Neptune's Nemesis
Triumviral sea conflicts

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"At no other time has the condition of imperial Rome, as it seems to me, been more pitiable." (Sallust xxxvi; Lewis, 292).

Sallust laments the fall of the Roman Republic, when Rome entered a challenging period of civil war. During this time, Rome's core values were tested and its governmental structure was determined. Peace was sacrificed for the display of military might. Political liaisons were tied and broken as power shifted from one commander to the next.

Sextus Pompey grew up amidst these battles, as the son of Pompey the Great. When his father was rejected and defeated by Caesar in 49 B.C.E., he and his older brother, Gnaeus, took it upon themselves to avenge their father and to reclaim their inheritance in Rome. Gnaeus was soon defeated, but Pompey managed to control the Mediterranean and to block Rome's grain supply from Sicily, posing a considerable threat to the Triumvirate. However, he was eventually defeated at Naulochus in 36 B.C.E. Soon after this naval defeat, the Triumviral alliance crumbled and Octavian finished off Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E. Antony's head naval commander, Marcus Agrippa, is credited with the victory.

These naval battles are pivotal moments of Rome's history, when its leaders and government were ultimately determined. Representations of these civil wars are depicted on coins, which illustrate the preparations and outcomes of this battles. As we chronologically study the naval coinage of the Triumviral period, we can observe history unfolding on coin.