Warfare
and Roman money

( )

Warfare was one of the most influential factors in defining the ancient Roman state: since its foundation, "the Roman state made war every year, except in the most abnormal circumstances" (Harris 9). Not surprisingly, scenes and images of warfare are prevalent on the coinage of ancient Rome which often depicted scenes of military victories, both factual and fictional, in order to serve some sort of political purpose. Quite frequently Roman moneyers, the officials in charge of a mint, chose designs which portrayed the great deeds of their ancestors, to remind the public of their personal connection to these victorious figures and perhaps to boost their political status. On other occasions, the moneyers coined types which depicted the victories of a current political leader, often to suggest the probability of victory in a contemporary conflict. Whichever the case, images of war play a prominent role in the types of Roman coins, providing modern scholars with a better understanding of Roman warfare and its connection to the politics of coinage.