Palmyra
Aurelian and Vabalathus Coins: Rome, Zenobia, and Palmyra
The paired Antioch antoninianus that captured a moment between empire and rebellion.
One of the most remarkable coins of the Crisis of the Third Century pairs Aurelian, emperor at Rome, with Vabalathus, the young ruler whose mother Zenobia controlled much of the Roman East.
These Antioch antoniniani capture a brief political moment when Palmyra exercised extraordinary independence while still acknowledging Aurelian's senior imperial status.
Who Were Vabalathus and Zenobia?
Palmyra's rise began under Odaenathus, who became Rome's dominant eastern commander after the emperor Valerian was captured by the Sasanian king Shapur I in AD 260. After Odaenathus was assassinated around AD 267, his widow Zenobia governed on behalf of their young son Vabalathus. Palmyrene forces eventually controlled Egypt and large parts of the Roman East and Asia Minor.
The convenient modern phrase "Palmyrene Empire" can obscure the gradual nature of the break with Rome. At first, Zenobia's regime maintained a deliberately ambiguous relationship with Roman imperial authority, and that ambiguity is exactly what the paired coinage preserves.
The Aurelian and Vabalathus Coin
The best-known paired issues are antoniniani struck at Antioch while the mint was under Palmyrene control, around AD 270 to 272. One side names Vabalathus and the other Aurelian. That makes the coin look at first like a straightforward issue of two emperors, but the titles show something more complicated.
Aurelian is given the senior Roman imperial title AVG, Augustus. Vabalathus carries a collection of abbreviated titles commonly rendered VCRIMDR and conventionally expanded to include vir clarissimus, rex, imperator, dux Romanorum. The precise expansion and interpretation of every element has been debated, but the important point is clear: Vabalathus is not styled Augustus on the paired issue. The coins therefore document Palmyrene autonomy while still formally acknowledging Aurelian.
Its titles preserve a moment when neither full Roman control nor complete Palmyrene independence accurately describes the political situation.
One of the most interesting visual features is that Vabalathus is normally shown with a radiate crown while Aurelian is laureate. That can surprise collectors because the radiate crown was conventionally associated with the antoninianus. On this unusual paired issue, portrait orientation and titulature are more useful than relying on the crown alone to decide which side should be treated as the conventional obverse. The coins prove that Aurelian was acknowledged by a mint controlled by the Palmyrene regime; they do not preserve evidence of a specific negotiated constitutional agreement. It is safer to describe the arrangement as pragmatic and politically ambiguous than as a documented power-sharing treaty.
When Zenobia Broke With Rome
By AD 272 the political language had changed. Zenobia assumed the title Augusta, while Vabalathus appeared as Augustus on their own coinage. That represented an explicit imperial claim. Aurelian marched east, defeated Palmyrene armies near Antioch and Emesa, and captured Zenobia as she attempted to escape toward Sasanian territory. Palmyra rebelled again in AD 273, and Aurelian returned and imposed a harsher settlement.
The popular story says Zenobia was displayed in Aurelian's triumph at Rome in AD 274 and later lived comfortably in Italy. Ancient sources preserve versions of that tradition, but they do not agree completely about her fate, so the Italian retirement story is plausible and famous but not completely certain. Vabalathus disappears from secure historical evidence after Aurelian's reconquest; his final fate is uncertain, and claims that he definitely died on the journey west go beyond what the surviving evidence can establish.
Collecting the Aurelian and Vabalathus Coin
These are conventionally classified as antoniniani or radiates. By this period the denomination had been heavily debased and contained very little silver, often with a silvered surface when new. Surviving examples can therefore look like ordinary bronze today, but calling them simply bronze "double denarii" is less precise than using the standard numismatic term antoninianus.
They are historically extraordinary but not uniformly rare. Circulated examples are obtainable, while exceptional condition, strong portraits, complete legends, good silvering, scarce varieties, and attractive surfaces can bring substantial premiums. Few ancient coins capture a political transition so directly: the paired issue documents the uneasy middle, and then the coinage changed, Vabalathus became Augustus, Zenobia became Augusta, and Aurelian marched east.
Hold what the greats held.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Zenobia put herself and Aurelian on the same coin?
The famous paired issue shows Vabalathus and Aurelian. Zenobia later issued coins in her own name after taking the title Augusta.
Where were Aurelian and Vabalathus coins minted?
The familiar paired antoniniani were struck at Antioch while the city and mint were under Palmyrene control.
Was Vabalathus a Roman emperor?
He eventually claimed the title Augustus, but on the earlier paired coinage with Aurelian he carries different titles and acknowledges Aurelian as Augustus.
Why are these coins important?
They provide primary numismatic evidence for the changing political relationship between Aurelian's government and Zenobia's Palmyrene regime.
History wasn't just written. It was minted.
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